1 00:00:05,371 --> 00:00:07,476 -Jennifer Capriati! -In the 90s, 2 00:00:07,509 --> 00:00:09,547 professional tennis gets a shot of adrenaline 3 00:00:09,580 --> 00:00:12,217 from a new generation of players. 4 00:00:13,788 --> 00:00:17,463 Skill and style goes up while the on-court etiquette 5 00:00:17,495 --> 00:00:19,300 goes down. -Oh, shut up. 6 00:00:19,332 --> 00:00:21,670 -And endorsement deals go through the roof. 7 00:00:21,704 --> 00:00:23,475 -Cha-ching. Cha-ching. 8 00:00:23,507 --> 00:00:25,312 -That helped grow the game of tennis. 9 00:00:25,344 --> 00:00:27,515 -But as their celebrity increases... 10 00:00:27,548 --> 00:00:30,355 -Ladies and gentlemen, the hunkiest tennis player ever. 11 00:00:30,388 --> 00:00:32,325 [ Cheers and applause ] Andre Agassi! Andre! 12 00:00:32,357 --> 00:00:34,530 -...and their emotional well-being decreases... 13 00:00:34,563 --> 00:00:36,401 -There's a lot of pressure. 14 00:00:36,433 --> 00:00:40,341 -Jennifer Capriati's career is on a downward spiral. 15 00:00:40,375 --> 00:00:42,746 -And none of them will say they're 100% stable. 16 00:00:42,780 --> 00:00:45,752 -...the game will nearly cost some players everything. 17 00:00:45,786 --> 00:00:47,287 [ Shouting ] 18 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:49,192 -The stabbing of Monica was one of the most 19 00:00:49,225 --> 00:00:51,195 alarming episodes in tennis. 20 00:00:52,533 --> 00:00:55,439 [ Theme music plays ] 21 00:00:55,472 --> 00:01:01,048 ♪ 22 00:01:01,082 --> 00:01:07,361 ♪ 23 00:01:07,396 --> 00:01:12,338 ♪ 24 00:01:12,371 --> 00:01:15,444 ♪ 25 00:01:15,478 --> 00:01:19,352 -For decades, tennis was a stodgy country club sport 26 00:01:19,385 --> 00:01:21,189 where the color of the clothes 27 00:01:21,222 --> 00:01:23,126 and the players were the same -- 28 00:01:23,159 --> 00:01:24,697 White. 29 00:01:24,730 --> 00:01:28,271 -You can say that tennis started incredibly elitist 30 00:01:28,304 --> 00:01:31,308 or exclusionary, depending on what term you want to use. 31 00:01:34,582 --> 00:01:37,623 And then, the '90s gave us an explosion 32 00:01:37,656 --> 00:01:42,698 in so many different realms of the sport all at the same time. 33 00:01:44,602 --> 00:01:48,311 -[ Grunts ] -Prodigies like Andre Agassi, 34 00:01:48,343 --> 00:01:50,515 Jennifer Capriati, 35 00:01:50,549 --> 00:01:53,754 Monica Seles, and the Williams sisters 36 00:01:53,787 --> 00:01:56,593 inject new life into the game, 37 00:01:56,626 --> 00:02:00,367 attracting bigger audiences than ever before. 38 00:02:00,402 --> 00:02:03,441 They'll emerge as the rock stars of tennis. 39 00:02:03,474 --> 00:02:05,477 But just like rock stars, 40 00:02:05,512 --> 00:02:07,448 some players will burn out 41 00:02:07,481 --> 00:02:10,854 before they have a chance to fade away. 42 00:02:10,889 --> 00:02:12,290 -It's all different. 43 00:02:12,325 --> 00:02:14,162 Everyone's got a different story. 44 00:02:14,194 --> 00:02:15,799 And the controversial stories, the horror stories are really 45 00:02:15,831 --> 00:02:17,635 about the prodigies. 46 00:02:17,669 --> 00:02:19,673 My name is Pete Bodo, and in the 1990s, 47 00:02:19,706 --> 00:02:21,343 I was a tennis journalist out there 48 00:02:21,377 --> 00:02:23,112 traveling the world 49 00:02:23,145 --> 00:02:25,852 and getting to know a lot of professional tennis players. 50 00:02:30,829 --> 00:02:33,266 [ Camera shutter clicks ] -Well, tennis in the '80s 51 00:02:33,300 --> 00:02:36,340 had its rivalries and its bad boys. 52 00:02:36,373 --> 00:02:37,643 -Bullshit! 53 00:02:37,675 --> 00:02:40,146 That's a...load of bull crap! 54 00:02:40,180 --> 00:02:43,287 -Players reach new levels of celebrity in the '90s 55 00:02:43,319 --> 00:02:46,926 as TV begins focusing as much on their personalities 56 00:02:46,961 --> 00:02:49,300 as they do on their matches. 57 00:02:49,332 --> 00:02:51,269 -In a sport like tennis, one of the things 58 00:02:51,302 --> 00:02:53,675 that is important is the way that we see them. 59 00:02:55,778 --> 00:02:58,685 We can see the temper tantrums and hear them differently. 60 00:02:58,717 --> 00:03:00,487 -I didn't say anything! 61 00:03:00,521 --> 00:03:02,191 You son of a bitch! 62 00:03:02,223 --> 00:03:03,393 -My name is Courtney Cox. 63 00:03:03,427 --> 00:03:05,465 I'm a former ESPN employee 64 00:03:05,497 --> 00:03:08,437 and current scholar looking at all things sport 65 00:03:08,471 --> 00:03:11,310 as it relates to tech and culture. 66 00:03:11,343 --> 00:03:14,147 We can understand these athletes as personalities differently. 67 00:03:14,181 --> 00:03:16,151 And then, this building of superstars, 68 00:03:16,186 --> 00:03:18,390 the up and coming, the Cinderellas. 69 00:03:18,424 --> 00:03:20,427 [ Cheers and applause ] 70 00:03:20,461 --> 00:03:22,832 -And who better to be labeled as Cinderella 71 00:03:22,866 --> 00:03:27,207 than a player with long, flowing hair named Andre Agassi? 72 00:03:27,241 --> 00:03:29,645 -Andre Agassi is probably the most interesting 73 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:32,686 personality study in tennis. 74 00:03:32,718 --> 00:03:35,424 -Born in Las Vegas, Andre is forced into tennis 75 00:03:35,456 --> 00:03:38,330 as a toddler by his father, Mike, 76 00:03:38,362 --> 00:03:40,835 a one-time Iranian Olympic boxer turned 77 00:03:40,868 --> 00:03:43,473 casino ambassador for the Tropicana Hotel. 78 00:03:45,544 --> 00:03:48,282 -Andre. How do you like tennis? -Fine. 79 00:03:48,316 --> 00:03:50,622 -Do you want to be a tennis player when you get big? 80 00:03:50,655 --> 00:03:53,325 -Yes. 81 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:54,530 -According to Andre, 82 00:03:54,562 --> 00:03:55,831 his dad is so determined 83 00:03:55,865 --> 00:03:57,234 for his 12-year-old son 84 00:03:57,268 --> 00:03:58,971 to become a star player 85 00:03:59,004 --> 00:04:02,411 that he administers amphetamines to make Andre more focused 86 00:04:02,445 --> 00:04:05,217 during junior matches. -[Gulping] 87 00:04:06,719 --> 00:04:09,258 -Very few of the really successful players are people 88 00:04:09,292 --> 00:04:10,961 who were really forced to play. 89 00:04:10,995 --> 00:04:14,836 Andre Agassi is a pretty good exception to that rule. 90 00:04:14,870 --> 00:04:18,476 -Yeah. Andre Agassi. He's a phenomenon, right? 91 00:04:18,509 --> 00:04:20,447 Jeff Tarango here. 92 00:04:20,480 --> 00:04:23,286 Top 100 in the world for 13 straight years. 93 00:04:23,319 --> 00:04:24,656 Can you call the supervisor, please? 94 00:04:24,689 --> 00:04:26,459 I have a big beef. 95 00:04:26,494 --> 00:04:28,997 Enjoying my life in tennis, after tennis, 96 00:04:29,031 --> 00:04:31,302 during tennis, tennis for a lifetime. 97 00:04:31,336 --> 00:04:34,475 -Tarango recalls playing against a pre-amphetamine Agassi 98 00:04:34,509 --> 00:04:36,613 on the junior circuit, 99 00:04:36,646 --> 00:04:38,884 including one match that Agassi writes about 100 00:04:38,918 --> 00:04:41,757 in his autobiography, "Open." 101 00:04:41,790 --> 00:04:45,899 -Andre Agassi versus Tarango in the 10 and unders 102 00:04:45,932 --> 00:04:48,637 in San Diego question. 103 00:04:48,670 --> 00:04:50,608 -Agassi accuses Tarango of cheating 104 00:04:50,641 --> 00:04:53,680 over whether a ball was in or out. 105 00:04:53,713 --> 00:04:56,653 -There was a USTA umpire sitting right there 106 00:04:56,687 --> 00:04:58,790 in the chair, so, there's no way 107 00:04:58,824 --> 00:05:00,627 he can say I cheated him out of the match, 108 00:05:00,661 --> 00:05:02,865 but his dad's in the RV banging on it, 109 00:05:02,899 --> 00:05:05,237 like, getting all upset and everything, 110 00:05:05,269 --> 00:05:06,839 and Andre's crying. 111 00:05:06,874 --> 00:05:10,012 And so, he leaves and he thinks I cheated him out of the match, 112 00:05:10,047 --> 00:05:12,384 but it actually had nothing to do with me. 113 00:05:14,288 --> 00:05:17,829 -At 13, Andre's shipped off to a tennis academy in Florida 114 00:05:17,862 --> 00:05:19,800 run by Nick Bollettieri. 115 00:05:21,435 --> 00:05:23,975 -Nick Bollettieri came into tennis literally out of the sky. 116 00:05:24,007 --> 00:05:26,312 He was a former paratrooper, 117 00:05:26,346 --> 00:05:28,651 who ended up then becoming kind of a tennis teacher, 118 00:05:28,684 --> 00:05:30,988 and he had a string of little camps and gigs 119 00:05:31,021 --> 00:05:34,394 that he ultimately turned into a coaching profession, 120 00:05:34,427 --> 00:05:37,401 because he was unrelentingly optimistic, 121 00:05:37,435 --> 00:05:40,908 unrelentingly promotional, including self-promotional, 122 00:05:40,942 --> 00:05:43,045 which rubbed people in the wrong way. 123 00:05:43,079 --> 00:05:45,785 -Andre would not be who he was today without Nick. 124 00:05:47,656 --> 00:05:52,999 -To me, Nick Bollettieri was the epitome of motivation. 125 00:05:53,033 --> 00:05:55,370 -You want to hit. Then, 1, 2, 3. 