Andre Agassi

Lore & Background

Andre Agassi was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, to Emmanuel 'Mike' Agassi, a former Olympic boxer and casino worker of Armenian descent from Tehran, Iran, and Elizabeth 'Betty' Agassi. His paternal grandfather was born in Kiev, Ukraine, and left for Russia before escaping to Iran in the 1920s. Agassi has three older siblings: Rita, Philip, and Tami. He was given the middle name Kirk after businessman Kirk Kerkorian. At age 12, Agassi and his friend Roddy Parks won the 1982 National Indoor Boys 14s Doubles Championship. At 13, he was sent to Nick Bollettieri's Tennis Academy in Florida; after 30 minutes, Bollettieri waived the fee. Agassi dropped out of school in the ninth grade to pursue tennis full-time.

Agassi turned professional at 16. He won his first top-level singles title in 1987 at the Sul American Open in Itaparica. In 1988, he reached the French Open semifinals and the US Open quarterfinals, won six tournaments, and set the open-era record for most consecutive victories by a male teenager. He was named Most Improved Player of the Year. He reached his first Grand Slam final at the 1990 French Open, losing to Andrés Gómez, and his second at the 1990 US Open, losing to Pete Sampras. He helped the United States win the Davis Cup in 1990 and won the Tennis Masters Cup that year. In 1991, he reached his second consecutive French Open final, losing to Jim Courier. He won his first major at the 1992 Wimbledon Championships, defeating Goran Ivanišević in a five-set final.

After a ranking drop due to surgery, Agassi won the 1994 US Open and 1995 Australian Open to reach world No. 1 for the first time. He won an Olympic gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics but his ranking declined to No. 141 in 1997. Following a rigorous training regimen, he returned to world No. 1 in 1999 after completing the career Golden Slam at the French Open. He later won a US Open title and three Australian Open titles. He retired after the 2006 US Open. Outside tennis, he founded the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation, which raised over $60 million for at-risk children in Southern Nevada, and opened the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas in 2001. He has been married to fellow tennis player Steffi Graf since 2001.

Reader's Guide

Andre Agassi is regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time. He was the first man to win all four singles majors across three different surfaces (hard, clay, and grass) and remains the most recent American man to win the French Open (1999) and the Australian Open (2003). His career spanned more than 20 years, during which he was known as 'the Punisher' due to his excellent return of serve. Agassi's career included a dramatic rise as a teenage phenomenon, a mid-career slump that saw his ranking fall to No. 141, and a remarkable resurgence that included completing the career Golden Slam. His rivalry with Pete Sampras became the biggest in tennis over the decade following their first major final meeting in 1990. Agassi's legacy extends beyond tennis through his charitable foundation and charter school for at-risk children in Las Vegas.

Did You Know?

• Agassi is one of three men to complete the career Golden Slam in singles.
• He was the first man to win all four singles majors on three different surfaces (hard, clay, and grass).
• Agassi's ranking dropped to No. 141 in 1997 before he returned to world No. 1 in 1999.
• He founded the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas in 2001.