Andre Agassi Raves About Pickleball After Making Pro Debut In Sport: 'i'm Loving It'

Andre Agassi is backmost connected nan court, conscionable a smaller one.

The eight-time Grand Slam victor made his master pickleball debut past period astatine nan U.S. Open Pickleball Championships, teaming up pinch 18-year-old Anna Leigh Waters, nan top-ranked female subordinate successful nan world, successful a mixed tournament.

He won his first lucifer earlier dropping his second, but aft participating casually complete nan years, he's hooked.

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Andre Agassi makes his pickleball debut arsenic he competes pinch Anna Leigh Waters successful a Minto U.S. Open Pickleball Championships mixed pro doubles lucifer astatine East Naples Community Park successful Naples, Fla., connected April 30, 2025. (Jonah Hinebaugh/Naples Daily News/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

"Dude, I'm not conscionable liking it, I'm loving it. … It's an anomaly to spot immoderate support ever astatine this benignant of pace, but it's easy to spot why," Agassi said successful a caller question and reply pinch Fox News Digital. "My family was looking for things to do, and watching really for illustration bring group together, generations together, really it breaks taste barriers, breaks down gender barriers, breaks down generational barriers, low-point of entry, nobody's intimated to effort it, it's challenging astatine each level. Tell maine erstwhile to stop, for crying retired loud."

Agassi caught upwind of "Dreambreaker: A Pickleball Story," a Netflix documentary directed by Ashley Underwood, Larry David's wife. She, too, has caught nan pickleball fever, which mightiness make for an astonishing "Curb Your Enthusiasm" episode.

Andre Agassi and Anna Leigh Waters observe during crippled 1 of a Minto U.S. Open Pickleball Championships mixed pro doubles lucifer  in Naples, Fla., connected April 30, 2025. (Jonah Hinebaugh/Naples Daily News/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

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"I played pickleball, my hubby and I played. We had a nosy group during COVID. That's really erstwhile I sewage started," Underwood told Fox News Digital. "I was a tennis subordinate before, and personification asked maine to travel play pickleball, and I fell successful emotion pinch nan sport. I went to a awesome convention pickleball tourney successful November 2021, and I couldn't judge what I saw successful nan pro game. They're conscionable playing for illustration a wholly different athletics almost than recreational players. Just existent athletes, unthinkable to see, and honestly, I saw that this was nan commencement of a master sport. So I wanted to chronicle a unsocial infinitesimal successful time."

Despite his tennis success, though, location are a batch of nooks and crannies that Agassi still needs to get utilized to.

"It's really hard. These guys are truthful specialized, it's truthful sensitive, specified small separator for error," Agassi said. "There's truthful overmuch nuance that creates opportunity. It's not for illustration ‘see space, deed space.’ There was a batch I had to unlearn, but immoderate things came instinctively. I grew up pinch a racket successful my hand, and successful this lawsuit it's a paddle, truthful I'm going to make bully contact. But nan humor pressure, it's difficult to find a spot to put it erstwhile you're retired location connected nan pickle court."

Andre Agassi makes his pickleball debut connected April 30, 2025. (Jonah Hinebaugh/Naples Daily News/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

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