The new Hollywood film “King Richard” about the father of Venus and Serena, has lost the respect of the Capriati family because of an insulting hypocritical reference to Jennifer in the picture.
“A friend called me and asked me if I have seen the movie King Richard? The movie about The father of Venus and Serena Williams. I said no,” wrote Denise Capriati, mom of former Grand slam champion and world no. 1 Jennifer, in a Facebook post yesterday. “My friend tells me there are many references to my family with Richard wanting to be like us. Yes, Richard did tell me that many times. At the end of the movie, Hollywood puts a picture of my daughter during a very tough time in her life, her mug shot, and King Richard is saying thank God, I didn’t do it the way the Capriati’s did, showing a mug shot of my daughter. I can elaborate much more on Richard Williams. Heartbreaking world we live in.”
Jennifer Capriati won three Grand Slam titles (2001, 2002 AO and 2002 French Open), the Olympic gold medal in 1992 in Barcelona, and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2012 at age 36.
The former world no. 1 ranked player won fourteen WTA singles titles and accomplished a WTA won/loss record of 430-176. She won one doubles title in 1991 in Rome with Monica Seles.
Jennifer Capriati · King Richard · Prince · USA Tennis
catherine · December 5, 2021 at 11:26 am
Shameful thing to do.
Scoop Malinowski · December 5, 2021 at 12:53 pm
Catherine, My respect and admiration for Richard Williams has been made abundantly clear here over the years but this obscene disrespect of the Capriati family should be immediately edited from the film. It’s blatant anti white propaganda. I will not watch a second of this rubbish film. I stand with Jennifer Capriati, one of the most inspiring comeback stories in the history of sport. Sean Hannity told me during a phone Biofile interview, he was reduced to tears watching Capriati win her first Australian Open on TV in 2001. The incredible final vs Hingis saving match points in the 120 degree sweltering heat.
catherine · December 6, 2021 at 1:58 am
‘Anti-white’? Seems to me more like a cheap effect on the part of the film makers in a clumsy attempt to make a point. Leaves interpretation up to the viewer.
Capriati was exploited from an early age. It’s possible some lessons were learned from her experience but I wouldn’t bet on that.
Scoop Malinowski · December 6, 2021 at 7:40 am
Catherine, Capriati never behaved anywhere nearly as badly as Serena has on court. And if she lost her mind that wildly on the court those two horror show times at US Open, one could only imagine some of her breakdowns in private. I hope Denise Capriati decides to fire back on her ammo on King Richard.
Hartt · December 6, 2021 at 9:21 am
The WTA site has the third installment of the very long interview with Jo Konta. As I said before, she was never one of my favourite players, but I did find the interview interesting. I wish there were more interviews like this one.
“Konta: I’d like to consider myself part of the movement for the mental side of the game. Back in 2015 and 2016 when I broke through, there was a lot of talk about that and I gave a lot of time for that. I was very vocal about that and how it impacted me. So I feel like I share in that legacy with a lot of other players.
I’m a poster child for people who ever feel too old to make it in anything.
I’m a poster child for people who have been told they’re nothing special or not that good or that their time is gone or they don’t show that much promise.
I’m a poster child for those players and those people who just base their career on resilience and on hard work. There’s talent there, but not everyone wants to see it. Because I had talent. There’s a lot of things that I did very well. But you needed to give it a chance to also see it. It’s not your normal-looking type of talent or what people look for, necessarily. So I definitely think I share in that legacy of, you’re not too old, you’re not too untalented.”
Scoop Malinowski · December 6, 2021 at 9:44 am
Hartt, Konta is really promoting herself well now, she seems to feel snubbed as a background secondary player who served as a B side to the superstars. She is selling herself and her legacy so she does not become forgotten like so many players who never win a Grand Slam. She does not have any really memorable wins that I can think of, she was involved in some big matches there for a while. She came close to being a big player in the wta. She may have a better career as a tv analyst because she has a lot of experience and is well spoken.
catherine · December 6, 2021 at 10:41 am
No, Jennifer didn’t behave badly on court – or ,if she did I never saw it. It was off court everything hit her.
Re Johanna Konta – caught some of her ‘farewell’ interview on the WTA site. Have to admit I can’t make head or tail of a lot of it. And just too much about herself. Johanna just didn’t have the talent, whatever she says.
Konta: I’d like to consider myself part of the
movement for the mental side of the game. Back in 2015 and 2016 when I
broke through, there was a lot of talk about that and I gave a lot of
time for that. I was very vocal about that and how it impacted me. So I
feel like I share in that legacy with a lot of other players.
I’m a poster child for people who ever feel too old to make it in anything.
I’m a poster child for people who have been told they’re nothing
special or not that good or that their time is gone or they don’t show
that much promise.
I’m a poster child for those players and those people who just base
their career on resilience and on hard work. There’s talent there, but
not everyone wants to see it. Because I had talent. There’s a lot of
things that I did very well. But you needed to give it a chance to also
see it. It’s not your normal-looking type of talent or what people look for, necessarily. So I definitely think I share in that legacy of, you’re not too old, you’re not too untalented.
