122-438: Nicholas James Bollettieri (July 31, 1931 – December 4, 2022) was an American tennis coach. He pioneered the concept of a tennis boarding school, and helped develop many leading tennis players during the past decades, including Andre Agassi , Jim Courier , Monica Seles , Venus Williams , Serena Williams , and Maria Sharapova . Bollettieri was also a tour traveling coach, the last time having been for and with Boris Becker for
244-404: A 9–8 lead in their head-to-head meetings, took two years for him to get over it mentally. In the following three years, while Sampras continued winning Grand Slam titles every season, Agassi slumped in the rankings and struggled in major competitions. The next time Sampras and Agassi met in a Grand Slam final was at Wimbledon in 1999, where Sampras won in straight sets. For both, it was considered
366-557: A Grand Slam was at the 1992 French Open , where they met in the quarterfinals. Although Sampras was ranked higher, Agassi came out winning in straight sets. They met again on a Grand Slam level at the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 1993, where Agassi was the defending champion and Sampras was the newly minted world No. 1. Agassi dug himself out from a two-sets-to-love hole, levelling the match at two sets apiece; however, Sampras prevailed in five sets, and went on to win his first Wimbledon championship. With both Sampras and Agassi participating,
488-401: A US Open final, but the first since 1995. The match was also notable because they had defeated several up-and-coming players en route to the final. Sampras had defeated No. 3 Tommy Haas in the fourth round and future No. 1 Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals, while Agassi had defeated No. 1 and defending champion Lleyton Hewitt in the semi-finals. Sampras defeated Agassi in four sets. This was
610-467: A baseliner with a playing style not suiting grass, shocked Becker, a three-time champion, in a five-set quarterfinal at Wimbledon in 1992 on his way to his first Grand Slam title. The intensity of the rivalry peaked in 1995. Becker won that year's Wimbledon semi-final after being down a set and two breaks, to eventually win in four sets. In a highly anticipated rematch in the US Open semi-final, this time it
732-532: A career rejuvenation, as Sampras had suffered a string of disappointments in the previous year while Agassi was regaining his status as a top-ranked player after winning the French Open. Sampras forfeited the No. 1 ranking to Agassi when injury forced him to withdraw from that year's US Open, which Agassi went on to win. They faced each other twice in the season-ending ATP Tour World Championships , with Sampras losing
854-466: A five-set French Open final, becoming, at the time, only the fifth male player (joining Rod Laver , Fred Perry , Roy Emerson and Don Budge —these have since been joined by Roger Federer , Rafael Nadal , and Novak Djokovic ) to win all four Grand Slam singles titles during his career. Only Laver, Agassi, Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have achieved this feat during the Open Era . This win also made him
976-407: A four-minute standing ovation from the crowd after the match and delivered a retirement speech. The rivalry has been called the greatest of the generation of players competing in the 1990s, as Sampras and Agassi were the most successful players of that decade. They also had very contrasting playing styles, with Sampras being considered the greatest server and Agassi the greatest serve returner at
1098-460: A four-set win against Andrei Pavel , Agassi faced eighth-seeded Marcos Baghdatis in the second round who had earlier advanced to the 2006 Australian Open final and Wimbledon semi-finals. Agassi won in five sets as the younger Baghdatis succumbed to muscle cramping in the final set. In his last match, Agassi fell to 112th-ranked big-serving Benjamin Becker of Germany in four sets. Agassi received
1220-574: A golfer when he executes the shot or a hockey player, the exhaling is a release of energy in a constructive way". In 2011, after Danish player Caroline Wozniacki (then world no. 1) publicly accused Bollettieri's students of cheating by grunting, Women's Tennis Association Chairman Stacy Allaster stated that the WTA would be "talking to the Bollettieri academy" about the predominance of loud grunters from that institution and how it could be eliminated from
1342-560: A prize pot 10 times lower than the men at the Grand Slams in 1970 to parity in 2007 and ever since, women's tennis has become (almost) the equal of its male counterpart. And they did it themselves, which also explains why their governance is still independent today." The WTA was founded at a meeting organised by Billie Jean King, a week before the 1973 Wimbledon Championships . This meeting was held at Gloucester Hotel in London. In 1975,
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#17327942920491464-485: A sell-out crowd in what turned out to be the Aussie's last Australian Open. At Wimbledon, they met again in the semi-finals, where Agassi lost another close match to Rafter, 8–6 in the fifth set. In the quarterfinals at the US Open, Agassi lost a 3-hour, 33 minute epic match with Sampras, 7–6, 6–7, 6–7, 6–7, with no breaks of serve during the 52-game match. Despite the setback, Agassi finished 2001 ranked No. 3, becoming
1586-499: A serve at Agassi's body. After the event, Agassi admitted that he had crossed the line with his jokes and publicly apologized to Sampras. Agassi and Sampras met again one year later for an exhibition match at Madison Square Garden in New York in front of 19 000 spectators as Sampras defeated Agassi in two sets. On March 3, 2014, Agassi and Sampras squared off for an exhibition in London for the annual World Tennis Day . This time, it
1708-454: A single package, reaching large audiences around the world. "The '80s energized the popularity base, taking tennis out of country clubs and landed estates into public parks and arenas. It became a sport, in contrast to an amenable pastime." "From those first steps in Houston in 1970 to the current WTA Tour, with tournaments in 33 countries and total prize money of $ 139 million (in 2018); from
1830-416: A single season. In 2013 Serena Williams went over the twelve million dollar mark, winning $ 12,385,572 in a single year. American sports entrepreneur Jerry Diamond (1928–1996) served as executive director of the women's association from 1974 to 1985. He was instrumental in negotiating business deals with Avon, Colgate-Palmolive, and Toyota, and worked out the deal that made Virginia Slims the titular sponsor of
1952-465: A span of two years. Bollettieri was mentioned and/or profiled in several television series and documentary films, including Jason Kohn's documentary film Love Means Zero , which was premiered at the 42nd Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2017. Born in Pelham, New York , to immigrant Italian parents, Nick Bollettieri attended Pelham Memorial High School . He was a charter member of
