Roddick, Agassi celebrate sixth annual charity event in Boca

Andy Roddick came home Sunday, home to the place where he started on the path to becoming a tennis professional.
The 24-year-old hosted his sixth annual Andy Roddick Foundation Charity Weekend, which began with a dinner dance gala and a WPT Celebrity Poker Event on Friday at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, and ended Sunday with tennis exhibition matches and other activities at the Polo Club in Boca Raton.
“It’s great (to be in Boca Raton),” Roddick said. “I’m here sparsely throughout the year obviously when I’m not traveling. I split time between here and Austin (where Roddick has a home) now. It’s always nice to get back to a place that’s familiar and comfortable.”
The reason Roddick hosts this event each year is to raise funds for various charities that support underprivileged children. This year the Andy Roddick Foundation raised $1.4 million for those charities.
The inspiration to do such a deed came at a young age. Roddick was just 17 years old and starting his career when he decided to start giving back. And Sunday’s most prominent guest was also the person who convinced the young Rodddick to begin this tradition - tennis legend Andre Agassi.
“Before anyone really knew who I was, I went up to him and asked him what his biggest regret was, expecting to hear some sort of tennis answer, something along those lines,” Roddick said. “And he said, he didn’t start his charitable foundation early enough. And that really hit home.”

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