126 00:05:55,403 --> 00:05:56,774 And then, go. Boom. 127 00:05:56,807 --> 00:05:58,610 -When he walked onto the court, 128 00:05:58,644 --> 00:06:00,882 you just felt like you were a better tennis player. 129 00:06:00,915 --> 00:06:02,851 You felt like you could run faster. 130 00:06:02,886 --> 00:06:06,425 You felt like you could do everything better. 131 00:06:06,459 --> 00:06:07,862 -Bollettieri will also coach 132 00:06:07,896 --> 00:06:10,033 Grand Slam champion Boris Becker, 133 00:06:10,067 --> 00:06:14,574 as well as Jim Courier and Monica Seles. 134 00:06:14,608 --> 00:06:17,514 Every single player that went to Bollettieri Tennis Academy 135 00:06:17,548 --> 00:06:19,485 told me, "When he's not on my court, 136 00:06:19,519 --> 00:06:21,055 I don't play half as well." 137 00:06:21,088 --> 00:06:23,627 Even me, who he'd never coached. 138 00:06:23,661 --> 00:06:25,831 When he would come to watch the match, 139 00:06:25,865 --> 00:06:27,769 I would play at a different level. 140 00:06:27,802 --> 00:06:30,708 [ Rock music plays ] 141 00:06:30,742 --> 00:06:33,045 -But when Agassi begins working with Bollettieri, 142 00:06:33,079 --> 00:06:35,918 he's in complete rebellion against tennis, 143 00:06:35,951 --> 00:06:39,057 sporting a Mohawk, experimenting with booze, 144 00:06:39,091 --> 00:06:41,997 and refusing to wear tennis clothes to his matches. 145 00:06:44,100 --> 00:06:46,572 Agassi pays the price for his defiance 146 00:06:46,605 --> 00:06:48,610 when he's forced to clean the Academy's 147 00:06:48,644 --> 00:06:51,716 communal toilets as punishment. 148 00:06:51,750 --> 00:06:53,620 But according to Jeff Tarango, 149 00:06:53,653 --> 00:06:55,858 Bollettieri has to go one step further 150 00:06:55,891 --> 00:06:57,995 to set the prodigy straight. 151 00:06:58,028 --> 00:07:02,004 -Andre showed up to a tennis tournament with Levi jeans on, 152 00:07:02,036 --> 00:07:04,942 and they got into a bit of a spatter. 153 00:07:06,947 --> 00:07:09,350 And he said, I need to discipline this kid. 154 00:07:09,384 --> 00:07:13,459 And Nick locked him in a bus 155 00:07:13,492 --> 00:07:14,930 for a whole weekend. 156 00:07:14,963 --> 00:07:17,836 100-degree weather. 157 00:07:17,869 --> 00:07:21,074 I guess, that was okay in -- in the early '90s. 158 00:07:21,108 --> 00:07:23,079 You're not going to get away with it now. 159 00:07:23,112 --> 00:07:25,651 But he had, like, an epiphany in this bus. 160 00:07:25,685 --> 00:07:27,855 And when Andre came out of that bus, 161 00:07:27,889 --> 00:07:29,091 he was a different human being. 162 00:07:29,124 --> 00:07:32,865 He went from the rebel to be... 163 00:07:32,899 --> 00:07:35,737 "I'm going to do whatever you say. 164 00:07:35,771 --> 00:07:37,841 I get it now." 165 00:07:37,875 --> 00:07:41,550 I think, Nick Bollettieri did it right with Andre. 166 00:07:41,581 --> 00:07:45,055 I mean, he tortured the guy, and he showed him that, 167 00:07:45,089 --> 00:07:48,596 you know, you're not a talent until you're actually a talent. 168 00:07:48,630 --> 00:07:52,204 -In 1986, 16-year-old Agassi turned pro. 169 00:07:52,237 --> 00:07:54,776 Nike quickly signs the tennis rebel 170 00:07:54,809 --> 00:07:57,581 and starts changing the culture of the sport 171 00:07:57,613 --> 00:08:01,857 by featuring Andre in some of their biggest ads. 172 00:08:01,889 --> 00:08:04,394 -Andre Agassi was their poster child, 173 00:08:04,427 --> 00:08:06,165 literally challenging the style. 174 00:08:06,197 --> 00:08:08,036 -That ought to wake up the country club. 175 00:08:08,069 --> 00:08:10,406 -...of the all-white country club look 176 00:08:10,439 --> 00:08:13,814 that was a part of tennis for decades and decades, 177 00:08:13,846 --> 00:08:18,122 with bright neon colors, whether it's on apparel or on shoes. 178 00:08:19,725 --> 00:08:22,029 I'm Tim Newcomb, and I'm a freelance journalist 179 00:08:22,064 --> 00:08:24,000 covering tennis gear and business. 180 00:08:24,033 --> 00:08:25,838 Any time that an athlete 181 00:08:25,870 --> 00:08:27,540 wants to push the envelope, 182 00:08:27,574 --> 00:08:29,511 Nike's there to do it. 183 00:08:29,545 --> 00:08:31,682 -Just like they did back in 1984 184 00:08:31,716 --> 00:08:34,455 with Andre's precursor, John McEnroe. 185 00:08:34,488 --> 00:08:36,792 -[ Screams ] -John McEnroe had 186 00:08:36,826 --> 00:08:38,764 the Mac Attack shoe 187 00:08:38,796 --> 00:08:41,636 that he wore in the mid '80s. 188 00:08:41,668 --> 00:08:43,706 -Nike releases the Mac Attack a year 189 00:08:43,740 --> 00:08:45,777 before it launches the Air Jordan. 190 00:08:45,811 --> 00:08:48,649 But then, tennis players have had shoes named after them 191 00:08:48,683 --> 00:08:52,224 long before Michael Jordan is even born. 192 00:08:52,256 --> 00:08:55,096 -That's where it all began. 193 00:08:55,129 --> 00:08:58,035 I think Jordan jumped on our bandwagon as far as, 194 00:08:58,068 --> 00:09:00,005 like, how to sell things, 195 00:09:00,039 --> 00:09:01,676 and then, all of a sudden, he's doing it 196 00:09:01,708 --> 00:09:03,880 in basketball. -Using Agassi, 197 00:09:03,913 --> 00:09:06,184 Nike transforms their business model, 198 00:09:06,217 --> 00:09:07,688 selling not just sports gear, 199 00:09:07,721 --> 00:09:09,224 but the players who wear it. 200 00:09:09,258 --> 00:09:11,461 -It wasn't just about tennis anymore. 201 00:09:11,495 --> 00:09:14,234 It was like about Nike. It was about Adidas. 202 00:09:14,268 --> 00:09:18,875 It was about everybody building a brand all of a sudden. 203 00:09:18,910 --> 00:09:21,682 But the players were the brand. 204 00:09:21,716 --> 00:09:23,953 -Everything's for sale on a player's body. 205 00:09:23,986 --> 00:09:26,558 So, I'm waiting for the day when somebody gets a tattoo, 206 00:09:26,591 --> 00:09:28,596 a sponsor tattoo on his forehead 207 00:09:28,629 --> 00:09:31,134 to buy a certain brand of ice cream or something. 208 00:09:31,168 --> 00:09:33,038 [ Cheers and applause ] 209 00:09:33,072 --> 00:09:36,010 -Agassi's endorsement deals help him attract admirers 210 00:09:36,044 --> 00:09:39,283 who once had little interest in professional tennis. 211 00:09:39,317 --> 00:09:40,955 -Did you get what you came for? 212 00:09:40,988 --> 00:09:42,691 -Definitely. -What did you come for? 213 00:09:42,725 --> 00:09:45,629 -A look of Agassi. [Laughs] 214 00:09:45,663 --> 00:09:47,768 -We like his tennis, but we also like to look at him. 215 00:09:47,801 --> 00:09:49,905 [ Chuckles ] -So, what's the attraction? 216 00:09:49,938 --> 00:09:51,909 [ Indistinct conversations ] -His hair. 217 00:09:51,942 --> 00:09:53,745 I don't know. I like hair. 218 00:09:53,779 --> 00:09:55,616 -What is the image of a rebel? 219 00:09:55,650 --> 00:09:58,322 -But the marketing of Agassi also sparks outrage 220 00:09:58,355 --> 00:10:02,062 among the tennis media and more traditional tennis fans. 221 00:10:02,096 --> 00:10:04,301 -Image is everything. 222 00:10:04,333 --> 00:10:07,875 -Andre Agassi had critics. Is it style over substance? 223 00:10:07,908 --> 00:10:11,081 And really in sports, generally, the only way 224 00:10:11,115 --> 00:10:14,654 that you're able to quiet those critics is by winning. 225 00:10:14,688 --> 00:10:16,258 [ Indistinct conversations ] 226 00:10:16,292 --> 00:10:18,361 -And not just any tennis tournament, 227 00:10:18,395 --> 00:10:22,037 but one of the four prestigious Grand Slam titles. 228 00:10:22,070 --> 00:10:23,773 Until he wins one of those, 229 00:10:23,807 --> 00:10:26,245 he remains an easy target. 230 00:10:26,278 --> 00:10:29,619 -To me, that whole "Image is Everything" campaign 231 00:10:29,650 --> 00:10:31,956 was so misinterpreted 232 00:10:31,990 --> 00:10:35,096 and so misused and abused against Andre 233 00:10:35,129 --> 00:10:37,835 that it really, really wasn't anywhere near fair. 234 00:10:37,868 --> 00:10:40,373 [ Racket chops ball ] -He went against everything 235 00:10:40,405 --> 00:10:43,178 that tennis represented, the dyeing of the hair, 236 00:10:43,211 --> 00:10:46,018 the earring, like George Michael. 237 00:10:46,051 --> 00:10:49,224 It made it interesting. I kind of enjoyed it. 238 00:10:49,258 --> 00:10:50,894 It was something different. 239 00:10:50,927 --> 00:10:52,864 People hated it, but I-I could appreciate it. 240 00:10:52,898 --> 00:10:54,801 I'm Lori McNeil, 241 00:10:54,836 --> 00:10:57,340 Former WTA number 8 in the world in singles 242 00:10:57,374 --> 00:10:59,144 and number 3 in doubles. 243 00:10:59,177 --> 00:11:01,914 I think, Agassi brought that entertainment value 244 00:11:01,950 --> 00:11:03,986 that people were looking for. [ Cheering ] 245 00:11:04,020 --> 00:11:06,993 He was kind of bucking the tennis establishment. 246 00:11:07,027 --> 00:11:10,066 Agassi really was the only one that was really being 247 00:11:10,099 --> 00:11:12,772 different in that way. 248 00:11:12,803 --> 00:11:16,745 -But in the '90s, Lori's focus isn't on Agassi. 