US discount retailer Target is being sued by Olympic Gold medallist and winner of eight Grand Slam titles, Andre Agassi, for what he claims to be inappropriate use of his name on a line of sports sandals.

It is alleged that the company used the famous name on more than 52,500 pairs of ‘Agassi’ sandals sold in store and online. Mr Agassi has accused the company of failing to keep its promise – allegedly made in June – to remove the merchandise from its stores. Reports indicate that sales of the footwear may already have exceeded $660,000.

A spokesperson for Target pointed out that, since learning of the issue, the company “has made every effort to rebrand the merchandise” and that it was working hard “to rectify the situation” across its 1,537 US stores.

Triple damages are being pursued for the alleged infringement.