{"id":412385,"date":"2026-01-16T04:39:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T04:39:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/412385\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T04:39:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T04:39:12","slug":"tennis-legend-looks-almost-unrecognisable-from-his-playing-days-after-touching-down-in-melbourne-for-australian-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/412385\/","title":{"rendered":"Tennis legend looks almost unrecognisable from his playing days after touching down in Melbourne for Australian Open"},"content":{"rendered":"

A four-time Australian Open<\/a> winner and world No.1 has touched down in Melbourne in almost anonymous fashion, looking nothing like the electric and colourful personality that once dominated the ATP tour.<\/p>\n

US tennis star Andre Agassi was mobbed by a small group of tennis fans after enjoying dinner at upmarket restaurant Nobu at\u00a0Southbank in Melbourne.<\/p>\n

But the ageing ace, 55, was looking a far cry from the rock star personality that he cultivated in his playing days with his long, flowing mullet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Andre Agassi looked relaxed and understated as he happily signed autographs for the small crowd that mobbed him at Nobu.<\/p>\n

He wore\u00a0a simple long-sleeve top and light jeans<\/a> rather than anything flashy, his face showing natural lines from age and experience.<\/p>\n

\"Once <\/p>\n

Once known as one of the most flashy players on the ATP circuit, Andre Agassi has adopted a more relaxed image<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The US tennis star was mobbed while dining out at upmarket Japanese fusion restaurant Nobu in Melbourne<\/p>\n

\"Agassi <\/p>\n

Agassi was happy to chat with fans, sign autographs and pose for photos after his dinner<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

The tennis superstar had a very different aura to his playing days, trading flamboyance and edge for a low-key, settled presence.<\/p>\n

Agassi became famous in his playing days as much for his long, flowing hair as for his tennis.<\/p>\n

His bold style and outspoken personality set him apart during the 1990s in a sport traditionally more known for tradition and restraint.<\/p>\n

Agassi\u2019s image helped make him a global star, bringing new fans and attention to the game.<\/p>\n

However he later made a big revelation, writing in his autobiography that was\u00a0published in British weekend newspapers that he wore a\u00a0hairpiece held together with pins in his first Grand Slam final in Paris in 1990.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Every morning I would get up and find another piece of my identity on the pillow, in the wash basin, down the plughole,’ he wrote.<\/p>\n

‘I asked myself: you want to wear a toupee? On the tennis court? I answered myself; what else could I do?’<\/p>\n

Agassi admitted that the trademark mullet had become a key part of his personality and he was terrified of taking to the court without it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Agassi's <\/p>\n

Agassi’s trademark mullet made him instantly recognisable during his playing days that saw him rocket up to No.1 in the world<\/p>\n

\"Agassi <\/p>\n

Agassi later revealed that the mullet was a hairpiece for most of his career after he started to go bald at a young age<\/p>\n

‘Of course I could have played without my hairpiece, but what would all the journalists have written if they knew that all the time I was really wearing a wig?’ he wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘During the warming-up training before play I prayed. Not for victory, but that my hairpiece would not fall off.<\/p>\n

‘With each leap, I imagine it falling into the sand. I imagine millions of spectators move closer to their TV sets, their eyes widening and, in dozens of dialects and languages, ask how Andre Agassi’s hair has fallen from his head.’<\/p>\n

Agassi also wrote that his then-wife Brooke Shields was the one to convince him to finally take to the court without the hairpiece.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘She said I should shave my head,’ he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘It was like suggesting I should have all my teeth out.<\/p>\n

‘Nevertheless, I thought for a few days about it, about the agonies it caused me, the hypocrisy and lies.’<\/p>\n

But after taking the plunge, ‘a stranger stood before me in the mirror and smiled,’ Agassi said.<\/p>\n

\"Agassi <\/p>\n

Agassi shaved his head at the behest of his previous wife Brooke Shields and has not looked back since<\/p>\n

\"Agassi <\/p>\n

Agassi is a four-time Australian Open winner and will be at Melbourne Park again for commentary duties<\/p>\n

‘My wig was like a chain and the ridiculously long strands in three colours like an iron ball which hung on it.’<\/p>\n

Agassi emerged in the late 1980s as a teenage prodigy with a rebellious image and explosive baseline game.<\/p>\n

He won eight Grand Slam singles titles across all four majors, completing a rare Career Grand Slam.<\/p>\n

Agassi claimed four Australian Open titles, two US Opens, one French Open, and one Wimbledon.<\/p>\n

He reached world number one in 1995 and held the top ranking for a total of 101 weeks.<\/p>\n

One of his greatest highs came in 1996 when he won Olympic gold in Atlanta, completing the Career Golden Slam.<\/p>\n

His career also included deep lows, marked by loss of form, injuries, and a dramatic rankings slide outside the top 100 in 1997.<\/p>\n

Agassi later revealed struggles with motivation and personal issues, including a brief drug suspension early in his career.<\/p>\n

He reinvented himself through fitness, discipline, and tactical consistency, leading to a remarkable comeback.<\/p>\n

This resurgence produced multiple major titles in his late twenties and early thirties.<\/p>\n

Agassi finished his career with 60 ATP singles titles and over 850 match wins.<\/p>\n

He retired in 2006 after an emotional final US Open run, limited by chronic back pain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A four-time Australian Open winner and world No.1 has touched down in Melbourne in almost anonymous fashion, looking…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":412386,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[442],"tags":[49,48,2093,13586,13782,457,82,593],"class_list":["post-412385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-dailymail","tag-melbourne","tag-paris","tag-sport","tag-sports","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=412385"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412385\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/412386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=412385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=412385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=412385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}