249 00:11:16,778 --> 00:11:21,721 It's on Steffi Graf, the player to beat on the women's tour. 250 00:11:21,755 --> 00:11:27,200 -The 1990s in women's tennis was dominated by Steffi Graf. 251 00:11:27,232 --> 00:11:32,210 She was the player of the decade. 252 00:11:34,280 --> 00:11:36,919 -Lori upset Steffi twice during the decade. 253 00:11:36,951 --> 00:11:39,323 [ Cheers and applause ] Once in the first round 254 00:11:39,357 --> 00:11:40,927 of Wimbledon. 255 00:11:40,961 --> 00:11:43,063 -Unfortunately, I did -- I lost in the semis, 256 00:11:43,099 --> 00:11:45,102 and I didn't win the whole tournament in Wimbledon, 257 00:11:45,135 --> 00:11:49,076 but it was a good run, as they say. 258 00:11:49,110 --> 00:11:51,381 -And Lori isn't the only player gunning 259 00:11:51,414 --> 00:11:54,221 for Graf's number 1 spot. 260 00:11:54,254 --> 00:11:56,325 -And Monica Seles, 261 00:11:56,357 --> 00:12:01,235 age 16, is one point from becoming the youngest champion 262 00:12:01,268 --> 00:12:03,004 in French Open history. 263 00:12:03,038 --> 00:12:05,743 [ Cheering ] -In 1990, 264 00:12:05,778 --> 00:12:07,880 the teenager does just that. 265 00:12:07,914 --> 00:12:09,851 -[ Grunts ] [ Cheering ] 266 00:12:09,885 --> 00:12:12,057 Winning her first Grand Slam event. 267 00:12:12,090 --> 00:12:13,859 Well, I just want to thank my dad 268 00:12:13,894 --> 00:12:15,898 who prepared me so well for this tournament. 269 00:12:15,929 --> 00:12:19,336 -On the women's side, I would say it was Seles, 270 00:12:19,370 --> 00:12:22,844 was the most impactful player back then. 271 00:12:22,878 --> 00:12:25,850 She was changing the game. [ Cheers and applause ] 272 00:12:25,884 --> 00:12:27,486 -Monica Seles was, I think, 273 00:12:27,519 --> 00:12:31,294 much more of a -- of a player who threw darts, uh-huh, lasers, 274 00:12:31,327 --> 00:12:34,400 just devilishly accurate. 275 00:12:34,433 --> 00:12:36,238 -At the end of 1991, 276 00:12:36,270 --> 00:12:39,744 after winning three of the four Grand Slam women's titles. 277 00:12:39,778 --> 00:12:42,250 Seles bumps Graf from the number 1 spot. 278 00:12:42,283 --> 00:12:44,321 [ Clock ticking ] 279 00:12:44,354 --> 00:12:45,889 But there's one tennis fan 280 00:12:45,923 --> 00:12:48,895 who's willing to bump Seles off for good. 281 00:12:48,929 --> 00:12:52,437 [ Shouting ] -Her cry of pain and terror 282 00:12:52,470 --> 00:12:53,938 cut through the stadium. 283 00:12:53,974 --> 00:12:55,842 -Her attacker was quickly subdued 284 00:12:55,876 --> 00:12:57,580 by other spectators. -[ Screams ] 285 00:13:01,923 --> 00:13:03,893 -In the early '90s, Agassi begins 286 00:13:03,927 --> 00:13:05,495 his decade long competition 287 00:13:05,529 --> 00:13:07,533 with fellow American Pete Sampras. 288 00:13:08,903 --> 00:13:13,412 -The Agassi-Sampras rivalry was a major rivalry on court. 289 00:13:13,445 --> 00:13:16,049 You had two Americans going at it 290 00:13:16,083 --> 00:13:18,322 with completely different styles and games, 291 00:13:18,355 --> 00:13:20,393 completely different personalities. 292 00:13:20,426 --> 00:13:22,996 -Sampras is cast as the boy next door 293 00:13:23,032 --> 00:13:25,802 opposite Agassi's flamboyant rebel. 294 00:13:27,072 --> 00:13:30,446 They confront each other in the finals of the 1990 US Open. 295 00:13:30,479 --> 00:13:33,052 [ Cheers and applause ] 296 00:13:33,085 --> 00:13:37,059 Agassi ranked, fourth in the world, is the favorite to win. 297 00:13:37,091 --> 00:13:40,566 But number 12 Sampras beats Agassi in straight sets. 298 00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:43,004 -[ Grunts ] [ Cheering ] 299 00:13:43,037 --> 00:13:46,544 ♪ 300 00:13:46,577 --> 00:13:50,052 Nike endorses both players and plays up their different styles. 301 00:13:50,085 --> 00:13:51,388 -Stop right here. 302 00:13:51,421 --> 00:13:54,394 This'll wrinkle someone's tennis spikes. 303 00:13:54,427 --> 00:13:57,000 [ Horns honking, cars passing ] 304 00:13:57,033 --> 00:13:59,104 -Putting them in this commercial 305 00:13:59,135 --> 00:14:02,009 to reach fans on both sides of the net. 306 00:14:02,043 --> 00:14:04,214 [ Rock music plays ] 307 00:14:06,551 --> 00:14:10,426 -Nike was able to position them both how they wanted to, 308 00:14:10,458 --> 00:14:15,903 to sell differing lines and styles of footwear and apparel. 309 00:14:15,936 --> 00:14:18,142 -And she'll get a second serve. -Sponsors like Nike 310 00:14:18,174 --> 00:14:20,278 also compete over a young prodigy 311 00:14:20,312 --> 00:14:22,115 who's moving up in the women's ranks 312 00:14:22,149 --> 00:14:24,386 and seems destined to become number 1. 313 00:14:24,421 --> 00:14:26,825 -Return and Jennifer Capriati. 314 00:14:26,857 --> 00:14:28,461 [ Cheers and applause ] 315 00:14:28,495 --> 00:14:29,898 -I believe someday she will be 316 00:14:29,931 --> 00:14:31,301 the number 1 player in the world. 317 00:14:31,335 --> 00:14:34,073 -Jennifer Capriati was perhaps 318 00:14:34,105 --> 00:14:36,610 the most gifted ball striker of all time. 319 00:14:36,644 --> 00:14:38,881 [ Camera shutter clicks ] -Like Agassi, 320 00:14:38,916 --> 00:14:41,288 it's Capriati father who pushes her into tennis 321 00:14:41,321 --> 00:14:44,092 with his dreams of her becoming a world class player. 322 00:14:44,126 --> 00:14:45,897 And it works. 323 00:14:45,929 --> 00:14:49,571 -At the age of 11 and 12, was just beating up on people. 324 00:14:49,604 --> 00:14:51,575 She won big titles at a young age. 325 00:14:51,607 --> 00:14:53,144 I think, she was only 13 326 00:14:53,177 --> 00:14:55,048 when she won her first Virginia Slims title. 327 00:14:55,081 --> 00:14:57,986 She became, you know, a kind of a -- a household name 328 00:14:58,019 --> 00:14:59,591 overnight. -Just 6 months 329 00:14:59,624 --> 00:15:01,193 after turning pro, 330 00:15:01,227 --> 00:15:03,365 Jennifer Capriati is now the 13th ranked 331 00:15:03,398 --> 00:15:06,104 women's tennis player, and America's sweetheart. 332 00:15:06,136 --> 00:15:08,408 [ Cheering, camera shutter clicks ] 333 00:15:08,442 --> 00:15:12,081 -Even before her professional debut in March of 1990, 334 00:15:12,115 --> 00:15:14,287 Capriati's father has the 13 year old 335 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:18,261 signed to $5.5 million in sponsorship deals with brands, 336 00:15:18,294 --> 00:15:22,169 like, Diadora, Prince rackets, and Oil of Olay, 337 00:15:22,202 --> 00:15:24,941 making her the family's main breadwinner. 338 00:15:24,974 --> 00:15:28,581 -Capriati was the face of brands 339 00:15:28,615 --> 00:15:31,955 as an incredibly young teenager. 340 00:15:31,988 --> 00:15:35,895 -She even gets a Sega Genesis video game named after her, 341 00:15:35,929 --> 00:15:37,600 all while reassuring the press 342 00:15:37,633 --> 00:15:40,306 she's enjoying every minute of it. 343 00:15:40,339 --> 00:15:43,644 -Are you having fun? -Yeah, I'm having a lot of fun. 344 00:15:43,678 --> 00:15:46,350 It was great. God, worth it all. 345 00:15:46,384 --> 00:15:48,187 [ Racket chops ball, camera shutter clicking ] 346 00:15:48,221 --> 00:15:50,458 -But the huge commercial success of young male 347 00:15:50,493 --> 00:15:54,099 and female tennis prodigies, like Agassi and Capriati 348 00:15:54,133 --> 00:15:57,240 masked the reality that not all successful young players 349 00:15:57,273 --> 00:16:00,011 are treated equally. 350 00:16:00,043 --> 00:16:02,416 When Zina Garrison becomes number 4 in the world, 351 00:16:02,450 --> 00:16:06,524 one of her biggest challenges is securing an endorsement deal, 352 00:16:06,557 --> 00:16:09,464 something she still doesn't have in 1990, 353 00:16:09,496 --> 00:16:11,368 when she becomes the first black woman 354 00:16:11,400 --> 00:16:15,576 to reach the Wimbledon finals in 32 years. 355 00:16:15,609 --> 00:16:17,580 -Some agents were saying she wasn't marketable. 356 00:16:17,613 --> 00:16:19,350 I don't know how you're not marketable. 357 00:16:19,384 --> 00:16:22,255 Everybody's marketable, I think. 358 00:16:22,289 --> 00:16:25,996 It was kind of unbelievable, but... 359 00:16:26,029 --> 00:16:27,700 But it happened. 360 00:16:29,169 --> 00:16:32,409 -On her way to that final against Martina Navratilova. 361 00:16:32,442 --> 00:16:36,116 Garrison has already beaten Monica Seles and Steffi Graf, 362 00:16:36,150 --> 00:16:38,990 who both have multi-million dollar sponsorships 363 00:16:39,022 --> 00:16:42,195 covering all their training and travel expenses. 364 00:16:42,229 --> 00:16:44,500 -And the night before you play Martina, 365 00:16:44,533 --> 00:16:46,437 you're thinking of the fact that you're the one 366 00:16:46,471 --> 00:16:48,041 that doesn't have an endorsement. 367 00:16:48,073 --> 00:16:49,744 But there's this demoralizing feeling 368 00:16:49,777 --> 00:16:52,549 you have to experience when you're dominant. 