Andre Agassi has candidly discussed his complex relationship with tennis, revealing how he navigated his conflicting emotions with support from his brother and coaching team.
His memoir, “Open,” is celebrated for its honesty, offering readers a glimpse into the inner workings of his personal and professional life. In it, Agassi bared his soul, admitting to harboring a deep-rooted disdain for the sport, even as he competed at the highest level, culminating in his final appearance at the 2006 US Open.
“I play tennis for a living, even though I hate tennis, hate it with a dark and secret passion, and always have,” he penned.
During a recent episode of ‘The AO Show’ podcast, Agassi reflected on his formative years and the pivotal role his brother Philip played as his earliest mentor.
He recounted his initial detachment from the sport, acknowledging the controversy sparked by his admission of loathing tennis in “Open.” Agassi, now 53, confessed that it took considerable introspection to reconcile his feelings while under the global spotlight.
“For me, it started with my brother obviously because I turned pro at 16 years old. And I had a real disconnect with the game. I mean, it’s no surprise to anybody because the biggest controversy of my book came on page one, where I talked about hating tennis,” Agassi revealed.
“So, it’s not a love-hate, it kind of was a hate-love. It took me a long time to come to terms with myself, to understand myself. And there I was on the world stage, acting out this rebellion and this exploration of who I was and trying to solve those contradictions.”
Agassi also emphasized the invaluable support he received from his team, not only in honing his tennis skills but also in preserving his sense of self amid the pressures of the sport.
“But being on the tennis court, sometimes it was an escape, and other times it was full of land mines. So, I never quite knew at that age. So, my team was really important to me, not so much from a tennis side, just from a humanity side.
I wanted to know if there are things I could count on. I didn’t want tennis to be as important as it seemed to everybody. Sometimes as important as I treated it,” Agassi shared.
