Former professional tennis player Andre Agassi was born on April 29, 1970, in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States to father Emmanuel Agassi and mother Elizabeth Agassi. Sports, in general, played a significant role in his upbringing, with his father a former Olympic boxer.
It was his dad who, in fact, helped his son in his first steps with a tennis racquet, as the American first picked one up as a toddler, and his dad served as his coach for what became endless hours of practice at the Agassi’s family home.
It was not long before Agassi was starting to send shockwaves through the junior ranks of American tennis. Aged 13, he was sent to a specialized tennis academy in Florida, eventually earning himself a scholarship to stay and train there for free, meaning he had to abandon his full-time education in his hometown.
After three years of training at the academy, Agassi finally broke onto the professional scene at age 16, with his first professional title coming just a year later in 1987. His subsequent six tournament wins in 1988, together with his flashy on-court fashion sense, earned him quick media attention, whether it was wanted or not.
This fresh appearance in the world of tennis earned him thousands of endearing fans, as well as plenty of critics, mostly from the traditionalist side of the fence. His outlandish style, combined with a decision to abstain from playing at Wimbledon between 1988 and 1990, further annoyed traditionalists, with the American dead set on paving his own path.
Agassi then silenced the critics when he won the men’s singles title at the All England Club to claim his first Grand Slam trophy. Yet more Grand Slams came flooding in throughout the 90s for the American, with him claiming the US Open in 1994 and 1999, the Australian Open in 1995, and the French Open in 1999.
Throughout this golden decade, Agassi also reached his career-high ranking of world number 1 before going on to claim another three Australian Open titles in 2000, 2001, and 2003. Agassi asserted his dominance on the court in tournaments such as the ATP Finals (winning in 1990), the Olympic Games (winning gold in 1996), and the Davis Cup (claiming the title three times in 1990, 1992, and 1995).
It was ultimately injury that cut short a dazzling career, with the American suffering a back injury that led him to end his playing career in September 2006. During his retirement, he has kept his legacy going by raising money for children in his home state of Nevada, all the while raising a family with his wife and fellow ex-professional Steffi Graf.