369 00:16:52,582 --> 00:16:53,985 You're at the top of your game. 370 00:16:54,019 --> 00:16:55,621 You've done everything you can do, 371 00:16:55,655 --> 00:16:58,595 and they still say that's not enough, because you're you. 372 00:17:01,201 --> 00:17:03,104 -It will take until the end of the decade 373 00:17:03,138 --> 00:17:05,173 for that to change with the arrival 374 00:17:05,209 --> 00:17:07,480 of Venus and Serena Williams. 375 00:17:07,512 --> 00:17:09,048 [ Indistinct conversations ] 376 00:17:09,083 --> 00:17:11,453 Until then, the marketing stays focused 377 00:17:11,488 --> 00:17:13,424 on young white tennis players, 378 00:17:13,458 --> 00:17:17,298 helping boost their fame while attracting the paparazzi. 379 00:17:17,333 --> 00:17:19,436 [ Camera shutters clicking ] 380 00:17:19,470 --> 00:17:22,143 Who in the '90s are becoming increasingly aggressive 381 00:17:22,175 --> 00:17:24,078 in their coverage of all celebrities, 382 00:17:24,112 --> 00:17:27,152 including their personal lives. 383 00:17:27,184 --> 00:17:30,090 [ Camera shutters clicking ] 384 00:17:30,125 --> 00:17:33,065 German star Steffi Graf is hounded after her father 385 00:17:33,096 --> 00:17:36,471 is accused of having an illegitimate baby with a model. 386 00:17:38,508 --> 00:17:42,415 As for the player once labeled tennis's "Long-haired rebel." 387 00:17:42,450 --> 00:17:45,355 Agassi is now dealing with allegations he's actually 388 00:17:45,388 --> 00:17:48,126 a "No-haired rebel," which he denies. 389 00:17:48,161 --> 00:17:50,097 -Well, you talked about the London tabloids being, 390 00:17:50,131 --> 00:17:51,468 at times, vicious. 391 00:17:51,500 --> 00:17:53,270 Did they have you, like, rooming with an alien? 392 00:17:53,304 --> 00:17:55,476 How bad did it get over there? -No, they -- they -- 393 00:17:55,509 --> 00:17:57,278 they just -- they were funny, you know, 394 00:17:57,311 --> 00:18:00,117 I mean, the whole week started, the whole week started with them 395 00:18:00,152 --> 00:18:03,089 saying I wear my white cap, because I had lost all my hair. 396 00:18:03,124 --> 00:18:04,559 -30 years ago, it would've been, "Oh, yeah. 397 00:18:04,594 --> 00:18:06,330 He's a tennis player. He's a movie star." 398 00:18:06,363 --> 00:18:08,299 Now, it's a little like, we're all stars, you know? 399 00:18:08,335 --> 00:18:10,070 We're both stars. You know, I'm a star in tennis. 400 00:18:10,105 --> 00:18:12,609 You're a star in Hollywood. Let's get together. 401 00:18:12,643 --> 00:18:17,153 -And that's just what Agassi and Barbra Streisand do in 1992. 402 00:18:17,184 --> 00:18:19,723 [ Camera shutter clicks ] Their May-December romance 403 00:18:19,757 --> 00:18:22,262 with Babs being 28 years his senior, 404 00:18:22,295 --> 00:18:25,201 makes headlines. [ Cheering ] 405 00:18:25,233 --> 00:18:28,073 But it also overshadows Andre finally winning 406 00:18:28,106 --> 00:18:30,612 his first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon. 407 00:18:30,645 --> 00:18:32,817 [ Cheers and applause ] 408 00:18:32,849 --> 00:18:34,753 Beyond court behavior of some players 409 00:18:34,787 --> 00:18:36,624 also draws negative attention 410 00:18:36,657 --> 00:18:39,329 from both the press and spectators. 411 00:18:39,363 --> 00:18:42,268 -[ Grunts ] -For Monica Seles, 412 00:18:42,303 --> 00:18:44,740 it's her trademark grunting with every ball she hits. 413 00:18:44,773 --> 00:18:48,682 -[ Grunting ] 414 00:18:48,714 --> 00:18:51,653 [ Cheers and applause ] -She's not doing it on purpose. 415 00:18:51,688 --> 00:18:54,660 But, uh, she can stop it on purpose, you know? 416 00:18:54,693 --> 00:18:56,364 I've been practicing next to her, 417 00:18:56,396 --> 00:18:58,835 and she does not make any noises when she's practicing. 418 00:18:58,868 --> 00:19:01,473 [ Grunting ] 419 00:19:01,507 --> 00:19:03,345 -In some parts of the match, I was successful. 420 00:19:03,376 --> 00:19:05,449 In some parts, I was not. 421 00:19:05,481 --> 00:19:07,385 But I do hope that next year when I come back here, 422 00:19:07,419 --> 00:19:09,256 I won't be grunting. 423 00:19:09,289 --> 00:19:11,594 [ Knife scraping, ominous music plays ] 424 00:19:11,627 --> 00:19:14,599 ♪ 425 00:19:14,634 --> 00:19:17,806 -But one unhinged spectator becomes fixated on Seles 426 00:19:17,839 --> 00:19:19,710 after she replaces Steffi Graf 427 00:19:19,743 --> 00:19:22,248 as the number 1 player in the world. 428 00:19:22,282 --> 00:19:27,326 ♪ 429 00:19:27,357 --> 00:19:29,529 And on April 30th, 1993, 430 00:19:29,563 --> 00:19:32,101 his obsession will become global news 431 00:19:32,134 --> 00:19:34,272 and forever change the sport. 432 00:19:36,210 --> 00:19:38,180 -What's considered the darkest day in tennis... 433 00:19:38,213 --> 00:19:39,849 [ Shouting ] 434 00:19:39,884 --> 00:19:41,887 -...is when Monica Seles was stabbed 435 00:19:41,921 --> 00:19:43,758 during a match in Hamburg. 436 00:19:43,791 --> 00:19:45,595 [ Crowd shouting ] 437 00:19:45,628 --> 00:19:48,634 -She stood frozen for a moment, feeling her back, 438 00:19:48,667 --> 00:19:50,605 not believing what had happened. 439 00:19:50,638 --> 00:19:52,442 Then, medical personnel rushed to help her. 440 00:19:52,476 --> 00:19:56,884 -A deranged fan, uh, Gunter Parche, a-a fan of Steffi Graf, 441 00:19:56,917 --> 00:19:59,824 jumped out of the stands, ran up on a changeover 442 00:19:59,856 --> 00:20:01,928 when -- when Monica was sitting down 443 00:20:01,961 --> 00:20:06,403 and stabbed her in the back with a serrated knife. 444 00:20:06,436 --> 00:20:09,477 -Her opponent, Magdalena Maleeva, watched helplessly. 445 00:20:09,509 --> 00:20:12,648 Finally, officials wheeled Ms. Seles off to the hospital. 446 00:20:12,682 --> 00:20:16,323 Doctors are keeping her there overnight for observation. 447 00:20:16,356 --> 00:20:21,768 -When Monica Seles was stabbed, it was unbelievable. 448 00:20:21,800 --> 00:20:25,474 I think, everybody felt vulnerable. 449 00:20:25,509 --> 00:20:27,578 Everybody realized that, 450 00:20:27,613 --> 00:20:30,919 "Oh, my God, this could happen to any of us." 451 00:20:30,951 --> 00:20:33,525 -Despite making a complete physical recovery, 452 00:20:33,557 --> 00:20:35,561 Seles sinks into depression 453 00:20:35,595 --> 00:20:38,401 and develops an eating disorder that takes her off the circuit 454 00:20:38,434 --> 00:20:41,740 for 2 years, costing her the number 1 spot. 455 00:20:43,278 --> 00:20:45,981 [ Indistinct conversations ] And her attacker. 456 00:20:46,016 --> 00:20:47,853 He receives a suspended sentence 457 00:20:47,885 --> 00:20:50,759 and never spends a day in prison. 458 00:20:50,791 --> 00:20:54,531 -It was one of the most alarming and unpleasant 459 00:20:54,567 --> 00:20:56,671 and -- and kind of sad episodes in tennis, 460 00:20:56,703 --> 00:20:59,809 because it really had a career-transforming effect 461 00:20:59,844 --> 00:21:02,715 on Monica Seles, and therefore, on everybody else, 462 00:21:02,749 --> 00:21:05,622 because, of course, everybody else is the people she played. 463 00:21:05,654 --> 00:21:07,358 So, suddenly a lot of people winning tournaments 464 00:21:07,392 --> 00:21:08,994 or getting far in tournaments, 465 00:21:09,028 --> 00:21:11,232 because Monica Seles was not on board. 466 00:21:11,266 --> 00:21:13,569 [ Camera shutter clicks ] -The assault on Monica Seles 467 00:21:13,605 --> 00:21:17,479 happens just 10 days after an equally disturbing attack 468 00:21:17,511 --> 00:21:19,884 on another female tennis prodigy. 469 00:21:19,916 --> 00:21:21,385 -While the Seles incident 470 00:21:21,420 --> 00:21:22,788 created shock waves around the world, 471 00:21:22,823 --> 00:21:24,727 it wasn't really the first incident of violence 472 00:21:24,759 --> 00:21:28,601 against women, just a week before Seles was stabbed, 473 00:21:28,634 --> 00:21:30,436 you had Jennifer Rhodes, a young girl, 474 00:21:30,471 --> 00:21:33,042 promising young tennis player, you know, not on a pro tour yet, 475 00:21:33,076 --> 00:21:35,047 but, you know, I believe, she was a college player, 476 00:21:35,079 --> 00:21:38,319 and she had -- she had a promising career. 477 00:21:38,354 --> 00:21:40,558 -Jennifer had just finished taking private lessons 478 00:21:40,592 --> 00:21:43,329 at an elite tennis academy in New York City 479 00:21:43,363 --> 00:21:46,036 when her coach becomes sexually obsessed with her. 480 00:21:47,739 --> 00:21:49,409 -A fellow named Gary Wilensky, 481 00:21:49,442 --> 00:21:51,747 who essentially people remember, 482 00:21:51,780 --> 00:21:53,750 and I frankly remember him, 483 00:21:53,785 --> 00:21:55,788 because I used to play at those tennis courts. 484 00:21:55,821 --> 00:21:57,893 He'd be going around on his roller skates, 485 00:21:57,925 --> 00:22:00,632 and he -- he was coaching Jennifer Rhodes, 486 00:22:00,664 --> 00:22:03,971 and, um, his intention was to steer her off to a cabin 487 00:22:04,005 --> 00:22:05,976 he had somewhere upstate New York 488 00:22:06,009 --> 00:22:07,846 that was filled with all kinds 489 00:22:07,878 --> 00:22:10,951 of sex toys and bondage implements and things like that. 490 00:22:10,986 --> 00:22:13,625 [ Taser buzzing ] Yeah. 491 00:22:13,657 --> 00:22:17,464 So, he had planned presumably to lock her up in that cabin 492 00:22:17,499 --> 00:22:19,603 and do whatever he was gonna do. 493 00:22:19,636 --> 00:22:21,941 -And this pornographic video found inside 494 00:22:21,973 --> 00:22:24,680 may have been the blueprint for the obsessed man's desire. 