"Agassi is a very tennis last name, the goal is to make it a baseball one" - Andre Agassi & Steffi Graf's son Jaden on making a name for himself
Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf's son Jaden Agassi understands that the name Agassi has become synonymous with tennis thanks to his prodigious father. Regardless, the young American, who has chosen a different career in another sport, wants to make a name for himself in the baseball arena.
An eight-time Grand Slam champion, Agassi is one of the most accomplished tennis players produced in the United States. He is also an Olympic gold medalist, a former World No. 1, and earned more than $30 million in prize money throughout his career. For his contributions to the sport, he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2011.
Agassi and Graf married in 2001, and have two children -- Jaden and his sister Jaz. Neither have taken to tennis like their parents, with Jaden following his heart in baseball and Jaz pursuing her own interests like dance and fashion.
Jaden Agassi represents the USC Trojans (University of Southern California) at the college level and also played recently for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, a summer team of the MLB Draft League.
During his time at the Scrappers, the 22-year-old spoke about the challenges of being a child born to superstar athletes, admitting that people first started taking note of his last name in middle school.
Be that as it may, Jaden Agassi believes in his own abilities to make Agassi a household name among baseball fans soon. He also expressed his gratitude to his father Agassi and mother Graf for the innumerable ways in which they helped him to realize his dreams.
"I want to say right around middle school kind of just people asking me, and it just kind of became more of a reality. That’s kind of the goal. Agassi is a very tennis last name, of course. The goal is to try to make it a baseball one,” Agassi said.
"[My parents] help me out in so many ways I couldn’t even name, but they’re a great resource," he added, in quotes collected by WKBN.
"We never really introduced tennis so much into their lives" - Andre Agassi on how he and Steffi Graf raised their children
Speaking in an interview with Fox Sports back in 2011, Andre Agassi shed light on the way he and his wife Steffi Graf raised their children, revealing that they did not want Jaden and Jaz to pick up tennis.
Calling it a "weird" sport, the American believed that it was more important that his kids be raised to pursue their own interests and desires, instead of being told to follow tennis just because of their parents.
"Tennis? I just think we've had enough, quite honestly. It's a weird sport. We don't see too many second-generation players. For us, it's about raising our children in a way we can share in their life and not always worry about their life," Agassi said.
"We never really introduced tennis so much into their lives. They've chosen other things that we were surprised with ... they love their arts and music. Jaden tried different sports, soccer and things and ended up with baseball. We nurture their desires and interests," he added.