‘It Wasn’t Fair to the Team’ – When Hall of Famer Billie Jean King Lashed Out at Jennifer Capriati for Her Lack of Adherence to the Rules

During her professional career, Jennifer Capriati won three Grand Slam titles and was widely considered the next Chris Evert. However, her career had many controversial on-court and off-court issues. Back in 2002, during her participation at the Fed Cup, she was kicked off from the tournament by the non-playing captain, Billie Jean King. 

Notably, Capriati retired when she was just 28 years old because of a back injury. She played her last tournament in 2004, where she reached the US Open semi-finals for the fourth time in her career. 

Jennifer Capriati’s Federation Cup controversy

The incident took place when the American player’s teammate made a complaint to the Federation Cup captain, Billie Jean King. After the three-time major winner refused to reschedule her private practice session with her father and coach, Stefano, King had to intervene. 

Her then-teammate, Monica Seles, was not happy with this incident. She even believed that “Jennifer should have approached the rest of the team if she wanted some help, but she didn’t. It was very unfair.”

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King said that they both asserted their independence but didn’t adhere to the rules of the tournament. She added, “I stated the rules and they weren’t adhered to. It was a lot more than once and wasn’t fair to the team.” However, after kicking out Capriati from the team, the Americans fell short against Austria, and they didn’t have a good time in the tournament. Nevertheless, her father was a constant subject of controversies and was also accused of pushing her too hard sometimes.

Capriati’s father was accused of putting undue pressure on his daughter to succeed

The former world number one has faced a lot of criticism because of her father. Her father was not like any other normal father who loves sports or wants his daughter to succeed in the sporting world. Noted journalists like Ian O’Connor of USA Today accused Capriati’s father of using his daughter as “a pony-tailed ATM”.

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The former American star started playing professional tennis when she was just 13. Even her elimination in the Federation Cup in 2002 was due to her father’s stringent training regime, who was also her coach at the time.