495 00:22:24,712 --> 00:22:26,851 Its title bears the name of his victim -- 496 00:22:26,884 --> 00:22:28,855 Jennifer. 497 00:22:28,887 --> 00:22:31,826 -Heroically, Jennifer manages to call for help, 498 00:22:31,861 --> 00:22:35,334 forcing her former coach to flee the scene. 499 00:22:35,367 --> 00:22:37,372 -And he ended up driving off in a rental car 500 00:22:37,404 --> 00:22:38,941 and putting a bullet through his head. 501 00:22:38,974 --> 00:22:41,346 [ Gunshot ] -The attempted abduction 502 00:22:41,378 --> 00:22:44,384 of Jennifer Rhodes and the stabbing of Monica Seles 503 00:22:44,420 --> 00:22:46,556 may seem like two unrelated events 504 00:22:46,589 --> 00:22:49,797 chronicled by the news media, but Pete Bodo thinks they both 505 00:22:49,829 --> 00:22:52,402 point to an unsettling, '90s reality. 506 00:22:52,434 --> 00:22:54,573 -What it did underscore was that, you know, 507 00:22:54,605 --> 00:22:57,545 in some ways, it -- it was open season on women tennis players 508 00:22:57,578 --> 00:22:59,382 in that era. [ Insects chirping ] 509 00:22:59,414 --> 00:23:02,588 Women athletes were much more easily manipulated at that time, 510 00:23:02,622 --> 00:23:04,759 and they were much more 511 00:23:04,792 --> 00:23:07,833 at the mercy of, A, either parents, 512 00:23:07,865 --> 00:23:10,505 B, coaches, there were any number of stories 513 00:23:10,537 --> 00:23:12,509 and still are, unfortunately, 514 00:23:12,540 --> 00:23:14,010 about inappropriate relationships 515 00:23:14,045 --> 00:23:16,884 between coaches and students. 516 00:23:16,916 --> 00:23:19,087 -The mistreatment of female tennis players 517 00:23:19,122 --> 00:23:22,762 in the '90s remains one of tennis's dirty little secrets, 518 00:23:22,796 --> 00:23:26,804 one that still plagues women's tennis to this day. 519 00:23:26,836 --> 00:23:28,807 But one story that doesn't go unnoticed 520 00:23:28,840 --> 00:23:31,747 is the downward spiral of America's sweetheart -- 521 00:23:31,780 --> 00:23:33,415 Jennifer Capriati. 522 00:23:33,450 --> 00:23:35,788 -Well, Jennifer Capriati's arrest on drug charges 523 00:23:35,821 --> 00:23:37,925 has brought a dark side of her life to light. 524 00:23:37,959 --> 00:23:40,096 The former tennis champ was arrested yesterday 525 00:23:40,130 --> 00:23:42,167 at a Coral Gables motel. 526 00:23:42,201 --> 00:23:44,605 -She couldn't stop 527 00:23:44,638 --> 00:23:47,443 being Jennifer Capriati. 528 00:23:52,622 --> 00:23:55,059 [ Cheers and applause ] -At the 1992 Olympics 529 00:23:55,093 --> 00:23:57,965 in Barcelona, Jennifer Capriati upset 530 00:23:57,999 --> 00:23:59,536 Steffi Graf in the finals 531 00:23:59,568 --> 00:24:02,007 to win gold for the US. 532 00:24:02,040 --> 00:24:03,810 [ Cheering ] -There it is. 533 00:24:03,845 --> 00:24:07,116 Jennifer Capriati! -Still only 15. 534 00:24:07,151 --> 00:24:08,887 She's already called one 535 00:24:08,921 --> 00:24:11,558 of the hardest working players on the circuit. 536 00:24:11,594 --> 00:24:14,664 -She was, uh, the epitome of someone 537 00:24:14,700 --> 00:24:16,603 who could push herself farther than anybody else 538 00:24:16,636 --> 00:24:18,138 could push herself. 539 00:24:18,173 --> 00:24:21,144 [ Cheers and applause ] She didn't have an off switch. 540 00:24:21,179 --> 00:24:23,917 She couldn't stop. 541 00:24:23,951 --> 00:24:27,090 -She had parental pressure. She had contractual pressure. 542 00:24:27,124 --> 00:24:29,194 If she wanted to, say, take a month off, 543 00:24:29,228 --> 00:24:31,132 there was somebody to say, "Look, you can't do that. 544 00:24:31,164 --> 00:24:33,202 You're committed to play here, there, and everywhere. 545 00:24:33,236 --> 00:24:35,508 And you've also got your sponsor deal." 546 00:24:35,540 --> 00:24:38,547 -But like Andre Agassi early in his career, 547 00:24:38,579 --> 00:24:41,586 Capriati has yet to win a Grand Slam title 548 00:24:41,619 --> 00:24:44,692 despite being ranked 6 in the world. 549 00:24:44,726 --> 00:24:46,695 So, when she's knocked out of the first round 550 00:24:46,730 --> 00:24:51,172 at the 1993 US Open by 37th-ranked Leila Meskhi, 551 00:24:51,204 --> 00:24:53,042 the media starts questioning 552 00:24:53,076 --> 00:24:56,182 whether she has what it takes to be a true champion. 553 00:24:56,214 --> 00:24:58,820 -While Jennifer rolls over lower-ranked players, 554 00:24:58,854 --> 00:25:01,660 she has yet to beat any of the top 5 women. 555 00:25:01,692 --> 00:25:04,632 -You're 14, 15, you're facing media. 556 00:25:04,665 --> 00:25:07,939 I mean, adults can't sometimes handle the media. 557 00:25:07,972 --> 00:25:11,646 -And Jennifer came here with a teenager's mix of awe 558 00:25:11,679 --> 00:25:14,786 and utter confidence. -She was getting to the semis, 559 00:25:14,819 --> 00:25:16,656 but I wanted to know when she was going to win. 560 00:25:16,689 --> 00:25:19,730 And I guess, in some way, she internalized that as pressure. 561 00:25:21,199 --> 00:25:24,137 And maybe everyone around her not having the patience, 562 00:25:24,171 --> 00:25:27,076 and everyone wanted it so soon. 563 00:25:27,111 --> 00:25:31,019 So, eventually, she just took a break. 564 00:25:31,051 --> 00:25:32,655 She stopped playing. 565 00:25:32,689 --> 00:25:34,692 -What does it mean to play here at Wimbledon? 566 00:25:34,726 --> 00:25:36,930 -It's always been in my dream to play here 567 00:25:36,963 --> 00:25:38,634 -And then, unfortunately, 568 00:25:38,665 --> 00:25:40,069 you know, things began to catch up with her. 569 00:25:40,103 --> 00:25:42,575 She started to get into her teenage years, 570 00:25:42,607 --> 00:25:44,813 and suddenly, she seemed to really get 571 00:25:44,846 --> 00:25:46,583 a little bit rebellious. 572 00:25:48,153 --> 00:25:49,955 -In May of 1994, 573 00:25:49,990 --> 00:25:52,294 8 months after taking a break from tennis, 574 00:25:52,326 --> 00:25:54,832 Capriati is arrested for drug possession 575 00:25:54,865 --> 00:25:57,171 at a motel just outside of Miami. 576 00:25:59,208 --> 00:26:01,779 -One-time tennis prodigy Jennifer Capriati's career 577 00:26:01,814 --> 00:26:03,784 is on a downward spiral. 578 00:26:03,817 --> 00:26:05,887 First, she was arrested on drug charges. 579 00:26:05,922 --> 00:26:07,959 Now, she's lost a key endorsement 580 00:26:07,991 --> 00:26:11,098 and has reportedly entered a drug treatment clinic. 581 00:26:11,132 --> 00:26:13,269 -Despite the drug being marijuana, 582 00:26:13,303 --> 00:26:16,777 the media breathlessly reports on Capriati's downfall. 583 00:26:16,808 --> 00:26:19,515 [ Eerie music plays ] -At the age of 13, 584 00:26:19,548 --> 00:26:22,253 Jennifer Capriati exploded onto the world stage 585 00:26:22,287 --> 00:26:25,192 with her booming smile and charming ground strokes. 586 00:26:25,227 --> 00:26:27,932 But somewhere, something went wrong. 587 00:26:27,965 --> 00:26:30,872 -And start looking for someone to blame for what they see 588 00:26:30,904 --> 00:26:32,808 as a good girl gone bad. 589 00:26:32,842 --> 00:26:34,813 -And there is plenty of finger pointing over 590 00:26:34,846 --> 00:26:36,682 whether she was forced into big-time tennis 591 00:26:36,717 --> 00:26:39,221 too early by her father. -As, uh, any father 592 00:26:39,255 --> 00:26:41,791 and, uh, any mother, they teach their children 593 00:26:41,826 --> 00:26:44,731 the best -- the best that they -- they can be. 594 00:26:44,766 --> 00:26:49,141 -I did not see anything abusive other than just yelling 595 00:26:49,174 --> 00:26:52,780 and screaming, and like, "Move your derriere," 596 00:26:52,816 --> 00:26:54,117 and all that stuff. 597 00:26:54,151 --> 00:26:57,156 She never told me about any kind of abuse, 598 00:26:57,191 --> 00:27:00,230 but she was pushed harder 599 00:27:00,262 --> 00:27:02,601 than almost any human being could be pushed. 600 00:27:02,634 --> 00:27:04,837 That's for sure. [ Camera shutter clicks ] 601 00:27:06,342 --> 00:27:10,917 -Capriati becomes a case study in burnout... 602 00:27:10,951 --> 00:27:14,124 and her story will provide the backdrop for judging 603 00:27:14,157 --> 00:27:17,330 how all tennis dads treat their aspiring children. 604 00:27:17,364 --> 00:27:21,137 -What do you feel inside when you're on the court? 605 00:27:21,172 --> 00:27:23,242 -I feel good. -I feel good. 606 00:27:23,276 --> 00:27:24,778 -But Richard Williams is teaching 607 00:27:24,811 --> 00:27:26,616 his daughters, Venus and Serena, 608 00:27:26,648 --> 00:27:28,318 a different approach to tennis, 609 00:27:28,353 --> 00:27:31,057 far from any private country club courts. 