2074-525: A tennis coach himself in Thailand to open one of Bollettieri's academies there. Bollettieri was married eight times, and had seven children. He was survived by his eighth wife, Cindi Eaton, whom he had married on April 22, 2004. The same year, they founded Camp Kaizen, a nonprofit fitness camp. Bollettieri died at home in Bradenton, Florida, on December 4, 2022, at age 91. On May 18, 2008, Bollettieri
2196-707: Is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is an eight-time major champion, an Olympic gold medalist , and a runner-up in seven other majors. Agassi is the second of five men in the Open Era to achieve the Career Grand Slam . He is also the first man to complete both the Career Golden Slam and the Career Super Slam , achieving this feat in 1999. Agassi was the first man to win all four singles majors on three different surfaces ( hard , clay and grass ), and remains
2318-533: Is very hard." In 1984, The Australian Open joined the US Open in offering women equal prize money, but temporarily did not between 1996 and 2000. After a 30-year campaign, 2007 marked the historic achievement of equal prize money at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. This meant all four major tournaments offered parity. In 1995, the WTA Players Association merged with the Women's Tennis Council to form
2440-570: The 1999 Rome Masters . They played four matches at Wimbledon with both winning two matches each. Agassi won the first two in 1993 and 1999, while Rafter took their 2000 and 2001 encounters, the latter two matches being gruelling 5-setters often being presented on the lists of best matches ever played. Agassi also won both their meetings at the Australian Open, in 1995 and 2001, on his way to the title on both occasions. Rafter, however, took their only US Open encounter in 1997 and went on to win
2562-401: The 2001 US Open quarterfinals in four sets. There were no breaks of serve during the entire match. Reruns of the match are frequently featured on television, especially during US Open rain delays, and the match is considered one of the best in history because of the level of play presented by both players. Their last meeting was the final of the 2002 US Open , which was their third meeting in
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#17327942920492684-465: The 2006 US Open , Agassi has participated in a series of charity tournaments and continues his work with his own charity. On September 5, 2007, he was a surprise guest commentator for the Andy Roddick / Roger Federer US Open quarterfinal. He played an exhibition match at Wimbledon, teaming with his wife, Steffi Graf, to play with Tim Henman and Kim Clijsters . He played World Team Tennis for
2806-822: The 2006 US Open . He is the founder of the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation, which has raised over $ 60 million for at-risk children in Southern Nevada. In 2001, the Foundation opened the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas, a K–12 public charter school for at-risk children. He has been married to fellow tennis player Steffi Graf since 2001. Agassi was named Laver Cup captain of Team World in 2024, beginning with
2928-690: The Avon Championships , in the WTA tennis history. The Colgate Series , renamed the Toyota Series in 1981, included tournaments in all parts of the world, whereas the Avon sponsored events took place solely in the US. The two circuits merged beginning with the 1983 season , when Virginia Slims returned to take full sponsorship rights of the WTA Tour. Every tournament under the administration of
3050-628: The Lipton International Players Championships (now Miami Open), the Canadian Open , and the US Open . Agassi won three of the finals, including the Australian Open; however, Sampras took the US Open title, ending Agassi's 26-match winning streak. After Agassi had taken most of the fall season off, Sampras took over the No. 1 ranking for the end of the season. Agassi admitted this loss, which gave Sampras
3172-543: The Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy (NBTA) in Bradenton, Florida , on 40 acres (16 ha) in unincorporated Manatee County on the west coast of Florida , about fifty miles south of Tampa . Seeing a template for other sports, International Management Group ( IMG ) bought the academy from Bollettieri in 1987, but Bollettieri continued to manage and play a pivotal role in the development of
3294-770: The Philadelphia Freedoms in the summer of 2009. At the 2009 French Open , Agassi was on hand to present Roger Federer, who completed his Career Grand Slam by winning the tournament and joined Agassi as one of six men to complete the Career Grand Slam, with the trophy. Also in 2009, Agassi played at the Outback Champions Series event for the first time. He played the Cancer Treatment Centers of America Tennis Championships at Surprise, Arizona , where he reached
3416-642: The US won the Davis Cup in 1995. The year should be considered the peak of the rivalry as together they won three out of four major titles, meeting each other twice in the finals, and were occupying the top two spots in the rankings for the whole year. They met five times during the year, all in the title matches, including the Australian Open , the Newsweek Champions Cup (now Indian Wells),
3538-761: The WTA Tour , which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women, and was founded to create a better future for women's tennis. The WTA's corporate headquarters is in St. Petersburg, Florida , with its European headquarters in London and its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Beijing. The Women's Tennis Association was founded in June 1973 by Billie Jean King , and traces its origins to the inaugural Virginia Slims tournament, arranged by Gladys Heldman , sponsored by Joe Cullman , CEO of Philip Morris, and held on 23 September 1970 at
3660-598: The world No. 1 ranking for the first time in April 1995. He held that ranking until November, for a total of 30 weeks. Agassi skipped most of the fall indoor season which allowed Sampras to surpass him and finish ranked No. 1 at the year-end ranking. In terms of win–loss record, 1995 was Agassi's best year. He won 73 and lost 9 matches, and was also once again a key player on the United States' Davis Cup winning team—the third and final Davis Cup title of his career. 1996
3782-455: The 1990 French Open in a four-set quarterfinal. Arguably their best match took place in the round of 16 of the 1994 US Open. While both players presented high-quality shot-making, the momentum changed from set to set with Agassi eventually prevailing in a five-set victory. It turned out to be the toughest contest on his way to his first US Open title. Their next two Grand Slam meetings came in 1996, with Chang recording easy straight-set victories in
