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Open: An Autobiography

Open is the autobiography of Andre Agassi, a professional tennis player whose career spanned from the mid-1980s through 2006. The book covers his upbringing, his intensive training from childhood, his time at a Florida tennis academy as a young teenager, and his rise to professional tennis at the ag

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Updated Jul 5, 2026
In This Review
  • The Book's Subject
  • Career & Relationships
  • Themes & Scope
  • Format & Audience

The Book's Subject

Andre Agassi's Open is a candid, unflinching memoir that justifies its broad appeal — it works as both tennis history and the portrait of a gifted athlete forced to reckon with his own ambition. The autobiography covers his upbringing, his intensive training from childhood, his time at a Florida tennis academy as a young teenager, and his rise to professional tennis at the age of sixteen. It follows his career arc through early struggles, Grand Slam victories, a period of declining confidence, and a subsequent comeback.

Career & Relationships

The narrative includes accounts of Agassi's rivalries and matches against players including Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras, and Roger Federer. Personal relationships covered include a period with Barbra Streisand, a marriage to actress Brooke Shields, and his later relationship with tennis player Stefanie Graf. The book also describes physical difficulties late in his career stemming from a deteriorating spine, as well as his eventual retirement following the 2006 U.S. Open.

Themes & Scope

Agassi's account explores identity, public image, and the pressures of professional sport from adolescence onward. He writes frankly about being a ninth-grade dropout, his rebellion against tennis culture through his appearance and style in the 1980s, and his later involvement in education advocacy. The book moves between the internal experience of competing at the highest level and the external demands of celebrity and media attention — Agassi captures both without flinching.

Format & Audience

This is the sports memoir to pick up if you want honesty about ambition, talent, and the cost of success — not just in tennis, but in how we measure ourselves. The Amazon link in the sidebar has the current price.

Sources & Further Reading

The key facts and claims in this review are grounded in the retrieved, verified sources listed below.

  1. Cited in this review
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    en.wikipedia.org

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  4. Further reading
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