Konta had problems with coaches during her career and reading this, I’m not surprised.
Scoop Malinowski · December 6, 2021 at 10:52 am
She may be over exaggerating her impact on the sport, if she’s a poster child for anything maybe it’s as a pro player who accomplished a good solid professional tennis career, no fireworks, no monumental wins, but a good solid career millions would have loved to have. Somehow I can’t envision Catherine or Hartt or anyone tacking up a Jennifer Konta poster on their wall. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
Scoop Malinowski · December 6, 2021 at 10:54 am
I was not a big Capriati fan during her first phase, Seles was my favorite then. But Capriati did become a favorite when she made the big comeback. When she made that first AO final vs Hingis, even though I liked Hingis more I wanted Capriati to win. And it’s one of the very few matches that formed a tear in my eye. There’s something very special about comeback stories and Capriati’s was the ultimate comeback IMO.
catherine · December 6, 2021 at 1:49 pm
Hartt – looks as if great minds think alike re Konta. I found something really off-putting about her comments, as if they were scripted and also don’t reveal very much self-knowledge. Not the kind of mind-set I’d be looking for if I were a coach.
Fisette split from her at the end of 2017, my guess is because she didn’t want to put in the work. Then of course Kerber snapped him up, won Wimbledon and parted for rather the same reasons I’d take a wild guess.
Michael Joyce did a stint but that didn’t work at all.
catherine · December 6, 2021 at 3:26 pm
Unsurprising news – Bianca Andreescu will not be playing in Australia next year and the tone of her message suggests that she will not be playing anywhere for the forseeable future. My guess is that Bianca had some kind of breakdown at the end of 2020 and has not yet recovered.
catherine · December 6, 2021 at 3:45 pm
And of course the more time off Bianca takes the harder it will be to come back. Fans will forget her, Raducanu will take her place. Everything looked so good not so long ago.
Scoop Malinowski · December 6, 2021 at 5:25 pm
She trained very very hard, got herself in super top shape but the big results didn’t happen for her. That’s really disconcerting for a pro tennis player. It happened to Steve Johnson a few years ago.
catherine · December 7, 2021 at 3:16 am
Who else will be retiring in 2022 ? Petko has announced her definite retirement.
Serena ?
Venus ?
Federer ?
Wawrinka ?
Kerber ?
Halep ?
Some players of course don’t actually ‘retire’ – like old soldiers they just fade away.
On IG Kerber is now described as a ‘sportsperson’, not a tennis player. Since I rarely look at social media I’ve no idea if this is a new thing – but maybe it’s how she wants to see herself now.
Djoko will certainly not be retiring.
Scoop Malinowski · December 7, 2021 at 8:10 am
Karlovic and Robredo are prime for hang it up time, but may not retire in 2022. Delpo is back in training. Konta quitting at 30 makes no sense, she has a few more years to be a poster child for perseverance and determination.
Hartt · December 8, 2021 at 10:52 am
I don’t know what happened to Bianca, but this last post is concerning. I agree with Catherine, the longer she stays out the harder it will be to come back. I kept thinking that she would get back on track, but it did not happen. I guess I will hope she does get back fairly soon, but am thinking of taking her off my treats-eligible list. The main reason for removing a player is because she/he does not play for an extended period. So far I have had to remove players like Murray, Federer, Raonic and Kohlschreiber. I am pretty loyal to treats-eligible players, and find it tough to remove one.
Scoop Malinowski · December 8, 2021 at 12:49 pm
I predict Bibi is done. Best shape of her life this year and no results to show for it. This is devastating to a player. Hope she proves me wrong but I just seen her being an also ran, maybe a major semi, maybe some nice titles but no more Grand Slams. Hope she proves me wrong though, she’s fun to watch at her best.
catherine · December 8, 2021 at 2:46 pm
Looking back, I had the feeling something wasn’t right after Bianca had her original miniscus injury at the Year End Finals in 2019 (I think). Then, instead of returning to Canada and getting it fixed she seemed to wander around Europe for a while before going home. After that there was just a tangle of mixed messages which simply resulted in growing questions. At some point she moved to Monte Carlo and although we saw quite a few photos of her practising and looking fairly fit, she never made it to any tournaments.
Scoop is right – Bianca was in good shape this year – she had lost weight and moved well.Unfortunately along with the weight she also seemed to have lost all those parts of her physical and psychological game which made her so hard to play a couple of years ago.
Must be distressing for her – one can only hope she develops some stability over the coming months and can discover the mental strength to return to competitive tennis.
