Andre Agassi

As a tennis player in the 1990s, Andre Agassi was an American icon Agassi is an eight-time Grand Slam champion, seven time runner-up, and three-time Davis Cup champion. He is one of seven male tennis players to win the career Grand Slam. No American male has won either the French or Australian Open since Agassi. His rivalry with Pete Sampras throughout the 1990s was considered crucial to tennis’ popularity. Agassi’s Grand Slam breakthrough came at Wimbledon in 1992 when he got past former champions Boris Becker and John McEnroe and defeated Goran Ivanisevic in the final. He first rose to number on in the world in 1995 and during his career, Agassi held that distinction for 101 weeks. Agassi persevered through personal issues that dropped him to world number 141 in 1997 and returned to number one in the world by 1999. In 1988, Agassi was the fastest player to ever reach one million dollars in career earnings. He dropped out of school in ninth grade after legendary tennis coach Nick Bollettieri assessed that he was the most naturally talented tennis player of all-time. Agassi’s charity has raised over 60 million dollars for at-risk youth in the greater Las Vegas area. He was one of the most successful athlete endorsers of the 1990s and his autobiography, Open, reached number on the New York Times Best Seller List. Agassi is married to fellow tennis star Steffi Graf.