Andre Agassi has always been a master of spectacle—neon outfits, long hair, ear rings, denim shorts, and thunderous returns—but nothing he ever staged on a tennis court feels as intimate or revealing as the pages of his 2009 autobiography Open. Published with the help of Pulitzer Prize–winning writer J.R. Moehringer, the memoir is frank, tightly crafted, and uncommonly literary for a sports book. It’s also found fresh relevance here on the Gulf Coast after Agassi stepped onto a New Orleans court to face Drew Brees in a Saturday celebrity pickleball exhibition at the Morial Convention Center, during the 3rd annual NOLA Pickle Fest. For local readers who saw two icons in their respective sport swap serves under the lights of the Ernest M. Morial Convention Center, Open is the perfect companion text—it explains the mind behind the competitor you just watched.
Agassi begins by dismantling his public image. The mullet was a façade, the cool was often fear, and the sport he dominated was the sport he actually “hated.” The early chapters put you in the backyard of his Las Vegas home with “the Dragon,” a souped-up ball machine built by his demanding father, Mike. The writing is vivid and unsentimental; the pressure is relentless. Agassi’s talent is never in doubt, but Open insists the real drama of his career is interior: the negotiation between a child steered by a father’s dream and an adult trying to locate his own. The prose is clean, propulsive, and self-aware, and it gives the book the arc of a psychological novel more than a victory lap.
(Andre Agassi and his dad Mike in the late 80’s. Mike was a tennis coach and trained Andre, often pushing him to his limits to the point that Andre hated the sport he was so good at.)
“My father yells everything twice, sometimes three times, sometimes 10. Harder, he says, harder. Hit earlier. Damn it Andre, hit earlier, Crowd the ball, crowd the ball.” Andre was quoted in his book, regarding his dad. “Now he’s crowding me. He’s in my face. He’s yelling. It’s not enough to hit everything the dragon fires at me: my father wants me to hit harder and faster than the dragon. He wants me to beat the dragon.”
(His colorful attire, trademark long hair, head band and earing made him a fan favorite)
The most reported section, then and now, is Agassi’s admission that he used crystal meth in 1997, failed an ATP drug test, and escaped sanction after writing a letter that wasn’t truthful. However you feel about that episode, it’s central to the book’s honesty. Agassi lays out his worst choices without flinching, and the memoir’s moral center is in how he accounts for them—no shortcuts, no sugarcoating. The scandal certainly fueled headlines, but on the page it reads like confession in service of growth, the hinge between his lost years and the disciplined comeback that followed.
(Andre how he looked in 1997)
For all the soul-searching, Open also doubles as a guided tour through one of the great modern careers through the eyes of one of tennis’ biggest stars. Agassi won eight Grand Slam singles titles—Australian Open (1995, 2000, 2001, 2003), French Open (1999), Wimbledon (1992), US Open (1994, 1999)—becoming one of the few men to complete the Grand Slam. With his 1996 Olympic gold in Atlanta, he achieved the Career Golden Slam, the rare sweep of all four majors plus Olympic gold across a career. He rose to World No. 1, finished year-end No. 1 in 1999, helped the United States win three Davis Cups (1990, 1992, 1995), and captured 60 career titles while redefining hard-court baseline tennis for a generation. The book’s closing chapters mirror the late-career renaissance fans remember: the French-US Open double in 1999, the Australian Open titles in his thirties, and a 2006 US Open farewell that turned Arthur Ashe Stadium into a cathedral of applause as he competed for the final time and lost in the third round in his final professional match.
(Agassi during his final professional match; the 2006 U.S. Open)
Marriages and the private life behind the public figure
Agassi writes candidly about relationships, first his high-profile marriage to Brooke Shields (1997–1999), which he portrays with the same unsparing honesty he applies to his tennis. The second act—his 2001 marriage to Steffi Graf—is rendered as stabilizing and deeply human. Graf, a fellow legend with her own complicated relationship to fame, becomes both a confidante and a compass. Their partnership, two children, and shared commitment to philanthropy (including Agassi’s charter-school work in Las Vegas) give the memoir its final note: purpose beyond trophies.
(Agassi was involved in a high profile marriage with actress Brooke Shields from 1997-99)
Beyond tennis: Agassi’s education mission
Agassi’s post-tour identity is anchored in the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education (founded 1994), whose mission is to expand opportunity for underserved students. The foundation’s flagship project was the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in West Las Vegas, a public K–12 charter school the foundation opened in 2001.
The foundation’s signature benefit, the Grand Slam for Children, has raised more than $118 million toward its work, contributing to a total $180+ million raised since inception
(Andre Agassi, his wife Steffi Graff and their two children Jaz born in 2003, and Jaden born in 2001. Jaden was a former pitcher for the USC Trojans baseball team)
Andre Agassi and his love for pickleball
Since retiring in 2006, Agassi has leaned into pickleball—not just for exhibitions, but competitively. He and Steffi Graf play regularly and have teamed up (and won) at the televised Pickleball Slam events—Agassi first pairing with Andy Roddick to win the inaugural showcase, then winning Pickleball Slam 2 alongside Graf. In 2025 he even made a professional pickleball debut at the U.S. Open Pickleball Championships in Naples, Florida, partnering with world No. 1 Anna Leigh Waters and winning his opening match. For Gulf South fans, the crossover came home this weekend: Agassi faced Drew Brees in the headline exhibition at the 3rd Annual Drew Brees NOLA Pickle Fest on Saturday evening at the Morial Convention Center—another sign that he’s found a joyful, second act on a smaller court with a big crowd.
(Drew Brees and Andre Agassi at this past Saturday’s Nola Pickle Fest in New Orleans)
Final Thoughts
Open is that rare sports memoir that reads like real literature—unguarded, tightly crafted, and genuinely moving. Tennis diehards will relish the point-by-point craft, while general readers stay for the coming-of-age arc. And for Saints fans along the Gulf Coast who caught Drew Brees’s pickleball fest Saturday, it deepens your appreciation for the competitor behind the celebrity.
About The Author