Scoop Malinowski · December 8, 2021 at 2:59 pm
No Catherine, Bibi was in TOP TOP SHAPE. She was moving and playing incredible but the big wins eluded her. She was close very close. I don’t recall who she lost to that were the key losses but there were a couple she really needed to win and almost did win. Then she lost confidence. Tennis can be a cruel sport. Sandgren has floundered since the seven match points on Federer. Spadea never recovered after being two points from beating Chang at US Open. Mathieu never recovered from the Davis Cup final loss to Youzhny from two sets up. Zvereva never recovered from the Graf French open final double bagel. Seles never recovered from the Hingis double bagel in Miami. Bibi is still young, let’s hope she doesn’t let this disappointing 2021 crush her spirit and drive.
Hartt · December 8, 2021 at 8:57 pm
Bianca was still having injury problems this past year. She had to withdraw from the Miami final, the one tourney where she had a good result, plus at least one other tournament. I think this is a major concern, even with an excellent team she is still suffering from so many injuries.
Scoop Malinowski · December 8, 2021 at 9:39 pm
Bibi may be one of those chronic injury burdened players given the mileage on her, her body type and her kamikaze style of play. Some bodies just can’t take the rigors of pro tennis – we know the names.
Hartt · December 9, 2021 at 6:52 pm
Yes, sometimes I wonder if Bianca is just not built for the power tennis she likes to play.
Scoop Malinowski · December 9, 2021 at 7:14 pm
Hartt, she plays tennis like a running back in the NFL. And some of them, no matter how great they are, their bodies get injured and break down and they sadly decline and fade away far too early. And we only get to see just a few of their sensational performances but we savor those few… Rios, Henin, Seles, Kuerten, Dokic, Jaeger…
catherine · December 10, 2021 at 4:41 am
I don’t want to sound hard on Bianca, I know she’s had a lot of injuries from early years, but what worries me about her now is that even when she seems to be injury free she doesn’t appear want to play. She was never simply a power player, she had variety, and I didnt see so much of that this year. I hope it all comes back but I have to say I found the whole tone of her recent message troubling in some way.
Hartt · December 10, 2021 at 7:06 am
Yes, Bianca was never just a power player, but power is an integral part of her game. I agree that she did not use her variety as much this year. It looked as though she did not have confidence in those shots. And I also agree that the tone of her last message is troubling. You have to wonder if she is almost afraid to play matches. Or if she thinks there will be some magic day when everything will be all right and she will feel like she used to and be able to play just like she did a couple years ago, although she has said that now she tries not to compare herself to what she did in 2019.
Scoop Malinowski · December 10, 2021 at 8:01 am
Bibi has lost her aura and self belief that she is the best. 2019 is a distant memory, she may not reach those heights again. If she is to, she has to have that total belief which apparently is unfortunately absent now. Almost had it back last year but couldn’t get over the hump.
Hartt · December 10, 2021 at 10:10 am
Tennis Canada has a fund raising campaign where they feature young up and coming players. So far they have featured 12-year-old Jacey Tiam and 15-year-old Victoria Mboko. I always enjoy learning about these young players. Bianca is matching the $ raised up to $50,000, something she and FAA have done in the past.
Scoop Malinowski · December 10, 2021 at 7:12 pm
Hartt, I have heard good things about Mboko but did not see her play at the junior tournaments I attended. She is one of the top players in the 16s now I believe. Kayla Cross is another, add Cadence Brace too. Jacey Tiam is a new name.
Hartt · December 11, 2021 at 12:44 pm
I looked into Mboko and learned she turned 15 in August and is 5’9″ In an article about an ITF junior tourney in Santo Domingo which she won against another Canadian, Mia Kupres, they talked about 4 young Canadian players. About Victoria: “Mboko has reached six finals in both singles and doubles, claiming three titles in each field. Her most recent title came earlier in June in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, which at J2 was the highest tier title she has won so far in her young career.”
The article also talked about Kayla Cross, and another Canadian youngster who has been having success, Annabelle Xu.
Hartt · December 11, 2021 at 12:59 pm
Wow, the things you can find on the internet. In looking for info on Mboko I came across a match she played in 2019 – Les Petits As vs an American, Katherine Hui. They have the entire match. I don’t know who won, but it lasted for an hour and 45 minutes, so it must have been close. So far I have only watched the first game, which Victoria won, but I thought the level was pretty high for such young players.
Scoop Malinowski · December 11, 2021 at 6:21 pm
Hartt, the elite juniors today all have pro games at age 12. They have every shot at age 12, it’s just a matter of keep training, expanding, progressing, evolving, refining, growing, getting stronger and improving. I saw a girl who beat Gauff in the Herr 12’s final, Noa Krznaric, somehow she hit a wall and is now an also ran in the 18s, making no impact. No idea what happened to her development, some peak at 14. Mboko has been a name I’ve seen for at least three years. She’s progressing in the right direction.
Hartt · December 12, 2021 at 9:10 am
This is where it is helpful for a young player like Mboko to be part of the Tennis Canada training program. They will be interested in her long-term development rather than quick results.
Scoop Malinowski · December 12, 2021 at 5:44 pm
Harrt Mboko earned his spot as a Team Canada major prospect, she’s been a touted junior for years now and her progress is going in the right direction.