5 tennis stars whose children pursued sporting careers ft. Steffi Graf & Andre Agassi's son Jaden, Tracy Austin's son Brandon

Tennis players spend a major chunk of their time on tour or practicing for a tournament. Therefore, considering the kind of time that a tennis player invests in pursuing the sport professionally, their children grow up seeing and understanding the value of sports and the discipline that accompanies the same. This in turn helps them absorb those values and perhaps motivates them to pursue a sport on their own.

It is common practice in families to see kids following the footsteps of their parents and pursuing the profession they see their mothers or fathers working hard in. Hence, it is no surprise that children of many athletes aspire to be sportspersons as well.

In terms of tennis, there are quite a few tennis players whose children are pursuing a sport professionally. Hence, let's take a look at some of them:

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#5, Yannick Noah's son Joakim Noah

French professional tennis player Yannick Noah has held a career-high ranking of World No.3 in singles and World No.1 in Doubles and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2005. In addition to 23 singles titles, after defeating champion Mats Wilander in 1983, Noah became the first Frenchman in 37 years to win the French Open.

Following his father's footsteps, though in a different sport, Noah's son Joakim played collegiate basketball for the Florida Gators before joining the NBA with the Chicago Bulls in 2007.

While Joakim sought retirement in 2021, he has been a two-time NBA All-Star and was also named the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year in 2014.

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#4, Ivan Lendl's daughter Isabelle Lendl

Czech-American former tennis player Ivan Lendl holds a significant place in the history of the sport and holds multiple records and accomplishments to his name. Additionally, the former World No. 1 has won eight major singles titles, held the said rank for a then-record of 270 weeks and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2001.

Lendl married Samantha Frankel in 1989 and the couple have five daughters - Marika, twins Isabelle and Caroline, Daniela, and Nikola, all of whom have been involved in some or the other sport at the college level.

Isabelle Lendl

Amongst all the five, Isabelle is well known as an amateur golfer and was a part of the University of Florida's golf team. Additionally, she held the sixth rank in the American Junior Golf Association in 2006 and won the Women Easters Amateurs twice in her junior career.

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#3, Bjorn Borg's son Leo Borg

Bjorn Borg was the first man in the Open Era to win 11 Grand Slam titles including five consecutive wins at Wimbledon and six French Open titles, all of which he achieved before he sought retirement at the age of 25.

The Swedish tennis player has held a career-high ranking of World No.1 and shared a rivalry with John McEnroe that has produced some of the best matches in tennis history.

Bjorg married his third wife Patricia Ostfeld in 2002 and the couple has a son, Leo who is also a professional tennis player.

Leo Borg at Junior Wimbledon 2021

20-year-old Leo holds a career-high ranking of World No. 334 along with an ITF junior ranking of World No.12 and earned his maiden tour-level victory at the Nordea Open in Bastad last year.

However, Leo's idol is not his dad as he looks up to Rafael Nadal instead though this is not to say that he does not look up to the Swedish tennis star but rather wishes to carve his own path in the game.

Speaking about the same, he said (via The Sun):

“I think about my future and about my own goals. The truth is that I have always wanted to play tennis on my own initiative. I know that he (Bjorn) is proud of me, of what I am doing, and I hope I have a good future.”

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#2, Tracy Austin's son Brandon Holt

American tennis player, Brandon Holt followed the footsteps of her mother, Tracy Austin who still remains the youngest inductee into the Tennis Hall of Fame at 29 and the youngest US Open Champion at 16 years of age.

Austin has won 30 titles including three majors and had an illustrious career as a tennis player before she was forced to retire from the sport in 1994 following a set of injuries.

Austin's son, Brandon Holt played collegiate tennis for the University of Southern California before turning pro in 2020, two years after which he appeared for his first Grand Slam tournament at the US Open. At the said tournament, he made headlines for defeating 10th seed Taylor Fritz in the first round and also qualified for the Australian Open the following year.

Tracy Austin and Brandon Holt at the 2022 US Open

While Holt has someone to always go to for advice for, Austin on the other hand, often takes to social media to express her enthusiasm with regards to her son's achievments.

With regards to his 2022 qualification for the US Open, Austin shared a post by the Championship's page on twitter and said:

"Watching this and reliving those emotional moments with Brandon is the best birthday present a Mama could ever ask for! Thank you @usopen"

Despite his mother's achievements and her being a Hall of Fame inductee, Holt once stated that he does not feel the pressure and said (via The Providence Journal):

“I don’t know anything different. I’ve grown up with that my whole entire life. I don’t know what it would be like to not have that, so I don’t feel that much pressure. Maybe people think that I should, but I don’t.”

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#1, Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi's son Jaden

Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi are two of the best tennis players of all time and continue to be in the limelight due to their contribution to the sport and their presence at various events as a couple that is admired by all.

Graf and Agassi got married in 2001 and had their son Jaden the same year and daughter Jaz, two years later in 2003 and while one would expect the two to follow their extremely accomplished parents' footsteps, the celebrity tennis couple ensured that they do not push their kids to do so.

Therefore, while 22-year-old Jaden is not pursuing tennis, he is still well connected to the world of sports being a pitcher for the University of California's baseball team.

Speaking about why Agassi and Graf did not want their kids to pursue the sport, the former said (via Fox Sports):

"Tennis? I just think we've had enough, quite honestly,"

He added, "It's a weird sport. We don't see too many second-generation players. For us, it's about raising our children in a way we can share in their life and not always worry about their life."

As a pitcher for his University, Jaden made 23 appearances for the Trojans last year.