Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf’s son Jaden Agassi suffers horror debut at World Baseball Classic qualifiers

Jaden Agassi’s debut for Germany at the World Baseball Classic qualifiers did not go according to plan, with the son of tennis greats Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf pitching poorly in the 9-7 loss to Brazil.

Jaden, who grew up in Las Vegas and went to the University of Southern California, is hoping to forge a career in Major League Baseball, but his efforts overnight would not have impressed scouts.

He holds dual citizenship through his mother, and speaks a little German, which has allowed him the opportunity to play on a global stage.

The 23-year-old allowed four earned runs, three hits, and two walks in just one inning before being yanked by Germany’s coaching staff from the field in Arizona.

He came into the game in the fourth inning, where he was hit for a single base hit by Lucas Ramirez, the son of Boston Red Sox star Manny.

His time on the mound came to an end when a sacrifice bunt got yet another Brazilian batter on base.

His father Andre sat inside a box while his mother sat outside, watching cautiously as the calamitous debut unfolded.

Jaden has a chance to redeem himself against Colombia tomorrow if he is given another opportunity to play ofcourse.

Before the tournament started Jaden had spoken about why he chose baseball over tennis. His famous parents won a combined 30 Grand Slam titles but he chose a very American sport to pursue.

“It was hard for me to keep the ball in the lines (playing tennis),” Agassi said.

“I just wanted to hit it as far as I could.”

The popularity of baseball has grown in Germany over the past few decades, but manager Jendrick Speer was still searching for a few additions to the roster for the WBC qualifiers when he stumbled across Agassi on social media and realised his connections to the country.

“I found him because he’s a good baseball player,” Speer said.

Agassi said his parents never pushed him into tennis, baseball or any other sport because they didn’t want to repeat their childhood and teenage years, which were totally consumed by tennis.

The lanky 6-foot-3 Agassi has had his share of setbacks during his baseball career.

He needed Tommy John elbow surgery after his first game in 2019, which caused him to miss his junior season in high school. Then in 2020, his team played just a handful of games before COVID-19 shut down sports for the year.

“It almost worked as a blessing in disguise,” Agassi said.

“I got almost two years to rehab my Tommy John, came back strong and then started my college career at USC.”

His three seasons with the Trojans were a little up-and-down. Now he’s hoping to latch on to an MLB organisation once the WBC qualifiers are over.