By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, August 27, 2025
Photo credit: Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty
NEW YORK—Andre Agassi has been a dream-maker for students and players for years.
On opening night of the US Open, Agassi was honored for his work.
The USTA Foundation presented Agassi with the Serving Up Dreams Award at its annual Opening Night Gala on Sunday night at the US Open.
Agassi is among the few professional tennis players to establish a foundation during their playing careers, and he approaches his philanthropy with the same unflagging drive and focus as he demonstrated on the court. In 2001, Agassi founded the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education to improve public schools and invest in communities. His efforts have raised over $180 million to date. He founded and operated the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy (Agassi Prep), a free public charter school in his hometown of Las Vegas, which graduated nine senior classes under Agassi’s leadership, and still remains open today. He also co-founded the Turner-Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund, which helps build schools in low-income areas across the nation. Agassi has dedicated much of his post-tennis life to education reform, particularly for young people from under-resourced communities.
Agassi also personally funded a Boys & Girls Club in Las Vegas.
The Hall of Famer famously retired at the 2006 US Open as players on adjacent courts stopped play to recognize Agassi’s final match.
The 55-year-old Agassi, who captured 60 career championships and inspired countless players over his glorious pro career, was accompanied by daughter Jaz Agassi to the USTA Foundation Gala. Agassi shared these shots of the evening on his Instagram page.
“Great to be back at Arthur Ashe for the @usopen, even better to be there with my beautiful daughter @jazagassi by my side,” Agassi posted on Instagram. “Thanks to @ustafoundation for all that you do for tennis and the community, honored to accept the Serving Up Dreams Award at the opening night gala.”
USTA President and Chairman of the Board Brian Vahaly, a former ATP pro, sat next to Agassi inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. In a past interview with Tennis Now, Vahaly said Agassi and Roger Federer were the toughest opponents he ever faced on court.
“For me, the biggest challenge was Agassi. Because there was nothing I could do that Agassi couldn’t do better,” Vahaly told Tennis Now. “So there was nowhere to go. We played in DC, we played in Australia. I think I gave him one of the closest matches when he won the Australian Open that year [2003]. But it never felt like I was one or two points away.
“Agassi’s backhand was better, his forehand was better, his volleys better, his serve was better—everything was better. And Agassi just hit the ball so hard. For me he was just my toughest opponent. Not to say other players aren’t better than him, but at least you could mentally think to yourself: okay if I take this tactic maybe I have a shot. Against Agassi, I didn’t know where to go.
“Agassi was constantly hitting the ball with incredible depth, incredible speed, just moving you across the court on his terms. There was just no way for me to play my game. Even if I felt like I had one of the best backhands he could just hammer it back even harder. They were fun matches to play. It’s fun to play in front of that crowd, but I can tell you it’s really hard to play against Agassi and to play against the crowd because the crowd always supported Agassi. I was just sort of the annoying underdog.”
