The bond between a coach who helps the player develop their own tennis class lasts forever. Such is the bond between Andre Agassi and his teenage years coach, Gil Reyes. Agassi remembers the glory days of their partnership and recently shared a throwback picture with him. The picture garnered the attention of tennis fans of the 1990s and Agassi’s daughter.

Reyes and Agassi first joined hands in 1989. The 72-year-old coach initially worked as a strength and conditioning coach for the basketball program at the University of Nevada. He joined Agassi’s team in 1989, which was followed by a learning curve for the former basketball coach. Regardless of the initial difficulties, he and Agassi formed a lasting bond as they would stay together till the end of the American player’s career.

After sharing many memories with him, the four-time Australian Open champion felt nostalgic and uploaded a picture with Reyes on his Instagram page. He added the emoji “👊🏻” in the caption. As the post caught the eye of fans, Jaz Elle Agassi, Andre’s daughter, commented, “Gilly Gilly!!”.

Her comment shows that Reyes was likely close with Agassi’s family as well. To prove their bond further, Agassi named his son after Reyes, Jaden Gil Agassi. Reyes was also sometimes referred to as “the core” of Agassi’s team of advisors, friends, and family. Furthermore, Reyes is a prime reason Agassi found love and passion for the racquet sport, which he hated with a burning passion. 

Andre Agassi on how ‘surrogate father’ changed his relationship with tennis

Many would be shocked to find out Andre Agassi hated tennis with a burning passion as a youngster. The sport was imposed upon him by his father, which led to intense feelings of disdain for the racquet sport. In his biography, Agassi wrote, “I play tennis for a living even though I hate tennis, hate it with a dark and secret passion and always have.” 

The pressure he experienced required an escape for him to find mental peace. But things turned around with Reyes. “Then came my trainer a few years later, that basically was my surrogate father. He was the first one to really teach me that I was worth caring about, which is never the way I really felt. He made my body strong but he really made my mind and my heart strong and I always felt understood.”

For Agassi, having someone who focused on his mental peace helped him turn around his feelings for tennis. Reyes never left Agassi, even after his drug addiction debacle. He helped the American player build himself back up. His efforts will never be forgotten by Agassi, who is forever grateful to Gil Reyes.