June 26, 1990: Jennifer Capriati beats Helen Kelesi 6-3, 6-1 in the first round to become the youngest winner of a match in Wimbledon history. The 14-year-old Capriati would make it to the fourth round before falling to Steffi Graf. But that wasn’t her breakout moment. Capriati had made it all the way to the semifinals of the French Open earlier that month, where she lost to eventual champion Monica Seles. The meteoric rise was tough for a teenager to navigate, as Capriati would eventually discover.
Capriati was the answer to a laundry list of “youngest-ever” trivia questions. She was the youngest to reach the final of a WTA event—that was at Boca Raton when she was still 13. And her competition was elite, as Capriati fell to Gabriella Sabatini in the title match. Then she made it to the final at Hilton Head, where she lost to Martina Navratilova. After her French Open and Wimbledon benchmarks, Capriati became the youngest player to get into the top 10 in October of 1990, and she ended up as WTA Newcomer of the Year.
Capriati made noise at the majors in 1991 but didn’t win one, making the semifinals of Wimbledon and the U.S. Open while consistently sticking in the top 10. In 1992, she also became the youngest female ever to top $1 million in career earnings and captured a gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Capriati was solid in 1993 as well, finishing the season ranked No. 9. Then came well-chronicled off-court troubles, including shoplifting and marijuana possession charges. Capriati spent most of 1994 and 1995 away from the pro tour.
Still short of her 20th birthday, Capriati returned to pro tennis in 1996, but it took her a long time to regain her rhythm. She didn’t win another tournament until early 1999, but momentum then built with Round of 16 results at the French and U.S. Opens. Capriati went on to win three career Grand Slam tournaments: the Australian Open in 2001 and 2002 and the French Open in 2001. But injuries to her back, hamstring and shoulder in 2004—and the mental toll they took on her—had Capriati out of the game at age 28.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
