Facts:
 

Name:	Jennifer Marie Capriati
Date of birth:	March 29, 1976
Place of birth:	Long Island, New York (U.S.A.)
Father:	Stefano
Mother:	Denise
Brother:	Steven
Weight:	61 kg
Length:	1.74 m
Currently lives:	Wesley Chapel. Florida
Plays:	righthanded, with a two-handed backhand
Current singles ranking:	14
Highest singles ranking:	6
Professional debut:	March 6, 1990 in the Virginia Slims of Florida in Boca Raton
Tournament victories:	8
Coach:	Harold Solomon
Racquet endorsement:	Prince
Clothing:	FILA
Hobbies:	reading, writing, watching movies (fav. are Rounders and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest), swing dancing

 
 
 

The story

Jennifer Marie Capriati was born on March 29, 1976, on Long Island, New York. She weighed 11 pounds at birth. Her (Italian) dad Stefano worked in Spain as a real estate marketer and her mother Denise was a flight attendant. The parents went to Long Island for Jennifers birth and after she was born they went back to Spain. When Jennifer was just 3 months old, she already did baby-style situps and not long after that her father taught her how to swim. Aged two, Jennifer competed against five-year-olds in local swim contests. When Jennifer was four years old, the family left Spain and settled in Lauderhill, Florida in the USA.
Stefano started giving tennis lessons at a local country club and during those lessons, Jennifer was chasing loose balls from the ball machine. Soon after that, she was swinging against the machine herself and did remarkably well.
When her father noticed Jennifer had a special gift, he contacted Jimmy Evert, father of Chris Evert, USA's number 1 female tennis player. Jimmy Evert didn't coach children under 5, but for Jennifer he made an exception. Soon Jennifer was beating all the other kids pretty badly, and moved to the men club players. And it didn't take too long before she beat these players as well. By 1986, Jennifer really dominated the junior tournament, beating players who were a lot older and far more experienced. By then she was training mainly with boys, since girls couldn't return her powerful serves. In 1987 she switched coaches and went to work with Rick Macci. In 1988, at age 12 Jennifer was the best American junior (up to 18). Then in 1989, Jennifer had won 2 junior Grand Slams and was ranked 2nd in the ITF 18 and under rankings. One year later, in 1990 Jennifer turned pro. At her very first pro event she reached the finals, only losing to Gabriela Sabatini. Well, the rest is history.
 

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