610 00:27:31,092 --> 00:27:32,861 -Nice. -As Venus and Serena 611 00:27:32,895 --> 00:27:34,597 are coming up in the '90s, 612 00:27:34,632 --> 00:27:36,269 all the media coverage around them 613 00:27:36,301 --> 00:27:39,741 starts by talking about them being from Compton. 614 00:27:39,776 --> 00:27:41,846 [ Sirens wailing, alarms sounding ] 615 00:27:43,348 --> 00:27:45,319 -For most of America in the '90s, 616 00:27:45,353 --> 00:27:48,226 Compton conjures images of the L.A. Riots 617 00:27:48,259 --> 00:27:50,230 and movies like "Boyz N The Hood." 618 00:27:50,262 --> 00:27:52,934 ♪ 619 00:27:52,969 --> 00:27:55,740 -We have Venus and Serena coming up in this space 620 00:27:55,775 --> 00:27:58,179 that there aren't a lot of resources or public support... 621 00:27:58,211 --> 00:28:00,083 [ Camera shutter clicks ] ...for them, and despite that, 622 00:28:00,115 --> 00:28:03,155 their father, their family support them in a way 623 00:28:03,189 --> 00:28:04,625 that get them to a point 624 00:28:04,657 --> 00:28:06,194 where they can compete on a national 625 00:28:06,228 --> 00:28:07,932 and international scale. 626 00:28:07,964 --> 00:28:10,170 [ Rock music plays ] 627 00:28:10,202 --> 00:28:15,012 -Their background being so anti-tennis establishment 628 00:28:15,046 --> 00:28:18,385 and having come from the Compton public courts 629 00:28:18,419 --> 00:28:22,193 into two of the best tennis players to ever live, 630 00:28:22,227 --> 00:28:28,105 is a story that resonates with people outside of tennis. 631 00:28:28,138 --> 00:28:30,643 -Initially coached by their dad, 632 00:28:30,678 --> 00:28:33,383 the Williams sisters steamroll the junior circuit. 633 00:28:34,684 --> 00:28:37,124 -Serena is number 1 in the under 10. 634 00:28:37,156 --> 00:28:40,195 And then, we have Venus, who hadn't even lost a single match. 635 00:28:40,230 --> 00:28:44,203 And she is number 1, um, as an 11 year old. 636 00:28:44,238 --> 00:28:47,344 -Richard does enroll them in a Florida tennis academy, 637 00:28:47,376 --> 00:28:49,748 but then forbids them from continuing 638 00:28:49,782 --> 00:28:51,684 on the junior circuit. 639 00:28:51,720 --> 00:28:53,088 -He pulls them out and says, 640 00:28:53,122 --> 00:28:55,093 "I want them to have an education." 641 00:28:56,429 --> 00:28:58,199 Before they go professional, he says, 642 00:28:58,231 --> 00:29:01,672 "I don't want you to think that sports are your way out." 643 00:29:01,704 --> 00:29:03,675 -Richard holds them back from turning pro 644 00:29:03,710 --> 00:29:07,183 until he thinks they're mentally ready to handle the pressure. 645 00:29:07,217 --> 00:29:09,188 For Venus, the older sister, 646 00:29:09,221 --> 00:29:12,828 that moment comes in October of 1994 647 00:29:12,861 --> 00:29:16,669 when she debuts her talent at the Bank of the West Classic. 648 00:29:16,702 --> 00:29:18,739 -Returning to her native California tonight 649 00:29:18,772 --> 00:29:21,377 to play her first ever professional match -- 650 00:29:21,412 --> 00:29:23,915 Venus Williams. [ Applause ] 651 00:29:23,951 --> 00:29:25,887 -The first time I met Venus and Serena, 652 00:29:25,921 --> 00:29:29,260 they were 10 and 12 years old. 653 00:29:29,294 --> 00:29:31,298 I hit with Venus and Serena. 654 00:29:31,332 --> 00:29:32,969 You knew they were something special. 655 00:29:33,001 --> 00:29:34,203 You can see it young. 656 00:29:34,238 --> 00:29:36,241 They have that from the beginning. 657 00:29:38,045 --> 00:29:39,347 -As for the media, 658 00:29:39,381 --> 00:29:41,151 they seem to fear that Venus and Serena 659 00:29:41,184 --> 00:29:43,823 will each become the next Jennifer Capriati. 660 00:29:43,856 --> 00:29:45,994 And in interviews, they start fishing 661 00:29:46,028 --> 00:29:47,964 for signs of future distress. 662 00:29:47,998 --> 00:29:49,736 -Did you think you could beat her? 663 00:29:49,768 --> 00:29:52,140 -I know I can beat her. 664 00:29:52,173 --> 00:29:55,847 -You know you can beat her. Very confident. 665 00:29:55,880 --> 00:29:57,450 -But when journalist John McKenzie... 666 00:29:57,483 --> 00:29:58,787 -I'm very confident. 667 00:29:58,818 --> 00:30:00,190 -You say it so easily. 668 00:30:00,222 --> 00:30:02,359 -...presses young Venus for being confident. 669 00:30:02,394 --> 00:30:04,131 -Why?- Her father, Richard 670 00:30:04,163 --> 00:30:05,901 comes to her defense. -Because I believe it. 671 00:30:05,933 --> 00:30:07,470 -Alright, cut right there if you don't mind. 672 00:30:07,503 --> 00:30:09,473 And let me tell you why. 673 00:30:09,508 --> 00:30:11,278 What she said... 674 00:30:11,311 --> 00:30:14,351 She said it with so much confidence the first time. 675 00:30:14,384 --> 00:30:16,154 But you keep going on and on... 676 00:30:16,188 --> 00:30:17,557 -Listen, we can't keep interrupting. 677 00:30:17,590 --> 00:30:19,394 I mean, if you want -- -You got to understand 678 00:30:19,428 --> 00:30:21,932 that you're dealing with an image of a 14-year-old child. 679 00:30:21,965 --> 00:30:24,503 -There's this interesting way that he's seen as a tyrant. 680 00:30:24,538 --> 00:30:27,443 He's interrupting. He's unprofessional. 681 00:30:27,477 --> 00:30:29,114 He doesn't understand the decorum. 682 00:30:29,146 --> 00:30:30,884 -She done answered it with a lot of confidence. 683 00:30:30,916 --> 00:30:32,287 Leave that alone! 684 00:30:32,319 --> 00:30:34,124 -His idea of protecting 685 00:30:34,156 --> 00:30:35,827 his daughter in that moment 686 00:30:35,859 --> 00:30:38,365 is what I remember the most. 687 00:30:38,398 --> 00:30:41,271 -Those protective instincts of Richard Williams is something 688 00:30:41,305 --> 00:30:44,411 Andre may have missed out on as a child. 689 00:30:44,443 --> 00:30:46,115 But now 25, 690 00:30:46,147 --> 00:30:47,884 Agassi appears to be self-possessed 691 00:30:47,917 --> 00:30:50,522 and handling the media spotlight just fine. 692 00:30:50,556 --> 00:30:52,928 [ Camera shutter clicks, rock music plays ] 693 00:30:54,230 --> 00:30:56,402 He's now dating actress Brooke Shields, 694 00:30:56,434 --> 00:30:58,538 and after winning his second Grand Slam title 695 00:30:58,571 --> 00:31:00,978 at the 1994 US open, 696 00:31:01,009 --> 00:31:04,217 Agassi is treated the same as any show business celebrity. 697 00:31:04,250 --> 00:31:06,320 -Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome back 698 00:31:06,355 --> 00:31:08,358 the hunkiest tennis player ever. 699 00:31:08,392 --> 00:31:11,265 [ Cheers and applause ] Andre Agassi! Andre! 700 00:31:11,298 --> 00:31:13,169 [ Rock music plays ] 701 00:31:13,201 --> 00:31:15,005 -But under the media spotlight, 702 00:31:15,038 --> 00:31:17,109 it's harder to hide from those tabloid rumors 703 00:31:17,143 --> 00:31:18,913 that he's losing his hair, 704 00:31:18,945 --> 00:31:21,085 especially, when they're true. 705 00:31:21,117 --> 00:31:23,288 [ Hip-hop music plays ] 706 00:31:23,321 --> 00:31:27,630 His signature mane of fleecy hair is partly a weave. 707 00:31:27,663 --> 00:31:30,502 Agassi's been going bald since he was a teenager, 708 00:31:30,536 --> 00:31:32,173 and it's Brooke Shields 709 00:31:32,207 --> 00:31:35,948 who finally convinces him to embrace it... 710 00:31:35,980 --> 00:31:38,285 by buzzing off what he has left. 711 00:31:38,318 --> 00:31:44,397 ♪ 712 00:31:44,431 --> 00:31:47,938 [ Cheers and applause, camera shutters clicking ] 713 00:31:47,971 --> 00:31:51,577 To the public, Agassi is living a sparkling life. 714 00:31:51,612 --> 00:31:53,548 Going into 1995... 715 00:31:53,582 --> 00:31:55,452 he's got a glossy girlfriend, 716 00:31:55,486 --> 00:31:58,491 a polished scalp, and a shiny number 2 717 00:31:58,526 --> 00:32:00,262 in the world tennis rankings. 718 00:32:01,698 --> 00:32:03,402 But in the shadows, 719 00:32:03,434 --> 00:32:05,373 Andre is hiding a secret much darker 720 00:32:05,405 --> 00:32:07,509 than a synthetic hairpiece. 721 00:32:07,544 --> 00:32:10,215 And it's about to come to light. 722 00:32:10,249 --> 00:32:12,452 -I think he was always trying to stay ahead of the game 723 00:32:12,487 --> 00:32:14,089 and ahead of the curve. 724 00:32:14,123 --> 00:32:15,593 I think, he just went too far. 725 00:32:15,625 --> 00:32:17,497 -[ Snorting ] 726 00:32:21,637 --> 00:32:23,375 -It looks like this is all coming back to her. 727 00:32:23,409 --> 00:32:26,347 -In 1995, 2 years after her stabbing, 728 00:32:26,381 --> 00:32:29,320 Monica Seles makes a courageous return to tennis, 729 00:32:29,354 --> 00:32:31,123 winning the Canadian Open. 730 00:32:31,157 --> 00:32:34,263 [ Cheers and applause ] -Game, set, match, Seles. 731 00:32:34,297 --> 00:32:36,468 -Months later, she proves it's no fluke 732 00:32:36,500 --> 00:32:39,006 by capturing her fourth Australian Open. 733 00:32:39,038 --> 00:32:43,015 ♪ 734 00:32:43,047 --> 00:32:46,153 Jeff Tarango is also making headlines during this time, 735 00:32:46,188 --> 00:32:48,291 but for a less celebratory reason. 