7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf have golden rule to make legendary tennis marriage work
Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf have golden rule to make legendary tennis marriage work
Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi enjoyed incredible tennis careers and have dominated the sport of pickleball in recent years while now sharing the secret behind their success on and off the court
Tennis legends Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf are still going strong both on and off the court
(Image: Getty )
Tennis legends Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi have revealed the golden rule they follow to make their marriage work.
The couple are widely considered to be among the greatest tennis players the sport has ever seen. Graf's career from 1982 to 1999 saw her win a whopping 22 Grand Slams, being the only player ever to clinch each of the majors at least four times.
In 2001, the German married men's tennis icon Agassi, who himself won eight Grand Slams with his scintillating play between 1986 and 2006.
The couple have gone on to have two children, 23-year-old son Jaden Gil Agassi and 21-year-old daughter Jaz Elle.
Now, a quarter of a century into their marriage, a key part of Agassi and Graf's relationship is the increasingly popular sport of pickleball.
The two 55-year-olds began playing pickleball with their kids during the Covid-19 lockdowns in the spring of 2020 and have been hooked ever since.
Graf admitted that the sport, which is similar to tennis but is played on a doubles badminton court, 'filled a huge' tennis-shaped gap in their lives post-retirement. And she revealed the one key reason that they have been able to sustain their marriage while competing.
She said in an interview with BILD: 'We don't play against each other. We prefer to be on the same side of the court.'
Agassi added: 'We like that pickleball is a community-oriented sport. People who play pickleball also improve quickly.'
He went on to say: 'We really want to spread the game. When we're not traveling, we practice a lot of pickleball. Since we both play, it's fun to do it together.'
On Saturday, April 12, Agassi hosted the first-ever Agassi Open Play Day at Life Time Green Valley to mark National Pickleball Month.
The event was also mirrored at more than 100 Life Time athletic clubs around the United States at the same time.
Earlier this year, Agassi and Graf defended their Pickleball Slam crown by winning the title for a third successive time.
Jaz Agassi, Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf and Jaden Agassi pose on the court after Andre Agassi and Graf won the Pickleball Slam 3 championship in Las Vegas
(Image: Getty )
They teamed up against former US Open champion Andy Roddick and Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard, winning the $1million (£743,000) prize after three matches and a tiebreak round.
Article continues below
When Agassi and Graf aren't playing pickleball, they enjoy spending time with their kids and their respective partners, even going on triple dates.
Agassi said: 'We had a great date night the other night where it was me, Steffi, my son and Catherine, his girlfriend, and Jaz, our daughter, and her boyfriend Parker, and it was like a triple date and we all just went out and sat and talked.
'We feel like peers around them, we respect them, we seek their opinion on things, they're not hesitant to ask us our perspective on what they're going through, so it really feels like a healthy season in life.'
