"There will be no hoopla, no church, no cake, no dress" - When Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf decided to get married amid the German's pregnancy
Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf are one of the most beloved couples in tennis history. The two started dating in 1999 and got married in 2001, the same year Graf became pregnant with the couple's first child.
Andre Agassi wrote about the German's pregnancy and their decision to get married in his autobiography "Open". It happened shortly after the American won the Indian Wells Open, when the couple went to have dinner just before they had to catch their respective flights to Miami and Germany.
"It’s what we both wanted, and she’s delighted, but frightened too. So many changes. What will happen to her body? We only have a few hours left together before I catch a red-eye to Miami and she flies to Germany," Agassi wrote.
"We go out to dinner, to Matsuhisa. We sit at the sushi bar, holding hands, telling each other it’s going to be fantastic. I don’t realize until later that this is the same restaurant where it all unraveled with Brooke. Just like tennis. The same court on which you suffer your bloodiest defeat can become the scene of your sweetest triumph," he added.
Agassi said that he suggested to Graf that the two get married, to which the German agreed. He added that their wedding wouldn't have any hoopla or church or cake or dress and that they would get married on a free day during the inactive period of the tennis calendar.
"After we’re done eating and crying and celebrating, I say: 'I guess we should get married.' Her eyes widen. 'I guess so.' 'There will be no hoopla', we decide. 'No church. No cake. No dress. We’ll do it on a free day during a lull in the tennis season,'" Agassi wrote.
Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf have two children together
Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf got married in 2001 and have two children together. The couple's son Jaden was born in 2001 while their daughter Jaz Elle was born in 2003.
"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 in an interview in 2011.
Steffi Graf retired from tennis in 1999, not long after losing the Wimbledon final to Lindsay Davenport. Andre Agassi was active until 2006 and called it quits after the US Open that year.