"I've had a long history, starting with my father" - Andre Agassi reveals motivation behind paying back tennis through education

Tennis legend Andre Agassi spoke about how he is making an effort to give back to the sport after retiring from it almost two decades ago. He admitted being grateful to tennis for giving him the life he has right now as he strives to always pay it back.

The American turned pro at only 16 years of age and went on to win 8 Grand Slam titles along with an Olympic Gold medal in 1996. Even though he retired from professional tennis in 2006, he has been an active contributor to the sport in various other roles.

Agassi spoke candidly in an interview with media outlet Bay Area Sports Wrap at the Laver Cup 2025 promotional event on 23rd February 2025. He highlighted how his relationship with tennis goes way back and what steps he has taken to contribute to the development of the sport:

"I've had a long history in tennis, starting with my father, but skipping through all that, I got to a point where tennis really gave me a life that I chose. And I chose to use that platform to make a difference in children's lives through education and changing the public education system, trying to have an impact there and building a lot of schools for areas of communities that are underserved." (0:33 onwards)

He also talked about how his deep interest in philanthropy has led him to make a significant impact in education through his passion project, the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education:

"I keep pushing on all fronts. I mean, I have my interest in education, I have my focus—I've built 130 schools across the country." (2:31 onwards)

Andre Agassi's involvement in this edition of the Laver Cup too is a way of contributing to the game that has given him so much.

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Andre Agassi will be captaining Team World at the Laver Cup 2025

Andre Agassi at the 2024 Laver Cup Gala night - Source: Getty

Andre Agassi has been associated with the Laver Cup since it started in the year 2017. However, this year he aims to be more closely involved in the tournament as he has graduated from being just a spectator and will be donning the hat of the captain for Team World.

The former World No. 1 will be stepping into the shoes of his compatriot John McEnroe who has captained the team since its starting in 2017. The tournament will be held this year at the Chase Centre in San Francisco from 19-21 September.