Agassi developed a crush on his future wife before meeting her in person. “I’ve had a crush on Steffi since I first saw her doing an interview on French TV,” he wrote in his memoir Open. “I was thunderstruck, dazzled by her understated grace, her effortless beauty.”
Following the French Open in 1991, Agassi tried to get a message to his crush. “But she didn’t respond,” he shared in his book.
They were formally introduced after winning Wimbledon the same year
Agassi had the chance to meet Graf after winning his first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 1992. She won the ladies’ singles tennis title at the tournament the same year. Agassi was “dying to go” to the Wimbledon Ball that he’d heard about for years because the men’s winner got to dance with the women’s winner. He even purchased a tuxedo from Harrods for the event, but was informed that the dance had been canceled.
“I don’t get to dance with Steffi, but there will be a kind of consolation match: a formal introduction. I look forward to it all night. Then it happens,” he penned in his book. “Shaking her hand, I tell Steffi that I tried to reach her at last year’s French Open and I hope she didn’t misunderstand my intentions. I say, I’d really love to talk with you ~some~ time.”