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3904-621: The 2005 Dubai Championships, Federer and Agassi attracted worldwide headlines with a publicity stunt that saw the two tennis legends play on a helipad almost 220 meters above sea level at the hotel Burj al-Arab. Their final duel took place in the final of the 2005 US Open . Federer was victorious in four sets in front of a pro-Agassi crowd. The match was the last appearance by Agassi in a Grand Slam final. Agassi and Ivan Lendl played eight times, and Lendl led their head-to-head series 6–2. Agassi and Stefan Edberg played nine times, and Agassi led their head-to-head series 6–3. Since retiring after
4026-477: The 2025 annual competition, succeeding John McEnroe. Andre Agassi was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, to Emmanuel "Mike" Agassi (Aghassian), a former Olympic boxer from Iran, and American Elizabeth "Betty" Agassi (née Dudley). His father is of Armenian and Assyrian heritage and was a casino worker and former amateur boxer . His parents married in 1959 after dating for two months, then moved from Chicago to Las Vegas. He has three older siblings: Rita (who
4148-427: The Australian Open (which later became his best Grand Slam event) for the first eight years of his career, Agassi chose not to play at Wimbledon from 1988 through 1990 (although he first played there in 1987, only to lose in the first round to Henri Leconte ) and publicly stated that he did not wish to play there because of the event's traditionalism, particularly its "predominantly white" dress code to which players at
4270-664: The Australian Open. Agassi had several other deep runs at tournaments, but had to withdraw from several events due to injury. He lost to Jarkko Nieminen in the first round of the French Open. He won his fourth title in Los Angeles and reached the final of the Rogers Cup , before falling to No. 2 Rafael Nadal . Agassi's 2005 was defined by an improbable run to the US Open final. After beating Răzvan Sabău and Ivo Karlović in straight sets and Tomáš Berdych in four sets, Agassi won three consecutive five-set matches to advance to
4392-738: The Beta Lambda Chapter of the Omega Gamma Delta Fraternity and he graduated in 1949. In 1953, he graduated from Spring Hill College ( Mobile, Alabama ) with a degree in philosophy . After serving with the United States Army and attaining the rank of First Lieutenant in 1956, he turned to teaching tennis after dropping out of the University of Miami Law School. Bollettieri's first students included Brian Gottfried . His first formal tennis camp
4514-529: The Canadian Open) and seven titles total. He compiled a career-best 26-match winning streak during the summer hard-court circuit, with the last victory being in an intense late-night four-set semi-final of the US Open against Boris Becker . The streak ended the next day when Agassi lost the final to Sampras. Agassi admitted this loss, which gave Sampras a 9–8 lead in their head-to-head meetings, took two years for him to get over mentally. Agassi reached
4636-610: The Chinese government, the WTA under Steve Simon suspended its operations in China and Hong Kong. The boycott was lifted in 2023 after 16 months, citing financial losses due to the suspension of operations in China as well as the COVID-19 pandemic . In March 2022, medical technology firm Hologic reached an agreement to become title sponsor and "official health partner" of the WTA Tour, marking its first title sponsorship agreement since
4758-542: The Game in 2014. Bollettieri also wrote a 2001 instructional book, Bollettieri's Tennis Handbook , which covers everything from stroke techniques and strategies to skill development and physical and mental conditioning. Additionally, he was featured in the Nick Bollettieri DVD Collection , a set of ten instructional DVDs that cover a wide range of practice methods. Bolletieri personally trained
4880-588: The Grand Slam in 1969. At the time, Agassi was also only the fourth player since Laver to be the reigning champion of three of four Grand Slam events, missing only the Wimbledon title. . 2000 also saw Agassi reach the semi-finals at Wimbledon, where he lost in five sets to Rafter in a match considered by many to be one of the best ever at Wimbledon. At the inaugural Tennis Masters Cup in Lisbon, Agassi reached
5002-590: The Houston Racquet Club in Houston , Texas. Rosie Casals won this first event. When the Women's Tennis Association was founded, Billie Jean King was one of nine players that comprised the WTA, also referred to as the Original 9, that included Julie Heldman , Valerie Ziegenfuss , Judy Dalton , Kristy Pigeon , Peaches Bartkowicz , Kerry Melville Reid , Nancy Richey , and Rosie Casals . Today,
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5124-518: The ILTF sanctioned 15 men-only tournaments, all of which had previously been combined events. The Virginia Slims Circuit , which would later absorb the ILTF's Women's Grand Prix circuit, and eventually become the WTA Tour. The circuit was composed of 19 tournaments, all based in the United States (one in Puerto Rico ), and prize money totalled $ 309,100. In 1973 the US Open tennis tournament became
5246-435: The No. 1 ranking once again on June 16, 2003, which he held for 12 weeks until September 7, 2003. There he managed to reach the US Open semi-finals, where he lost to Juan Carlos Ferrero , surrendering his No. 1 ranking to him. During his career, Agassi held the ranking for a total of 101 weeks. Agassi's ranking slipped when injuries forced him to withdraw from a number of events. At the year-end Tennis Masters Cup, Agassi lost in
5368-750: The US Eastern Grass Court circuit with stops at Merion Cricket Club and Essex county club. There were two professional tennis circuits in existence at the start of the Open Era: World Championship Tennis (WCT), which was for men only, and the National Tennis League (NTL). Ann Jones , Rosie Casals , Françoise Dürr , and Billie Jean King joined NTL. King was paid $ 40,000 a year, Jones was paid $ 25,000, and Casals and Durr were paid $ 20,000 each. The group played established tournaments, such as
5490-698: The US Open and Wimbledon. But the group also organised their own tournaments, playing in the South of France for two months. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) then imposed several sanctions on the group: the women were not allowed to play in the Wightman Cup in 1968 and 1969 and the USLTA refused to include Casals and King in their rankings for those years. By the 1970s the pay differential had increased. King said "Promoters were making more money than women. Male tennis players were making more money. Everybody
5612-500: The US Open. Agassi played only two events during the summer hard-court season with his best result being a quarterfinal loss at the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles to Fernando González of Chile, which resulted in him being unseeded at the US Open. Agassi had a short, but dramatic, run in his final US Open. Because of extreme back pain, Agassi was forced to receive anti-inflammatory injections after every match. After
