You remember her, don’t you? But where is Jennifer Capriati now?
At one time in the 1990s, Jennifer Capriati was the next big thing in tennis. And with good reason! Capriati was mega talented, popular with fans and, to use a sporting cliché, had the world at her feet.
However, for a while, the Capriati became a by-word in the tennis world for expecting too much, too soon from young tennis players. Let’s see how her life panned out in both tennis and beyond.
What Happened to Jennifer Capriati?
Well, before answering the question “where Jennifer Capriati now” it’s best to set the context and wind right back to the start of her career.
Capriati was a tennis prodigy. She began her tennis career with a bang when she turned professional at only 13 years old and, even allowing for the fact that young female athletes tended to start their career at a younger age back in the old days, Capriati was indeed very precocious.
She set a number of “youngest” records. You can find these records on Wikipedia, so I won’t bore you with all the details, but it included the youngest player ever to reach a Tour final and the youngest-ever French Open semi-finalist. Reaching these milestones at such a young age seemed to bode well for a massively successful future.
An early key achievement for Capriati was when she won the gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Capriati was only 16 years old, and so multiple Grand Slam successes seemed assured to come her way.
Things didn’t pan out that way though.
Capriati personal problems
Following a mixed bag of results in 1993, Capriati took a break from tennis in 1994. It’s around this time Capriati went off the rails.
From all we mere mortals know about sporting prodigies, their life pretty much consists of sports, sports, sports from a young age. This definitely seems to have been the case with Capriati. It’s not only the actual playing of professional tennis from the age of 13, but the hours of practice in the years before and during her career that rack up too. It’s not hard to imagine that, as an 18 year old in 1994, it was the first time in her life that Capriati had the ‘freedom’ to do whatever she wanted.
She had already got into trouble in 1993, though, while still 17 years old. Capriati was charged with shoplifting a ring from a shopping mall, something that was claimed to be accidental at the time. Fast forward a year to 1994, and Capriati was arrested for marijuana possession during her time out from tennis. She went on a drug rehabilitation programme in the aftermath.
Capriati’s Return To Tennis
It’s not like Capriati turned up on the tennis circuit again in 1996 and started winning everything. Now that would have made for a great comeback story!
No, Capriati’s return to tennis and her path to success was a little slower than that. She didn’t win a tournament until 1999, when she won the Strasbourg Grand Prix and followed this with a tournament win in Quebec.
By the end of the year, a decade after Capriati had made her professional debut, she was still only 24 years old.
Did Jennifer Capriati ever win a Grand Slam?
Yes, she absolutely did.
Capriati built upon her breakthrough winning year in 1999 and continued her career resurgence in the early 2000s. She won three Grand Slam titles in total: the 2001 and 2002 Australian Opens, and the 2001 French Open.
It was a pretty remarkable turnaround in fortunes for a young woman who had seemed to have completely lost her way just a few years previously.
Capriati’s career was over by the end of 2004, at the age of 28. This might seem pretty young by modern standards but she had been on the go a long time by that age. Plus, she definitely had a successful tennis career. Capriati had joined the exclusive club of multiple Grand Slam winners.
Jennifer Capriati Now: Recent Years
Nowadays, Capriati lives a quiet life in Florida. She has taken a step back from the professional tennis scene. Capriati keeps a low profile and – reputedly – doesn’t even have a manager. She really is that far removed for her life on the professional tennis circuit.
Unfortunately, one thing Capriati has been known for in recent times is her unfortunate struggles with her mental health. Capriati suffered an apparent drug overdose in 2010, and was arrested for stalking a former boyfriend in 2013.
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