Jennifer Capriati
Encyclopedia
Jennifer Marie Capriati (born March 29, 1976) is a former world number one ranked professional tennis player, and the winner of three women's singles championships in Grand Slam tournaments. Capriati made her professional debut in 1990 at the age of 14 when she reached the finals of the hard court tournament in Boca Raton, Florida
, losing there to Gabriela Sabatini
. Capriati reached the semifinals of the French Open in her debut and later became the youngest ever player to crack the top 10 at age 14 years, 235 days in October of that year. Between 1990 and 1993, Capriati won six singles titles, including a Gold Medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, defeating Steffi Graf
in the final. Following a first round loss at the 1993 U.S. Open, the burned out Capriati took a 14-month break from competitive pro tennis. Her personal struggles during this time (including arrests for shoplifting and possession of marijuana) were well-documented by the press.
In 1998, Capriati won her first Grand Slam
singles match in five years at Wimbledon. During the next two years, Capriati slowly returned to championship form, winning her first title in six years in Strasbourg, France in 1999 and regaining a top 20 ranking. At the 2001 Australian Open
, the reinvigorated Capriati became the lowest seed to ever win the championship when she defeated Martina Hingis
(ranked number one in the world at the time) in straight sets for her first Grand Slam
championship. She also won the French Open that year, claiming the number one ranking in October. After successfully defending her Australian Open crown in 2002, Capriati became a top ten mainstay until injuries derailed her career in 2004.
Capriati won 14 professional singles tournaments during her career, along with one women's doubles championship.
In 2005, Tennis magazine ranked Capriati number 36 in its list of the 40 greatest players in the 40 years of that magazine.
, Lindsay Davenport
, and Mary Pierce
. Her style of play is characterized by taking the ball early and on the rise, powerful ground-strokes, and an aggressive mindset on the return of service.
Capriati's game was built around her groundstrokes and movement. Her flat forehand, devastating when hit hard, was considered her biggest weapon, especially when she was stretched out wide. She also possessed a solid backhand. She was quick around the court, able to play defense as well as offense. Her biggest weakness was considered to be her serve. Her first serve was powerful, but offset by a wandering ball-toss, and her second serve was considered to be the most attackable part of her game. However, Capriati was known to counter her inconsistent serve with her exceptional return of serve.
and Martina Navratilova at Boca Raton and Hilton Head, respectively, earning her first two wins over top ten players (No. 10 Helena Suková
and No. 5. Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
). She entered the rankings in April, at No. 23. Capriati made her Grand Slam
debut at the French Open. She went all the way to the semifinals, losing to eventual champion Monica Seles
. She then reached the fourth round at Wimbledon, losing to Steffi Graf
. Later in the year Capriati won her first career title in Puerto Rico
, defeating Zina Garrison
. After this victory Capriati entered the world's top 10. She qualified for the WTA Championships, narrowly losing to Graf in the first round in three sets. She finished her first season as a professional at World No 8.
Throughout the season Capriati set multiple "youngest ever" records. She was the youngest player to reach a tour final, the youngest player to reach the semifinals at the French Open, the youngest seed ever at Wimbledon, and the youngest player to qualify for the season-ending championships. She was also the fourth-youngest player to win a WTA title.
in a third set tie-breaker in finals of San Diego, and Katerina Maleeva
in straight sets in the final of Toronto
. She also reached two Grand Slam
semifinals, at Wimbledon and the US Open. At Wimbledon, Capriati defeated 9-time champion Martina Navratilova in the quarterfinals, her earliest exit in 14 years, before losing to Sabatini. At the US Open, Capriati defeated Sabatini in the quarters but lost in the semis to eventual champion Seles after serving for the match twice. Capriati qualified for the year-end championships for the second time, reaching the quarterfinals. She ended the year at No. 6, which would be a career high until 2001.
Capriati also won the only doubles title of her career at the Italian Open, partnering Seles.
in the finals, in the only time that Capriati won back-to-back singles titles during her career. She reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open (in her debut), at the French Open, and at Wimbledon, and then she lost in the third round at the U.S. Open tournament. In Miami, Capriati ended Seles's streak of 21 consecutive finals by defeating her in the quarterfinals. Capriati finished the year ranked in the top 10 for the third straight year, at number seven.
in the final. For the second straight year she reached the quarterfinals at the first three majors of the year. She reached the final of the Rogers Cup in Montreal
, losing to Graf. At the US Open, the seventh-seeded Capriati lost her opening match to unheralded Leila Meskhi
, her first loss in the first round of any pro tournament. Following this loss, Capriati decided to take a break from tennis. She finished the year at number 9.
, where she reached the quarterfinals, losing to Jana Novotná
in three sets. She reached her first final in more than three years at Chicago
, defeating Monica Seles (who shared the number-one rating) en route, before losing again to Novotná in three sets. Capriati also reached the quarters in the fall at the Zurich Open
, defeating Sabatini in the opening round in what would be the last singles match of Sabatini's career. Capriati competed in her first Grand Slam
tournaments since 1993 at the French Open and the U.S. Open, losing in the first round of both. Capriati re-appeared on the rankings in April at No. 103, and finished the year inside the top 25, at No. 24.
en route for her only top 10 win of the year, losing to Martina Hingis
in the final. She only reached the quarterfinals at one other tournament, Oklahoma City
, where she lost to Lindsey Davenport. Capriati finished the year at number 66, having played in just three tournaments.
Capriati did not play the first half of 1998. By the spring, she was ranked below the top 200. She accepted a wildcard acceptance into the clay-court tournament at Hamburg, Germany, where she reached the quarterfinals, but then lost to Martina Hingis (who was ranked number one in the world at that time). Capriati was also a quarterfinalist at Palermo, Italy. In the first round at Wimbledon, Capriati won her first Grand Slam
singles match in five years, before losing to Lori McNeil
in the second round. Capriati finished 1998 ranked at number 101.
in a quarterfinal for her first win over a top 10 player in two years. She defeated Russian Elena Likhovtseva
in the final. She won her second title of the year at Quebec City
, defeating American Chanda Rubin
in the final. She also reached the round of 16 at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon. She finished the year at No. 23.
