Report: Agassi Used Meth During Career

(MYFOX NATIONAL) - Tennis champion Andre Agassi admits to using crystal meth during the 1997 tennis season in his forthcoming autobiography "Open," according to the New York Daily News .

A publicist for Knopf Publishing House told the Daily News that Agassi opens up about using the illegal substance during his career in the book. Excerpts of the book will be released in both Sports Illustrated and People later this week.

"Those excerpts contain revelations about Andre's use of crystal meth when he was a tennis player," said Paul Bogaards, director of media relations at Knopf.

The revelation was first made public Tuesday morning on the Twitter page of Sports Illustrated writer Richard Deitsch, who wrote, "FYI: There's an off-the-charts book excerpt from Andre Agassi in the forthcoming SI: He admits to taking crystal meth during his career." That Twitter post has since been removed from the site.

The book is scheduled to be released on Nov. 9.

Agassi's shocking admission contradicts prior comments he made in 2004 about tennis players using drugs for unfair advantages.

Recreational drug use among tennis players has been a hot topic recently. Richard Gasquet tested positive for cocaine in March and has been suspended for two years. In December 2007, former women's No. 1-ranked player Martina Hingis was slapped with a two-year suspension for a positive cocaine test at Wimbledon. Hingis, a five-time major tournament winner, retired after testing positive.