TAMPA. Florida. Dec II: Teenage sensation Jennifer Capriati, whose meteoric rise to tennis stardom stalled this year, was issued a police citation after walking away from a kiosk with a 15-doIlar ring on her finger, her agent said on Friday, reports Reuter. ■
The agent. Barbara Perry, denied television reports saying police arrested Capriati, a 17-year-old who was the youngest player ever to turn professional.
Because Capriati is 17. Tampa police said they could not discuss the incident, which occurred Thursday night.
Perry said the ninth ranked women's tennis player was wearing several rings when she stopped at a Jewelry kiosk in a Tampa shopping mall.
. Perry said Capriati inadvertently walked away with one of the rings from the booth still on her finger. The citation carrips no civil or criminal penalties and requires no further action.
When stopped after she and her friends left the booth, she discovered that she was still wearing the ring and the ring was returned. Perry’s statement said.
Capriati has tournament earnings of 357,108 dollars for the year with career tournament earnings of 11.49 million dollara. She has earned millions more from lucrative enddrse-ment contracts with Diadora sportswear, Prince rackets and products such as Oil of Olay, Oatorade. Rolex and Snappie'.
A police citation is Issued for misdemeanours and is a summons to appear in court, according to one experienced Florida! lawyer. In such cases. Juveniles often qualify for a pretrial programme that drops the charge and avoids a court appearance.
Capriati burst onto the tennis scene at age 14 In 1990 and was touted as the next Chris Evert.
An employee at the Tampa Bay Centre shopping mall told television station WFLA that he alerted security officers after he saw Capriati walk away from the kiosk with the ring.
“She was over there trying on rings. Both of them were trying on rings and there were a couple she did not take off.
"That's when I alerted security." Doug Fulton, a shopping mall employee, told the television station.