‘We Live on Tips’ – Andre Agassi Once Revealed Family’s ‘Unpredictable’ Times With Father’s Small Salary at Casino

Andre Agassi, the eight-time Grand Slam champion, had a rough childhood. He wasn’t a fan of tennis but had to pursue it, as it was the only thing that made his father happy. The fact that his family lived from pay cheque to paycheck but still tried to arrange the best for the boy pressured him.

His family solely depended on his father’s earnings and was always uncertain of their standing. They had to rely on how people treated his father at his job. Here are the conditions in which Agassi grew up.

Andre Agassi about his family’s hardships 

In his Autobiography The Open, Agassi detailed how his family’s financial condition didn’t go well with the sport that he pursued. “We live on tips, which makes life unpredictable,” he stated.

Thereafter, he explained the aftermath of his father working as a casino captain and their income depending majorly on the tips customers gave. “Some nights my father comes home with his pockets bulging with cash. Other nights, his pockets are perfectly flat. Whatever he pulls from his pockets, no matter how little, gets carefully counted and stacked, then stashed in the family safe.”

“It’s nerve-wracking, never knowing how much Pops is going to be able to tuck in the safe,” he added. Agassi’s father Mike Agassi was an Olympic boxer and had an unexplainable liking for tennis. Therefore, he wanted to see his son become a tennis pro. He gave up all his saving to arrange three months’ coaching fees worth money.

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Mike enrolled his teenage boy in Nick Bollettieri’s tennis academy. Though impressed by Agassi’s talent, Bollettieri wavered his fees and took him in as his disciple.

Agassi’s tennis career

The American turned pro in the year 1986 and became one of the few who challenged the 14 times Grand Slam champion, Pete Sampras. He, alongside Sampras, brought the USA to the top of the sport. They often fought for the title at major events and passed the crown of World no.1 to one another.

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Agassi touched the career highest ranking of World no.1 in the year 1995, after reigning for the first time in the Australian Open. Thereafter, he claimed three more trophies on Aussie soil. Further, his mission to prove his skills in all four Grand Slams came true in 1999 when he finally took down Andriy Medvedev to win the French Open. Agassi marked the end of his career in 2006 with a pile of 60 singles titles and an Olympic gold medal.