FILAPEDIA: ENFANT PRODIGE

Welcome back to FILAPEDIA, the FILA Museum Foundation encyclopaedia! Today, for the first time, we will highlight expression from the French language; enfant prodige. Meaning ‘child prodigy’, it describes person who, from an early age (generally before 13), shows a singular talent or is influential. Music is full of prodigious figures. For example, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (whom they called the ‘divine child’) played short pieces on the harpsichord and composed music from the age of four.  Another example is pop star Billie Eilish.  She debuted, at 14 years old with the song ‘Ocean Eyes’. She is also the youngest composer in history to win two Oscars: one for Best Original Song, for ‘007: No Time To Die’ (2021) and the other for ‘Barbie’ (2023).

In sports, undoubtedly the most famous enfant prodige is Jennifer Capriati: a US tennis player dear to the heart of FILA. Born in New York on 29 March 1976, Capriati started her career at a very young age thanks to the influence of her Italian father Stefano. She trained at the Jimmy Evert tennis school (Jimmy was the father of Chris Everet) of and in 1989, at the age of only 13, she won the junior section at Roland Garros. Her entrance in the word of pro-tennis was dazzling and record-breaking. In 1990, at the age of 14, she was already in the Top 10 of the world’s greatest players. In the same year, fellow champion Gabriela Sabatini, declared ‘I had to play my best tennis to beat her, but soon she will be at the top.’ Not only that: Sports Illustrated put her on the cover in March, with the now historic headline ‘And She’s Only 13!’.

Sabatini was right, because the early 1990s saw Capriati on top of the world. At the Wimbledon semi-final in 1991 she beat none other than Martina Navratilova. Then came the US Open, where she challenged number one seed Monica Seles. After that she took Gold the at 1992 Barcelona Olympics in 1992, completing an astonishing trifecta. These triumphs however were followed by a dark period, when Jennifer was forced to come to terms with the pitfalls of success. Fortunately, there was light at the end of the tunnel. In the early 2000s, Capriati makes an epic comeback with wins at the Australian Open and Roland Garros. In September 2001 the tennis player once again ranked number one, and she stayed there for a good 18 weeks. On 14 July 2012 Jennifer Capriati was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Her record-breaking career was enhanced by memorable FILA looks, first and foremost the ‘starry dress’ she wore at the 2003 US Open.

‘I stopped believing in Father Christmas when I was six: my mum took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph.’ Shirley Temple        

‘Adolescence is a potential age.’ Silvia Avallone, Acciaio, 2010