Jennifer Capriati slams former rival Lindsay Davenport for ‘slandering’ her father’s memory
Jennifer Capriati has hit out at her former rival Lindsay Davenport by accusing her of “slandering” and “assassinating” the character of her late father.
The American criticised Davenport for comparing Stefano Capriati with the fathers of fellow retired tennis stars Mary Pierce and Jelena Dokic and described this as “outrageously false and defamatory.”
Capriati won three Grand Slam singles titles and achieved the WTA world No 1 ranking during a professional career that spanned from 1990 to 2004.
She was coached by her father, Stefano, from her youth and remarkably climbed to the top 10 of the WTA Rankings at the age of just 14 in her first year on tour. Stefano Capriati died in April 2015 at the age of 80 after suffering from cancer.
Capriati faced fellow three-time major champion and former world No 1 Davenport 12 times between 1997 and 2003 and held a 3-9 record.
In a post shared on her X account, Capriati expressed her disbelief at comments apparently made by Davenport about her father during a Tennis Channel broadcast.
READ MORE: Former world No 4 opens up on cruel weight gain trolls, dealing with anxiety and her abusive father
@LDavenport76 @TennisChannel
I can’t believe what I just heard being said about my father. I can’t let my father’s memory be slandered any longer. My father was the most loving, kind, supportive, beautiful father a daughter could ask for. He was adored and loved by everyone.— Jennifer Capriati (@JenCapriati) March 7, 2024
“I can’t believe what I just heard being said about my father. I can’t let my father’s memory be slandered any longer,” the 47-year-old wrote.
“My father was the most loving, kind, supportive, beautiful father a daughter could ask for. He was adored and loved by everyone.
“Those fathers my father was lumped in with physically, verbally and emotionally beat their daughters. My father was a teddy bear with a heart of gold. You can’t say things like that to the public.”
The 14-time WTA titlist then claimed this was not the first time Davenport has grouped her father with other tennis fathers who have been accused of abusing their daughters.
“I grieve my father’s passing to this day, and to hear his memory and character be assassinated and compared to [Mary] Pierce’s, [Jelena] Dokic’s father is outrageously false, and defamatory. @LDavenport76 I’ve heard this several times now, and it’s shockingly hurtful and false,” Capriati added.
Mary Pierce and Jelena Dokic are two high-profile former WTA players who have spoken out against abuse they received from their fathers.
