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"I've been motivated by overcoming challenge and overcoming the hurdles and obstacles that face me. There still is plenty out there to get motivated by." Tennis great Andre Agassi has clearly been motivated throughout his life and career. He has won awards, won tournaments, and competed against the greatest tennis players in the world with a high level of success. Now that Agassi is retired, he can turn his attention to other pursuits and causes that he also finds important. He has a gold medal from the Olympics and has been Grand Slam champion eight times. Agassi has also been runner-up in seven other Grand Slam tournaments. He has been married to tennis player Steffi Graf since 2001. But where did he get his start, and what's he doing now? Read on, to find out.

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Early Life and Breakthrough Tennis Matches

Agassi was born in Las Vegas, Nevada. His father was a former boxer from Iran who has been in the Olympics. His mother survived breast cancer, and Agassi has three older siblings. When he was just 12 years old, Agassi won the 1982 National Indoor Boys 14s Doubles Championship with doubles partner Roddy Parks. The match was played in Chicago. The following year, Agassi was sent to Florida to be a part of Nick Bollettieri's Tennis Academy. His stay was for three months, since his father couldn't afford for him to be there any longer than that. Bollettieri watched Agassi play for 30 minutes, and then called Agassi's father and said he should keep his money. Agassi would be allowed to stay for free, because of the extreme level of talent he displayed.

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In the ninth grade Agassi dropped out of school, so he could pursue his tennis career on a full-time basis. He started on a professional tennis career at the age of 16. He won his first match and lost the second one. By the end of the year in 1986, Agassi was ranked 91 among tennis players. By the end of 1987, he was ranked 25th. His year-end ranking in 1988 was 3rd, and he had amassed money so quickly from the tournaments he played in that he was breaking records frequently. His talent was essentially unmatched, and he burst onto the scene in a way that no one really expected to see. He avoided playing in the Australian Open and at Wimbledon for the first years of his career, due to traditionalist values held by the tournaments with which he did not agree.

A Long and Significant Career in Sports

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Eventually, Agassi would play at Wimbledon and in other tournaments that he had previously avoided. In the middle of the 1990s, Agassi continued to develop his career on a more serious note, instead of only focusing on his image. In April of 1995, Agassi reached the Number 1 ranking in the world as a tennis player. He held the ranking for 30 weeks, and then skipped a lot of the fall season. That allowed Pete Sampras to surpass him before the year-end rankings came out. Despite that loss of Number ! ranking, though, 1995 was Agassi's best year. In 1996 he wasn't as successful, and didn't get to the Grand Slam final. He suffered some early round losses, but overall he still had many wins and was well-ranked. In 1997, he wouldn't be so lucky.

Agassi had been dealing with a wrist injury for a long period of time, and it resurfaced in 1997. He only played in 24 matches the entire year. He failed a drug test, but the results were later thrown out with a warning. He stated that a friend had spiked his drink, but years later he admitted that he had lied and had been using crystal meth. Soon after the drug test was thrown out he quit using the drug. He was struggling that year with a marriage that was failing, the injury to his wrist, and a waning interest in the game he'd played so well for so long. But Agassi wasn't done. In 1998 he started a rigorous program of conditioning in order to make a triumphant return to tennis. He started playing again, and soon climbed back up the rankings.

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With hard work and dedication, he was able to put the struggles of 1997 behind him and continue to train and play at a high level. He won at the French Open, at Wimbledon, and at nearly every tournament venue over the next few years. It was clear that Agassi was back, and in top form. He continued to play at a high level until 2006, when injuries and back pain started to take their toll on his ability to play. In 2006 at the US Open, he was defeated by a German player and sidelined due to pain and muscle cramps. He delivered a retirement speech, and received a standing ovation from the crowd that lasted a full four minutes. Agassi still plays in charity tournaments and has turned much of his attention to business ventures. Fans haven't seen the last of him.

"What makes something special is not just what you have to gain, but what you feel there is to lose."