, Capriati reached her first Grand Slam
semifinal in nine years before losing to eventual champion Lindsay Davenport
in straight sets.
At the Miami Masters
, Capriati defeated World No. 6 Serena Williams
for her first win over a player ranked in the top 6 in four years en route to a quarterfinal finish. Shortly after, Capriati was sidelined with right Achilles tendonitis
in April and an elbow injury in June.
Capriati had a strong fall season, winning her ninth career title at Luxembourg
, defeating Magdalena Maleeva
. She also finished runner up in Quebec City
to Chanda Rubin
and was a semifinalist in Zürich
. These results propelled Capriati back into the top 20 for the first time since April 1994. She qualified for the season-ending championships for the first time in seven years. Her year-end ranking was 14, her highest in seven years. Capriati was also a member of the US Fed Cup
Team, winning a singles and doubles rubber in the US's victory over Spain in the final.
. She reached the semis for the second consecutive year where dispatched World No. 2 Davenport 6–2, 6–2. In her first Grand Slam final, she dispatched top seed and World No. 1 Martina Hingis
in straight sets to win her first Grand Slam
singles title. She was the lowest seed to ever win the title, a record that still stands today. She was the first player since Tracy Austin
in 1979 to defeat the top two ranked players in straight sets at a major. As a result of this triumph, Capriati re-entered the top 10 in the rankings at No. 7, the longest absence (nearly eight years) from the top 10 in WTA history.
Capriati then reached the finals of the Cellular Cup in Oklahoma City
, losing in the final to Seles. After electing not to participate at the 2001 Indian Wells Masters
, Capriati reached the final in Miami, losing to Venus Williams
(ranked number three in the world) after having failed to convert on eight championship points.
Capriati then embarked on a remarkably successful clay court campaign. She won her second title of the year at the Family Circle Cup
in Charleston, South Carolina
, defeating Hingis in three sets in the final. She then lost in the final of Berlin to Amélie Mauresmo
, also in three sets. Seeded fourth at the 2001 French Open
, Capriati defeated top seed Hingis in the semis and the 12th seeded Kim Clijsters
in the final to win her second consecutive Grand Slam title. Her 1–6, 6–4, 12–10 win over Clijsters had the longest-ever third set in a women's final in the French Open. Capriati was two points away from being defeated four times. She was only the fifth woman in history to win the Australian Open and the French Open consecutively.
At Wimbledon, Capriati rallied from 7–6, 5–3, 30–0 down in the quarters to defeat Serena Williams
6–7(4), 7–5, 6–3. Capriat's 19-match Grand Slam win streak ended in the semis at the hands of eighth seeded Justine Henin. Capriati rebounded at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, Ontario, making it to the final before losing to Serena Williams
6–1, 6–7(7), 6–3 after saving match point in the second set. Capriati then lost in the semifinals of the U.S. Open to Venus Williams
. Despite the loss, Capriati accumulated the best Grand Slam record of 2001, and she was the only player to reach at least the semifinals of all four of the Grand Slam tournaments.
Despite playing very little in the fall, Capriati became ranked Number One on October 15. She lost her opening match at the WTA Tour Championships
to Maleeva. Capriati would have finished the year ranked number one had she reached the semifinals. Instead, she finished number two (her career high), behind Lindsay Davenport, with a 56 – 14 record.
's (ranked number one in the world at the time) withdrawal from the Australian Open due to an injury, Capriati was the top seed. She defeated the sixth-seeded Amélie Mauresmo and the fourth-seeded Kim Clijsters en route to her second consecutive final there, where she once again faced Martina Hingis. The match was played in very hot conditions, with the temperature exceeding 35 degrees Celsius. Capriati fought back from 6–4, 4–0 down and saved four championship points to eventually prevail 4–6, 7–6(7), 6–2. This was Capriati's third (and final) Grand Slam title. Her dramatic victory is widely regarded as one of the great comebacks in tennis history. Tennis Magazine
selected this match as one of the ten best of the decade of 2000 – 09. Capriati reclaimed the number one ranking as a result of her successfully defending her Australian championship.
In the spring, Capriati reached finals in Scottsdale, Arizona
, and Miami, Florida
, losing to Serena Williams
on both occasions. Capriati prepared for her French Open title defense by participating in events in Charleston, South Carolina
, Berlin, and Rome, Italy, losing in the semifinals of all three. As the top seed at the French Open, Capriati reached the semifinals—before losing to the eventual champion Serena Williams
in three sets. Capriati surrendered her number one ranking to Venus Williams
as a result of this loss. Capriati's streak of six consecutive Grand Slam
semifinals was broken at Wimbledon, where she lost to Amélie Mauresmo
in three sets in the quarterfinals. She also lost to Mauresmo in the finals of the Canadian Open, and in the quarterfinals of the U.S. after having served for the match.
Capriati won only one match in the three European indoor events she played. She rebounded at the year-ending championships, reaching the semifinals for the first time, losing to Serena Williams
(ranked number one in the world). Capriati finished the year ranked number three.
In the opening round of the 2003 Australian Open
Capriati lost to unseeded and unheralded Marlene Weingärtner
. Capriati was the first Australian Open title-holder to lose in the first round. Capriati said in her press conference that had she not been the defending champion she would not have played the event. She withdrew from the Pan Pacific Open to further recover from her surgery.
Capriati rebounded by reaching at least semifinals of the next five tournaments she played. She lost to Lindsay Davenport
in the semifinals of Indian Wells. She then reached the final of the Sony Ericsson Open for the third consecutive year before losing to World No. 1 Serena Williams
. Capriati lost in the round of 16 of the French Open to unseeded Nadia Petrova
. She reached the quarters of Wimbledon for the sixth time, losing to Serena Williams
in three sets, her eighth consecutive loss to her compatriot.
