Steffi Graf post-retirement life: How German legend is playing crucial role in Andre Agassi & her son Jaden's baseball career

Steffi Graf, a doting mother post her retirement from tennis, has been lauded by her son Jaden Agassi for playing a pivotal role in shaping his baseball career. Agassi Jr. has credited his mother for helping him develop important personality traits that have contributed to his attitude in his sport.

A household name in tennis during the 1980s and 90s, Graf kept the world in awe whenever she stepped onto the court. She won a total of 22 Grand Slam titles and was ranked No. 1 in the world for 377 weeks.

Known for her exemplary footwork and powerful forehands, the German continues to hold the record for being the only woman to win a Golden Slam in 1988. However, after setting such stellar records, she decided to put an end to her professional tennis career in 1999.

The tennis legend married Andre Agassi in 2001 and gave birth to their son Jaden in the same year followed by their daughter Jaz in 2003. Since then, she has devoted herself to being a mother.

Jaden Agassi in a recent interview with MLB on 14th February 2025, spoke about how his mother, Steffi Graf played a crucial role in his growth as a person that eventually helped him in his game. The baseball prodigy also said that his attitude matches to that of his mother and said that he is a lot like her.

He highlighted what are some of the personality traits her has picked up from his mother and how he channels them into his baseball career.

"I think I'm a lot like my mom in the sense of my composure, I've always been just very composed and cool, calm and collected out there. I try to have a short memory. My mindset is the next pitch is the most important one."

The son of the tennis power couple has been picked to pitch for the German National Baseball team in the World Baseball Classic Qualifiers which is set to be held in March. He was a student at the University of Southern California (known as USC) and had previously played baseball for his university and at the MLB Draft League in 2024.

The 23-year-old expressed his thoughts on how he picked up the tennis racket numerous times when he was young but while trying to play, he would hit the ball hard and over the line. This tendency slowly transformed into his love for baseball.

"I started playing baseball when I was six years old in T-ball, I loved it. I've picked up a tennis racket a good amount, but it was always hard for me to keep that ball in between the lines. I just wanted to hit that thing as far as I could. Baseball had my love since day one."

After averaging an impressive 2.96 earned runs and claiming the Player of the Week title at the MLB Draft League in July, he is excited to take on a new role. He expressed his delight to be able to represent his mother Steffi Graf's nation - Germany in baseball for the upcoming tournament.

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Jaden Agassi is elated to be playing for mother Steffi Graf's country at World Baseball Classic Qualifiers

Jaden Agassi and mother Steffi Graf watching Andre Agassi play at the US Open - Source: Getty

Jaden Agassi was overjoyed to be playing for the German National Team at the World Baseball Classic Qualifiers which will be starting from March 2 of this year. While talking about it, he reminisced how he would visit Germany twice a year with his mother Steffi Graf when he was young and had also learnt to speak the language.

Speaking to MLB ahead of his games, he said that he has always dreamt of this moment and was excited.

"It's been a dream of mine since I was a little boy to compete on an international scale. [I want to] make my mom proud, make Germany proud and do them right."

Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf are now exploring their other interests during their retired life. They partnered together to play Pickleball for the PickleBall Slam and recently defeated Andy Roddick and Eugenie Bouchard to win the third edition of the tournament.