Andre Agassi pulls no punches picking apart Jakub Mensik's unpopular French Open decision

Joshua Mbu Fri, June 5, 2026 at 7:57 PM UTC

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Andre Agassi slammed Jakub Mensik's decision to fly in a mental coach

Andre Agassi slammed Jakub Mensik's decision to fly in a mental coach (Image: TNT Sports US / Getty)

Tennis legend Andre Agassi pulled no punches as he fumed over Jakub Mensik's decision to bring in a mental coach before his French Open semifinal against tournament favorite Alexander Zverev. Mensik, 20, put on a show at Roland-Garros, reaching his first-ever Grand Slam semifinal.

The Czech wonderkid beat the likes of Alex de Minaur, Andrey Rublev, and Joao Fonseca to set up Friday's match with No. 3 Zverev for a spot in Sunday's finale. Ahead of the match, Mensik flew in a coach to help with the mental side of his game. It was a decision that was universally unpopular on TNT Sports US' coverage ahead of the game, with American legend Agassi telling Mensik to "bring in your mom" instead.

Mensik put up a good fight in the first set, but his German rival still managed to take the lead 7-5. The second was nothing short of disastrous, as Zverev raced into a two-set lead, 6-2. The third saw Mensik leave the court for a medical timeout after receiving a massage around his neck area.

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Mensik returned to the field of play and appeared revitalized. He took the set 6-3, giving the Roland-Garros crowd a glimmer of hope for a storied comeback. However, Zverev upped his game in the fourth and iced the semifinal for a final score of 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. Zverev will now play Flavio Cobolli in Sunday's final after his semifinal match against compatriot Matteo Arnaldi was canceled.

Arnaldi fell sick with what he believes is a virus in the early hours of Friday morning. The cancellation was confirmed less than half an hour before the match was due to start, as tournament organizers rushed to release a statement to ticketed fans affected.

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Mensik lost to world No. 3 Zverev in four sets (Image: Getty)

TNT Sports covered the breaking news of Arnaldi's withdrawal - but it also gave Agassi the room to rant about Mensik's earlier decision that proved unpopular on the panel.

"He's been through a lot physically this tournament. He's been through a lot mentally. So who knows how that played out?" Agassi started, before turning his attention toward Mensik's mental coach.

"But I have to say that if I was meant to, can I fly my mental coach in first class? He's going back coach," Agassi blasted. "I mean still upsetting make him walk back or something."

Jakub Mensik speaks out

Despite losing, Mensik took positives out of his Roland-Garros campaign. He reached the Final Four of a major for the first time. "First of all, I am super happy that I could reach the semifinals and that I could beat a lot of top players," Mensik said in his post-match press conference. "And actually, there were a lot of tough moments that it was basically already done for me.

"But I stood up and I kept fighting, and I find a way how to win. When the momentum was on my side and I was in a good shape and I was really up in my game, I showed my best. [There are] a lot of stories these two weeks, and when I'm talking about it and I'm keeping this rhythm two weeks, it's super, super tough.

"I'm in a Grand Slam playing with the top players. Especially for me because it's my first time, and a lot of things happen for the first time. I'm happy that I managed it quite well and I will take it as a great, great tournament."

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Source: “AOL Sports”