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Andre Agassi Cites Fear as ‘One Heck of a Thing’ That Never Allowed Him to Quit Tennis

Published 02/26/2024, 4:42 AM EST

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American tennis legend Andre Agassi revealed his secret to success and how this secret motivated him to fight and stay in tennis. Previously, Agassi brought a lot of limelight to his life when he admitted his love-hate relationship with tennis to the fans. This American tennis legend’s biography Open served as a great book for fans to understand Agassi’s perspectives on tennis. Now his secret to success has revealed a new personality of Agassi to the fans.

Agassi never expressed that he loved tennis. Rather he expressed a passion for the sport. Now, it will be very interesting to look at the way this dynamic personality paved his way to success.

Andre Agassi counts on “fear of not being enough” as his biggest success mantra in tennis

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In a recent interview, Agassi candidly discussed many things from his newfound love for pickleball to his challenges with tennis. Agassi said- “You know to have a choice to walk away from something when you don’t know what else, I mean, fear is one heck of a moderator, let’s put it that way. After Agassi’s response, the interviewer delved deeper into the topic and asked him about the fear that motivated Agassi about the sport.

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In his response, Agassi said- “Fear of everything, I mean, fears of failing, fears of succeeding, fear of not knowing who you are, knowing who you are, not liking who you are, fear of my father’s growing up, fear of being alone, you know fear of not being enough, you know all that stuff. You know to be a professional athlete at sixteen years old it’s like a match you have to do everyday of your life for those sixteen years.”

Agassi always spoke about how he played tennis for his financial sustainability. This American legend opened up about how he never felt passionate about the sport. In Agassi’s words- “I play tennis for a living, even though I hate tennis, hate it with a dark and secret passion, and always have,”

Apart from his revelation, Agassi expressed how tennis helped him to fight his inner battles. He mentioned how he treated tennis in his own way by not relying on other’s perceptions.

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Andre Agassi revealed how “being on the tennis court…was an escape”

This veteran American tennis legend once made shocking revelations about his thoughts on tennis. Agassi said- “So, it’s not a love-hate, it kind of was a hate love. It took me a long time to come to terms with myself, to understand myself. And there I was on the world stage, acting out this rebellion and this exploration of who I was and trying to solve those contradictions, But being on the tennis court, sometimes it was an escape and other times it was full of land mines.

He further added: “So, I never quite knew at that age. So, my team was really important to me, not so much from a tennis side, just from a humanity side. I wanted to know there are things I could count on. I didn’t want tennis to be as important as it seemed to everybody. Sometimes as important as I treated it,”

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Andre Agassi’s fears helped him to make peace with the tennis. Despite not being very passionate about it, tennis brought Agassi peace to accept his thoughts. Although it was fear, ultimately it motivated him. What is your take on Agassi’s comment on fear as a motivating factor for his professional tennis career?

Read more: ‘He Got a Little Tough’ – Andre Agassi’s Attitude Before Ditching Nike for Adidas Revealed by Former Director

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Written by:

Upasana Banerjee

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Upasana Banerjee is a Tennis Writer at EssentiallySports. Specializing in major trends within the tennis world, Upasana's keen eye captures newsworthy moments in the world of sports. Her adept information mining makes her a go-to source for insights into players' lives.
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Edited by:

Ananya Giri