Capriati then reached her second final of 2003 in Stanford, losing to Kim Clijsters
in three sets. A pectoral strain forced Capriati to retire from her opening match in San Diego and pull out of Montreal
. Capriati won her first title of 2003 in New Haven after Davenport retired in the final trailing 6–2, 4–0. This ended a 28-tournament title drought for Capriati, and was her first tour victory since she won the 2002 Australian Open
. Capriati was the title favorite at the US Open after both Williams sisters pulled out with injuries. Seeded 6th, Capriati reached the semifinal, where she faced second seeded Justine Henin. Capriati served for the match twice and was two points away from victory eleven times, but Henin prevailed 4–6, 7–5, 7–6(4), in a three hour marathon. This match was regarded by Hall-of-Famer John McEnroe
as the greatest women's match ever played at the US Open.
Capriati did not play again until the WTA Tour Championships
where she lost in the semifinal to World No. 1 Clijsters after suffering a hip strain midway through the second set. Capriati finished the year at No. 6.
forced Capriati to withdraw from the 2004 Australian Open
and the Toray Pan Pacific Open
in Tokyo. Capriati advanced beyond the quarterfinals just once in her first four events of the year in Doha
, losing to Anastasia Myskina
in the semifinals. Her back continued to be an issue, forcing her out of Indian Wells and Miami. Her ranking dropped to number 10 as a result of her injuries.
Capriati produced her best results of the year during the European clay-court season. She reached the semis of Berlin, defeating World No. 5 Myskina in the quarters for her first top 5 win of the season, before losing to Mauresmo in the semifinals. At the Italian Open, Capriati defeated top seed Serena Williams
in the quarterfinals, her first win over the American since Wimbledon 2001. Capriati moved on to the final, where she lost to Mauresmo in a 3 hour struggle. Seeded 7th at the French Open, Capriati went on to the semifinals, before losing to sixth seeded and eventual champion Myskina in the semifinals.
At Wimbledon, Capriati reached the quarters for the fourth straight year, where she lost to Serena Williams
6–1, 6–1, in 45 minutes, the most lopsided result of their 17-match rivalry. A hamstring injury forced her to withdraw from Los Angeles and San Diego, but she reached the quarterfinals of both Montreal
and New Haven. Seeded 8th at the US Open, Capriati defeated Williams in a controversial quarterfinal match to reach her fourth US Open semifinal that included a disputed line call that some say ultimately was responsible for having hawk-eye systems instituted at Grand Slam events. The referee from that match has been replaced in the tournament. Capriati then lost to fifth seed Elena Dementieva
in the semifinals.
Following the US Open, Capriati lost in the quarterfinals of Philadelphia to No. 11 Vera Zvonareva
6–1, 6–0, her worst loss since 1999 (where she won only one game against Graf in Miami). Capriati failed to qualify for the season-ending championships for the first time since 1999. She finished the year World No. 10.
for Comeback Player of the Year. That year's nominees included Mario Lemieux
and Michael Jordan
. She was also the 2002 Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year
, in recognition of her success at Roland Garros in 2001 and the successful defence of her Australian Open title in 2002. In 2005, TENNIS Magazine put her in 36th place in its list of 40 Greatest Players of the TENNIS era
.
television reality series "The Superstars". The show, described as a revival of the 1970s series of the same name
, premiered on June 23, 2009, in a co-ed format, with Capriati paired with singer and actor David Charvet
, best known for his role as a lifeguard on the television show Baywatch
. In the first episode of the show, they were one of the lower-performing teams and were sent into a run-off in an obstacle course
race against basketball player Lisa Leslie
and actor Dan Cortese
. Capriati/Charvet won their race and avoided elimination. At the start of the next episode, however, which aired on June 30, 2009, it was suddenly announced that Capriati had re-aggravated a previous injury during the first episode's events, and that as a result she and her partner were eliminated from the competition.
commercial during the US Open.
1989
1990
1991
1992
1996
2001
2002
2003
Boca Raton, Florida
Boca Raton is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, USA, incorporated in May 1925. In the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 74,764; the 2006 population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 86,396. However, the majority of the people under the postal address of Boca Raton, about...
, losing there to Gabriela Sabatini
Gabriela Sabatini
Gabriela Beatriz Sabatini is a former professional Argentine tennis player. She was one of the leading players on the women's circuit in the late-1980s and early-1990s...
. Capriati reached the semifinals of the French Open in her debut and later became the youngest ever player to crack the top 10 at age 14 years, 235 days in October of that year. Between 1990 and 1993, Capriati won six singles titles, including a Gold Medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, defeating Steffi Graf
Steffi Graf
Steffi Graf is a former World No. 1 German tennis player.In total, Graf won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, second among male and female players only to Margaret Court's 24...
in the final. Following a first round loss at the 1993 U.S. Open, the burned out Capriati took a 14-month break from competitive pro tennis. Her personal struggles during this time (including arrests for shoplifting and possession of marijuana) were well-documented by the press.
In 1998, Capriati won her first Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
singles match in five years at Wimbledon. During the next two years, Capriati slowly returned to championship form, winning her first title in six years in Strasbourg, France in 1999 and regaining a top 20 ranking. At the 2001 Australian Open
2001 Australian Open
The 2001 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts from 15 to 28 January.-Men's Singles: Andre Agassi def. Arnaud Clément, 6–4, 6–2, 6–2...
, the reinvigorated Capriati became the lowest seed to ever win the championship when she defeated Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis is a retired Swiss professional tennis player who spent a total of 209 weeks as World No. 1. She won five Grand Slam singles titles...
(ranked number one in the world at the time) in straight sets for her first Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
championship. She also won the French Open that year, claiming the number one ranking in October. After successfully defending her Australian Open crown in 2002, Capriati became a top ten mainstay until injuries derailed her career in 2004.
Capriati won 14 professional singles tournaments during her career, along with one women's doubles championship.
In 2005, Tennis magazine ranked Capriati number 36 in its list of the 40 greatest players in the 40 years of that magazine.
