Andre Agassi hated tennis, took medication and dated enormous stars earlier than discovering love
With eight Grand Slam titles to his title and an Olympic gold medal as well, Andre Agassi is rightly considered one of many all-time greats within the historical past of tennis. But regardless of his enduring recognition, the Las Vegas-born famous person solely ever noticed his achievements as a well-paid job.
The American received the guts of Wimbledon when he overcame the ferocious serve of Goran Ivanisevic to win a five-set thriller within the last of 1992 – his first main title on the fourth try.
By occurring to win all 4 Slams and likewise a gold medal on the Atalanta Olympics in 1996, the person referred to as ‘The Punisher’ grew to become one in every of solely two males ever to win the ‘Golden Slam’.
He reached the summit of the world rankings in 1995 however grew to become beset by private points and ultimately dropped to 141 two years later. Many thought it was the tip of his profession however he wasn’t achieved. Agassi was again as world No 1 in 1999 and loved essentially the most profitable interval of his profession over the following 4 years.
But the proficient famous person needed to trip a rollercoaster earlier than he acquired to that time. Agassi was frowned upon for relationship singer and actress Barbra Streisand within the early 90s though she was significantly older than him.
In his 2009 autobiography, Agassi wrote: “We agree that we’re good for each other, and so what if she’s twenty-eight years older? We’re sympatico, and the public outcry only adds spice to our connection. It makes our friendship feel forbidden, taboo – another piece of my overall rebellion. Dating Barbra Streisand is like wearing Hot Lava.”
After the couple break up, he married Hollywood actress and mannequin Brooke Shields in 1997, however the relationship fell aside they usually divorced in 1999. In the identical e book, he revealed that in the identical yr that he met Shields, he had taken the leisure drug generally known as crystal meth and failed a drug check.
Amid requires him to be stripped of titles and prize cash, Agassi stated: “It was a period in my life where I needed help.”
After pulling his life again collectively, Agassi began relationship fellow tennis nice Steffi Graf and married the German in October 2001, with solely their moms current to witness the ceremony.
The household lives in Summerlin within the Las Vegas Valley with their two youngsters. The residence is way smaller than the £18.2million 10-acre Tiburon property they purchased in 2001, which they ultimately offered at a £2.3m loss 5 years later.
The couple have a three way partnership known as Agassi Graf Holdings, which they utilized in 2004 to buy Pure nightclub at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas earlier than promoting it on in 2010. They additionally collaborated with a luxurious furnishings producer to create their very own furnishings line, the Agassi Graf Collection.
The Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation has raised tens of tens of millions of {dollars} for at-risk youngsters in Nevada, the place he was raised and he has additionally personally donated £29m to the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas, a faculty for at-risk youngsters within the space.
Aside from his £24.7m profession earnings in tennis (nonetheless the eleventh highest of all-time), Agassi is estimated to have a internet value of round £119m, which may have been boosted all through his profession by the numerous endorsement offers he has loved with main gamers like Donnay, American Express, Nike and Mazda.
He briefly returned to Tennis in 2017 to educate Novak Djokovic however after they parted ways in which was sufficient for one of many sport’s biggest ever gamers who admitted in his e book: “I play tennis for a living, even though I hate tennis, hate it with a dark and secret passion, and always have.”