736 00:32:50,028 --> 00:32:51,597 -Uh, 1995 at Wimbledon, 737 00:32:51,632 --> 00:32:54,538 there was an interesting incident involving Jeff Tarango. 738 00:32:54,570 --> 00:32:57,343 -Tennis player Jeff Tarango stormed off the court 739 00:32:57,376 --> 00:32:58,679 at Wimbledon. 740 00:32:58,711 --> 00:33:00,750 The American is upset with what he calls 741 00:33:00,782 --> 00:33:02,386 corrupt officiating. -That's it! 742 00:33:02,420 --> 00:33:03,923 -Yesterday, Tarango became, 743 00:33:03,955 --> 00:33:06,662 in his fouling, the first player in the Open era 744 00:33:06,694 --> 00:33:08,566 to default himself from a Grand Slam, 745 00:33:08,598 --> 00:33:11,505 storming off the court after accusing the chair umpire 746 00:33:11,538 --> 00:33:13,174 of being corrupt. 747 00:33:13,207 --> 00:33:15,445 [ Cheers and applause ] 748 00:33:15,479 --> 00:33:19,721 -1995, I'm playing against Steffi Graf's boyfriend. 749 00:33:19,753 --> 00:33:22,559 You know, Alexander Mronz's in the third round. 750 00:33:22,594 --> 00:33:25,967 ♪ 751 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:28,972 I keep acing the guy out wide, and they keep calling it out. 752 00:33:29,006 --> 00:33:30,343 Can you call the supervisor, please? 753 00:33:30,375 --> 00:33:32,113 I have a big beef. 754 00:33:32,145 --> 00:33:35,184 -When Jeff argues the call with umpire Bruno Rebeuh, 755 00:33:35,219 --> 00:33:36,622 the crowd at Wimbledon 756 00:33:36,654 --> 00:33:39,326 turns against him. [ Shouting ] 757 00:33:39,361 --> 00:33:41,163 -They were screaming so loud that I literally 758 00:33:41,198 --> 00:33:43,035 couldn't hit the serve. 759 00:33:43,067 --> 00:33:44,436 So, I turned around to them and I said... 760 00:33:44,471 --> 00:33:48,311 Oh, shut up! [ Cheers and applause ] 761 00:33:48,345 --> 00:33:51,417 -Code violation, audible obscenity warning, Mr. Tom. 762 00:33:51,451 --> 00:33:53,321 -And he got a code violation for that. 763 00:33:53,355 --> 00:33:55,192 -I'm not -- No. I'm not playing! No way! 764 00:33:55,226 --> 00:33:58,132 -But then Jeff takes it one step further. 765 00:33:58,163 --> 00:34:00,269 -You are the most corrupt official in the game, 766 00:34:00,301 --> 00:34:02,038 and you can't do that! 767 00:34:02,073 --> 00:34:04,711 And I'm just like, "You know you're the most corrupt official 768 00:34:04,743 --> 00:34:07,083 on the planet." -For calling him corrupt, 769 00:34:07,115 --> 00:34:10,121 the umpire deducts one game from Jeff's score. 770 00:34:10,155 --> 00:34:13,094 -This is very serious. -And he doesn't take it well. 771 00:34:13,128 --> 00:34:15,065 -Code violation, verbal abuse, point -- 772 00:34:15,097 --> 00:34:17,170 -No way! That's it! 773 00:34:17,202 --> 00:34:19,340 [ Cheers and applause ] -[ Speaks indistinctly ] 774 00:34:20,809 --> 00:34:24,583 -I can do two things, I can grab him by his tie 775 00:34:24,617 --> 00:34:27,123 and smash him down onto the net post. 776 00:34:27,155 --> 00:34:29,293 Or I could just take the better side of life 777 00:34:29,327 --> 00:34:31,498 and just walk off the court right now. 778 00:34:31,530 --> 00:34:33,367 -As he exits, his wife, 779 00:34:33,402 --> 00:34:35,338 who had been watching from the stands, 780 00:34:35,371 --> 00:34:38,811 decides it's time for her to come to her husband's defense. 781 00:34:38,846 --> 00:34:42,253 -Meanwhile, Madam Tarango, 782 00:34:42,286 --> 00:34:43,755 lovely French woman, you know, 783 00:34:43,789 --> 00:34:45,525 gets up out of her place court side, 784 00:34:45,559 --> 00:34:47,597 walks over, and Bo comes down from the chair. 785 00:34:47,630 --> 00:34:48,798 She just gives him a -- 786 00:34:48,831 --> 00:34:50,469 whacks him across the face with a, 787 00:34:50,503 --> 00:34:52,773 you know, classic, like, French slap. 788 00:34:52,806 --> 00:34:55,146 [ Cheers and applause, crowd jeering ] 789 00:34:55,179 --> 00:34:58,117 ♪ 790 00:34:58,152 --> 00:35:00,655 -The slap at Wimbledon. 791 00:35:00,688 --> 00:35:02,159 I heard that it happened, 792 00:35:02,193 --> 00:35:05,666 and I know that my wife said it happened. 793 00:35:05,699 --> 00:35:08,639 And the chair umpire, I don't think he ever said it happened. 794 00:35:08,672 --> 00:35:11,644 [ Crowd jeering ] 795 00:35:11,677 --> 00:35:13,382 It's a gray area to me, 796 00:35:13,414 --> 00:35:16,655 so, I'm not going to go on the record about the slap. 797 00:35:16,688 --> 00:35:18,391 -For his behavior at Wimbledon, 798 00:35:18,425 --> 00:35:22,400 Tarango gets fined $20,000 by the Tennis Association. 799 00:35:22,432 --> 00:35:24,603 -Cha-ching. Cha-ching. 800 00:35:24,637 --> 00:35:26,708 -2 years later, in 1997, 801 00:35:26,740 --> 00:35:30,280 Andre Agassi will face significantly less repercussions 802 00:35:30,315 --> 00:35:33,121 when a routine drug test comes back positive 803 00:35:33,153 --> 00:35:37,161 for a drug not normally ingested by professional athletes. 804 00:35:37,195 --> 00:35:39,300 Crystal meth. 805 00:35:40,869 --> 00:35:43,273 Agassi denies knowingly taking the drug 806 00:35:43,307 --> 00:35:46,815 and blames his assistant for spiking his energy drink 807 00:35:46,847 --> 00:35:48,552 until a decade later, 808 00:35:48,585 --> 00:35:51,557 when he finally tells the truth in his memoir. 809 00:35:51,590 --> 00:35:53,728 -Going through Agassi's book, then, you come to the point 810 00:35:53,762 --> 00:35:56,367 where he actually experiments with meth 811 00:35:56,400 --> 00:35:58,271 while he's basically a player. 812 00:35:58,304 --> 00:36:01,744 ♪ 813 00:36:01,777 --> 00:36:05,251 -I think, in that time, when he says he was on meth, 814 00:36:05,286 --> 00:36:07,623 I think, he was always trying to stay ahead of the game 815 00:36:07,657 --> 00:36:09,159 and ahead of the curve. 816 00:36:09,192 --> 00:36:11,563 I think, he just went too far. 817 00:36:11,597 --> 00:36:14,170 But not everyone thinks he was taking crystal meth 818 00:36:14,202 --> 00:36:16,407 as a performance enhancer. -[ Snorting ] 819 00:36:16,440 --> 00:36:18,311 -Andre's use of meth, in a sense, 820 00:36:18,344 --> 00:36:19,746 it's not shocking or surprising, 821 00:36:19,780 --> 00:36:22,152 because, look, he was obviously, you know, 822 00:36:22,184 --> 00:36:25,159 in rebellion against the sport for much of the time. 823 00:36:25,190 --> 00:36:27,161 -[ Snorting continues ] 824 00:36:27,195 --> 00:36:29,766 ♪ 825 00:36:29,800 --> 00:36:31,304 When do people turn to drugs? 826 00:36:31,338 --> 00:36:32,539 Well, when they're confused or unhappy 827 00:36:32,572 --> 00:36:33,909 or depressed, whatever. 828 00:36:33,942 --> 00:36:35,878 I think, that probably had a fair amount 829 00:36:35,913 --> 00:36:38,351 to do with Andre. -These hands. 830 00:36:38,385 --> 00:36:41,523 These miracle, magical, life-giving hands. 831 00:36:41,557 --> 00:36:43,829 -The drug seemed to make him erratic. 832 00:36:43,862 --> 00:36:46,601 -Maybe even lick one. [ Laughter ] 833 00:36:46,634 --> 00:36:48,538 -On the set of the sitcom, "Friends," 834 00:36:48,572 --> 00:36:51,510 where his girlfriend Brooke Shields is guest starring... 835 00:36:51,543 --> 00:36:54,416 -Yeah. [ Laughter ] 836 00:36:55,985 --> 00:36:59,559 -He gets irate watching a scene that he thinks is too sexual. 837 00:36:59,594 --> 00:37:01,731 [ Laughter continues ] 838 00:37:01,764 --> 00:37:03,534 ♪ 839 00:37:03,568 --> 00:37:07,275 He storms off and drives back to his home in Las Vegas alone... 840 00:37:07,307 --> 00:37:12,519 ♪ 841 00:37:12,552 --> 00:37:15,192 ...where he destroys most of his tennis trophies. 842 00:37:15,224 --> 00:37:22,572 ♪ 843 00:37:22,606 --> 00:37:24,175 Despite incidents like this, 844 00:37:24,210 --> 00:37:27,483 Andre hides his addiction from Brooke, 845 00:37:27,516 --> 00:37:32,224 and they tie the knot in a small ceremony in April of '97. 846 00:37:32,257 --> 00:37:34,831 -I don't think it's like he was running down the street 847 00:37:34,864 --> 00:37:37,769 looking for meth, because, you know, he had an issue. 848 00:37:37,802 --> 00:37:40,240 I think, he was, like, trying to make himself 849 00:37:40,275 --> 00:37:41,376 a better tennis player. 850 00:37:41,411 --> 00:37:43,246 And it wasn't happening. 851 00:37:43,280 --> 00:37:45,418 And -- And he was looking for something. 852 00:37:45,452 --> 00:37:47,922 He made a mistake. He made a few mistakes. 853 00:37:47,956 --> 00:37:50,394 ♪ 854 00:37:50,429 --> 00:37:52,465 -If he took the drug to improve his game, 855 00:37:52,500 --> 00:37:53,934 it clearly doesn't work. 856 00:37:53,969 --> 00:37:55,639 [ Camera shutter clicks ] Within a year, 857 00:37:55,672 --> 00:37:57,342 Agassi falls from the top 5 858 00:37:57,376 --> 00:37:59,780 to 141st in the world rankings. 859 00:37:59,813 --> 00:38:03,655 ♪ 860 00:38:03,688 --> 00:38:06,226 Like the struggles of Capriati and Seles, 861 00:38:06,260 --> 00:38:08,864 Agassi's downward spiral highlights the pressures 862 00:38:08,898 --> 00:38:10,402 facing star players 863 00:38:10,434 --> 00:38:12,239 in a decade when little attention 864 00:38:12,271 --> 00:38:13,807 is being paid to mental health. 