Playing style
Capriati was one of the first "power players" to emerge on the women's circuit in the early-to-mid-1990s, along with Monica SelesMonica Seles
Monica Seles is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player and a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. She was born in Novi Sad, Serbia, former Yugoslavia to Hungarian parents. She became a naturalized United States citizen in 1994 and also received Hungarian citizenship in June 2007...
, Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Ann Davenport is a former World No. 1 American professional tennis player. She has won three Grand Slam singles tournaments and an Olympic gold medal in singles. In 2005, TENNIS Magazine ranked her as the 29th-best player of the preceding forty years...
, and Mary Pierce
Mary Pierce
Mary Pierce is a French-American tennis professional playing on the Women's Tennis Association tour. She is a citizen of France, Canada, and the United States but plays for France in team competitions and the Olympics.Pierce has won four Grand Slam titles, two in singles and two in doubles...
. Her style of play is characterized by taking the ball early and on the rise, powerful ground-strokes, and an aggressive mindset on the return of service.
Capriati's game was built around her groundstrokes and movement. Her flat forehand, devastating when hit hard, was considered her biggest weapon, especially when she was stretched out wide. She also possessed a solid backhand. She was quick around the court, able to play defense as well as offense. Her biggest weakness was considered to be her serve. Her first serve was powerful, but offset by a wandering ball-toss, and her second serve was considered to be the most attackable part of her game. However, Capriati was known to counter her inconsistent serve with her exceptional return of serve.
1990
Capriati made her professional debut as a 13 year old, reaching the finals of two of her first three pro events, losing to Gabriela SabatiniGabriela Sabatini
Gabriela Beatriz Sabatini is a former professional Argentine tennis player. She was one of the leading players on the women's circuit in the late-1980s and early-1990s...
and Martina Navratilova at Boca Raton and Hilton Head, respectively, earning her first two wins over top ten players (No. 10 Helena Suková
Helena Suková
Helena Suková is a former professional tennis player from Czechia. During her career, she won 14 Grand Slam titles, 9 of them in women's doubles and 5 of them in mixed doubles...
and No. 5. Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
Aránzazu 'Arantxa' Isabel Maria Sánchez Vicario is a Spanish former professional tennis player...
). She entered the rankings in April, at No. 23. Capriati made her Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
debut at the French Open. She went all the way to the semifinals, losing to eventual champion Monica Seles
Monica Seles
Monica Seles is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player and a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. She was born in Novi Sad, Serbia, former Yugoslavia to Hungarian parents. She became a naturalized United States citizen in 1994 and also received Hungarian citizenship in June 2007...
. She then reached the fourth round at Wimbledon, losing to Steffi Graf
Steffi Graf
Steffi Graf is a former World No. 1 German tennis player.In total, Graf won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, second among male and female players only to Margaret Court's 24...
. Later in the year Capriati won her first career title in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, defeating Zina Garrison
Zina Garrison
Zina Lynna Garrison is a former professional tennis player from the United States. During her career, she was a women's singles runner-up at Wimbledon in 1990, a three-time Grand Slam mixed doubles champion, and a women's doubles gold medalist at the 1988 Olympic Games.-Career:An African-American...
. After this victory Capriati entered the world's top 10. She qualified for the WTA Championships, narrowly losing to Graf in the first round in three sets. She finished her first season as a professional at World No 8.
Throughout the season Capriati set multiple "youngest ever" records. She was the youngest player to reach a tour final, the youngest player to reach the semifinals at the French Open, the youngest seed ever at Wimbledon, and the youngest player to qualify for the season-ending championships. She was also the fourth-youngest player to win a WTA title.
1991
In her second season as a touring pro, Capriati established herself as a consistent top-ten player. She won two singles titles during the summer hard court circuit, defeating World No. 1 Monica SelesMonica Seles
Monica Seles is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player and a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. She was born in Novi Sad, Serbia, former Yugoslavia to Hungarian parents. She became a naturalized United States citizen in 1994 and also received Hungarian citizenship in June 2007...
in a third set tie-breaker in finals of San Diego, and Katerina Maleeva
Katerina Maleeva
Katerina Maleeva is a Bulgarian tennis player. She played in the WTA tour, competing in singles, doubles and mixed doubles between 1984 and 1997. Her best position in the WTA rank list was number 6 in 1990.-Biography:...
in straight sets in the final of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. She also reached two Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
semifinals, at Wimbledon and the US Open. At Wimbledon, Capriati defeated 9-time champion Martina Navratilova in the quarterfinals, her earliest exit in 14 years, before losing to Sabatini. At the US Open, Capriati defeated Sabatini in the quarters but lost in the semis to eventual champion Seles after serving for the match twice. Capriati qualified for the year-end championships for the second time, reaching the quarterfinals. She ended the year at No. 6, which would be a career high until 2001.
Capriati also won the only doubles title of her career at the Italian Open, partnering Seles.
1992
Capriati's 1992 season was highlighted by her victory at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, defeating the second-seeded Sánchez Vicario in the semifinals and coming from a set down to defeat the top-seeded Graf in the match for the gold medal. Capriati next defended her title in San Diego, defeating Conchita MartínezConchita Martínez
Inmaculada Concepción Martínez Bernat is a former professional tennis player from Monzón, Aragón, Spain. She is the only Spanish woman to have won the singles title at Wimbledon, when she beat Martina Navrátilová in the 1994 Women's Singles. She also was the singles runner-up at the 1998...
in the finals, in the only time that Capriati won back-to-back singles titles during her career. She reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open (in her debut), at the French Open, and at Wimbledon, and then she lost in the third round at the U.S. Open tournament. In Miami, Capriati ended Seles's streak of 21 consecutive finals by defeating her in the quarterfinals. Capriati finished the year ranked in the top 10 for the third straight year, at number seven.
