Editing Andre Agassi (section)

===1986–1993: Breakthrough and the first major title===
Agassi turned professional at the age of 16 and competed in his first tournament at [[La Quinta, California]]. He won his first match against [[John Austin (tennis)|John Austin]], but then lost his second match to [[Mats Wilander]]. By the end of 1986, Agassi was ranked No. 91.<ref name="Tennis28">{{cite web |url=http://www.tennis28.com/rankings/history/agassi.html |title=Tennis28-Bio:Andre Agassi |access-date=June 12, 2009 |publisher=Tennis28 |archive-date=February 28, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090228080150/http://www.tennis28.com/rankings/history/agassi.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He won his first top-level singles title in 1987 at the [[ATP Itaparica|Sul American Open]] in [[Itaparica]]<ref name="greatath" /> and ended the year ranked No. 25.<ref name="greatath" /> He won six additional tournaments in 1988 (Memphis, [[1988 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships|U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships]], [[World Championship Tennis#WCT 1988|Forest Hills WCT]], Stuttgart Outdoor, [[1988 Volvo International|Volvo International]] and [[1988 Livingston Open|Livingston Open]]),<ref name="greatath" /> and, by December of that year, he had surpassed US$1&nbsp;million in career prize money after playing in just 43 tournaments—the fastest anyone in history had reached that level.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1152468/bio|title=Andre Agassi|publisher=IMDb|access-date=June 29, 2018|archive-date=November 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191108130305/https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1152468/bio|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Andre Agassi |url=https://www.athletespeakers.com/speaker/andre-agassi |access-date=2022-12-14 |website=Celebrity Speakers For Speaking Engagements {{!}} AthleteSpeakers |language=en |archive-date=July 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240713023903/https://www.athletespeakers.com/speaker/andre-agassi |url-status=live }}</ref> During 1988, he also set the open-era record for most consecutive victories by a male teenager (a record that stood for 17 years until [[Rafael Nadal]] broke it in 2005).<ref>{{cite news |title=Teen Nadal gives Spain reign over French Open |date=June 5, 2006 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/tennis/french/2005-06-05-day-14_x.htm |agency=Associated Press (USA Today) |access-date=April 6, 2010 |archive-date=January 22, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110122234602/http://www.usatoday.com/sports/tennis/french/2005-06-05-day-14_x.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> His year-end ranking was No. 3, behind second-ranked [[Ivan Lendl]] and top-ranked [[Mats Wilander]]. Both the [[Association of Tennis Professionals]] and ''Tennis'' magazine named Agassi the Most Improved Player of the Year for 1988.<ref name="greatath" />

In addition to not playing the Australian Open (which later became his best Grand Slam event) for the first eight years of his career, Agassi chose not to play at [[The Championships, Wimbledon|Wimbledon]] from 1988 through 1990 (although he first played there in 1987, only to lose in the first round to [[Henri Leconte]]) and publicly stated that he did not wish to play there because of the event's traditionalism, particularly its "predominantly white" dress code to which players at the event are required to conform.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 10, 2022 |title=Agassi hated Wimbledon dress code so much he boycotted it for three years |url=https://talksport.com/sport/tennis/1147060/andre-agassi-boycott-wimbledon-dress-code-white/ |access-date=2022-12-14 |website=talkSPORT |language=en-US |archive-date=July 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240713023909/https://talksport.com/sport/1147060/andre-agassi-boycott-wimbledon-dress-code-white/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=June 30, 2017 |title=Against the all-white rule at Wimbledon |url=https://lifestyle.livemint.com//news/talking-point/against-the-all-white-rule-at-wimbledon-111646993830455.html |access-date=2022-12-14 |website=Mintlounge |language=en |archive-date=December 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221214185145/https://lifestyle.livemint.com//news/talking-point/against-the-all-white-rule-at-wimbledon-111646993830455.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Strong performances on the tour meant that Agassi was quickly tipped as a future Grand Slam champion. While still a teenager, he reached the semi-finals of both the French Open and the [[US Open (tennis)|US Open]] in 1988 and made the US Open semi-finals in 1989. He began the 1990s with a series of near-misses. He reached his first Grand Slam final in 1990 at the French Open, where he was favored before losing in four sets to [[Andrés Gómez]], which he later attributed in his book to worrying about his wig falling off during the match.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.essentiallysports.com/andre-agassi-says-he-lost-a-grand-slam-final-because-of-his-wig-tennis-news/ |title=Andre Agassi Says He Lost A Grand Slam Final Because Of His Wig |work=Essentially Sports |date=April 15, 2020 |access-date=June 27, 2021 |archive-date=April 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424031302/https://www.essentiallysports.com/andre-agassi-says-he-lost-a-grand-slam-final-because-of-his-wig-tennis-news/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He reached his second Grand Slam final of the year at the US Open, defeating defending champion [[Boris Becker]] in the semi-finals. His opponent in the final was [[Pete Sampras]]; a year earlier, Agassi had crushed Sampras, after which time he told his coach that he felt bad for Sampras because he was never going to make it as a pro. Agassi lost the US Open final to Sampras in three sets.<ref name="greatath" /> The [[Agassi-Sampras rivalry]] became the biggest one in tennis over the rest of the decade. Agassi ended 1990 on a high note as he helped the United States win its first [[Davis Cup]] in 8 years on home soil against Australia (3–2) and won his only [[Tennis Masters Cup]], beating reigning Wimbledon champion [[Stefan Edberg]] in the final.