5734-484: The US Open. The 1970 Houston Women's Invitation for nine women players was formed. Heldman was friends with Joseph Cullman, CEO and chairman of Phillip Morris, who secured the new tournament. The tournament was a success and the women found footing, "so, at the bidding of the Original 9, Heldman – who had secured backing from Philip Morris's Virginia Slims cigarette brand for her Houston Invitational – went back to her friend, Philip Morris chairman Joe Cullman III, to see if
5856-589: The WTA Tour. The WTA circuit continued to expand during these years. In 1971, King became the first female athlete to surpass $ 100,000 in earnings for a single year. Chris Evert became the first female athlete to win over $ 1,000,000 in career earnings in 1976. By 1980, over 250 women were playing professionally, and the circuit consisted of 47 global events, offering a total of $ 7.2 million in prize money. These increased financial opportunities allowed for groundbreaking developments not only in tennis, but across women's sports. In 1982, Martina Navratilova became
5978-599: The WTA has more than 2,500 players from nearly 100 countries competing for $ 146 million in prize money. Tennis's Open Era , in which professional players were allowed to compete alongside amateurs, began in 1968. Billie Jean King was a high ranking tennis player in the late 1960s who won several titles and was interviewed in the media. The first Open Tournament was the British Hard Court Championships in Bournemouth . Later that year at
6100-414: The WTA increased its financial stature by signing a television broadcast contract with CBS , the first in the WTA's history. Further financial developments ensued. In 1976, Colgate assumed sponsorship of the circuit from April to November. In 1979, Avon replaced Virginia Slims as the sponsor of the winter circuit, and in its first year offered the largest prize fund for a single tournament, $ 100,000 for
6222-787: The WTA now became part of the Virginia Slims World Championships Series . In all, Virginia Slims (Philip Morris) sponsored women's tennis from 1970 to 1978 and again from 1983 to 1994. The sponsored has received such criticism as the following from the Stanford [University] Research into the Impact of Tobacco Advertising: "Virginia Slims cleverly sponsored the WTA Tour Championships at the time to increase connections between cigarettes and healthy female athletes." In 1977, women's tennis
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#17327942920496344-606: The WTA tour. Larry Scott became chairman and CEO of the WTA on 16 April 2003. While at the WTA, Scott put together the largest sponsorship in the history of women's sports, a six-year, $ 88 million sponsorship deal with Sony Ericsson . On 24 March 2009, Scott announced that he was resigning as WTA chief to take up a new position as the commissioner of the Pac-10 Conference , on 1 July 2009. Scott pointed to Korn Ferry to headhunt his replacement but "with no decision made" on 13 July 2009, WTA Tour announced
6466-589: The Wimbledon final, where he lost to Sampras in straight sets. He rebounded from his Wimbledon defeat by winning the US Open , beating Todd Martin in five sets (rallying from a two sets to one deficit) in the final. Overall during the year Agassi won 5 titles including two majors and the ATP Masters Series in Paris, where he beat Marat Safin . Agassi ended 1999 as the No. 1, ending Sampras's record of six consecutive year-ending top rankings (1993–98). This
6588-855: The age of 16 and competed in his first tournament at La Quinta, California . He won his first match against John Austin , but then lost his second match to Mats Wilander . By the end of 1986, Agassi was ranked No. 91. He won his first top-level singles title in 1987 at the Sul American Open in Itaparica and ended the year ranked No. 25. He won six additional tournaments in 1988 (Memphis, U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships , Forest Hills WCT , Stuttgart Outdoor, Volvo International and Livingston Open ), and, by December of that year, he had surpassed US$ 1 million in career prize money after playing in just 43 tournaments—the fastest anyone in history had reached that level. During 1988, he also set
6710-570: The appointment of Stacey Allaster, the Tour's president since 2006, as the new chairman and CEO of the WTA. Allaster was named as one of the "Most Powerful Women in Sports" by Forbes Magazine and led the WTA through significant growth and under her leadership, she secured a media agreement that would maximise fan exposure to women's tennis globally. During her time with the WTA, she generated an estimated $ 1 billion in diversified contract revenues, built
6832-541: The brand globally, and was a strong advocate for gender equality. She announced her retirement as chief executive of the WTA on 22 September 2015 citing a personal change in priorities. On 5 October 2015, Steve Simon , the Tournament Director of the BNP Paribas Open , was announced to succeed Stacey as the new WTA chairman and CEO. In December 2021, following Peng Shuai 's disappearance by
6954-400: The clothes he would wear. He eventually emerged for the first round in a completely white outfit. He reached the quarterfinals on that occasion, losing in five sets to David Wheaton . Agassi's Grand Slam tournament breakthrough came at Wimbledon, not at the French Open or the US Open, where he had previously enjoyed success. In 1992, he defeated Goran Ivanišević in a five-set final. Along
7076-517: The company would support a circuit of some kind. Delighted by the publicity splash from Houston, Cullman was only too keen to give the women what they needed: financial backing, to the tune of a quarter of a million dollars, and the Virginia Slims name as title sponsor for a circuit in 1971." The International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) began dropping several women's competitions from the tournaments it presided over. For example, in 1970,
7198-421: The downside and difficulties faced by touring tennis pros, not unlike the problems of traveling musicians performing a whole series of tour dates and gigs. The article included the phrase "comradeship that falls short of camaraderie", because fellow members were also competitors who usually felt they needed to maintain a certain amount of distance. One player was quoted as saying, "But if you are not playing well, it
7320-460: The early part of that year due to injuries. Although he made the quarterfinals in his Wimbledon title defense, he lost to eventual champion and No. 1 Pete Sampras in five sets. Agassi lost in the first round at the US Open to Thomas Enqvist and required wrist surgery late in the year. With new coach Brad Gilbert on board, Agassi began to employ more of a tactical, consistent approach, which fueled his resurgence. He started slowly in 1994, losing in
