Lindsay Davenport recently opened up about how Monica Seles and Jennifer Capriati inspired her to fully commit to tennis.
Davenport made her WTA Tour-level debut in 1993 and went on to establish herself as a World No. 1 in both women’s singles and doubles. Over her illustrious career, she won six Major titles across singles and doubles, and also clinched the Olympic women’s singles gold medal in 1996. She retired from professional tennis in 2010.
Recently, Davenport featured as a guest on *The Pure Athlete Podcast*, where she fondly remembered the breakthroughs of Monica Seles and Jennifer Capriati on the tour.
Recounting how Monica Seles stepped up at a young age to challenge the dominance of Steffi Graf, Davenport said:
“Monica Seles, like, came through. And all of a sudden, here was this player that was able to bash the ball on both sides, that kind of had this fearless attitude at a young age, taking on Steffi Graf. Like, I couldn’t believe it. And she was only a couple of years older than I was, and she was achieving, like, amazing things.” (from 26:44)
The 49-year-old also spoke about the meteoric rise of her compatriot Jennifer Capriati, who was exactly her age.
“And then, believe it or not, it was Jennifer Capriati. We were exactly the same age. We played exactly one junior tournament together, and that was it. She got so good, so fast. And here I was watching a 14-year-old who was exactly my age go out there and start dominating women’s tennis. Like, those two players gave me the hope and the — I want to say the drive also, like, okay, maybe I can do this, right?”
### Lindsay Davenport Hails Andre Agassi for Making Tennis “Cool”
Back in 2006, following Andre Agassi’s emotional retirement from tennis at the US Open, Davenport praised the profound impact the American ATP legend had on the sport.
According to Davenport, Agassi’s charisma both on and off the court played a major role in making tennis popular among younger audiences.
“I think in the last 20 years, he’s been the most important person we’ve had in our sport. I think Billie Jean King made huge inroads for women, but Andre made our sport cool, popular with the younger crowd, exciting. He’s beloved. Not many players become what he has become. You know that he is going to be equally famous and equally successful in his post career,” she said.
### Current Role
Lindsay Davenport currently serves as the captain of the USA’s Billie Jean King Cup team. Earlier this year, she led Team USA to the final of the prestigious women’s international team tennis event, though they had to settle for second place as Italy emerged victorious.
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**About the author**
Sudipto Pati is a Tennis journalist at Sportskeeda, holding a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. With over 3 years of experience in market research, travel, health, lifestyle, and sports sectors, Sudipto has closely followed tennis since the early 2000s. He stays updated by following active and former tennis players, seasoned journalists, and esteemed publications. Sudipto has rapidly grown his readership to nearly 2 million within three months at Sportskeeda.
A passionate admirer of Rafael Nadal for his competitive spirit and remarkable comebacks, Sudipto also respects the accomplishments of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. Outside tennis, he has interests in music, football, video games, cooking, and traveling.
*Edited by Sudipto Pati.*
https://www.sportskeeda.com/tennis/news-those-2-gave-hope-lindsay-davenport-hit-nostalgia-revisits-magic-teenage-monica-seles-jennifer-capriati-taking-wta-storm
