Former American tennis star Jennifer Capriati had an early start to her career. At a very young age, the American had to go through the intense pressure of professional tennis. An immensely talented tennis star had to go through various challenges in her life. Back in 1994, she voluntarily went to drug and alcohol rehab after her arrest charge of marijuana possession.
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Later in the year 2010, Capriati had an accidental overdose of prescribed drugs. While she was recovering from it, the tennis community stood strong in her support. Tennis legends Chris Evert and Billie Jean King extended their support to Capriati. Former American tennis star Andrea Jaeger also spoke about the challenges of entering young in the tennis arena.
Andrea Jaeger spoke about early challenges as a tennis player
Former World No 2 Andrea Jaeger was a highly talented tennis player from America who had a similar fortune to Capriati. While she had a tremendous amount of talent, injuries hampered her career. After seven shoulder surgeries, she retired after only five years of her professional debut.
Speaking about the situation Capriati must have faced, she recalled her own struggles. “When I think of what I went through as a minor, oh God, it was hell sometimes. It was hell. Success insulates you from what’s normal. You don’t learn skills to cope with ordinary situations, so you’re always trying to navigate to a place of what? You didn’t have those tools or develop your own voice, to begin with,” she said. Jaeger has dedicated her life to social service now and has also turned into a nun.
Achievements of Jennifer Capriati
Jennifer Capriati was very young when she started her professional tennis career. At an age of 13 years, she made her debut. In her first attempt at the French Open, she made it to the semifinals. Later that year, she became the youngest tennis player to make it to the Top 10 of the WTA rankings.
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Her next few years were troublesome, and she didn’t do anything significant in tennis. However, she started regaining her momentum in the year 1998. She won her first match after five years in Wimbledon. Further, she kept getting better and clinched the Australian Open in 2001. After her first Grand Slam title, the American clinched the French Open in the same year. Further, she also claimed the top spot on WTA rankings.
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It all looked well for Capriati as she successfully defended her Australian Open title next year. However, her career came to a premature end after a flurry of unfortunate injuries.