Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, January 18, 1994 TAG: 9401180118
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: TAMPA, FLA. LENGTH: Medium
"This isn't a retirement," New York-based Barbara Perry told The Associated Press.
Capriati, 17, should graduate in June from a Tampa-area high school.
"We don't know the exact date she'll come back," Perry said. "It depends on her work load. It's her final semester in school."
Among the tournaments the world's 12th-ranked player will miss during her sabbatical are the Australian Open, the Lipton Players Championships and WTA tour stops in Delray Beach and Amelia Island.
"I think she was forced to take time off for an injury which she had most of 1993," Perry said. "Having time off the tour, she decided she wants to concentrate on school until after graduation, then come back."
Capriati, who has been out of action with bone chips in her elbow since a first-round loss at the U.S. Open in August, has a match record of 149-45 and has earned $1.5 million in prize money.
The past two years, however, she has become increasingly uncomfortable with her celebrity status and hinted that she might step away from the game if the 1993 season mirrored the year she had in 1992.
Neither the tennis star, who has an apartment in Tampa, nor her parents, who live in nearby Wesley Chapel, could be reached for comment Monday by the AP.
Her parents told the St. Petersburg Times they supported their daughter's decision.
Capriati turned pro in March 1990 at the age of 13 and reached the final of her first tournament.
In December, Tampa police cited her for allegedly shoplifting jewelry during a shopping trip to a mall. A juvenile court hearing is scheduled for Capriati later this month.
by CNB