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Engraved portrait of Andre Agassi
Sports · 1990s

Andre Agassi

In memoriam 1970–
Tennis (men's singles)Sport
Individual; United States Davis Cup teamTeams
8 majors, 60 ATP singles titles, Olympic goldTitles
One of three men with a career Golden SlamRecords
Andre Kirk Agassi, Las Vegas, NevadaBorn
The Turning Point

A flashy teenage prodigy, Agassi reached multiple major finals before breaking through at Wimbledon in 1992. His true legend was sealed in 1999, when winning the French Open completed his career Grand Slam and returned him to world No. 1 after a stunning fall to No. 141. That comeback made him a symbol of resilience.

Andre Agassi at a 2011 exhibition in Philadelphia.
Andre Agassi at a 2011 exhibition in Philadelphia.

Rebel With Flair

With long hair, denim shorts, and a 'Image is Everything' ad campaign, Agassi was tennis's brash showman in the late 1980s. Behind the style lay one of the greatest return games the sport has ever seen.

The Great Comeback

After his ranking collapsed to No. 141 in 1997, Agassi rebuilt through grueling work on the minor-league Challenger circuit. He completed the career Grand Slam at the 1999 French Open and reclaimed the world No. 1 ranking.

Champion and Philanthropist

Agassi married fellow great Steffi Graf in 2001 and retired in 2006 with eight major titles. He devoted his post-tennis life to education, building a charter school in his hometown of Las Vegas.

Career Timeline

  1. 1986Turned professional at age 16
  2. 1992Won first major title at Wimbledon
  3. 1994Won the US Open as an unseeded player
  4. 1995Won Australian Open; reached world No. 1
  5. 1996Won Olympic singles gold in Atlanta
  6. 1997Ranking fell to No. 141 amid struggles
  7. 1999Won French Open to complete career Grand Slam
  8. 2003Won eighth and final major in Australia
  9. 2006Retired after the US Open
  10. 2011Inducted into Tennis Hall of Fame

Biggest Hits

1999
Career Grand SlamWon all four majors across hard, clay and grass
1999
Career Golden SlamAll four majors plus 1996 Olympic gold medal
2003
Eight-time major championFour Australian, two US, one French, one Wimbledon
1996
Olympic gold medalWon men's singles at the Atlanta Games
1999
World No. 1 rankingHeld the top spot for 101 weeks total
2011
Tennis Hall of FameInducted in his first year of eligibility
Did You Know
  • Agassi famously skipped Wimbledon for years, calling it stuffy, before winning it in 1992.
  • His Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy opened in Las Vegas in 2001 for at-risk youth.

Portrait: Shinya Suzuki · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

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