Photo credit: www.cnbc.com
Andre Agassi to Make Pickleball Debut with Anna Leigh Waters
Tennis icon Andre Agassi is set to embark on a new athletic venture as he joins the professional pickleball scene. He will participate in his inaugural tournament alongside the current world No. 1, 18-year-old Anna Leigh Waters.
The U.S. Open Pickleball Championships, one of the sport’s most significant tournaments, is scheduled to kick off in Naples, Florida, on Saturday. Agassi and Waters are slated to compete in their first match on April 30 at noon ET, which will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
The partnership was initiated by Waters, who was in search of a mixed doubles partner for this prestigious event. Established in 2016, the U.S. Open Pickleball Championships attracts large crowds, often drawing up to 50,000 spectators each year.
Waters, who is on track to earn over $3 million in 2024 from her pickleball pursuits, has quickly risen as a prominent and marketable figure within the sport.
In a lighthearted remark, Agassi joked, “She’s probably sick of winning so much, and that’s why she called me and asked me to play.”
Waters shared that she had prepared for their collaboration by watching Agassi’s past pickleball matches online. “We both tend to err on the aggressive side, and I think that works,” she noted. “Andre’s goals are to grow the sport of pickleball, and that’s a huge goal of mine. I thought if we partnered together, this would be a really awesome way to grow the sport.”
Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, pickleball has surged in popularity, becoming the fastest-growing sport in the U.S., with a remarkable growth rate of 311% over the past three years, as reported by the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. The financial opportunities in pickleball have escalated, with players now earning more than athletes in the Women’s National Basketball Association and the National Women’s Soccer League, thanks to an influx of sponsorships and media contracts.
Agassi, who once dominated the tennis world, expressed his newfound admiration for pickleball, citing its welcoming and social atmosphere as a key draw. He has been actively promoting the sport globally through his affiliation with Joola, a prominent pickleball equipment manufacturer, and holds the position of inaugural chair on Life Time’s pickleball and tennis board.
While Agassi’s enthusiasm for the sport is evident, he indicated that he does not plan to transition into the Major League Pickleball or the PPA Tour in the near future. “If I had the luxury of bandwidth to focus all my energy on just playing and body recovery and all that stuff, that would be a joy. But I don’t,” he explained. “I’m in a different season now.”
Source
www.cnbc.com