1993
At her first tournament of the year in Sydney, Capriati defeated third-ranked Sabatini in the semifinals before defeating Anke HuberAnke Huber
Anke Huber is a German retired professional tennis player. She was the runner-up in women's singles at the 1996 Australian Open. Her career-high singles ranking was fourth, also in 1996.-Early life:...
in the final. For the second straight year she reached the quarterfinals at the first three majors of the year. She reached the final of the Rogers Cup in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, losing to Graf. At the US Open, the seventh-seeded Capriati lost her opening match to unheralded Leila Meskhi
Leila Meskhi
Leila Meskhi is a retired Georgian professional female tennis player. She was ranked World No. 12 on 5 August 1991.She was born in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union.-Singles :-Singles finalist :...
, her first loss in the first round of any pro tournament. Following this loss, Capriati decided to take a break from tennis. She finished the year at number 9.
1994–95
Capriati only played one match in 1994, losing in the first round of Philadelphia to Anke Huber. She fell off the rankings in June. She did not play at all in 1995.1996
Capriati, unranked, played her first match in 15 months at EssenEssen
- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...
, where she reached the quarterfinals, losing to Jana Novotná
Jana Novotná
Jana Novotná is a former professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. She played a serve and volley game, an increasingly rare style of play among women during her career. She won the women's singles title at Wimbledon in 1998 and was runner-up in three previous Grand Slam tournaments...
in three sets. She reached her first final in more than three years at Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, defeating Monica Seles (who shared the number-one rating) en route, before losing again to Novotná in three sets. Capriati also reached the quarters in the fall at the Zurich Open
Zurich Open
The Zurich Open was a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, formerly held every winter in Zurich, Switzerland. It was classified on the WTA Tour as a Tier I tournament from 1993 until 2007. In its final year, 2008, it was downgraded to a Tier II event.The Open was held at...
, defeating Sabatini in the opening round in what would be the last singles match of Sabatini's career. Capriati competed in her first Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
tournaments since 1993 at the French Open and the U.S. Open, losing in the first round of both. Capriati re-appeared on the rankings in April at No. 103, and finished the year inside the top 25, at No. 24.
1997–98
In January 1997, Capriati reached the final at Sydney, for the second time in her career, defeating World No. 9 Lindsay DavenportLindsay Davenport
Lindsay Ann Davenport is a former World No. 1 American professional tennis player. She has won three Grand Slam singles tournaments and an Olympic gold medal in singles. In 2005, TENNIS Magazine ranked her as the 29th-best player of the preceding forty years...
en route for her only top 10 win of the year, losing to Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis is a retired Swiss professional tennis player who spent a total of 209 weeks as World No. 1. She won five Grand Slam singles titles...
in the final. She only reached the quarterfinals at one other tournament, Oklahoma City
Oklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
, where she lost to Lindsey Davenport. Capriati finished the year at number 66, having played in just three tournaments.
Capriati did not play the first half of 1998. By the spring, she was ranked below the top 200. She accepted a wildcard acceptance into the clay-court tournament at Hamburg, Germany, where she reached the quarterfinals, but then lost to Martina Hingis (who was ranked number one in the world at that time). Capriati was also a quarterfinalist at Palermo, Italy. In the first round at Wimbledon, Capriati won her first Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
singles match in five years, before losing to Lori McNeil
Lori McNeil
Lori McNeil is an African American tennis coach and former professional tennis player from the United States. McNeil was a childhood friend of fellow African American pro Zina Garrison...
in the second round. Capriati finished 1998 ranked at number 101.
1999
1999 was Capriati's best season in several years. She won her first title in six years at Strasbourg, defeating ninth ranked Nathalie TauziatNathalie Tauziat
Nathalie Tauziat is a former professional tennis player from France. She was the runner-up in women's singles at the 1998 Wimbledon Championships. Her career-high singles ranking was third in 2000....
in a quarterfinal for her first win over a top 10 player in two years. She defeated Russian Elena Likhovtseva
Elena Likhovtseva
Elena Alexandrovna Likhovtseva is a Russian tennis player, currently inactive. She turned professional in January 1992 at the age of 16.Likhovtseva's career best appearance in a Grand Slam was when she reached the semi finals of the French Open 2005 before she was defeated by Mary Pierce, 6–1 6–1...
in the final. She won her second title of the year at Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
, defeating American Chanda Rubin
Chanda Rubin
Chanda Rubin is an American tennis player. Winning seven WTA Tour singles titles, she reached her highest ranking World No. 6 on April 8, 1996, after reaching semifinals at the 1996 Australian Open. Rubin is also former World No...
in the final. She also reached the round of 16 at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon. She finished the year at No. 23.
2000
At the 2000 Australian Open2000 Australian Open
The 2000 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts from 17 through to 30 January.-Singles players:Men's SinglesWomen's Singles-Former champions:...
, Capriati reached her first Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
semifinal in nine years before losing to eventual champion Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Ann Davenport is a former World No. 1 American professional tennis player. She has won three Grand Slam singles tournaments and an Olympic gold medal in singles. In 2005, TENNIS Magazine ranked her as the 29th-best player of the preceding forty years...
in straight sets.
At the Miami Masters
Miami Masters
The Miami Masters is an annual tennis tournament for men and women held in Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida. It is an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the men's tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the women's tour and is played on hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park...
, Capriati defeated World No. 6 Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
for her first win over a player ranked in the top 6 in four years en route to a quarterfinal finish. Shortly after, Capriati was sidelined with right Achilles tendonitis
Achilles tendonitis
Achilles tendonitis is tendonitis of the Achilles tendon, generally caused by overuse of the affected limb and is more common among athletes training in under less than ideal conditions...
in April and an elbow injury in June.
Capriati had a strong fall season, winning her ninth career title at Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
, defeating Magdalena Maleeva
Magdalena Maleeva
Magdalena Maleeva is a Bulgarian former tennis player. She played on the WTA tour competing in singles and doubles, from April 1989 to June 2007. Her best position in the WTA Tour was no. 4 between January 29 to February 4, 1996....
