No matter what your life is, choosing it changes everything.' - Andre Agassi, Open Even if it's not your ideal life, you can always choose it. 'I play and keep playing because I choose to play.

Be patient with others who are still growing up and making their own mistakes (like Andre was during his early career).

Give more to others and you will see you own performance improve.

Finding the right team is of critical importance.

Be humble to start back from square one after failing.I knew there were important leadership lessons to learn from his story, my key takeways were: Instead, he went back to playing the entry level 'challenger series' and made his way back to the top. What impressed me the most was finding out how Andre did not end his career at his lowest point in 1997 when his ranking dropped to No. Open is an honestly plain autobiography of a player who took his time to find the right reason for playing.

We learn about his journey to find the right team: coach, trainer, family and friends. These accurate descriptions of the one-on-one games Agassi played against many tennis legends, give us the best insights into the mind of a champion and the degree of focus needed to reach the top. But I wake as if ninety-six(.) I slid to my knees and in a whisper I say: Please let this be over.' - Andre Agassi, OpenĪlong the book, Agassi takes us through his whole career: from becoming a professional at the age of 16 as the most promising player of his generation, constantly getting in the line of fire of the press and looking for ways to get attention, to winning his first Grand Slam after several losses.Īll of this among many ups and downs, wins and losses, many games of which Agassi describes with detail how he felt every time he hit the ball. Open comes with with an astonishingly honest revelation: Andre Agassi hated tennis and he never wanted to play it in the first place.

'Hit harder' - Mike Agassi would yell, as the seven year old Andre hit his daily quota of 2,500 balls.Īs he was forced to practice tennis during all his childhood, Andre Agassi saw it taking away all his time for friends, school and all the typical youth endeavors. 'The dragon', as they named the machine, would shoot up the tennis balls against Andre, on a court with a net raised 6 inches above regulation, for a tougher practice. He recalls how he spent all his afternoons on the Agassi's family backyard court, hitting balls against a machine built by his father, Mike Agassi. 1 (and hating it)Īgassi grew up in Las Vegas and was from early on coached by his father to become a professional tennis player. Open takes a very personal trip through Agassi's life from early childhood to his final professional game in the US Open of 2006. What kind of leadership lesson can you take from a book about a tennis player who spent most of his career playing by himself on the court?

Andre agassi us open 2006