It was stunning to see to the news that
Jennifer Capriati had been taken to the hospital for an apparent overdose, and nearly as stunning to realize it's been 20 years since she made her splash into the world of professional tennis.
Capriati took the American sports scene by storm when she appeared on the cover of
Sports Illustrated in March of 1990, fresh off reaching the finals at Boca Raton in her tour debut before losing to Gabriela Sabatini, doing so at the age 13 years, 11 months .
Her star loomed even larger in the years to come, starting with a quarterfinal victory over Navratilova - then the defending champion - at Wimbledon in 1991, and winning the Olympica gold medal at the Barcelona games in 1992, defeating #1 seeded Steffi Graf in the final.
To think of a 14-year-old doing such things against the best players in the world is staggering, even in today's future-driven sports market where every magazine, advertiser and network is constantly digging for who's "Next."
Imagine Capriati was a full four years younger than LeBron James when he won the NBA's Rookiee of the Year title. She was six years younger than Magic Johnson when he won his first NBA title, and more than two years younger than Mary Lou Retton when she won the gold medal in gymnastics in the 1984 Olympics.
It's not just the age factor, either. It's the isolation. James was in the spotlight, but only as much as you can be playing in Cleveland. Johnson was in the NBA Finals, but he played alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was very much in his prime.
Like so many young stars before her,
Capriati fell off the map for a while. Not playing competitively for 15 months in the mid 1990s before resuracfing at No. 103 in the rankings in mid-1996. She would finish the year at No. 24.
As she grew from precocious teen to young woman, her game caught back up with her body and she soared to new heights in 2001, winning both the Australian and the French, and reaching the No. 1 ranking in the world for the first time in her career. She added another Australian title in 2002. An ongoing shoulder injury forced her to quit playing in 2005, but she has not ruled out a comeback.
![]()
What's on your mind?
Post a comment below.