7442-521: The eighth (and final) Grand Slam title of his career at the Australian Open, where he beat Rainer Schüttler in straight sets in the final. On April 28, 2003, he recaptured the No. 1 ranking to become the oldest top-ranked male player since the ATP rankings began at 33 years and 13 days. The record was later surpassed by Roger Federer in 2018. He had held the No. 1 ranking for two weeks, when Lleyton Hewitt took it back on May 12, 2003. Agassi then recaptured
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#17327942920497564-452: The entire clay-court season including the French Open. This caused his ranking to drop out of the top 10 for the last time. Agassi returned for the grass-court season, playing a tune-up, and then Wimbledon . He was defeated in the third round by world No. 2 (and eventual runner-up) Rafael Nadal . Against conventions, Agassi, the losing player, was interviewed on court after the match. At Wimbledon, Agassi announced his plans to retire following
7686-407: The event are required to conform. Strong performances on the tour meant that Agassi was quickly tipped as a future Grand Slam champion. While still a teenager, he reached the semi-finals of both the French Open and the US Open in 1988 and made the US Open semi-finals in 1989. He began the 1990s with a series of near-misses. He reached his first Grand Slam final in 1990 at the French Open, where he
7808-636: The event. He won the Masters series event in Cincinnati to bring his career total to 59 top-level singles titles and a record 17 ATP Masters Series titles, having already won seven of the nine ATP Masters tournament—all except the tournaments in Monte Carlo and Hamburg . At 34, he became the second-oldest singles champion in Cincinnati tournament history (the tournament began in 1899), tied with Roger Federer and surpassed only by Ken Rosewall , who won
7930-487: The expiration of the previous Sony Ericsson deal. In 2024, the WTA made all WTA 1000 events mandatory. The WTA Elite Trophy did not return: WTA 125 tournaments (30) events Since 2012 (number of events varies each year; in 2018 there were ten tournaments: four in United States, two in China and one each in Croatia, France, India and Taiwan), with prize money for the four events in United States at US$ 150,000 and at
8052-401: The final ATP tour singles match of Sampras's career. Michael Chang was the opponent Agassi faced most frequently from all the players other than Sampras. They met 22 times on the tour level with Agassi leading 15–7. Chang, unlike most of Agassi's big rivals, had a playing style similar to his. Both players preferred to stay at the baseline with Chang being more defensive-minded. The outcome
8174-482: The final after defeating Marat Safin in the semi-finals to end the Russian's hopes to become the youngest No. 1 in the history of tennis. Agassi then lost to Gustavo Kuerten in the final, allowing Kuerten to be crowned year-end No. 1. Agassi opened 2001 by successfully defending his Australian Open title with a straight-sets final win over Arnaud Clément . En route, he beat a cramping Rafter in five sets in front of
8296-517: The final before bowing to eventual champion Todd Martin . Agassi returned to the tour renamed for the PowerShares Series in 2011 and participated in a total of seven events while winning two. Agassi beat Courier in the final of the Staples Champions Cup in Boston and later defeated Sampras at the CTCA Championships at his hometown Las Vegas. In 2012, Agassi took part in five tournaments, winning three of those. In November, at first he won BILT Champions Showdown in San Jose , beating John McEnroe in
8418-421: The final to Federer, his third time to finish as runner-up in the event after losses in 1999 and 2000, and finished the year ranked No. 4. At age 33, he had been one of the oldest players to rank in the top 5 since Connors, at age 35, was No. 4 in 1987. In 2004, Agassi began the year with a five-set loss in the semi-finals of the Australian Open to Marat Safin ; the loss ended Agassi's 26-match winning streak at
8540-404: The final. In 1991, Agassi reached his second consecutive French Open final, where he faced fellow Bollettieri Academy alumnus Jim Courier . Courier emerged the victor in a five-set final. The Las Vegan was a set and 3–1 up when came the rain. The rain delay proved to be a confidence builder for Courier. Agassi decided to play at Wimbledon in 1991, leading to weeks of speculation in the media about
8662-477: The final. Along the way, he beat 5 seeded players. In 1995, Agassi shaved his balding head, breaking with his old "image is everything" style. He competed in the 1995 Australian Open (his first appearance at the event) and won, beating defending champion Sampras in a four-set final. Agassi and Sampras met in five tournament finals in 1995, all on hardcourt , with Agassi winning three. Agassi won three Masters Series events in 1995 ( Cincinnati , Key Biscayne , and
8784-760: The final. The following day, he defended his title of the CTCA Championships, while defeating Courier in the decisive match. In the series season finale, he beat Michael Chang for the Acura Champions Cup. The series and Agassi came back to action in 2014. Agassi won both tournaments he participated in. At the Camden Wealth Advisors Cup's final in Houston, Agassi beat James Blake for a rematch of their 2005 US Open quarterfinal. He defeated Blake again in Portland to win
8906-506: The final. The most notable of these matches was his quarterfinal victory over James Blake , where he rallied from two sets down to win in the fifth set tie-breaker. His other five-set victories were over Xavier Malisse in the fourth round and Robby Ginepri in the semi-finals. In the final, Agassi faced Federer, who was seeking his second consecutive US Open title and his sixth Grand Slam title in two years. Federer defeated Agassi in four sets. Agassi finished 2005 ranked No. 7, his 16th time in
9028-451: The first (of only four, the next being Federer, Nadal and Djokovic respectively) male player in history to have won all four Grand Slam titles on three different surfaces (clay, grass and hard courts). Agassi also became the first male player to win the Career Super Slam , consisting of all four Grand Slam tournaments plus an Olympic gold medal in singles and a Year-end championship . Agassi followed his 1999 French Open victory by reaching
9150-498: The first Grand Slam tournament to award the same prize money for women as men. The Australian Open would become the second Grand Slam offering equal prize money following suit in 1985 although the tournament awarded men more money from 1996 to 2000 before equal prize money returned in 2001. The French Open offered equal prize money for champions in 2006. In 2007 both Wimbledon and the French Open both offered equal prize money. The WTA Tour sold television rights of all its tournaments as
9272-421: The first Open Wimbledon, the prize fund difference was 2.5:1 in favor of men. King won £750 for taking the title, while Rod Laver won £2,000. The total purses of both competitions were £14,800 for men and £5,680 for women. Confusion also reigned as no one knew how many Open Tournaments there were supposed to be. The tournaments that did not want to provide prize money eventually faded out of the calendar, including
