I hated tennis, I saw the consequences on my family, on my relationships," Agassi opens up about his youth
In the podcast hosted by Roddick, Agassi spoke candidly about his former life as a professional tennis player. Despite his 8 Grand Slam titles, the American admitted that he hated tennis, mainly due to the struggles he faced during his younger years:
"I never chose tennis. I hated it. I’m not making this up. I saw the consequences on my family, I saw the consequences on my relationships. It always meant too much, so I always hated it. That doesn’t mean I wasn’t good at it.
There are two things that can motivate you in life: fear or love. And it was fear that motivated me. It was the fear of my father, the youngest in a family of four kids. As a child, I got into fights, I was kicked out of the house. My rebellion started at the age of 13. I told my father to get lost.
When I say I was living a real rebellious life, my anger was directed at tennis. Rage is an interesting thing, and I chose to use it against this sport, the thing that was responsible for all the misery in my life at that time.
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