"I'm like an artist who refuses to pursue art in pain" - When Andre Agassi disclosed disconnect with tennis & "miserable" environment caused by father
Andre Agassi once opened up about how his family’s moods relied heavily on his and his siblings’ tennis results. The former American tennis player attributed the tense atmosphere to his father’s inability to accept losses.
Agassi and his three siblings earned their preliminary tennis lessons under the aegis of their father, Mike (Emmanuel), who was a former boxer. Although the eight-time Grand Slam champion exhibited exceptional skills on the court as a child, he developed an aversion to the sport due to his father’s uncompromising ways.
Andre Agassi has often spoken about how Mike’s decision to send him to Nick Bollettieri’s academy as a 13-year-old negatively affected his view of tennis. In a 2010 interview with SZ Wochenende, Agassi disclosed how on-court results impacted his family's life.
"We either ate together or everyone ate separately," he said.
He said that despite achieving success in the years that followed, the interactions remained the same.
"Later, the stakes increased, there was a lot of money at stake and the income increased, but the way we functioned as a family remained the same, " Andre Agassi said. "Losing meant that everyone else was miserable because my father would never accept defeat."
Agassi did not share his father's views. The former World No. 1 indicated that he preferred pursuing his passion without it becoming a burden.
"You have to imagine it like this: I'm like an artist who refuses to pursue his art in pain. I didn't accept tennis as a way of life at the time," he said.
"Wasn't much different than jumping from open fire into a frying pan" – Andre Agassi on making peace with being a tennis player
In the aforementioned interview, Andre Agassi said he realized the consequences of losses in his household when he was four. The American legend touched on how he formed a negative association with defeats as a result.
"At the age of four, I learned that when Dad lost, there would be arguments between my older siblings," he said. "When I watched them play, I was constantly afraid that they would lose. They didn't win often enough and I was the last hope. "
"I had talent, I won, but I hated everything that had to do with it," Agassi added.
Over time, courtesy of his on-court success, Agassi gained financial stability, which in turn made his tennis journey “bearable.”
"Tennis suddenly offered the opportunity to make my life a little more bearable, " he said. "Traveling with my brother, money, dinner in good restaurants. "
"But basically, it wasn't much different than jumping from an open fire into a frying pan: the pain just became a little more bearable."