Andre Agassi tells Emma Raducanu to be ‘best of herself’ after British star draws inspiration from his book
Published 23/09/2026 at 10:06 GMT+1
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Andre Agassi has told Emma Raducanu to be ”comfortable in her own identity” after the Briton admitted to taking inspiration from the American’s tennis career, five years on from becoming the first qualifier in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam title.
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Raducanu, who stunned the tennis world to win the US Open aged just 18, is plotting her route back to the pinnacle of the sport.
Raducanu reached a career-high ranking of No. 10 in July 2022, but has since slipped to 98th in the world after being hampered by a spate of physical issues.
Most recently, she missed the 2026 US Open after suffering a stress fracture in her lower right leg.
Raducanu cited Agassi as an inspiration, with the American also a teenage prodigy who went on to win the first of his eight Grand Slam singles titles at Wimbledon in 1992, aged 22.
Agassi endured a challenging four-year period without winning a major midway through his career, during which he tumbled to 141st in the world rankings.
"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 of Agassi's autobiography.
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"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 said he wanted his experiences to help other players going through set-backs.
"It's wonderful to hear that anybody can relate," Agassi told the BBC.
"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."
Asked what advice he would give Raducanu, Agassi continued: "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%.
"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.
"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."
Raducanu is expected to drop out of the top 100 in the WTA rankings, meaning she would have to enter the Australian Open as a qualifier at the beginning of 2027.
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