Andre Agassi on Hong Kong, his comeback and learning to live in the present
If there’s one piece of advice Andre Agassi offers, it’s to dream while awake. “It’s way too easy to dream when you’re sleeping,” says the American tennis legend. “Don’t be scared to dream big because it takes as much effort to dream big as it does small.” He advises choosing your definition of success carefully. Even if you achieve it, it might not feel the way you expected.
Fresh off his run as Laver Cup captain, Agassi was in Hong Kong in October for the Prudential NextGen Aces event, a panel series and exhibition match. It was a return to a city that changed the course of his career. He has fond memories of 1999, when he won the Salem Open against Boris Becker. “Hong Kong was definitely a good-luck charm for me in 1999,” he says. “It started me off on a path of winning, and [it] didn’t seem like I stopped for a while.”
Andre Agassi in action at Hong Kong’s Victoria Park during the Salem Open in 1999, in a match against Nicolas Kiefer. Photo: SCMP Archives
That year marked a defining comeback: from dropping from his No 1 position in 1995 to No 141 in 1997, Agassi clawed his way back to the top. The Hong Kong tournament was the first in a string of victories, including the French Open and US Open.
Falling from the top was a turning point. “It was the moment that required the most resilience in my life, off the court,” he says. The climb back demanded daily discipline and a level of focus he’d never experienced before.
He reflected extensively about navigating these career peaks and lows in Open, his widely praised 2009 autobiography. In it, he famously admitted to hating tennis – not the sport itself but his relationship to it.
Andre Agassi holds his Australian Open trophy after defeating fellow American Pete Sampras in the final in Melbourne, in 1995. Photo: AP
Forced into the sport at a young age by his father, what Agassi felt he lacked then and throughout his life, was agency. “Tennis was never really my choice,” he says. At his peak, he felt at his lowest. “I wanted to quit tennis many times, but none more than that moment.” He speaks openly about the self-destructive spiral that followed: two years of what he calls “self-inflicting and destroying myself in a lot of ways”.
More than a year before a massive blaze tore through the Wang Fuk Court housing estate in Hong Kong, residents had raised an alarm over the use of flammable construction materials during ongoing renovation works. Their concerns, largely dismissed at the time, have now resurfaced at the centre of a widening investigation into one of
The 1980s marked a period of profound uncertainty for Hong Kong. With the 1997 handover to China looming and the signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration in 1984, many residents, particularly the burgeoning middle class, sought stability elsewhere. This political anxiety spurred a significant wave of emigration as people looked to secure foreign passports and
The government should take the lead in assessing the structural safety of the estate engulfed by Hong Kong’s worst fire in decades before deciding whether it should be restored or redeveloped, experts have said, warning of liability problems and a long road ahead. The future of Wang Fuk Court, where a massive fire raged through
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Get faster notifications on the latest updates by downloading our app. What we know so far: 128 people, including a firefighter, confirmed dead 79 injured, including 12 firefighters Status of 200 people unclear The
Two hundred still missing, search and rescue ended Eleven arrested in connection with city’s worst fire in decades Hong Kong officials hold three-minute silence on Saturday Britain’s King Charles sends condolences for ‘appalling tragedy’ HONG KONG, Nov 29 (Reuters) – Hong Kong on Saturday mourned the 128 people known to have died in a massive
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Systemic failings around supervision of building maintenance in Hong Kong, and a lack of coordination between departments charged with ensuring it is done properly, both needed to be addressed to prevent tragedies such as the Tai Po fire happening again, experts and sector representatives have said. The regulation of polystyrene foam boards was particularly important,
Systemic failings around supervision of building maintenance in Hong Kong, and a lack of coordination between departments charged with ensuring it is done properly, both needed to be addressed to prevent tragedies such as the Tai Po fire happening again, experts and sector representatives have said. The regulation of polystyrene foam boards was particularly important,
HONG KONG, Nov. 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — In response to the devastating No. 5 alarm fire at Wang Fuk Court, Tai Po, ANKH Pain Relief Health Group has donated HK$1 million to the Hong Kong Red Cross to support their “Tai Po Fire Emergency Appeal”. The major blaze at Wang Fuk Court has caused serious casualties and
HONG KONG, Nov. 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — In response to the devastating No. 5 alarm fire at Wang Fuk Court, Tai Po, ANKH Pain Relief Health Group has donated HK$1 million to the Hong Kong Red Cross to support their “Tai Po Fire Emergency Appeal”. The major blaze at Wang Fuk Court has caused serious casualties and
Leaving Prince of Wales Hospital in Sha Tin on Thursday, unaware of the whereabouts of some of his relatives, a 76-year-old man surnamed Lam was left uncertain how to arrange the funeral of his older brother, who had just died in Hong Kong’s worst fire in seven decades. He arrived at the interdepartmental help desk
Emperor International Holdings has secured bank approval to resume borrowing under existing terms by nearly two years, providing the embattled Hong Kong developer with much-needed breathing room after it failed to meet HK$16.6 billion (US$2.13 billion) in debt obligations in July. Meanwhile, shares of Lai Sun Development (LSD) resumed trading on the Hong Kong stock
The death toll from Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in seven decades climbed to more than 100 on Friday as the government announced a three-day official mourning period from Saturday for victims of the blaze. National and Hong Kong flags at all its buildings and facilities will fly at half-mast until Monday, with officials cancelling all
Occasional outbursts of children’s laughter were heard on Friday morning at one of the shelters set aside for residents left homeless by a deadly inferno at a Tai Po housing estate in Hong Kong, as classes were still suspended in some of the schools in the aftermath. Scattered across different corners at Tung Cheong Street
Email Sign Up For Our Free Weekly Newsletter Hong Kong’s Central district posted its first rise in Grade A office rents in more than two years, as tightening vacancy in top-tier towers bolstered landlord confidence, according to new data from JLL. Average Grade A rents in Central edged up 0.1% in November from the prior
The failure of fire alarms in the deadly Tai Po blaze could have delayed the response and evacuation of residents, according to a leading Hong Kong fire safety specialist. Anthony Lam Chun-man, a former director of the Fire Services Department, also said the extreme heat and intense flames both inside and outside made it almost
William Li, 40, is one of the survivors of Hong Kong’s Tai Po fire tragedy. The deadliest inferno in decades set seven blocks in the Wang Fuk Court residential complex ablaze, claiming at least 128 lives as of Friday. Li was rescued from Wang Cheong House – the block that first caught fire – on
Families of residents still missing after a blaze engulfed an estate complex in Hong Kong on Wednesday face an agonising wait for news of their loved ones as the government needs more time to identify many of the bodies. Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said on Friday that among the 89 unidentified bodies so
Good morning. You’re reading the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day. Today’s top stories Sarah Beckstrom, one of two West Virginia National Guard members who were shot in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, has died. President Trump
