Andre Agassi

Andre Agassi is a bona fide tennis legend. He enjoyed status as the world's number one at various points in his 20-year career, as he won eight Grand Slam titles, marking him out as one of just five male singles players to enjoy the honour of the Career Grand Slam. The accolade recognises any player who has won all four of the world's major tennis tournaments. After a blistering start to his career saw him win Wimbledon in 1992, the US Open in 1994, the Australian Open in 1995 and Olympic Gold in Atlanta 1996, personal problems saw his world ranking nose dive from number one to number 141 in 1997.

Despite many believing he had fallen out of the top rankings for good, Agassi bounced back emphatically, regaining top spot in 1999. He would then embark on his most successful stint as a player after he worked hard to improve his conditioning and training program. Once he was back to his physical and mental best, he would show just how brilliant he was.

In 1999, he recovered from two sets down against Andrei Medvedev to win the French Open final. This would see him enter the history books with his fourth Grand Slam title. He would finish the year as world number one, finally ending Pete Sampras' six-year stint of topping the rankings at year-end. Further success followed, and Agassi would win two consecutive Australian Opens in 2000 and 2001. He added another in 2003 to be the first male player to win four Australian Open titles. He was later overtaken by Roger Federer and the man he later coached, Novak Djokovic.

He was known as "The Punisher" for his ruthless streak and ability to capitalise on mistakes, as well as return serves masterfully. Throughout his career, he would make up one half of some of tennis' most fondly remembered rivalries. This included Pete Sampras, which is often lauded as the greatest rivalry from the 1990s. The duo's contrasting styles made every game a spectacle, and they were responsible for what is regarded as one of the greatest in history, in the 2001 US Open quarterfinal where there was not a single break of serve in the match. Other rivalries at various stages of his career included Michael Chang, Boris Becker, Pat Rafter and Roger Federer.

Since retiring from playing tennis, Agassi has become a feature of charity tournaments throughout the world. He coached Novak Djokovic in 2017 and 2018 before becoming coach to Grigor Dimitrov in 2018. He is frequently invited to speak in the media, and upon his retirement he was described by the BBC as: "perhaps the biggest worldwide star in the sport's history". As an after dinner speaker, Andre Agassi offers stories of his significant success, while tapping into the themes that allowed him to reach peak performance, as a motivational speaker. Whichever form you wish for Agassi to speak, there is no doubt he is great value entertainment.