Love Match: Inside Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf’s Enduring Romance, from Crushes to Family
Speaking to The Cut in 2014, Agassi noted that he respected Graf “from a distance and marveled at her” early on. The tennis power couple, who have both since retired from the sport, went on to wed in 2001 and are now parents of two.
“What has transcended everything has been the common ground we share and our basic approach toward life. It’s better to be lucky than good sometimes,” Agassi told Parade of him and Graf. “I don’t feel like I have any answer to how to have successful relationships, but I do feel overwhelmed with the joy that I feel every day.”
In January 2024, the couple rang in the new year together, posing for a photo that Agassi shared on Instagram. “With Love ❤️,” he wrote in the caption.
From their first introduction to their marriage and family life, here’s everything to know about Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf’s relationship.Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf are a love match.While he was admittedly “taken by” the fellow tennis player in the early 1990s, the pair did not tie the knot until a decade later.
Agassi, who was previously married to actress Brooke Shields, once told Forbes India that the “highest point of his life” was when Graf accepted his marriage proposal.
“She was the hardest to win,” he declared.Following the French Open in 1991, Agassi tried to get a message to his crush. “But she didn’t respond,” he shared in his book.
They were formally introduced after winning Wimbledon the same yearAgassi developed a crush on his future wife before meeting her in person. “I’ve had a crush on Steffi since I first saw her doing an interview on French TV,” he wrote in his memoir Open. “I was thunderstruck, dazzled by her understated grace, her effortless beauty.”Agassi had a crush on Graf prior to meeting herGraf was admittedly confused as to why Agassi, who married Shields in 1997, wanted to practice with her in 1999. “Our coaches kind of set up the whole practice and, you know, I was like, ‘Why does he want to practice with me?” she recalled in an interview with Vijay Amritraj.“I don’t get to dance with Steffi, but there will be a kind of consolation match: a formal introduction. I look forward to it all night. Then it happens,” he penned in his book. “Shaking her hand, I tell Steffi that I tried to reach her at last year’s French Open and I hope she didn’t misunderstand my intentions. I say, I’d really love to talk with you some time.”
Years after their first meeting, their coaches set up a practice for themAgassi had the chance to meet Graf after winning his first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 1992. She won the ladies’ singles tennis title at the tournament the same year. Agassi was “dying to go” to the Wimbledon Ball that he’d heard about for years because the men’s winner got to dance with the women’s winner. He even purchased a tuxedo from Harrods for the event, but was informed that the dance had been canceled.Agassi “figured there was a fifty-fifty shot” that Graf was the one for him. Having already made “one bad call,” he thought that maybe his chances could be higher. “But sometimes the universe whispers, sometimes it screams,” Agassi said in an interview with The Cut.“He’s married. I’ve got a boyfriend,” she added. “It was all a little confusing to me.”After their practice in Key Biscayne, Graf found a bouquet of roses in her hotel room along with a beautiful letter. “We had a brief conversation after that where I kind of said that I’ve got a boyfriend and, you know, all I know is that he’s married,” Graf shared, noting that at the time she had no idea he was going through a divorce. When she heard about his divorce a few weeks later, she understood “things a little clearer.”
Agassi has said the universe screamed that Graf was the oneHe claimed that when he was in the process of divorcing Shields, the Pretty Baby actress put a picture of Graf’s legs in a heart-shaped magnet on the fridge because those were the legs she was striving for. Agassi noted, “That’s the universe screaming,” adding, “It’s a bullhorn.”
They got married in 2001Days before Graf was due to give birth to their first child in October 2001, she and Agassi tied the knot in a low-key ceremony. The tennis star revealed in his memoir that he and Graf invited their mothers and a Nevada judge to their house, where they exchanged vows in their courtyard “barefoot and wearing jeans.” The couple used twists of old raffia that Graf found in a drawer for their wedding bands.They have two kidsWhile talking to PEOPLE in March 2024, Agassi said, “You go through a whole phase of them going, ‘Well, this makes no sense that the people are coming up as if there’s a big deal.’ And then they start to put together why it’s a big deal.”
He continued, “They start to realize they’re looking behind the Wizard of Oz curtain and they realize it’s not all that. So there’s a healthy balance that kind of is inevitable through the whole process.”The couple welcomed the first of their two children, son Jaden Gil Agassi, in October 2001, followed by their daughter, Jaz Elle Agassi, on Oct. 3, 2003. He revealed in his book that after their daughter was born, he and his wife, like they had done with their son, secretly vowed that Jaz wouldn’t play tennis. Although their son didn’t follow in their tennis footsteps, Jaden plays another sport. In 2019, the baseball player signed with the University of Southern California, while his proud mom and dad stood behind him.According to Agassi, his kids never had a moment where they realized that their parents were famous — instead, they eventually began to understand why people would come up to them and want to talk to him and Graf in public.Agassi introduced his wife at her Tennis Hall of Fame induction ceremonyGraf was overcome with emotion after Agassi introduced her at her International Tennis Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2004. “As I attempt to find words worthy to introduce the person that has changed my life, I realize the words have yet to be invented that are large enough, colorful enough, or true enough to express the heart and soul of this woman that I love,” Agassi said in his speech.Agassi concluded his remarks by calling his wife “the greatest person” he’s ever known. As she took the mic, an emotional Graf said, “Not that this occasion isn’t emotional enough, but to hear you are loved so much is amazing.”
