In singles tennis, Agassi is an eight-time Grand Slam champion who competed in 15 Grand Slam finals, and a 1996 Olympic gold medalist. Agassi was troubled by personal issues during the mid-to-late 1990s and sank to a career low of World No. 141 in 1997, prompting many to believe that his career was over. After suffering from sciatica caused by two bulging discs in his back, a spondylolisthesis (vertebral displacement) and a bone spur that interfered with the nerve, Agassi retired from professional tennis on September 3, 2006, after losing in the third round of the US Open. He is the founder of the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation, which has raised over $60 million for at-risk children in Southern Nevada. Andre Agassi’s mother, Betty, is a breast cancer survivor. He won six additional tournaments in 1988 (Memphis, U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships, Forest Hills WCT, Stuttgart Outdoor, Volvo International and Livingston Open), and, by December of that year, he had surpassed US$1 million in career prize money after playing in just 43 tournaments–the fastest anyone in history had reached that level. Agassi lost the US Open final to Sampras in three sets. No other baseliner would triumph at Wimbledon until Lleyton Hewitt ten years later.
