Apple TV develops documentary about Andre Agassi

The complex life and sports career of tennis legend Andre Agassi are explored in a multi-part documentary series for Apple TV.Chris Smith, who previously directed documentaries such as Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond, Wham!, and Devo, will direct the series after the streamer has given the green light for the project. Last year, it was already known that Apple was in talks about an Agassi project, and it has now been confirmed that Smith's Library Films — the production company behind Netflix's Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness — will produce the series.


Andre Agassi

Justin Gimelstob, former tennis pro and friend of Agassi, who played against him multiple times on the world tour, will serve as executive producer, along with Stacy Smith, who previously worked on HBO’s 100 Foot Wave and Netflix's Mr. McMahon.

Agassi is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of his generation. He is one of only eight men to complete a Career Grand Slam by winning all four Grand Slam titles, and one of only three men to also achieve a Career Golden Slam by additionally winning an Olympic gold medal.

In total, he won 60 ATP-level singles titles, including eight Grand Slam tournaments. The teenage phenomenon made his breakthrough with his victory at Wimbledon in 1992.

After his early successes, his career stalled in the mid-1990s. In Open, Agassi revealed that during this period, he used crystal meth, which coincided with the end of his marriage to Hollywood actress Brooke Shields.

However, an impressive comeback followed in the late 1990s when he defeated Andrei Medvedev after being two sets down in the final of the French Open, completing his Grand Slam. He later won another US Open. In 2006, he retired from the professional circuit at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York, where he was rewarded with a long standing ovation.

This happened after he had married for the second time, to former tennis star Steffi Graf, with whom he has two children.

The documentary series is the latest Agassi-related tennis project for television. Last year, it was announced that Amazon is developing a fictional series titled Rally, with Julie Plec as showrunner. This series is set at a highly competitive elite tennis academy and comes from Universal Television and Entertainment360.