865 00:38:16,280 --> 00:38:18,217 -I think, in the '90s, mental health, 866 00:38:18,251 --> 00:38:20,422 it was kind of like a taboo to really say 867 00:38:20,454 --> 00:38:24,764 that you were having any kind of problems. 868 00:38:24,797 --> 00:38:26,534 Well, people just didn't talk about it, 869 00:38:26,568 --> 00:38:28,737 because they, maybe thought it was, uh, 870 00:38:28,771 --> 00:38:30,943 a sign of weakness. [ Camera shutter clicks ] 871 00:38:32,545 --> 00:38:34,248 -I think, sports psychology 872 00:38:34,282 --> 00:38:36,018 started becoming big in the '90s, 873 00:38:36,054 --> 00:38:37,755 but nobody was thinking about it 874 00:38:37,789 --> 00:38:39,760 as mental health, they were thinking about it as, 875 00:38:39,793 --> 00:38:42,333 "How can I be better than that other person?" 876 00:38:42,364 --> 00:38:44,570 -While both Agassi and Capriati's troubles 877 00:38:44,603 --> 00:38:47,307 take them down, neither is taken out. 878 00:38:47,342 --> 00:38:49,646 They're both about to shock the world of tennis 879 00:38:49,679 --> 00:38:51,617 with what they do next. -And we used to say, 880 00:38:51,650 --> 00:38:53,655 "It's not how you fall. It's how you get back up." 881 00:38:57,829 --> 00:38:59,500 -As the '90s wind down, 882 00:38:59,532 --> 00:39:02,070 Andre Agassi surprises everyone in his sport 883 00:39:02,105 --> 00:39:04,577 by doing the unexpected. 884 00:39:04,610 --> 00:39:06,780 He makes a comeback. 885 00:39:06,813 --> 00:39:08,652 -I think, Andre showed a lot of character 886 00:39:08,684 --> 00:39:11,389 in how he rebounded from this very confusing, 887 00:39:11,423 --> 00:39:12,960 I think, period in his life. 888 00:39:12,992 --> 00:39:14,896 -I think it made an impact on a lot of people, 889 00:39:14,929 --> 00:39:16,701 and you realize we're all vulnerable. 890 00:39:16,733 --> 00:39:18,605 Like if Andre is the highest paid player 891 00:39:18,637 --> 00:39:20,641 and he's having those kind of issues, 892 00:39:20,675 --> 00:39:24,317 then it's okay for us to have some issues. 893 00:39:24,349 --> 00:39:28,556 -Over 12 months, Agassi battles his way from 141st in the world 894 00:39:28,590 --> 00:39:32,666 back into the top 10. 895 00:39:32,699 --> 00:39:34,670 By summer of 1999, 896 00:39:34,704 --> 00:39:37,775 his two-year marriage to Brooke Shields is over, 897 00:39:37,809 --> 00:39:41,516 but off the drugs and on a new fitness routine, 898 00:39:41,550 --> 00:39:44,690 Agassi finishes the year as the number one men's 899 00:39:44,724 --> 00:39:47,094 professional tennis player in the world. 900 00:39:47,128 --> 00:39:49,632 [ Cheers and applause ] 901 00:39:49,666 --> 00:39:51,704 -I think he kind of came to terms with tennis, 902 00:39:51,737 --> 00:39:54,375 and he came to value and appreciate 903 00:39:54,409 --> 00:39:58,550 his profession and his talent. 904 00:39:58,585 --> 00:40:00,655 -At the dawn of Agassi's rebirth, 905 00:40:00,688 --> 00:40:03,360 Steffi Graf, just 30 years old, 906 00:40:03,393 --> 00:40:05,865 announces her retirement mere months after winning 907 00:40:05,898 --> 00:40:11,409 her 22nd Grand Slam title at the French Open. 908 00:40:11,443 --> 00:40:15,985 She and Agassi start dating that year. 909 00:40:16,018 --> 00:40:19,391 -When she retires, that leaves a void. 910 00:40:19,427 --> 00:40:22,030 That leaves an opening. 911 00:40:22,063 --> 00:40:25,972 -One Jennifer Capriati is surprisingly ready to fill. 912 00:40:26,005 --> 00:40:29,880 In 2001, 11 years after her promising debut, 913 00:40:29,914 --> 00:40:33,085 she enters the Australian Open as the 12th seed, 914 00:40:33,119 --> 00:40:35,891 beats Monica Seles to enter the semi-finals, 915 00:40:35,925 --> 00:40:38,030 and then defeats Martina Hingis 916 00:40:38,063 --> 00:40:40,534 to win her first Grand Slam tournament. 917 00:40:40,568 --> 00:40:42,204 By the end of the year, 918 00:40:42,237 --> 00:40:46,947 Capriati is the number one female player in the world. 919 00:40:46,981 --> 00:40:49,954 -She played a perfect match. 920 00:40:49,987 --> 00:40:51,590 -She'd won the Australian Open. 921 00:40:51,623 --> 00:40:53,527 That was a very heartwarming story. 922 00:40:53,559 --> 00:40:54,797 And then, of course, you had 923 00:40:54,829 --> 00:40:56,498 the biggest story of all, really, 924 00:40:56,534 --> 00:40:58,103 was the Williams sisters' rapid development 925 00:40:58,135 --> 00:41:00,742 and emergence as Grand Slam champions. 926 00:41:00,775 --> 00:41:03,882 -To see where we come from, out of the worst ghetto, 927 00:41:03,914 --> 00:41:07,688 to be here at the finest club in the world. 928 00:41:07,722 --> 00:41:09,425 -Starting in 1999, 929 00:41:09,460 --> 00:41:11,429 the Williams sisters began dominating 930 00:41:11,463 --> 00:41:13,065 the sport's top events. 931 00:41:13,099 --> 00:41:17,074 -It will quickly become Serena versus Venus 932 00:41:17,108 --> 00:41:20,514 in most of these major tournaments. 933 00:41:20,547 --> 00:41:22,952 Those were the two that were really 934 00:41:22,985 --> 00:41:26,726 just taking over the sport of tennis. 935 00:41:26,760 --> 00:41:29,032 -Unlike Zina Garrison back in 1990, 936 00:41:29,065 --> 00:41:32,773 the Williams sisters have no trouble landing sponsors, 937 00:41:32,806 --> 00:41:34,710 including Venus's five-year, 938 00:41:34,742 --> 00:41:37,548 $40 million endorsement deal with Reebok, 939 00:41:37,581 --> 00:41:42,925 the biggest for any female athlete in history. 940 00:41:42,960 --> 00:41:47,068 -When Venus Williams signed her deal with Reebok, 941 00:41:47,101 --> 00:41:51,978 it was huge in the landscape of female sports. 942 00:41:52,010 --> 00:41:53,847 Still to this day, 943 00:41:53,880 --> 00:41:58,523 the highest-paid female athletes in terms of endorsements 944 00:41:58,556 --> 00:42:01,831 are tennis players. 945 00:42:01,864 --> 00:42:04,670 -The Williams sisters profoundly changed the demographic 946 00:42:04,702 --> 00:42:08,911 of who watches and plays tennis, attracting people of color 947 00:42:08,945 --> 00:42:10,815 to a sport historically dominated 948 00:42:10,847 --> 00:42:13,788 by affluent white people. 949 00:42:13,820 --> 00:42:15,759 -I feel so happy. It's like a dream come true 950 00:42:15,791 --> 00:42:17,094 because I've been waiting for this moment 951 00:42:17,128 --> 00:42:18,797 for a very long time. 952 00:42:18,831 --> 00:42:20,601 -People that never would have watched tennis 953 00:42:20,635 --> 00:42:23,273 started watching tennis, coming to tennis tournaments. 954 00:42:23,306 --> 00:42:27,081 [ Announcer speaks indistinctly ] 955 00:42:27,114 --> 00:42:32,257 They reached an audience that tennis hadn't reached. 956 00:42:32,291 --> 00:42:33,960 -Televised tennis now reaches 957 00:42:33,994 --> 00:42:36,534 more than a billion people globally, 958 00:42:36,567 --> 00:42:38,971 and at the 2018 U.S. Open, 959 00:42:39,005 --> 00:42:41,744 Serena's final match against Naomi Osaka 960 00:42:41,777 --> 00:42:45,650 drew in 50% more television viewers than the men's final 961 00:42:45,684 --> 00:42:50,327 the following day. 962 00:42:50,360 --> 00:42:53,835 -You can't overestimate how big an impact Venus and Serena 963 00:42:53,867 --> 00:42:58,175 and their story had on changing things. 964 00:42:58,210 --> 00:43:01,048 -Much of the diversity of talent on the tennis circuit today 965 00:43:01,081 --> 00:43:04,722 can be directly attributed to the Williams sisters. 966 00:43:04,755 --> 00:43:07,260 But there's also the trailblazers of the '90s -- 967 00:43:07,293 --> 00:43:09,800 people like Zina Garrison, 968 00:43:09,833 --> 00:43:11,971 Capriati, 969 00:43:12,003 --> 00:43:13,940 Seles, 970 00:43:13,974 --> 00:43:16,981 and Agassi, who all left their marks on the game. 971 00:43:17,014 --> 00:43:20,655 -It doesn't just begin with Venus and Serena. 972 00:43:20,686 --> 00:43:22,958 We're all standing on the shoulders of other people 973 00:43:22,992 --> 00:43:24,596 that have come before us. 974 00:43:24,628 --> 00:43:26,298 -I think that the stars of the past, 975 00:43:26,331 --> 00:43:29,806 they have made a space to carve out for the next generation. 976 00:43:29,840 --> 00:43:32,344 And so it's not just Venus and Serena. 977 00:43:32,378 --> 00:43:36,954 Now we can have 5 of them, hopefully 5, 15 of them. 978 00:43:36,987 --> 00:43:39,592 -Any time that you have a player 979 00:43:39,625 --> 00:43:42,831 that can push back against an establishment, 980 00:43:42,865 --> 00:43:44,601 then that creates more room 981 00:43:44,635 --> 00:43:46,139 for somebody to come in behind them. 982 00:43:46,172 --> 00:43:47,876 -That's what's great about tennis, 983 00:43:47,909 --> 00:43:51,048 that every era is going to show something better. 984 00:43:51,081 --> 00:43:54,789 The '90s made tennis happen for the future.