Break out your Canon Rebels tonight because Andre Agassi is in Newport Beach.
No longer does Agassi sport the rock star hairdo.
The hair is all gone, but his passion for tennis is not.
The 39-year-old is back on the World Team Tennis circuit.
Agassi plays his final WWT event of the year as the Philadelphia Freedoms (4-6) compete against the Newport Beach Breakers (6-4) at Breakers Stadium at Newport Beach Country Club at 7:05.
The only male to claim all four Grand Slam singles titles and an Olympic singles gold medal caught up with the media recently.
Question: Can you talk about the World Team Tennis matches, what it means in your lifestyle today?
Agassi: First of all, it’s been a few years since I’ve sort of been connected with the game in any direct kind of way, and that’s been a little unsettling for me. I took time away when I retired to try to figure out how I can best engage with the game and do it in a way that made the most sense, or where I could possibly have some more impact. And that has not been so easy, with all of my responsibilities, to sort of figure out.
So before I got too far away, I wanted to sort of re-engage in certain respects and show an appreciation for the life and the platform that tennis has given me, and I thought no better way to sort of inject myself back into World Team Tennis. I love what Billie (Jean King, WTT co-founder) and Ilana (Kloss, WTT CEO/commissioner) have built. I think it’s a great asset to the game and I think an even greater asset to the tennis fans. Taking this sport to the people is a great feeling. The environment is unlike any other, and it’s just a lot of fun.
So I thought it would be, maybe, an easy way to sort of introduce my body again to it. It’s not like I have to be out there for so many hours. A couple goes and have some fun doing it.
Q: Could you reflect on your return to Paris, a pretty special moment given what you achieved on that court, and also being there next to Roger Federer after he got that magic number 14.
