Tennis icon Andre Agassi once opened up on meeting Kate Middleton, revealing he didn’t want to say too much in case it offended anyone. The American star, 55, is one of five male players to complete the career Grand Slam in the Open Era and has frequented Wimbledon on many occasions over the years. He retired in 2006 after a glittering career on the court.
He returned to commentate at this year’s event for the BBC. However, it was in 2012 that Agassi met the Princess at Wimbledon, a tournament he won in 1992, where he defeated fellow American legend Pete Sampras in the final. During his visit, 13 years ago, Agassi struck up a conversation with the Princess of Wales, and he reflected on their meeting during an interview in 2018.
“She was a complete doll,” Agassi told Hello! Magazine in 2018 after meeting Kate in the Royal Box during the 2012 Wimbledon semi-finals.
Rather cryptically, he added: “I really thought she was incredibly pleasant. She was lovely. We didn’t chat a whole lot, but she was lovely. I will not say anything else, because I don’t know what offends people here or not!”
The Princess of Wales is often involved at Wimbledon, and this year, she presented the winners of the men’s and women’s singles trophies, Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek, with the trophies.
Sinner opened up about his conversation with Kate after he met her and her family at the final. Yet the Italian star was slightly more forthcoming than Agassi when asked how their meeting played out.
“In the beginning, I didn’t know what to say,” Sinner said during his post-match press conference. “It’s difficult to understand, you know, how you can talk. I always try to talk very natural.
“I asked the kids if they play tennis and asked them what kind of rackets they play with, these kind of things. It was amazing. I believe for us tennis players, it’s so nice to have them watching us because it makes it even more special.
“You see how much they care about tennis and the sport itself. It’s very prestigious. I’ve been lucky to meet [the Princess of Wales] and the whole family, and it was a very nice moment.”
Agassi is renowned as one of the best men’s players of all time. He turned pro at just 16 and amassed 60 ATP Tour singles titles over the course of two decades. He can boast eight Grand Slam wins, including four Australian Opens, a French Open, Wimbledon and two US Opens. He also bagged Olympic gold in singles at the 1996 Atlanta Games.