Tantrums, fits, and other growing pains

ELItorial
   By Kate Moran

"Big mouth."

"Bird brain."

An exchange between two siblings competing for a toy or for their parents' attention? That's what one might guess, but this bandying of insults actually took place during the first week of the U.S. Open between 18-year-old Martina Hingis and 17-year-old Serena Williams, two of the strongest—and youngest—contenders for the Open title.

SHAWN CHENG/YH

This incident is not the first time that Hingis, currently the top-ranked player in the world, has made news for childish and petulant behavior. When playing Steffi Graf in the finals of the French Open this summer, she staged a fit worthy of John McEnroe, shouting and brandishing her racquet in frustration. At one point, she brazenly crossed the net to challenge a line call in Graf's favor, and she was later booed off the court when she attempted an underhand serve on match point. After leaving the court in disgrace, she bawled in the arms of her coach and mother, Melanie Molitor, who had to force Hingis to accept her second-place trophy.

Hingis' histrionics came as a shock to spectators at the French Open. Known for her precocious composure and self-assurance, the Swiss star had never before shown signs of cracking under pressure. What caused this uncharacteristic breakdown?

Although Hingis is a seasoned athlete—she already owns five Grand Slam titles—she is only 18 years old and faces more pressure than any other player on the professional circuit. As the No. 1 player in the world, she is subject to constant scrutiny by coaches, spectators, and media figures. Up-and-coming competitors continually threaten her position at the top of the rankings, and she risks losing endorsements and fan support if rivals such as Williams succeed in dethroning her. With this immense pressure to perform, it is almost inevitable that Hingis should occasionally lose her poise.

Hingis' antics at the French Open raise the question of whether or not such young athletes belong at professional tournaments. Although Hingis possesses a technical finesse beyond her years, like many young athletes she has not developed the self-control of older and more experienced players such as Graf, who maintained her equanimity during Hingis' tantrum.

Hingis is hardly the youngest player on the pro circuit. Serena Williams is barely old enough to finish high school. Jelena Dokic, the Australian who eliminated Hingis from Wimbledon three weeks after the fiasco at the French Open, is just 16. And Jennifer Capriati, now making a comeback into tennis, started competing in professional tournaments before she could fill a sports bra. Williams and Dokic seem to be coping well with the pressure of professional contests, but Capriati floundered as a professional. Burned out before her prime, she abandoned tennis for drugs and has only recently sobered up after years of addiction.

In addition to demanding emotional maturity, professional competition requires a certain level of physical development that many young athletes just don't have, although a few teenage athletes have matured physically. Venus Williams has a serve that is often clocked at over 100 m.p.h., surpassing that of most twenty-something players. But there's a reason why high school-age linebackers don't play in the NFL—at 15, 16, and 17 years of age, bodies are not fully developed. Studies have shown that young athletes who are still growing and getting stronger suffer from serious stress injuries, such as fractures, muscle tears, and ligament damage, more often than older athletes do.

Several athletic organizations have recognized the danger of allowing young athletes to participate in high-level competition. This June, a panel met in Chicago to discuss restricting first-year college basketball players to freshman teams, allowing them more time to develop before joining varsity programs. For years, the National Football League (NFL) prohibited college undergraduates from being drafted until after their class had graduated. The NFL was forced to repeal the rule in 1983, however, because the courts deemed that it limited economic opportunity. The Women's Tennis Association itself has set limits on how often adolescents can compete in pro tournaments. In 1994, the WTA passed a regulation that restricts 14-year-olds to playing in four professional events annually, 15-year-olds to eight, 16-year-olds to 10, and 17-year-olds to 13.

Currently, a 14-year-old tennis player named Monique Viele, the No. 6-ranked player in Florida in the 18-and-under category, is threatening to file a lawsuit against the WTA. Viele and her parents are challenging the WTA's age-eligibility rule, alleging that it limits Viele's freedom to pursue a career in professional tennis.

Viele's lawsuit will probably not amount to anything, but their threats are nonetheless disturbing. In a sport where athletes such as Hingis throw tantrums and hurl insults faster than serves, the solution is more stringent restrictions on age. Age-eligibility rules probably won't become more strict, however. If that happened, someone would undoubtedly throw a fit.

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