Yet two touted 14-year-olds are making their professional debuts this month, dismissing concerns that they may succumb to the combined pressures of adolescence and the women's tour that drove Capriati away from tennis and left her feeling suicidal.
"Sure, I'm ready," said a smiling Martina Hingis of Switzerland, who is hailed as one of the game's brightest young stars. The junior Wimbledon and French Open titlist said she had played adults since she was 12 and was not fazed.
Late Tuesday, she was scheduled to take on 41st-ranked Patti Fendick of the United States in the European Indoors tournament in Zurich.
While Hingis has recent experience in competitive tennis, Venus Williams of Florida has not played in any tournaments since she was 11. The reason: Her father has held her back.
"To be very honest, I don't think my kid is ready to play professional tennis at 14," Richard Williams said. "But Venus decided she would like to play and we gave our permission."
Venus Williams is scheduled to compete in the Bank of the West Classic in Oakland, California, an indoor tournament beginning Oct. 31. "I'm not going to be upset if I lose," she said. "I just want to make sure I play how I've practiced."
Neither player has given over her entire life to tennis. Williams has maintained an A average in home studies, and Hingis said she remains focused on school and practices tennis only two hours a day.
But the shadow of Capriati hangs over both teenagers. Since taking leave from the tour last year, the one-time sixth-ranked player in the world -- who turned professional just before her 14th birthday in 1990 -- has been arrested on drug misdemeanor charges, accused of shoplifting and had two stays at rehabilitation facilities. She told The New York Times last month that she had contemplated suicide.
Now, Capriati's scheduled comeback is on ice, too. She withdrew from the Zurich tournament citing a groin injury, and her manager said Saturday she is still several weeks away from being fit.
Women's tour rules now limit the number of tournaments teen can play.
(AP, Reuters)
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