Andre Agassi: A living legend in the world of tennis
As we take a look at the stars and legends in the world of tennis, the name of Andre Agassi shines brightly over many others. The former world number one has inspired many and made heads turn during his career as a professional tennis player. Being an American player of an Iranian descent, Agassi has won eight Grand Slam singles titles out of sixteen Grand Slam final appearances and an Olympic Gold Medal. In singles tennis, he is the only male player in the history of tennis to have achieved a Career Golden Slam, which means that he has won all four of the tennis Grand Slams.
Andre Agassi was born in Las Vegas. His father was an Iranian who used to be a professional boxer and represented Iran in the 1948 and 1952 Olympics before immigrating to America. Agassi’s father supported him throughout and was a huge influence on his son’s career as a professional tennis player. At the age of thirteen, he was sent to Nick Bollettieri’s Tennis Academy in Florida where he underwent training for free due to his exceptional natural talent. Bollettieri claimed that Agassi had more natural talent for the game than anyone he had ever seen before.
As time passed, Agassi is said to have rebelled while being at the academy. He became too much for Bollettieri to handle so he was asked to leave the academy. Now Andre was free to do what he wanted and at that time he had one aim – turning into a professional tennis player. This aim was achieved by him at the age of sixteen and he was ranked world 91st at that time.
Throughout Agassi’s career, the style of his game was best suited to the baseline of the court and he managed to make contact with the ball inside the baseline whenever he could. This is a skill which is quite difficult in the professional game of tennis, but with his amazing hand and eye coordination along with a short backhand, Agassi mastered it. He is known to be the best service returner in the history of tennis.
Agassi, was without a doubt destined for greatness in the sport, but as his career flourished he still had a ‘rebellious’ image at hand. He aimed to adopt very outrageous styles which included growing his hair very long, wearing an earring and opting to dress in bright colors. Due to this, he delayed playing in Wimbledon, which required wearing an all white outfit during matches. However, it is ironic that it was at Wimbledon in 1992 that Agassi brought home his first Grand Slam title. From here onwards, the tennis star took off further in his career. In 1995 he participated in his first Australian Open and won. He managed to defeat his archrival Pete Sampras in this championship, against whom he played four more finals that year winning two of them. During this year Agassi was world number 1 for thirty six weeks straight.
Agassi faced a downfall in his career two years later, when he suffered from a wrist injury and was unable to reach the finals in any Grand Slam. His rankings also fell drastically; from being world number one he tumbled down to world number 141 which was a major blow to his career. With ongoing problems in his marriage with actress/model Brooke Shields, this was by far the worst point in his life. He divorced Brooke Shields and later on, in 2001, he married fellow tennis player, Steffi Graf, with whom his marriage thrived.
In 1998, the world class player dedicated himself entirely to tennis, worked on his fitness and ended his image as a rebel. He won five titles that year and his rankings jumped from 141 to 6th in the world which is the highest jump any player has made in tennis rankings. He attained victory at both the French Open and US Open in 1999 followed by three more Grand Slam victories until his retirement in 2006. Along with a passion for tennis, Agassi is seen to have a very philanthropic nature as he opened the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy which provides tuition free help for at-risk children.
Andre Agassi, the tennis superstar and inspiration for many, has been a blessing to the world of tennis. His passion for the game and numerous achievements has led to him being an extraordinary player; indeed he has claimed the right to be called a legend in the history of tennis!
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