. She also finished runner up in Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
to Chanda Rubin
Chanda Rubin
Chanda Rubin is an American tennis player. Winning seven WTA Tour singles titles, she reached her highest ranking World No. 6 on April 8, 1996, after reaching semifinals at the 1996 Australian Open. Rubin is also former World No...
and was a semifinalist in Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
. These results propelled Capriati back into the top 20 for the first time since April 1994. She qualified for the season-ending championships for the first time in seven years. Her year-end ranking was 14, her highest in seven years. Capriati was also a member of the US Fed Cup
Fed Cup
Fed Cup is the premier team competition in women's tennis, launched in 1963 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the International Tennis Federation...
Team, winning a singles and doubles rubber in the US's victory over Spain in the final.
2001
Capriati was seeded 12th at the 2001 Australian Open2001 Australian Open
The 2001 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts from 15 to 28 January.-Men's Singles: Andre Agassi def. Arnaud Clément, 6–4, 6–2, 6–2...
. She reached the semis for the second consecutive year where dispatched World No. 2 Davenport 6–2, 6–2. In her first Grand Slam final, she dispatched top seed and World No. 1 Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis is a retired Swiss professional tennis player who spent a total of 209 weeks as World No. 1. She won five Grand Slam singles titles...
in straight sets to win her first Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
singles title. She was the lowest seed to ever win the title, a record that still stands today. She was the first player since Tracy Austin
Tracy Austin
Tracy Ann Austin Holt is a former World No. 1 female professional tennis player from the United States who won the women's singles title at the US Open in 1979 and 1981 and the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon in 1980, before a series of injuries cut her career short.-To 1980:Austin defeated...
in 1979 to defeat the top two ranked players in straight sets at a major. As a result of this triumph, Capriati re-entered the top 10 in the rankings at No. 7, the longest absence (nearly eight years) from the top 10 in WTA history.
Capriati then reached the finals of the Cellular Cup in Oklahoma City
Oklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
, losing in the final to Seles. After electing not to participate at the 2001 Indian Wells Masters
2001 Indian Wells Masters
The 2001 Indian Wells Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 25th edition of the Indian Wells Masters and was part of the Tennis Masters Series of the 2001 ATP Tour and of Tier I of the 2001 WTA Tour...
, Capriati reached the final in Miami, losing to Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
(ranked number three in the world) after having failed to convert on eight championship points.
Capriati then embarked on a remarkably successful clay court campaign. She won her second title of the year at the Family Circle Cup
Family Circle Cup
The Family Circle Cup is a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, held every year since 1973. The tournament is currently played on the green clay courts at the Daniel Island Tennis Center in Charleston, South Carolina, USA...
in Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, defeating Hingis in three sets in the final. She then lost in the final of Berlin to Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Simone Mauresmo ; is a French former professional tennis player, and a former World No. 1. Mauresmo won two Grand Slam singles titles at the Australian Open and at Wimbledon....
, also in three sets. Seeded fourth at the 2001 French Open
2001 French Open
The 2001 French Open was the second Grand Slam event of 2001 and the 100th edition of the French Open. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from late May through early June, 2001.-Men's Singles:...
, Capriati defeated top seed Hingis in the semis and the 12th seeded Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
in the final to win her second consecutive Grand Slam title. Her 1–6, 6–4, 12–10 win over Clijsters had the longest-ever third set in a women's final in the French Open. Capriati was two points away from being defeated four times. She was only the fifth woman in history to win the Australian Open and the French Open consecutively.
At Wimbledon, Capriati rallied from 7–6, 5–3, 30–0 down in the quarters to defeat Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
6–7(4), 7–5, 6–3. Capriat's 19-match Grand Slam win streak ended in the semis at the hands of eighth seeded Justine Henin. Capriati rebounded at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, Ontario, making it to the final before losing to Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
6–1, 6–7(7), 6–3 after saving match point in the second set. Capriati then lost in the semifinals of the U.S. Open to Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
. Despite the loss, Capriati accumulated the best Grand Slam record of 2001, and she was the only player to reach at least the semifinals of all four of the Grand Slam tournaments.
Despite playing very little in the fall, Capriati became ranked Number One on October 15. She lost her opening match at the WTA Tour Championships
WTA Tour Championships
The WTA Tour Championships is a tennis tournament played annually at the end of the season for the top-ranked players on the Women's Tennis Association tour. The month, city and number of players has changed since the first edition in 1972...
to Maleeva. Capriati would have finished the year ranked number one had she reached the semifinals. Instead, she finished number two (her career high), behind Lindsay Davenport, with a 56 – 14 record.
2002
As a result of Lindsay DavenportLindsay Davenport
Lindsay Ann Davenport is a former World No. 1 American professional tennis player. She has won three Grand Slam singles tournaments and an Olympic gold medal in singles. In 2005, TENNIS Magazine ranked her as the 29th-best player of the preceding forty years...
's (ranked number one in the world at the time) withdrawal from the Australian Open due to an injury, Capriati was the top seed. She defeated the sixth-seeded Amélie Mauresmo and the fourth-seeded Kim Clijsters en route to her second consecutive final there, where she once again faced Martina Hingis. The match was played in very hot conditions, with the temperature exceeding 35 degrees Celsius. Capriati fought back from 6–4, 4–0 down and saved four championship points to eventually prevail 4–6, 7–6(7), 6–2. This was Capriati's third (and final) Grand Slam title. Her dramatic victory is widely regarded as one of the great comebacks in tennis history. Tennis Magazine
TENNIS Magazine
Tennis Magazine is an American sports magazine owned by the Miller Publishing Group, LLC. It is a monthly magazine which covers news from the world of tennis.-History:...
selected this match as one of the ten best of the decade of 2000 – 09. Capriati reclaimed the number one ranking as a result of her successfully defending her Australian championship.
In the spring, Capriati reached finals in Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2010 the population of the city was 217,385...
