"Fun times" - Andre Agassi and former coach Brad Gilbert get the 'band back together,' reunite on court in New York

Andre Agassi recently reunited with his former coach Brad Gilbert in Forest Hills, Queens, New York. Gilbert, now coaching top American WTA player Coco Gauff, and Agassi, fresh off a victory in the "Stars of the Open" charity event, have both made their mark on New York this week for different reasons.

Gilbert, a former World No. 4 who is now a coach, has been instrumental in shaping the careers of several top players, most notably Andre Agassi. Their partnership, which began in March 1994 and lasted until January 2002, was marked by remarkable success.

Under Gilbert’s tutelage, Agassi won six of his eight Majors and completed his career Grand Slam. After a slump in 1997, Agassi found himself at the 140th position in the ATP rankings. However, with Gilbert’s coaching, Agassi made a remarkable comeback, regaining the World No. 1 ranking.

On August 24, Gilbert shared a selfie with Agassi on his X (formerly Twitter) account, marking their reunion.

"Fun times this morning back on the court with AA at forest hills," Gilbert wrote.

Reacting to the picture a fan commented:

"Brings back a lot of memories of a great era in tennis."

To which Gilbert replied:

"No doubt fun times the band back together."

Andre Agassi and Brad Gilbert also played against one another, with their head-to-head currently tied at 4-4. Their last meeting came in the quarterfinals of the 1994 Scottsdale Open, where Agassi defeated Gilbert 6-1, 6-2.

The two are currently in New York for their respective commitments. Gilbert is accompanying Coco Gauff for her title defense. At the same time, Agassi participated in the “Stars of the Open” men’s doubles charity match as part of the US Open Fan Week, where he and his doubles partner Carlos Alcaraz won 10-8 against John McEnroe and Novak Djokovic.

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Andre Agassi's former coach Brad Gilbert reveals the former's strategic brilliance during his playing days

Andre Agassi during Longines Global Champions Tour (Source: Getty Images)

In a March 2023 episode of the 'Craig Shapiro Tennis Podcast,' Brad Gilbert shared that Andre Agassi had the insight and bravery to challenge his opponents' strengths rather than their weaknesses.

Gilbert admitted that he typically focused on exploiting the weakest parts of an opponent's game and built his strategies around that approach. However, when he suggested this tactic to Agassi, the American had a different perspective.

"What I was always worried about as a player was what the person I'm playing against did the shi**iest. I wanted to find that, find their weaknes. When I would explain (this) to Andre, when we were talking about tactics, he would always stop me and say, 'You're always telling me about the weakness first. Let's start with the strength.' Then he would always want to go after the strength first," Gilbert said.

Brad Gilbert explained that Agassi’s strategy was based on the belief that by dismantling his opponents' strengths, he could apply significant pressure. Although Gilbert initially struggled to grasp the eight-time Grand Slam champion's idea, he eventually recognized its "genius" after witnessing him execute the plan successfully.

Andre Agassi called quits on his tennis career in 2006 after exiting that year's US Open in the third round.