In Book, Agassi Admits Using Crystal Meth In 1997

Enlarge Vincent Yu/AP

Andre Agassi returns the ball to Pete Sampras during a friendly exhibition Sunday in Macau.

Vincent Yu/AP

Andre Agassi returns the ball to Pete Sampras during a friendly exhibition Sunday in Macau.

Andre Agassi's upcoming autobiography contains an admission that he used crystal meth in 1997 and lied to tennis authorities when he failed a drug test — a result that was thrown out after he said he "unwittingly" took the substance.

According to an excerpt of the autobiography published Wednesday in The Times of London, the eight-time Grand Slam champion writes that he sent a letter to the ATP tour to explain the positive test, saying he accidentally drank from a soda spiked with meth by his assistant "Slim."

"Then I come to the central lie of the letter," Agassi writes. "I say that recently I drank accidentally from one of Slim's spiked sodas, unwittingly ingesting his drugs. I ask for understanding and leniency and hastily sign it: Sincerely.

"I feel ashamed, of course. I promise myself that this lie is the end of it."

Agassi said the ATP reviewed the case, accepted his explanation and threw it out. The tour responded with a statement on Wednesday.

"It has always been ATP policy not to comment on anti-doping test results unless and until an anti-doping violation has occurred," the statement said. "Under the tennis anti-doping program it is, and has always been, an independent panel that makes a decision on whether a doping violation has been found. The ATP has always followed this rule, and no executive at the ATP has therefore had the authority or ability to decide the outcome of an anti-doping matter."

The International Tennis Federation's Emily Bevan referred all questions to the ATP.

Agassi retired in 2006. Excerpts from his autobiography, which comes out Nov. 9, are being published this week in the London newspaper, as well as Sports Illustrated and People magazines.

In a story posted on People magazine's Web site Tuesday, Agassi says: "I can't speak to addiction, but a lot of people would say that if you're using anything as an escape, you have a problem."

According to the Times of London, Agassi writes in his book that "Slim" was the person who introduced him to crystal meth, dumping a small pile of powder on the coffee table.

"I snort some. I ease back on the couch and consider the Rubicon I've just crossed," Agassi writes.

"There is a moment of regret, followed by vast sadness. Then comes a tidal wave of euphoria that sweeps away every negative thought in my head. I've never felt so alive, so hopeful — and I've never felt such energy."

"I'm seized by a desperate desire to clean. I go tearing around my house, cleaning it from top to bottom. I dust the furniture. I scour the tub. I make the beds."

Among the most successful — and, without a doubt, one of the most popular — tennis players in history, Agassi drew attention not just for his play, but also for his outfits, his hairstyles and his relationships with women, including a failed marriage to actress Brooke Shields.

Agassi's first major championship came at Wimbledon in 1992, and he won a gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. But by late 1997, he dropped to No. 141 in the rankings, and he was playing in tennis' equivalent of the minor leagues.

He resuscitated his career in 1998, making the biggest one-year jump into the top 10 in the history of the ATP rankings. The next season, he won the French Open to complete a career Grand Slam, then added a second career U.S. Open title en route to finishing 1999 at No. 1.