Bruce Emond, The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali
The media took aim at the infamous mug shot of a dazed and confused Jennifer Capriati when she was detained for marijuana possession in Florida in 1994, declaring the sport's young stars were crashing and burning under overwhelming pressure.
Although Capriati would later resurrect her career, her lasting legacy is tighter age restrictions for young women joining the pro tour.
Today, the women's game is an even bigger money-spinner, a yearlong calendar of events that crisscross the world and where the top names are in constant demand. But the tour says it is striving to help young players make a smooth adjustment.
""We have a very detailed professional development program when the players come out of juniors,"" Sony Ericsson WTA Tour communications director Roger Gatchalian told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
""There are compulsory workshops and seminars, not only about their life as an athlete, but also finances, and explanations about how the sport tries to attract spectators, sponsors and other key constituents.""
There also is the mentor program, where retired players are matched with a younger counterpart to provide guidance.
New members of the tour also get the lowdown on dealing with reporters looking to pounce on the youthful hubris of teenage jocks.
""What were you like at 17 or 18 years old?"" said tennis journalist Barry Wood, here in Bali for the Wismilak International. ""There are so many demands on them, they are being pulled in so many directions that it's got to upset the balance somewhere.
""But we're the ones who demand it so we can't complain when they come up with bad answers.""
It's not only an issue on the women's tour. Australian doubles great Todd Woodbridge remembers the skewering endured by compatriot Lleyton Hewitt.
""When he was number one at 20, 21, people, especially in Australia, expected him to behave like somebody who was 35. They wanted him to hypothesize, philosophize, but how is that possible for someone of that age?""
Willowy Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova, the fifth seed in Bali, accepts the extracurricular demands of being a pro -- the rounds of sponsor gatherings, glamor photo shoots, press conferences -- ""as part of the business"".
But she felt the full glare of public scrutiny two years ago, when the media was rife with speculation that her thin frame was evidence of an eating disorder.
""It makes it harder for you when you are going through a difficult period in your life and it is all put out there for everybody,"" she told the Post on Monday. ""I think there are some things that are for the public to know about, and others that are private.""
The players are vital assets, not only for the tour, but also for their entourages of agents, parents and coaches. The ugly stereotype of the pushy tennis parent persists, due to the histrionics of the fathers of Capriati, Andrea Jaeger in the 1980s and Mary Pierce and Jelena Dokic.
Walter Bartoli, who coaches his daughter Marion, now world ranked 26 and the 6th seed at Wismilak, said he always emphasized that she was the ""head of the team"".
""I need to be careful that she enjoys it... the most important thing is that she is happy and healthy,"" the Frenchman told the Post on Tuesday.
The family -- his wife prefers not to travel because she does not like tennis and competition -- let her attend school before she turned pro. ""She did it step by step, it was all her choice.""
The trained physician gave up his career to travel with his daughter, but denies there has been a distortion in their relationship because she is now the breadwinner.
""I tell her, 'this is how much money you have in the bank, you must take care of it',"" he said of the 21-year-old, who has earned almost US$323,000 this year and $1.2 million in her career.
""If we decided to stop tomorrow, I could get a job somewhere in two days.""
Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, top seed in Bali, suffered a terrible 2005 after winning the U.S. Open at the age of 19 the year before. She fended off doping allegations and experienced a slump in form.
Although Hantuchova credits her family and friends with helping her through her rough patch, Kuznetsova eventually chose to rely on her own judgment.
""There were good people around me, but this group was saying take this direction, and the other was saying go in that one. And that made me more confused.""
Maturity and trusting her instincts saw her through, she added.
""I've learned to take care of everything for myself -- travel, practice, everything,"" she said. ""It' been tough, but it's part of life.