9394-517: The first time on court since the 2002 US Open final. Sampras won the exhibition in three sets. The rivalry between the former champions headlined sports media again in March 2010 after the two participated in the "Hit for Haiti" charity event organized to raise money for the victims of the earthquake . Partnered with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal , the old rivals began making jokes at each other's expense, which ended up with Sampras intentionally striking
9516-404: The first time. This enabled Justine Henin , who won the French Open in 2007, to earn over $ 5 million that year, becoming the first woman in sports to do this. In 2009, Serena Williams went over the six million mark by earning over $ 6.5 million in a single year. Then in 2012 both Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka became the first players to exceed $ 7 million in prize money in
9638-485: The first to win over $ 1,000,000 in a single year. Navratilova's single year earnings exceeded $ 2 million in 1984. In 1997, Martina Hingis became the first to earn over $ 3 million during a single year. In 2003, Kim Clijsters surpassed $ 4 million in earnings for a single year. In 2006, Venus Williams and the WTA pushed for equal prize money at both the French Open and Wimbledon . Both of these Grand Slam events relented in 2007 and awarded equal money for
9760-518: The first week at the French Open and Wimbledon, although he did receive a much-needed confidence boost after defeating Mark Petchey at the Miami Open in March. Nevertheless, he emerged during the hard-court season, winning the Canadian Open . His comeback culminated at the 1994 US Open with a five-set fourth-round victory against Michael Chang . He then became the first man to capture the US Open as an unseeded player, beating Michael Stich in
9882-535: The game wearing Oakley brand sunglasses, and a photo of him from the day appeared on the cover of Tennis magazine . In his memoir, he wrote that he was covering up bloodshot eyes from a hangover and claimed that the founder of Oakley, Jim Jannard , had sent him a Dodge Viper to thank him for the inadvertent publicity. In 1993, Agassi won the only doubles title of his career, at the Cincinnati Masters , partnered with Petr Korda . He missed much of
10004-491: The game. He won no top-level titles, and his ranking sank to No. 141 on November 10, 1997, prompting many to believe that his run as one of the sport's premier competitors was over and he would never again win any significant tournaments. In 1998, Agassi began a rigorous conditioning program and worked his way back up the rankings by playing in Challenger Series tournaments, a circuit for pro players ranked outside
10126-451: The majority of the controversially loud grunters in tennis , leading to repeated accusations that he has been deliberately teaching grunting as a novel tactic in order to give his later generations of students an edge in competitive play. Bollettieri has denied teaching grunting as a distraction tactic, and says grunting is natural, "I prefer to use the word 'exhaling'. I think that if you look at other sports, weightlifting or doing squats or
10248-567: The match on purpose, as he did not want to play Boris Becker, whom he would have faced in that final. The high point for Agassi was winning the men's singles gold medal at the Olympic Games in Atlanta , beating Sergi Bruguera of Spain in the final. Agassi also successfully defended his singles titles in Cincinnati and Key Biscayne. 1997 was the low point of Agassi's career. His wrist injury resurfaced, and he played only 24 matches during
10370-469: The most recent American man to win the French Open (in 1999) and the Australian Open (in 2003 ). He also won 17 Masters titles and was part of the winning Davis Cup teams in 1990, 1992 and 1995. Agassi reached the world No. 1 ranking for the first time in 1995, but was troubled by personal issues during the mid-to-late 1990s and sank to No. 141 in 1997, prompting many to believe that his career
10492-453: The next generation of players. One year later, a division of Bollettieri's academy released a document calling grunting "unsportsmanlike" and acknowledging that it obscures the sound of string impact (as noted by Navratilova), resulting in "an increase in an opponent's decision error, and a slower response time". The earliest Bollettieri pupils to reach No. 1 were Monica Seles , Jim Courier , and Andre Agassi . Later, Marcelo Ríos climbed to
10614-464: The only male tennis player to finish a year ranked in the top 3 in three different decades. 2002 opened with disappointment for Agassi, as injury forced him to skip the Australian Open, where he was a two-time defending champion. Agassi recovered from the injury and later that year defended his Key Biscayne title beating then rising Roger Federer in a four-set final. At the US Open, Agassi overcame No.1 ranked and defending champion Lleyton Hewitt in
10736-583: The open-era record for most consecutive victories by a male teenager (a record that stood for 17 years until Rafael Nadal broke it in 2005). His year-end ranking was No. 3, behind second-ranked Ivan Lendl and top-ranked Mats Wilander . Both the Association of Tennis Professionals and Tennis magazine named Agassi the Most Improved Player of the Year for 1988. In addition to not playing
10858-546: The other events at around US$ 125,000. Ranking points are also available at tournaments on the ITF Women's Circuit organized by the International Tennis Federation , which comprises several hundred tournaments each year with prize funds ranging from US$ 15,000 to US$ 100,000. The Players' Council is a group or sub-committee under the WTA board of directors, consisting of eight selected players on
10980-434: The rivalry in 1990, and won 10 of their last 11 matches. One contributing factor is that after their third match, Agassi picked up a tell regarding Becker's serve and knew where his serves would be directed. They first played at Indian Wells in 1988, with Becker prevailing. Their most notable match was the 1989 Davis Cup semi-final match, which Becker won in five sets after losing the first two in tiebreaks. Agassi, considered
11102-429: The round-robin match, but winning the final. In the 2000s, they met three more times on the Grand Slam level offering three memorable contests. In 2000, the top-ranked Agassi defeated No. 3 Sampras in the semi-finals of the Australian Open in five sets, which was an important win for Agassi who had lost 4 of the previous five matches against Sampras. In arguably their most memorable match ever, Sampras defeated Agassi in
