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Jennifer Capriati Charged With Stalking, Battery

By Tanya Roth, Esq. on March 22, 2013 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

He's just not that into you. It's a message former tennis star Jennifer Capriati should have taken seriously when her boyfriend Dwight Brannan broke up with her in early 2012.

Now, Capriati has been charged with battery and stalking, reports the Sun Sentinel.

Capriati, once the world's No. 1-ranked tennis player, has been ordered to appear in Palm Beach County court to face allegations that she was stalking her ex-boyfriend. She's also been charged with battery after she allegedly punched him four times as he was working out at the gym.

Her charges aren't grave; they only amount to misdemeanors. But in a lovers' (or ex-lovers') quarrel, they only go to show that men aren't the only ones who get charged with violence against their exes.

Stalking isn't that complicated, nor is it that dramatic. It's chasing someone who doesn't want you around. But a stalking charge isn't based on a one-time event: It has to be ongoing -- for example, repeated threats of violence or intimidation.

That's where the battery charge comes in. Battery is where one person touches another intentionally and with force. The touching must be harmful or offensive. It must also be without the consent of the person being touched.

According to the Sun Sentinel, Capriati's stalking charge comes from the 283 text messages that she allegedly sent Brannan after their breakup last year. Capriati is denying the charges, claiming on Twitter that they are false accusations.

But the battery charge will be hard to disprove if there were witnesses to the incident. As the Associated Press reports, the altercation happened in a public gym, as Brannan was trying to enter the men's locker room.

Jennifer Capriati's lawyer says she plans to plead not guilty to the "absurd" charges. If convicted of the misdemeanors, she could potentially face jail time.

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