, and Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, losing to Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
on both occasions. Capriati prepared for her French Open title defense by participating in events in Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, Berlin, and Rome, Italy, losing in the semifinals of all three. As the top seed at the French Open, Capriati reached the semifinals—before losing to the eventual champion Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
in three sets. Capriati surrendered her number one ranking to Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
as a result of this loss. Capriati's streak of six consecutive Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
semifinals was broken at Wimbledon, where she lost to Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Simone Mauresmo ; is a French former professional tennis player, and a former World No. 1. Mauresmo won two Grand Slam singles titles at the Australian Open and at Wimbledon....
in three sets in the quarterfinals. She also lost to Mauresmo in the finals of the Canadian Open, and in the quarterfinals of the U.S. after having served for the match.
Capriati won only one match in the three European indoor events she played. She rebounded at the year-ending championships, reaching the semifinals for the first time, losing to Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
(ranked number one in the world). Capriati finished the year ranked number three.
2003
A week after the 2002 WTA Championships, Capriati had eye surgery in order to remove pterygiums (sun spots) from both eyes. Recovery from the surgery hampered Capriati's off-season preparation.In the opening round of the 2003 Australian Open
2003 Australian Open
The 2003 Australian Open was a tennis tournament held in 2003. It was the first Grand Slam event of the 2003 ATP Tour and the 2003 WTA Tour. It was the 91st edition of the event.-Men's Singles: Andre Agassi def...
Capriati lost to unseeded and unheralded Marlene Weingärtner
Marlene Weingärtner
Marlene Weingärtner is a former German professional tennis player. Weingärtner retired in late 2005 after suffering several first round losses due to ongoing physical problems....
. Capriati was the first Australian Open title-holder to lose in the first round. Capriati said in her press conference that had she not been the defending champion she would not have played the event. She withdrew from the Pan Pacific Open to further recover from her surgery.
Capriati rebounded by reaching at least semifinals of the next five tournaments she played. She lost to Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Ann Davenport is a former World No. 1 American professional tennis player. She has won three Grand Slam singles tournaments and an Olympic gold medal in singles. In 2005, TENNIS Magazine ranked her as the 29th-best player of the preceding forty years...
in the semifinals of Indian Wells. She then reached the final of the Sony Ericsson Open for the third consecutive year before losing to World No. 1 Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
. Capriati lost in the round of 16 of the French Open to unseeded Nadia Petrova
Nadia Petrova
Nadezhda Viktorovna Petrova is a Russian professional tennis player.Overall, she has won 28 WTA Titles, ten in singles and eighteen in doubles. In singles, Petrova has reached a career high ranking of World No. 3 in May 2006 and has reached the semi-finals of the French Open in 2003 and 2005...
. She reached the quarters of Wimbledon for the sixth time, losing to Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
in three sets, her eighth consecutive loss to her compatriot.
Capriati then reached her second final of 2003 in Stanford, losing to Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
in three sets. A pectoral strain forced Capriati to retire from her opening match in San Diego and pull out of Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. Capriati won her first title of 2003 in New Haven after Davenport retired in the final trailing 6–2, 4–0. This ended a 28-tournament title drought for Capriati, and was her first tour victory since she won the 2002 Australian Open
2002 Australian Open
List of the 2002 Australian Open champions:-Men's Singles: Thomas Johansson def. Marat Safin, 3–6, 6–4, 6–4, 7–6...
. Capriati was the title favorite at the US Open after both Williams sisters pulled out with injuries. Seeded 6th, Capriati reached the semifinal, where she faced second seeded Justine Henin. Capriati served for the match twice and was two points away from victory eleven times, but Henin prevailed 4–6, 7–5, 7–6(4), in a three hour marathon. This match was regarded by Hall-of-Famer John McEnroe
John McEnroe
John Patrick McEnroe, Jr. is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from the United States. During his career, he won seven Grand Slam singles titles , nine Grand Slam men's doubles titles, and one Grand Slam mixed doubles title...
as the greatest women's match ever played at the US Open.
Capriati did not play again until the WTA Tour Championships
WTA Tour Championships
The WTA Tour Championships is a tennis tournament played annually at the end of the season for the top-ranked players on the Women's Tennis Association tour. The month, city and number of players has changed since the first edition in 1972...
where she lost in the semifinal to World No. 1 Clijsters after suffering a hip strain midway through the second set. Capriati finished the year at No. 6.
2004
Injuries plagued Capriati's 2004 season. A back injury suffered during the 2003 WTA Tour Championships2003 WTA Tour Championships
The results of the 2003 WTA Tour Championships held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, United States. For the first time a round robin system was introduced, after the men's Tennis Masters Cup. Two groups of four players were formed and each contender had to play three matches...
forced Capriati to withdraw from the 2004 Australian Open
2004 Australian Open
The 2004 Australian Open was a Grand Slam tournament held in Melbourne, Australia 19 January to 1 February, 2004.-Men's Singles: Roger Federer def. Marat Safin, 7–6, 6–4, 6–2...
and the Toray Pan Pacific Open
Toray Pan Pacific Open
The is a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, held every year since 1984 on in Tokyo, Japan. It is classified on the WTA Tour as a Tier I tournament since 1993. The event has traditionally been played on indoor carpet at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, but the 2008 event...
in Tokyo. Capriati advanced beyond the quarterfinals just once in her first four events of the year in Doha
Doha
Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
, losing to Anastasia Myskina
Anastasia Myskina
Anastasiya Andreyevna Myskina is a professional tennis player from Russia. She won the 2004 French Open singles title, becoming the first Russian female tennis player to win a Grand Slam main draw singles title. Subsequent to this victory she rose to number 3 on the WTA ranking, becoming the first...
in the semifinals. Her back continued to be an issue, forcing her out of Indian Wells and Miami. Her ranking dropped to number 10 as a result of her injuries.
Capriati produced her best results of the year during the European clay-court season. She reached the semis of Berlin, defeating World No. 5 Myskina in the quarters for her first top 5 win of the season, before losing to Mauresmo in the semifinals. At the Italian Open, Capriati defeated top seed Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
in the quarterfinals, her first win over the American since Wimbledon 2001. Capriati moved on to the final, where she lost to Mauresmo in a 3 hour struggle. Seeded 7th at the French Open, Capriati went on to the semifinals, before losing to sixth seeded and eventual champion Myskina in the semifinals.
