Jennifer Capriati, an American tennis champion, was born March 29, 1976. Her father, Stephano Capriati, introduced his daughter to tennis when she was barely able to walk. He coached her right up through her growing years and when she was ten, it became obvious that he had a prodigy on his hands. The family moved to Florida so ten year old Jennifer could begin studying under Jimmy Evert, father of Chris Evert. At the age of thirteen, Capriati became the youngest person to win the French Open junior singles title in 1989. This record stood until 1993, when twelve year old Martina Hingis won. Capriati went on to win more titles, junior singles and junior doubles with Meredith McGrath in the U.S. Open and Wimbledon, both. She went pro the following year, just before turning fourteen. A year later, she became Wimbledon’s youngest semi-finalist. Her tennis career was going great, but Capriati felt pressured and in 1993, she decided to take a breather from the sport. She quickly fell into difficulties, getting arrested for both shoplifting and possession of marijuana. A failed attempt to return to the tennis circuit in 1994 made her famous for all the wrong reasons. In 1999, she made a comeback and has been moderately successful to date, though nothing like her early years.
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