Not-so-sweet 16
Dad: Phenom held back by ‘B.S.’ age rule
Serena Williams won her first U.S. Open title as a 17-year-old in 1999. Venus Williams played in the 1997 Open final at the same age.
Chris Evert reached the Open semifinals when she was 16. Tracy Austin won her first pro title at 14.
Today, the path to stardom for tennis teens is harder because of an age-restriction policy that tennis officials say protects female players, though one current phenom’s coach says it holds them back.
“We are going to have to find a way to beat the system,” said Desmond Osuigwe, the coach and father of 16-yearold Florida phenom Whitney Osuigwe. “I don’t think it’s fair to limit players because of age.”
Despite showing promise in her U.S. Open debut Monday, Whitney lost to Italian veteran Camila Giorgi, 6-4, 6-1.
“I tried to approach it as just another match, but obviously it wasn’t,” said Whitney, who captured the 2017 French Open junior title and the World No. 1 ranking.
But rather than move up to face pros, the Bradenton, Fla., native has spent most of 2018 playing against juniors she had already beaten.
That’s because of a Women’s Tennis Association age-eligibility rule that limits the number of tournaments for players under 18. It’s commonly known as the Jennifer Capriati rule, after the Manhattan-born former child prodigy whose off-court problems included arrests for shoplifting and marijuana possession.
Capriati, who won an Olympic gold medal at age 16, made a successful comeback a decade ago, winning three Grand Slam titles, and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2012.
Still, Capriati’s rocky road remains a cautionary tale of sorts—and a bone of contention for Desmond Osuigwe.
“Jennifer Capriati shoplifted when she was 13—does that mean everybody else should not be allowed to play?” he said. “You can’t hold all the players back just because of what one player has done. I think it’s B.S.”
Whitney earned a wild card into the main draw by winning the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 18-and-under national championship in San Diego this month. In the semifinals, she defeated the world’s current No. 1 junior, 14-year-old Floridian Cori Gauff, who did not qualify for the Open.
How good Whitney and Cori become, and how soon, may depend on how much match play they get against pros like Giorgi, 26, who has competed in Grand Slam events since Wimbledon in 2011.
In 1981, Kathy Rinaldi was a Wimbledon main-draw match at age 14. Today, she captains the U.S. Federation Cup team. She sees the Capriati rule as a help to tennis teens, not a hindrance.
“It’s hard for me to say someone else should not have the same opportunity I had,” Rinaldi said. “I understand why the WTA did it. It’s to protect the players. I think Whitney will get plenty of experience and she will do very well.”