Emma Raducanu is plotting a return to the top of women’s tennis, and she is drawing inspiration from a book written by Andre Agassi. The British player is studying Agassi’s 2009 autobiography as she looks to rebuild her career after a difficult few years.
Five years have passed since Raducanu’s remarkable US Open triumph, when she became the first qualifier in the Open era to win a Grand Slam at the age of 18. American Agassi was also a teenage prodigy, winning his first major singles title at Wimbledon in 1992 at 22.
But Agassi’s career hit a rough patch too. He went four years without a major and dropped to 141st in the world rankings. That period is the part of his book that caught Raducanu’s eye.
“I was especially intrigued by the passage where he got out of his slump in the late 1990s by creating his own training regimen and finding his way back to the top,” Raducanu told Uniqlo. “It speaks in depth about his early successes and the lows he reached, perhaps as a result of them. A lot of it was so relatable.”
Agassi’s Own Comeback
Agassi’s book details the lowest point of his career. He sank from world number one to 141st, and it was only after that fall that he found his way back.
During that period, Agassi created a foundation providing education for under-served children. He said the experience changed his approach to the game.
“I had more success from that point forward than I did playing out of fear,” Agassi said.
The book’s message is simple: the climb back starts with small steps, not grand declarations. Raducanu sees that path in her own situation.
The Advice From Agassi
When asked what advice he would give Raducanu, Agassi was direct about focus and self-awareness.
“I would encourage her to focus on being the best of herself on a daily basis, but don’t judge that by results or thinking that somehow you have to be 100%,” Agassi said. “You have to learn to be 100% of whatever percent you’re at [and] be comfortable in your own identity inside of that – not what people say.”
He also noted how social media has changed the game for younger players. “Back in my day, I could just put down the paper and not read it. Now it seems like it’s harder for these youngsters to avoid.”
That comparison points to a real shift between the two eras. Agassi played before constant coverage; Raducanu plays in an age where every performance is tracked instantly.
Comparing Two Careers
| Player | Age of First Major | Career High | Low Point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raducanu | 18 | 10 (July 2022) | 98th in the world |
| Agassi | 22 | World number one | 141st in the world |
The comparison is striking. Both reached the highest level of the game young, then faced years of struggle before climbing back.
The Road Back So Far
Raducanu has faced physical issues throughout her comeback. She missed the US Open this year as she recovered from a stress fracture in her lower right leg. A foot injury disrupted her pre-season training, and she spent two-and-a-half months off court with a post-viral illness earlier this year.
Despite those setbacks, she showed flashes of her best tennis at Queen’s Club in June. She reached her biggest final since her triumph in New York five years ago.
Her ranking reflects the ups and downs. She reached a career-high of 10 in July 2022, but has since slipped to 98th in the world.
Agassi’s Legacy
Agassi won all four Grand Slams and claimed Olympic singles gold at the 1996 Games. He also spoke about the pressure he faced from his father, who pushed him towards the top of the sport.
His father introduced him to others as a future number one tennis player, which Agassi says led him to play with “fear”. It was not until he sank from world number one to 141st that he felt able to reconnect with the sport.
Agassi’s advice to parents echoes his own experience. “The first thing I would advise a parent to think about is that it’s not their life, it’s their child,” he said. “You raise a child in their way and they’ll never depart from it. You just have to find out what their way is.”
The Laver Cup Ahead
Agassi will captain Team USA in the Laver Cup at The O2 in London later this week, between 25-27 September. He spoke about the event with warmth.
“Tennis is a hamster wheel of sorts – the fact that these guys make room in their schedule to play this incredible event tells you how great this event is,” Agassi said. “We’re obviously playing Team Europe, in Europe, so I don’t know where the crowd is going to have their heart. But I know one thing – they’re going to see some spectacular tennis.”
The cup brings together the best players in the game for three days of matches.
What Raducanu Takes From It
Raducanu’s response to Agassi’s book shows how much she values the lessons of older generations. She is not just reading for entertainment; she is looking for practical guidance.
Agassi’s hope was that his experiences would help other players going through similar periods in their careers. He said he wanted readers to find hope and tools to understand that they are not alone.
“It’s wonderful to hear that anybody can relate,” Agassi told BBC Breakfast. “It was literally the hope that if one person read it and it gave them hope, some tools to understand that they’re not alone, they can figure it out and get to a healthier place without having to direct their frustrations at the game of tennis, then it was a success for me. So, hearing that 17 years later it can still impact somebody, especially in this game, it does make me feel good.”
Raducanu’s situation is different from Agassi’s in one key way. Agassi’s fall came after years of success; Raducanu’s came closer to the start of her professional journey. That makes the comparison less neat, but it also makes it more relevant.
She is not trying to recover from a peak; she is trying to build one. The advice about daily effort and comfort in identity applies directly to her current position.
The road back is rarely straight. Raducanu knows that now. What she takes from Agassi’s book is a reminder that the climb starts with small steps, not grand declarations.
She has already shown she can compete at the highest level. The next step is learning to trust the process, even when the results do not match the effort.
Source material: “'Be comfortable in your own identity' – Agassi's advice to Raducanu,” the BBC.
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