Andre Agassi Makes His Pro Pickleball Debut – Analysis And Recap

Tennis Hall of Famer Andre Agassi has been making serious inroads into the burgeoning world of pickleball, both personally and professionally, over the last several years. This past week, he took another big step in terms of pickleball involvement by entering a pro event for the first time. For those not familiar with Agassi’s mostly behind the scenes involvement, we’ll review what he’s done so far then take an analytical look at the state of his debut on the court.

He and wife Steffi Graf picked up the sport several years ago, and as retired tennis pros they had racquet skills that immediately translated. They also, frankly, just enjoyed the sport. Agassi said he was originally drawn to pickleball because of its social, inclusive nature. Inevitably people started to capitalize on that fun aspect of the sport, and Agassi was called upon to participate. Agassi first appeared the 2024 made-for-TV Pickleball Slam event held in Vegas against fellow retired tennis pros John McEnroe, Andy Roddick, and Michael Chang. In 2025 he got his fellow Hall of Famer wife involved in a set of mixed doubles actions with Roddick and another tennis-to-pickleball convert Genie Bouchard.

Then Agassi got a bit more serious with his involvement.

First, in January 2024 Agassi was part of an investment group that acquired a controlling interest in DUPR, the leading rating system used in the sport. A month later, he was named to be the Inaugural Chair of a Life Time Board that focused on growth of both Pickleball and Tennis. In August 2024, he partnered with the leading Pickleball paddle manufacturer Joola to produce Agassi-labeled paddles and accessories. In December Agassi traveled to Dubai to take part (on behalf of DUPR) in the Pickleball World Rankings (PWR) kickoff event. Lastly, in March of 2025, Agassi and Graf joined all of Joola’s top sponsored pros in a tour of Asian cities promoting the sport.

One would believe that a 55-year old retired millionaire athlete would be satisfied with behind the scenes contributions, helping to grow the sport from more of a corporate level. However, the competitive nature of Agassi led to his biggest foray into the sport yet: this week he made his professional pickleball debut at one of the largest events on the annual pickleball calendar: the US Open. His partner? None other than the current No. 1 ranked Anna Leigh Waters. Here’s a recap of their debut match, which was broadcast live on CBS Sports Network on April 30th.

“When Anna Leigh Waters calls, you say yes,” said Agassi at a press conference prior to their match. Waters famously played with another pro tennis convert in his first pro event in Jack Sock, helping Sock to win his Pro Mixed Doubles debut at the 2023 North Carolina Open (to date, Sock’s only gold medal on tour). However, playing with a recently retired tennis player in his early 30s was a different ask than playing with a mid-50s 5.0-level player (Agassi’s DUPR is 5.43, though he has barely any registered results). Winning a title against a strong field of APP and challenger-level pros at the US Open would be a tall task.

In their opening match, Agassi & Waters fared off against two Florida-based teenagers Stevie Petropouleas (age 13) & Tristan Dussault (age 16). If the youngsters had any nerves, they really didn’t show. Waters & Agassi began the match playing a conventional mixed setup, with the male on the left, thus putting Agassi’s forehand in the middle of the court. This is a common configuration for Waters with her regular pro Mixed partner Ben Johns, who dominates in the middle but allows for Waters’ adept swinging backhand volley in the middle to attack and poach as needed.

Dussault & Petropouleas opened the match with a simple strategy: hit everything to Andre. Agassi received nearly every service return and the bulk of the dinks & volleys at the net. He handled the pressure well, choosing for a 3rd-shot drive strategy versus attempting to dink for success, and when volleys came back to him he was very adept at resets from the middle of the court, hitting 5th shot dinks frequently and successfully. Agassi struggled a bit with shots at his feet and made some dinking errors, but otherwise played solidly. Halfway through the first game the pair switched sides, in reaction to the clear recognition that Agassi was getting isolated. Agassi showed great skill at the net in hands battles, and was able to handle the pace coming from Dussault. Agassi hit more than a few groundstroke and volley winners right through the middle between his opponents, drawing from decades of his tennis stroke doing the same. Andre didn’t try to do too much with the serve, which is a major area where the pro game is differentiating itself from the 5.0/top amateur game.

The pair ground out an 11-8 first game win. In game two, the teenagers settled down a bit, cut down on their unforced errors and got ahead early. The Waters/Agassi partnership ground out rallies but the teenagers persevered and tied the match. Midway through game three, Agassi was clearly winded from playing in the oppressive Florida humidity, but after an amazing rally at 7-7 in the third the teenagers capitulated and Waters/Agassi were able to win and move forward.

The pair lost in the next round to Trang Huynh-McClain & Len Yang as Agassi couldn’t handle the pressure in the end from the more advanced Yang (a 5.8 DUPR with a slew of PPA tour experience).

My verdict: Agassi’s game looks great for a 55yr old, and I think he’d have great success if he were inclined to play on the Champion’s tour. The fact of the matter is, if you’re a top-level tennis player (i.e. if you hold a UTR right now in the 10-12 range) you’re almost automatically a 4.5 pickleball player the moment you pick up a paddle. Agassi’s success in pro tennis and his love of the challenge has made him a darn good pickleball player, and I hope to see him competing again soon. Meanwhile, we await his next industry move as he becomes more involved with the sport.

If you missed either Agassi match, you can watch the replay of their opening match from CBS Sports Net’s archives or go to Pickleball Channel’s YouTube feed at the 3hr 59min mark for their round of 16 match.