At Wimbledon, Capriati reached the quarters for the fourth straight year, where she lost to Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
6–1, 6–1, in 45 minutes, the most lopsided result of their 17-match rivalry. A hamstring injury forced her to withdraw from Los Angeles and San Diego, but she reached the quarterfinals of both Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
and New Haven. Seeded 8th at the US Open, Capriati defeated Williams in a controversial quarterfinal match to reach her fourth US Open semifinal that included a disputed line call that some say ultimately was responsible for having hawk-eye systems instituted at Grand Slam events. The referee from that match has been replaced in the tournament. Capriati then lost to fifth seed Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva
Elena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva is a retired Russian professional tennis player. Dementieva is most notable for winning the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She won 16 WTA singles titles and reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open. Dementieva achieved a...
in the semifinals.
Following the US Open, Capriati lost in the quarterfinals of Philadelphia to No. 11 Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
6–1, 6–0, her worst loss since 1999 (where she won only one game against Graf in Miami). Capriati failed to qualify for the season-ending championships for the first time since 1999. She finished the year World No. 10.
Injuries
Ongoing problems with her shoulder and wrist have prevented Capriati from competing on the WTA Tour. She has had several surgeries on her wrist and shoulder, most recently in 2007. Capriati has not officially retired, but has not played on the tour since 2004.Accolades
In 2002, she received an ESPYESPY Awards
An ESPY Award is an accolade presented by the American cable television network ESPN to recognize individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-related performance during the calendar year preceding a given annual ceremony. The first ESPYs were awarded in 1993...
for Comeback Player of the Year. That year's nominees included Mario Lemieux
Mario Lemieux
Mario Lemieux, OC, CQ is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He is acknowledged to be one of the best players of all time. He played 17 seasons as a forward for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League between 1984 and 2006...
and Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...
. She was also the 2002 Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year
Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year
List of winners and nominees of the Laureus World Sports Awards: Sportswoman of the Year-List of winners and nominees:-Statistics:Nominations*By sport:...
, in recognition of her success at Roland Garros in 2001 and the successful defence of her Australian Open title in 2002. In 2005, TENNIS Magazine put her in 36th place in its list of 40 Greatest Players of the TENNIS era
TENNIS Magazine
Tennis Magazine is an American sports magazine owned by the Miller Publishing Group, LLC. It is a monthly magazine which covers news from the world of tennis.-History:...
.
Post-tennis endeavors
In April 2009, it was announced that Capriati would appear on the ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television reality series "The Superstars". The show, described as a revival of the 1970s series of the same name
Superstars
Superstars is an all-around sports competition that pits elite athletes from different sports against one another in a series of athletic events resembling a decathlon....
, premiered on June 23, 2009, in a co-ed format, with Capriati paired with singer and actor David Charvet
David Charvet
David Charvet is a French singer and actor.-Personal life:Charvet was born in Lyon, France. His father is the Tunisian Jewish businessman Paul Guez. David Charvet's mother, Christiane Charvet, is French. He and his siblings speak French as their first language. He won a green card through the...
, best known for his role as a lifeguard on the television show Baywatch
Baywatch
Baywatch is an American action drama series about the Los Angeles County Lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, starring David Hasselhoff. The show ran in its original title and format from 1989 to 1999, sans the 1990-1991 season, of which it was not in production...
. In the first episode of the show, they were one of the lower-performing teams and were sent into a run-off in an obstacle course
Obstacle course
An obstacle course is a series of challenging physical obstacles an individual or team must navigate usually while being timed. Obstacle courses can include running, climbing, jumping, crawling, swimming, and balancing elements with the aim of testing speed and endurance. Sometimes a course...
race against basketball player Lisa Leslie
Lisa Leslie
Lisa Deshaun Leslie-Lockwood is a former American professional women's basketball player in the WNBA. She is a three-time WNBA MVP and a four-time Olympic gold medal winner...
and actor Dan Cortese
Dan Cortese
Daniel James "Dan" Cortese ; born September 14, 1967) is an American actor, director and spokesperson. He is known for his roles as Perry Rollins on Veronica's Closet and as Vic Meladeo on What I Like About You.-Early life:...
. Capriati/Charvet won their race and avoided elimination. At the start of the next episode, however, which aired on June 30, 2009, it was suddenly announced that Capriati had re-aggravated a previous injury during the first episode's events, and that as a result she and her partner were eliminated from the competition.
Other works
Capriati appeared in an Oil of Olay commercial in the early 1990s. She also appeared in an American ExpressAmerican Express
American Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...
commercial during the US Open.
Awards
1988- U.S. Hard Court 18-and-under singles
- U.S. Clay Court 18-and-under singles
1989
- World Tennis Junior Player of the Year
- Tennis Magazine Junior Player of the Year
- US Olympic Committee Athlete of the Year
- French Open junior singles title
- U.S. Open junior singles title
- Wimbledon junior doubles title
- U.S. Open junior doubles title
- Astrid Bowl junior singles title
- Easter Bowl 16-and-under singles title
- U.S. Wightman Cup Team
1990
- WTA Most Improved Player of the Year
- Tennis Magazine/Rolex Rookie of the Year
1991
- Tennis Magazine Most Improved Female Player
1992
- Olympic Games Singles Gold Medal
1996
- WTA Comeback Player of the Year
- Tennis Magazine Comeback Player of the Year
- Eurosport Spirit of Cooperation Award
2001
- WTA Player of the Year
- ITF Women's Singles World Champion
- Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year
- Reuters Sportswoman of the Year
- SI.com Sportswoman of the Year
- Laureus World Comeback of the Year
- U.S. Olympic Committee Sports Woman of the Year
- WTA Player of the Month
2002
- Laureus Female Athlete of the Year
- ESPY Award Best Comeback Athlete
- ITWA Player of the Month
2003
- Tour's 30th Anniversary attended on-court ceremony at 2003 season-ending Championships that honored 13 world No.1 champions and founding members of the Tour