In 1991, Agassi reached his second consecutive French Open final, where he faced fellow Bollettieri Academy alumnus [[Jim Courier]]. Courier emerged the victor in a five-set final. The Las Vegan was a set and 3–1 up when came the rain. The rain delay proved to be a confidence builder for Courier. Agassi decided to play at Wimbledon in 1991, leading to weeks of speculation in the media about the clothes he would wear. He eventually emerged for the first round in a completely white outfit.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1991/06/28/agassi-makes-a-big-splash-in-white-on-centre-court/ |title=Agassi makes a big splash in white on Centre Court |date=June 28, 1991 |newspaper=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |access-date=May 17, 2014 |archive-date=July 13, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713172615/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1991-06-28/sports/1991179074_1_wimbledon-agassi-centre-court |url-status=live }}</ref> He reached the quarterfinals on that occasion, losing in five sets to [[David Wheaton]].

Agassi's Grand Slam tournament breakthrough came at Wimbledon, not at the French Open or the US Open, where he had previously enjoyed success. In 1992, he defeated [[Goran Ivanišević]] in a five-set final.<ref name="greatath" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Finn |first=Robin |date=July 6, 1992 |title=On the Grass at Wimbledon, Agassi Finally Hits Pay Dirt |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/07/06/sports/tennis-on-the-grass-at-wimbledon-agassi-finally-hits-pay-dirt.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=February 5, 2017 |archive-date=January 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180114185454/http://www.nytimes.com/1992/07/06/sports/tennis-on-the-grass-at-wimbledon-agassi-finally-hits-pay-dirt.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Along the way, Agassi overcame two former Wimbledon champions: [[Boris Becker]] and [[John McEnroe]]. No other baseliner would triumph at Wimbledon until [[Lleyton Hewitt]] ten years later. Agassi was named the [[BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality|BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year]] in 1992. Agassi once again played on the United States' [[Davis Cup]] winning team in 1992. It was their second Davis cup title in three years. Agassi famously played the game wearing [[Oakley, Inc.|Oakley]] brand sunglasses, and a photo of him from the day appeared on the cover of [[Tennis (magazine)|''Tennis'' magazine]]. In his memoir, he wrote that he was covering up bloodshot eyes from a [[hangover]] and claimed that the founder of Oakley, [[Jim Jannard]], had sent him a [[Dodge Viper]] to thank him for the inadvertent publicity.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last=Chrisman-Campbell |first=Kimberly |title=Worn on This Day: the Clothes That Made History |year=2019 |publisher=Running Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t4WLDwAAQBAJ&q=agassi |isbn=978-0-7624-9357-9 |location=Philadelphia |page=30 |oclc=1089571878 |url-access=subscription |access-date=June 21, 2022 |archive-date=July 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240713022941/https://books.google.com/books?id=t4WLDwAAQBAJ&q=agassi#v=snippet&q=agassi&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1993, Agassi won the only doubles title of his career, at the [[Cincinnati Masters]], partnered with [[Petr Korda]]. He missed much of the early part of that year due to injuries. Although he made the quarterfinals in his Wimbledon title defense, he lost to eventual champion and No. 1 Pete Sampras in five sets. Agassi lost in the first round at the US Open to [[Thomas Enqvist]] and required wrist surgery late in the year.