Last week, we brought you an update on the out-of-control Alexandra Eala card market; it’s a giant line pointing up, with prices — even since we last met — still surging, ahead of the U.S. Open.
A funny thing happened to us after the newsletter went out. Call it fate. Call it corporate spying. Our algorithm served us up a Jennifer Capriati tweet. It was the first time in years she’s entered our minds and it got us thinking: how much is HER rookie card going for?
What we found was bonkers.
Capriati has one official, indisputable rookie card — her 1991 SI For Kids. You can get one in decent condition for under $5.
And it gets weirder.
Capriati’s only other “official” card in existence is another SIFK card, from 2001. She had a Classic card in 1992 — I remember it as a board game but by 1992 it may have morphed into just cards, so we can call that one borderline official (more on that in a moment) — and a Tuff Stuff Jr. card in 1991. We have fond memories of Tuff Stuff and never realized there was a Jr. But that’s not falling under “official” today.
The Classic card came in two versions — signed and unsigned. The normal version had a typical “card” back:
The signed version was an in-your-face variation of the “congratulations” message:
“Extremely limited” in 90s parlance meant 3000. But still, this is an autographed Jennifer Capriati card. And I got one for $9.99.
Let’s rewind! Just to make sure we’re all still living in the same timeline where Jennifer Capriati is a Hall of Famer who won multiple titles, had a legendary comeback, and was a legitimate phenomenon in the 90s. Right? We’re all on that Earth?
Capriati made her professional debut in 1990 at 13 years old. By the time her ‘91 SIFK card came out, she had reached the semis of the French Open and was the youngest player ever to be ranked in the top 10. She was on the cover of SI. This is from her Wikipedia:
By the time her Classic card(s) came out, Capriati had won gold at the Olympics and had a Sega game with her name on it.
She kept making semis and quarterfinals at tournaments, constantly getting thwarted by Monica Seles and Steffi Graf — although she DID win a doubles title…with Seles as her partner. Capriati beat Martina Navritalova at one point, to give you an idea of where we’re at in the timeline.
And then, in 1993, at age 17, she quit. From the NY Times:
That December, Capriati was arrested for “shoplifting” a cheap ring from a mall kiosk. It all seems like a very plausible misunderstanding and an overzealous mall kiosk owner. In 1994 she was arrested for possession of marijuana. It was the 90s and peak tabloid time so that all became a thing that stuck with her. She went to rehab and slid out of the public eye.
There is a great New York Times interview with Capriati from September 1994 that could be the basis for a biopic. In it, Capriati says she burned out, had suicidal thoughts, rebelled against the cutesy teen phenom image, and was pushed too hard. She was surprised at the intense coverage of the shoplifting. When she decided she wanted to try being a normal teen, stuff like this happened:
More than once she was ambushed by tabloid photographers hiding in the bushes and stalking her high school in surburban Tampa, Fla.
After some time training in California, she came back in 1996. And it took a while, but she got revved up and eventually took off.
By 2001, Capriati was No. 1 in the world, adding multiple Grand Slam titles in 2002 despite a fresh crop of competition that included Martina Hingis, Serena Williams, and Lindsay Davenport. But it’s not like she was some 34 year old veteran; she was 26 in 2002. She’d just been around since 1991. The whole thing is crazy.
By 2005, though, thanks to a bunch of injuries, Capriati was done, for real. In 2014 she was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame. She wasn’t even 40 yet. But a weird thing has happened since then — it’s like nobody remembers how good she was. Or even her pop culture relevance.
And so I ask you all: what the f**k is wrong with us?? How is this woman’s rookie card — perforations be damned — selling for under $5? How is her autographed card going for under $20? Much less under $10?? Where are her Topps Chrome autographs? Her Leaf Metal zebra whatevers?? This is Hall of Famer Jennifer Capriati, you weirdoes. She’s legend. She had 90s era paparazzi hiding in high school shrubberies. We’re out here dressing little kids in Nirvana t-shirts from Target and putting Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles back in theaters and Jennifer Capriati goldmines are just sitting on eBay for $4.99??
(Quick aside: Monica Seles faces the same indignity, with her 1990 SIFK card — and even her 93 NetPro — gettable for under $5)
Here’s another thing. Capriati is re-emerging. She’s posting pics of her dog on X. She showed up at the Australian Open and made some public appearances that everyone loved. She’s on the cusp of a renaissance. Remember everyone fawning over that Andre Agassi/Jim Courier booth last year? Jennifer Capriati could be there if she wanted to. And maybe she does.
And her story told through a modern lens would probably put most people alive in the 90s to shane. We just watched Alysa Liu, a teenage prodigy who took a mental break, come back on her own terms to win gold and send her card prices into the stratosphere. And technically Amanda Anisimova did it recently in tennis — she just wasn’t as huge as Capriati was before the break. But Jennifer Capriati invented that move 30 years ago and got crap for it; now the athletes are embraced and it makes cards worth 20x more.
She’s due to re-enter the public eye (or at least our general consciousness) soon — will you be ready?
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Leaf whiffed on Capriati but they made up for it this week with their Merciless set. From their email:
A barren wasteland. Desolate plains. 2026 Leaf Merciless depicts college football's top talents in the harsh, unforgiving style of iconic metal albums. Imagine these fierce warriors defeating their hated rivals while soul-rocking reverb blares.
As a bonus, I believe this is the first ever college set featuring multiple on-card dead bodies in the background — until of course ONIT’s 2027 “Multiple Dead Bodies in the Background" set that CEO Evan Parker previewed for us.
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Finally, I would like to send everyone in the direction of ebay Live seller packosocks.
It’s a channel that just opens and sells socks. No-nonsense, push ahead, sell sell sell. I watched for 15 minutes and it was a cathartic experience. I didn’t actually buy anything but it was a wonderful way to unwind.
Epilogue — she DID find those men’s XLs. Happy day!
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Speaking of socks, the bounty we offered for the Cooper Flagg card was not accepted, sadly. I’m not sure anyone’s was. Good luck to the seller! That should be enough to buy at least one million Capriati rookies. That’s how you do this, right??