KUALA LUMPUR, April 10 — At the height of his fame, when the world saw the hair, the attitude and the rebellion, Andre Agassi was quietly falling apart.

Long before mental health became part of everyday conversation, the eight-time Grand Slam champion was battling depression in silence — trapped between expectation, identity and a life he admits he never fully chose.

Today, decades removed from that turmoil, Agassi sees a different world — one where young people are at least beginning to speak up. But even now, he recognises the same pain he once carried.

Agassi sat with Malay Mail for an exclusive interview in Kuala Lumpur, in his first ever visit to Malaysia, for the 2026 JOOLA Titans Tour, where he also played in a historic pickleball match atop the 118th floor of Merdeka 118 — setting what organisers described as a Guinness World Record for the highest pickleball match ever played in a building.

“I think it’s a good thing that those that feel that way are discussing it, are talking about it out loud,” he said.

“One of the hard things for me at the time was I felt like I was the only one going through it,” he said.

“And I think that’s the hardest part… if you’re struggling with any form of pressure that is turning into some self-sabotage and mental health concerns.”

In a time where headlines are increasingly filled with stories of young people struggling, overwhelmed and, in the worst cases, taking their own lives, Agassi’s words land with uncomfortable relevance.

Because for all the titles, endorsements and fame, he knows what it feels like to be lost.

The weight of a life not his own

Agassi’s rise in tennis was meteoric — a prodigy shaped by a demanding father, pushed into a sport that would define him long before he understood it.

He would go on to become one of the most recognisable athletes on the planet — winning eight Grand Slam titles, Olympic gold, and redefining what a tennis star looked like. 

From wigs, to long hair to ear rings and flashy clothes, Agassi was what every kid wanted to look like as his confidence and fun nature drew fans from all over the world and the press like moths to a lamp.

But behind the image was conflict.

He has since admitted he often played not for himself, but for others — chasing expectations rather than purpose.

And that disconnect came at a cost.

Fame, scrutiny and the search for identity

In the 1990s, Agassi wasn’t just a tennis player — he was a cultural figure.

The long hair. The denim shorts. The image.

At the height of his struggles in the late 1990s, Andre Agassi also battled personal demons that went beyond the court. In his autobiography, he later admitted to using crystal meth in 1997 — a period that coincided with his dramatic slide down the rankings — and described it as part of a deeper sense of unhappiness and loss of control in his life. 

Around the same time, his high-profile marriage to model-actress Brooke Shields (1997-1999) was under strain, with Agassi candidly acknowledging feelings of insecurity and jealousy fuelled by the pressures of fame and constant media attention. 

The attention only amplified the noise. The image became expectation. The persona became a burden.

And somewhere in the noise, he lost himself.

Then came reinvention — the hair disappeared and the image changed. 

The new-look Agassi sported a shaved head, hair-free chest that glistened under the sun and the raw honesty. 

Agassi didn’t just evolve — he reset and in doing so, he began to confront the deeper question that had followed him throughout his career:

Who was he, really?

Finding people who see you — not your success

For Agassi, one of the turning points came not through trophies, but through people.

“I was lucky to surround myself with people that cared for me more than just a person that knew how to hit tennis balls,” he said.

It was a simple shift, but a profound one.

To be seen not as a product, not as a performer — but as a person.

“I had people I could really talk to… people that are walking it out with you,” he said.

“I’ve done my own forms of therapy through the years, but really being able to live with people that are walking it out with you… that’s very important.”

In today’s hyper-connected world, where validation is often measured in likes and follows, Agassi’s message cuts through with clarity:

Connection matters — real connection.

A generation under pressure

Agassi does not pretend the answers are easy.

Asked about young people today — many of whom face relentless expectations from school, family and society — he acknowledged the weight they carry.

“It’s not easy,” he said.

“I think kids trust until something teaches them that trust is dangerous.”

“I think kids are playful until the world defines for them what success should look like and then in think for the rest of our lives we grow up to be childlike again. You get to a time in your life where you just want to be present, playful, you want to be curious, you want to be trusting.”

From grades to performance metrics, from comparison to competition, the system — intentionally or otherwise — begins shaping identity before individuals have the chance to define it for themselves.

“Everything is designed around the world deciding and judging and labelling who you are,” he said.

“So finding your identity, I think, is a journey for all of us regardless of culture.”

Purpose over pressure

Now a father, Agassi approaches life differently — not by imposing expectations, but by guiding direction. 

He said that his and his wife Steffi Graf’s methodology as parents was not to decide their life for them, but to hold them accountable.

“A child learns what they see much more than what you tell them,” he said.

Rather than dictating his children’s paths, he allows them to define what matters — but insists they live accordingly.

“If they’re not living what they say is important, or their priorities, one of two things is happening,” he said.

“It’s not important to them, or we’re letting them get away with not the best of themselves.”

It is a philosophy shaped by experience — and perhaps by the lessons he learned the hard way.

The man who kept reinventing himself

Agassi’s career has always been defined by reinvention.

From rebellious icon to clean-cut champion.

From struggling athlete to elder statesman.

And now, from tennis legend to one of the faces helping drive pickleball’s global rise.

It is a pattern that has followed him for decades — not just adapting, but reshaping narratives.

In essence he is a trend-setter and a trailblazer.

Even now, he finds himself at the forefront of something new.

But this time, it feels different.

More grounded. More intentional.

You are not alone

If there is one message Agassi hopes resonates, it is this: No one is alone in what they are feeling.

He knows what it means to believe otherwise and he knows the damage that belief can do.

“They have people in their life they can be honest with… and that’s the tool,” he said.

In a world still grappling with how to address mental health — where stigma lingers and silence still exists — Agassi’s story is both a warning and a reassurance.

Because behind the fame, the image, the success, there was once a man searching for himself.

In finding that, he hopes others might too.