11224-660: The second round to Tommy Haas . He won five titles in ten finals and was runner-up at the Masters Series tournament in Key Biscayne , losing to Marcelo Ríos , who became No. 1 as a result. At the year end he was awarded the ATP Most Improved Player of the Year for the second time in his career (the first being 10 years earlier in 1988). Agassi entered the history books in 1999 when he came back from two sets to love down to beat Andrei Medvedev in
11346-584: The semi-finals of both the Australian Open and the US Open. Years after, Agassi shockingly admitted in his book that he had lost the first of the matches on purpose as he did not want to face Boris Becker, who was awaiting the winner in the final. Agassi won the last four of their matches, with the last being in 2003 at the Miami Open with Chang being clearly past his prime. Boris Becker and Agassi played 14 times with Agassi leading 10–4. Becker won their first three matches in 1988 and 1989 before Agassi reversed
11468-460: The semi-finals. This led to what turned out to be the last duel between Agassi and Sampras in final of the US Open, which Sampras won in four sets and left Sampras with a 20–14 edge in their 34 career meetings. The match was the last of Sampras's career. Agassi's US Open finish, along with his Masters Series victories in Key Biscayne, Rome and Madrid , helped him finish 2002 as the oldest year-end No. 2 at 32 years and 8 months. In 2003, Agassi won
11590-577: The tennis academy and ancillary programs. In his final years Bollettieri coached top-tier players at the academy, and spent most of his time in Bradenton. Bollettieri continued to teach and hold public speaking engagements worldwide, including a visit to teach students at Tri-State Athletic Club in Evansville, Indiana. He was also the instruction editor of Tennis magazine . Over the course of his life, Bollettieri wrote two memoirs: My Aces, My Faults with Dick Schaap in 1996, and Bollettieri: Changing
11712-607: The third tournament of Federer's career at the 1998 Swiss Indoors in Federer's hometown, with Agassi prevailing over the 17-year-old. Agassi also defeated Federer at the 2001 US Open and the finals of the Miami Open in 2002. Federer began to turn the tide at the Masters Cup in 2003, when he defeated Agassi in both the round-robin and the final. They played a quarterfinal match at the 2004 US Open that spanned over two windy days, with Federer eventually prevailing in five sets. At
11834-429: The time. Agassi and Sampras met 34 times on the tour level with Agassi trailing 14–20. The 1990 US Open was their first meeting in a Grand Slam tournament final. Agassi was favored as he was ranked No. 4 at the time, compared to the No. 12 ranking of Sampras and because Agassi had defeated Sampras in their only previously completed match. Agassi, however, lost the final to Sampras in straight sets. Their next meeting in
11956-417: The title in 1970 at age 35. He finished the year ranked No. 8, one of the oldest players to finish in the top 10 since the 36-year-old Connors was No. 7 in 1988. At the time, Agassi also became the sixth male player during the open era to reach 800 career wins with his first-round victory over Alex Bogomolov in Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles. Agassi's 2005 began with a quarterfinal loss to Federer at
12078-810: The title of the Cancer Treatment Centers of America Championships. In 2015, Agassi took part in just one event of the PowerShares Series, losing to Mark Philippoussis in the final of the Champions Shootout. The following year he took part in two events, at first losing to Blake in Chicago, and the next day defeating Mardy Fish, but losing to Roddick in Charleston. In 2009, in Macau Agassi and Sampras met for
12200-402: The title. Agassi and Roger Federer played 11 times, and Federer led their head-to-head series 8–3. With the retirement of Sampras, the rivalry against the 11-years-younger Federer, who was another great server like Sampras, became Agassi's main rivalry for the final years of his career. Agassi won their first three matches, but then went on to lose eight consecutive ones. They first met in just
12322-495: The top 9 woman tennis players to take a stand for equality. "These woman became known as the Original 9". They did not play in the Los Angeles tournament and instead wanted to create their own tennis tournament. Several female players contacted Gladys Heldman , publisher of World Tennis Magazine , and stated that they wanted to boycott the event. Although Heldman advised against it, she did help them put together their own tournament in Houston which would not take place until after
12444-522: The top while associated with Bollettieri. The Williams sisters had a long-standing relationship with Bollettieri, having visited the academy for years, and they have often prepared for Grand Slams there. Mary Pierce and Anna Kournikova also trained at the academy. More recent students who trained with Bollettieri include Maria Sharapova (who moved from Russia at the age of nine) and Jelena Janković (from Belgrade, Serbia, aged 12); both became no. 1. Max Mirnyi , who trained with Bollettieri for 17 years,
12566-446: The tournaments, and because many of them were former players themselves, their sympathies lay with the male players, who argued vociferously that most of the money should be theirs." The low point in women's pay inequality came before the US Open in 1970. The Pacific Southwest Championships directed by Jack Kramer , had announced a 12:1 ratio in the prize money difference between what males and females would win. This tournament provoked
12688-495: The way, Agassi overcame two former Wimbledon champions: Boris Becker and John McEnroe . No other baseliner would triumph at Wimbledon until Lleyton Hewitt ten years later. Agassi was named the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year in 1992. Agassi once again played on the United States' Davis Cup winning team in 1992. It was their second Davis cup title in three years. Agassi famously played
12810-407: The world's top 50. After returning to top physical and mental shape, Agassi recorded the most successful period of his tennis career and also played classic matches in that period against Pete Sampras and Patrick Rafter . In 1998, Agassi won five titles and leapt from No. 110 to No. 6, the highest jump into the top 10 made by any player during a calendar year. At Wimbledon, he had an early loss in
12932-428: The year-end top-10 rankings, which tied Connors for the most times ranked in the top 10 at year's end. Agassi had a poor start to 2006, as he was still recovering from an ankle injury and also suffering from back and leg pain and lack of match play. Agassi withdrew from the Australian Open because of the ankle injury, and his back injury and other pains forced him to withdraw from several other events, eventually skipping
13054-494: The year. He later confessed that he started using crystal methamphetamine at that time, allegedly on the urging of a friend. He failed an ATP drug test, but wrote a letter claiming the same friend had spiked a drink. The ATP dropped the failed drug test as a warning. In his autobiography, Agassi admitted that the letter was a lie. He quit the drug soon after. At this time Agassi was also in a failing marriage with actress, model, and socialite Brooke Shields and had lost interest in
