Andre Agassi changed the face of tennis with his denim shorts and neon shirts. You likely remember him as the rebel of the court, but his internal life was a struggle. He secretly wore a wig during major finals to hide his baldness. Furthermore, he hated the sport that made him famous. He used crystal meth and lied to authorities to cover it up. His journey from a forced child prodigy to a philanthropist is incredible. Let’s explore the life of the Las Vegas kid.
Andre Agassi
Andre Agassi secretly wore a wig during the 1990 French Open final. Terrifyingly, the hairpiece began to fall apart in the shower the night before the match. Consequently, he played cautiously to keep it on his head and lost the game.
His father built a monstrous ball machine called “The Dragon” to train him. It fired tennis balls at speeds of 110 miles per hour. Daily, the young boy had to return 2,500 balls from this terrifying metal beast.
He admitted that he hated tennis for most of his life. In his autobiography, he described the sport as a solitary prison. Surprisingly, he only found peace with the game after he retired from professional competition.
Andre Agassi confessed to using crystal methamphetamine during the 1997 season. He failed a drug test but lied to the ATP authorities to avoid a ban. He claimed he accidentally drank a soda spiked by his assistant.
His father was an Olympic boxer who competed for Iran. Mike Agassi fought in both the 1948 and 1952 Olympic Games. Later, he used his fighting mentality to push his children into sports excellence.
He intentionally lost a match against Michael Chang at the Australian Open. He threw the game because he did not want to face Boris Becker in the final. Thus, he chose to lose early rather than face his German rival.
He smashed his own tennis trophies after watching his wife on the set of Friends. Brooke Shields licked Joey’s fingers in a scene, which made Agassi incredibly jealous. Immediately, he drove home and destroyed his prized cups in a rage.
Andre Agassi boycotted Wimbledon for three years because of the dress code. He refused to wear the traditional all-white clothing required by the club. eventually, he returned in 1992 and won the entire tournament in white gear.
He accidentally hit his wife Steffi Graf in the face with a tennis racket. During a charity match, his follow-through swing split her lip open. Unfortunately, she required stitches, but she forgave him quickly.
He played the entire 1999 French Open without wearing any underwear. He forgot to pack them for the first round but won the match anyway. Superstitiously, he decided to play commando for the rest of the tournament and won.
At age nine, he hustled NFL legend Jim Brown for money. His father bet that the young child could beat the football star in a tennis match. Andre won easily, and his father took the betting money.
He dropped out of school in the ninth grade to focus on tennis. Consequently, he never received a formal high school education. To fix this for others, he later opened a highly successful charter school in Las Vegas.
The famous “Image is Everything” slogan haunted him for years. He filmed the Canon camera commercial while feeling lost and fake inside. Therefore, the catchphrase became a painful reminder of his inauthentic life at the time.
He shaved his head to destroy his “pretty boy” image. For years, he hid his baldness behind wigs and bandanas. Finally, he embraced his natural look and played some of the best tennis of his career.
He is the first male player to win the Career Golden Slam. This means he won all four major titles plus an Olympic gold medal. Only one other male player, Rafael Nadal, has matched this incredible feat since.
