When Andre Agassi Mocked Organizers For Prize Money At Indian Wells 2001 Not Being Enough to Buy ‘Cars in Palm Springs’

Andre Agassi is one of the most decorated athletes in tennis history. The American was a professional on the ATP Tour for nearly 20 years and had quite an illustrious career. Apart from winning 8 Grand Slams, finishing as a finalist in 7 others, and 17 ATP Masters 1000 titles, Agassi also managed to rack up a staggering $31,152,975 in career earnings, as per ATP Tour’s official site.

Despite being one of the highest earners in the sport, the former World No. 1 expressed his dissatisfaction with the prize money he received after winning the Indian Wells 2001. During the Indian Wells 2001, Andre Agassi played some exceptional tennis, defeating Nicolas Kiefer, Nicolas Lapentti, and Lleyton Hewitt to enter the finals. Ultimately, Agassi defeated his long-time rival Pete Sampras in straight sets (7-6, 7-5, 6-1) to lift the title.

While Agassi was satisfied after winning his 2^nd title of the year, the $400,000 prize money didn’t amuse him. As reported by The Los Angeles Times, “The Punisher” hilariously took shots at the organizers for the grand prize.

“This wouldn’t even buy some of the cars I’ve seen in Palm Springs,” Agassi said.

Whereas, Pete Sampras, who finished as the runner-up, didn’t seem to be too worried about receiving only $211,000 USD. This year, Larry Ellison – owner of the Indian Wells – has made sure that no participant grumbles like Agassi did 23 years ago. The BNP Paribas Open 2024 has the largest prize money pool – $17,991,110 – for any tournament on the Tour (apart from Grand Slams) this season.

Winners of both the ATP and the WTA event will earn $1,100,000 each (almost four times what Agassi received in 2001). While the runner-up will receive $585,000 each, every semi-finalist will pocket $325,000.