13176-501: Was 13, Agassi was sent to Nick Bollettieri 's Tennis Academy in Florida. He was meant to stay for only three months, because that was all his father could afford. After thirty minutes of watching Agassi play, Bollettieri, deeply impressed by his talent, called Mike and said: "Take your check back. He's here for free." Agassi then dropped out of school in the ninth grade to pursue a full-time tennis career. Agassi turned professional at
13298-511: Was Agassi who came out on top in two straight sets. He returned to the tour in May 2017 in the position of coach to Novak Djokovic for the French Open. Agassi announced the end of the partnership on March 31, 2018, stating that there were too many disagreements in the relationship. Women%27s Tennis Association The Women's Tennis Association ( WTA ) is the principal organizing body of women's professional tennis . The association governs
13420-566: Was Agassi who came out victorious in four tight sets. Their final match was played at Hong Kong in 1999, which Agassi won in three sets. Agassi and Pat Rafter played fifteen times with Agassi leading 10–5. The rivalry has been considered special and delivered memorable encounters, because of the players' contrasting styles of play, with Rafter using traditional serve-&-volley methods against Agassi's variety of return of serves and passing shots as his main weapons. Agassi led 8–2 on hard courts, but Rafter surprisingly won their sole match on clay at
13542-465: Was a less successful year for Agassi, as he failed to reach any Grand Slam final. He suffered two early-round losses to Chris Woodruff and Doug Flach at the French Open and Wimbledon, respectively, and lost to Chang in straight sets in the Australian and US Open semi-finals. At the time, Agassi blamed the Australian Open loss on the windy conditions, but later said in his biography that he had lost
13664-519: Was at Wayland Academy in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin . Though he had only dabbled in the sport in high school, Bollettieri was the tennis director at Dorado Beach Hotel in Puerto Rico in the late 1960s when it was a Rockefeller resort. Moving to Longboat Key, Florida , in 1978, Bollettieri served as an instructor for the Colony Beach and Tennis Resort. In the early 1980s, Bollettieri opened
13786-448: Was favored before losing in four sets to Andrés Gómez , which he later attributed in his book to worrying about his wig falling off during the match. He reached his second Grand Slam final of the year at the US Open, defeating defending champion Boris Becker in the semi-finals. His opponent in the final was Pete Sampras ; a year earlier, Agassi had crushed Sampras, after which time he told his coach that he felt bad for Sampras because he
13908-743: Was honored at the New York College of Health Professions with an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters for his contribution to the world of sports, fitness, and wellness. In 2014, he was inducted to the International Tennis Hall of Fame . The following year, Bollettieri became the first white man to be inducted into the Black Tennis Hall of Fame . Andre Agassi Andre Kirk Agassi ( / ˈ æ ɡ ə s i / AG -ə-see ; born April 29, 1970)
14030-407: Was making more money except the women ". In 1969, ratios of 5:1 in terms of pay between men and women were common at smaller tournaments. By 1970 these figures had increased to up to 12:1. Billie Jean King and Cynthia Starr wrote in their book, We Have Come a Long Way , in 1988, "The women were being squeezed financially because we had no control in a male-dominated sport. Men owned, ran and promoted
14152-556: Was married to former number one tennis player Pancho Gonzales ), Philip and Tami. Andre was given the middle name Kirk after Kirk Kerkorian , an Armenian-American businessman. Emmanuel Agassi, then a waiter at Tropicana Las Vegas , had met his employer Kerkorian in 1963 and they became friends. At the age of 12, Agassi and his good friend and doubles partner, Roddy Parks, won the 1982 National Indoor Boys 14s Doubles Championship in Chicago. Agassi describes memorable experiences and juvenile pranks with Roddy in his book Open . When he
14274-416: Was never going to make it as a pro. Agassi lost the US Open final to Sampras in three sets. The Agassi-Sampras rivalry became the biggest one in tennis over the rest of the decade. Agassi ended 1990 on a high note as he helped the United States win its first Davis Cup in 8 years on home soil against Australia (3–2) and won his only Tennis Masters Cup , beating reigning Wimbledon champion Stefan Edberg in
14396-416: Was over. Agassi returned to No. 1 in 1999 and enjoyed the most successful run of his career over the next four years. During his 20-plus year tour career, Agassi was known as "The Punisher". After suffering from sciatica caused by two bulging discs in his back, a spondylolisthesis ( vertebral displacement) and a bone spur that interfered with the nerve , Agassi retired from professional tennis after
14518-407: Was ranked world number 1 in men's doubles. Bollettieri's most famous coaching roles while travelling as a tour coach were with Andre Agassi from 1986 until Bollettieri ended the arrangement following the 1993 Wimbledon tournament, and with Boris Becker from December 1993 to August 1995. Before becoming a wildlife-related personality, Frank Cuesta had also attended Bollettieri's academy, and became
14640-401: Was that most of their meetings were built on long and entertaining rallies. The rivalry began late in the 1980s with both players being considered the prodigies of the next great generation of American tennis players and both being of foreign descent. Agassi won the first four matches including a straight-set victory in round 16 of the 1988 US Open and defeating Chang, the defending champion, in
14762-497: Was the first professional sport opened to transgender women. The New York Supreme Court ruled in favour of Renée Richards , a player who underwent male-to-female sex reassignment surgery . Eligibility of transgender players is officially regulated under the current WTA official rulebook. In April 1977, the Washington Post published an article entitled "Social Variety Is Slim on Women's Tennis Tour" which looked at some of
14884-466: Was the only time Agassi ended the year at No. 1. Agassi was runner-up to Sampras at the year-end Tennis Masters Cup losing 1–6, 5–7, 4–6 despite beating Sampras in the round-robin 6–2, 6–2. He began the next year 2000 by capturing his second Australian Open title, beating Sampras in a five-set semi-final and Yevgeny Kafelnikov in a four-set final. He was the first male player to have reached four consecutive Grand Slam finals since Rod Laver achieved
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