ESPN.com - TENNIS - Promoter 'first in line' for commitment

 
Monday, July 16
Updated: July 23, 8:48 PM ET
Promoter 'first in line' for commitment



MAHWAH, N.J. -- If tennis stars Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi have a baby girl, the child may earn $10 million before she's even born, according to a published report.

Tennis promoter John Korff is offering the huge paycheck to guarantee that the girl will appear in his A&P Tennis Classic women's tournament in 2017, Bloomberg News reported Monday.

"Might as well be first in line," Korff said. "I've always wanted to have the daughters of one of our former champions play. Chris Evert has three boys, so that's out."

Korff said he made the offer to Graf's agent, Phil de Picciotto, last week after she and Agassi announced they were expecting their first child in mid-December.

The German newspaper Bild quoted Graf's mother as saying that her daughter was expecting a boy, but there's been no official word from the couple on the child's gender.

"With that kind of breeding, the kid will probably be born with webbed feet with strings," Korff joked.

Korff said he's still waiting for an answer from Picciotto, who didn't accept or reject the offer.

"He said it's the first time anybody's ever offered him money for an embryo," Korff said.

Graf, 32, and Agassi, 31, have been dating for two years. Bild reported Monday that they are planning to get married in January at Agassi's home in Las Vegas.

Graf, who retired from professional tennis in 1999, and Agassi really don't need the money. Each has earned more than $20 million in prize money and millions more in endorsements.

"It would take them an awful long time to spend that money, even if they had no full-time jobs," Korff said.

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