Andre Agassi hated school, dropped out of 8th grade. But why did tennis legend later made education his life's work and raised $180 million for The Andre Agassi Foundation for Education

Tennis icon Andre Agassi has been unabashed in expressing that he hated tennis because of his overbearing father. But the 56-year-old is now enjoying the sport in his second year as captain of Team World for the Laver Cup. In a recent interaction, Agassi, who wrote the 2009 autobiography Open, revealed that coaching squads have been more fun where he can slip into a more contributive role. For the unversed, the 8-time Grand Slam champion helped Team World win the Laver Cup last year. Now, Agassi’s primary focus is on imparting education, which he was deprived of.

Andre Agassi’s mission to expand education

Andre Agassi founded the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education in 1994 and has raised approximately 180 million dollars, providing educational opportunities and resources to an otherwise underserved population. As per the foundation’s official website, Andre Agassi revealed that every child deserves education. So, he also started operating a public K-12 charter school

Andre Agassi was forced to drop out in the 8th grade when he was about 13 or 14 because his father, Mike Agassi, wanted him to focus completely on a professional tennis career. Mike, a professional Olympic boxer, was dubbed the ‘tiger dad’ who wanted his son to become a world tennis champion.

How Andre Agassi’s father shaped his views

In a 2009 interview with Oprah.com, Andre Agassi told host Jenn Horton that his emphasis on education was born out of his father’s relentless demands. He admitted that due to having no formal education, he did not have the power to make choices, finding himself in a life dictated by others.

So when he witnessed children suffering in the broken educational system, he felt it was a ‘crime’. ‘Without options, they have no hope—that's a pretty horrifying thought as to where they would end up. My lack of education led to a lack of choices. I wanted to provide them with a life of their choosing,’ shared Andre Agassi.

Why education became Andre Agassi’s life’s mission

In another conversation with Time magazine, Andre Agassi said that he devoted his life to education because he realised that it was the only way he could make any systematic change. He got away to making money because he was good at tennis, but not every kid has that talent. ‘I look at the circumstances of these kids, and without education, I know exactly where we’ll be–we’ll be building prisons instead of schools,’ he said.

When asked what Andre Agassi would have liked to change about his charter school in Las Vegas, the tennis icon admitted that he would have started in preschool and slowly expanded instead of starting all over again in 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade. Andre was sent away to a tennis academy at 13 years old, which he thought was a prison camp