Back in 1992, Steffi Graf moved into the Olympic gold medal match after seeing off Mary Joe Fernandez in the semi-finals.
Graf, who beat Fernandez 6-4, 6-2, had already taken home the gold medal four years earlier at the Seoul Games.
The German legend, who went on to collect 22 Grand Slam singles titles, met an intriguing opponent in that year’s final.
Jennifer Capriati was just 16 at the time but had already reached three Grand Slam semis and broken into the top ten by the time she took on Graf in Barcelona.
How did Jennifer Capriati beat Steffi Graf?
But despite her strong start and expectations for another gold, she couldn’t hold off Capriati’s comeback. The American rallied to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Capriati’s win wasn’t just surprising because of her age. She was up against a player who had already completed a Golden Slam – holding all four majors and Olympic gold at once – something no one else has ever done. And even though it didn’t count towards ranking points or prize money, it was still a huge achievement.
This made Capriati one of tennis’ biggest breakout stars at just 16. While it took her another nine years to win a major title (the Australian Open), she did eventually reach world number one later on.
Jennifer Capriati wins Olympic gold in singles at just 16 years old
In 1992, a young Jennifer Capriati took down Arantxa Sanchez Vicario 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 to secure a place in the gold medal match in Barcelona.
She then went on to beat Steffi Graf 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in front of the Spanish crowd. This victory made her the youngest player ever to win Olympic gold in singles, surpassing Graf’s achievement from four years earlier in Seoul.
Capriati said: “It was so emotional. I got chills out there. This is unbelievable. I can’t believe it.”
“The last two weeks, I saw all the other athletes up there on the victory stand and I thought ‘wow, that would be so cool.’”
After the match, Graf reflected on her opponent’s triumph, noting how her own Olympic successes boosted her belief. The German also won the Olympic test event aged 15 at the Los Angeles Games back in 1984.
Jennifer Capriati’s Grand Slam achievements
Jennifer Capriati retired with a perfect record in Grand Slam singles finals, winning all three that she contested.
Her first major title came at the 2001 Australian Open, where she beat Martina Hingis 6-4, 6-3. Later that year, she added the French Open to her tally.
The final in Paris against Kim Clijsters became an instant classic, with Capriati pulling through 1-6, 6-4, 12-10.
In 2002, she successfully defended her Australian Open crown by defeating Hingis again in the final. This time it was a much closer contest but still saw Capriati come out on top.
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