Andre Agassi
A rebel with a racket who transformed from tennis's flashy enfant terrible into its most resilient and complete champion.
Born 1970 (age 56)·American tennis player·Birthday: April 29·Generation X
Biography
Andre Agassi didn't choose tennis; it was chosen for him by a demanding father who hung a ball on a string over his crib. He rebelled against the sport's country-club stiffness with denim shorts, neon spandex, and a rock-star mullet, becoming the game's first true pop-culture phenomenon. Beneath the image was a profound struggle with identity and a hatred for the game that defined him. After plummeting to world No. 141, he staged one of sport's great comebacks, trading image for substance, rebuilding his game around relentless conditioning and a punishing return of serve. This second act yielded his most cherished victories, including a career Grand Slam completed at the French Open and an Olympic gold medal. Retiring in 2006, he left behind a legacy not just of titles, but of hard-won maturity, having finally made peace with the court and devoted his post-playing life to education through his charter school in Las Vegas.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Andre was born in 1970, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Andre Was Born
The biggest hits of 1970
#1 Movie
Love Story
Best Picture
Patton
#1 TV Show
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Andre's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1970Born
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1975Started school
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1983Became a teenager
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1986Could drive
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1988Could vote
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1991Turned 21
Soviet Union dissolves; World Wide Web goes public
Gas: $1.14/galHome: $82,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" — Bryan AdamsBest Picture: The Silence of the Lambs
2000Turned 30
Y2K passes without incident; contested Bush-Gore election
Gas: $1.51/galHome: $119,600Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Breathe" — Faith HillBest Picture: Gladiator
2010Turned 40
Deepwater Horizon oil spill; iPad launched
Gas: $2.79/galHome: $147,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Tik Tok" — KeshaBest Picture: The King's Speech
2020Turned 50
COVID-19 pandemic shuts down the world
Gas: $2.17/galHome: $248,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Blinding Lights" — The WeekndBest Picture: Nomadland
2026Age 56 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- He is one of only five men to achieve a Career Grand Slam in the Open Era.
- He won eight major singles titles, including Wimbledon, the US Open, the Australian Open, and the French Open.
- He founded the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy, a charter school for at-risk youth in Las Vegas.
- He won an Olympic gold medal in men's singles at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
Did You Know?
He famously wore a denim shorts outfit during the 1990 French Open.
He is married to fellow tennis great Steffi Graf.
He was initially known for his slogan 'Image is Everything' in a Canon camera ad, a phrase he later said he regretted.
He admitted to using crystal meth in 1997 and lying to the ATP about a failed drug test.
“What you see is what you get. You see the real person out there.”
