OpenOpen
Score Modern
What it's about
Andre Agassi was one of the greatest tennis players of all time, and he hated tennis. Pushed by a ferocious father who built a ball machine he called the dragon, he was sent to a tennis academy at thirteen and became a star at sixteen. Here he tells the whole story: the wig, the year he took crystal meth and lied about it, his marriage to Brooke Shields, the slump that sent him down the rankings, and the comeback that led him to Steffi Graf.
Why it's worth reading
It hit #1 on the New York Times list and is often called the best sports memoir ever written. Even readers with no interest in tennis find it gripping and surprisingly honest.
You'll love it if you liked
Educated: A Memoir
Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood
I'm Glad My Mom DiedGood to know
It's written with J. R. Moehringer, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, which is part of why it reads so well. No knowledge of tennis is needed.
By the numbers
- Readers92 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics0 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller64 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #66 of the 290 memoirs and biographies we rank
- #164 of the 1,573 modern books we rank
- #328 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
True story, Moving
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Quick answers
Is Open worth reading?
Yes. It hit #1 on the New York Times list and is often called the best sports memoir ever written. It ranks #328 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 81.0 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Open about?
Andre Agassi was one of the greatest tennis players of all time, and he hated tennis. Pushed by a ferocious father who built a ball machine he called the dragon, he was sent to a tennis academy at thirteen and became a star at sixteen. Here he tells the whole story: the wig, the year he took crystal meth and lied about it, his marriage to Brooke Shields, the slump that sent him down the rankings, and the comeback that led him to Steffi Graf.
How long does it take to read Open?
About 10 hours (401 pages), or about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Open?
If you liked it, try Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover, Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah or I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy.