Eight-Time Tennis Grand Slam Winner Took Class A Drug While Competing
Former eight-time Grand Slam tennis winner Andre Agassi once revealed that he took a Class A drug while still competing.
Agassi won four of his titles between 1992 and 1995, becoming the world number one men's tennis player.
He sat out most of the 1997 season before returning to tennis a year later, winning the French Open and US Open in 1999.
He won his fourth French Open - and final Grand Slam - crown in 2003, and continued to play until 2006 before retiring at the age of 36.
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In 2009, Agassi published his autobiography, 'Open', which extensively covered both his career successes and his rapid decline up until the end of 1997, which saw his ranking drop to a low of 141.
What was not known publicly at the time was that, during 1997, he tested positive for the Class A drug crystal methamphetamine.
In his autobiography, Agassi recalled receiving a phone call from an ATP official, who told him that he would likely face a three-month suspension from tennis for a Class 2 drug violation, relating to recreational drugs.
However, the American admitted lying to the tennis authorities in order to escape a ban.
Referring to an associate only as 'Slim', he wrote (published by The Guardian before release): "Slim dumps a small pile of powder on the coffee table. He cuts it, snorts it. He cuts it again. I snort some. I ease back on the couch and consider the Rubicon I've just crossed.
"There is a moment of regret, followed by vast sadness. Then comes a tidal wave of euphoria that sweeps away every negative thought in my head. I've never felt so alive, so hopeful - and I've never felt such energy."
On the moment he received the call from the ATP, he adds: "My name, my career, everything is now on the line. Whatever I've achieved, whatever I've worked for, might soon mean nothing.
"Days later I sit back in a hard-backed chair, a legal pad in my lap, and write a letter to the ATP. It's filled with lies interwoven with bits of truth.
"I say Slim, whom I've since fired, is a known drug user, and that he often spikes his sodas with meth - which is true. Then I come to the central lie of the letter. I say that recently I drank accidentally from one of Slim's spiked sodas, unwittingly ingesting his drugs. I ask for understanding and leniency and hastily sign it: sincerely.
"I feel ashamed, of course. I promise myself that this lie is the end of it."
Appearing on a TV show after the autobiography was published, he would admit: "The price that that comes with [admitting the drug usage] is the cost that I've assumed and I'm okay, because the part that I worry and think more about is who this may help."
What happened to Agassi after his admission?
Despite some calls for Agassi to be stripped of prize money and titles, the ATP took no further action against the American.
The then-ATP chairman, Adam Helfant, stated that the ATP would not re-open their case against Agassi as he was no longer an active member of the tour.
He also stated that revealing the existence of the positive test at the time would have contravened the ATP's anti-doping policies at the time, though added it was 'regrettable' that Agassi escaped any punishment.
The World Anti-Doping Agency, which was founded in 1999, had demanded an explanation from the ATP surrounding their policies, while the International Tennis Federation stated that the case 'provide[s] confirmation that a tough anti-doping programme is needed'.
Agassi would subsequently bounce back and return to the top of the tennis world again before retiring in 2006.
He married fellow tennis legend Steffi Graf in 2001, and the pair have two children together.
He has also become a commentator for the BBC and invested heavily in pickleball, which he has also begun to play professionally on occasion.
And the 55-year-old founded the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education, which works with children and 'provides educational opportunities and resources to an otherwise underserved population'.
Topics: Tennis
Ryan Smart