Andre Agassi to continue playing pickleball 'beyond' paddle sport's Slam event 

Andre Agassi is keen to set his mark on yet another sport, pickleball. The ever-rising popularity of the paddle sport has sparked an interest in Agassi, with the American observant about its physical merits.

Agassi is already set to take part in the 'Pickleball Slam' event, which will take place at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, on Sunday (April 2). The event will feature other tennis legends, including Michael Chang, John McEnroe, and Andy Roddick.

The Pickleball Slam will feature two singles matches and a doubles match. In the singles, Chang faces Roddick and Agassi faces McEnroe. The doubles match will witness Chang and McEnroe pair up against Agassi and Roddick.

Agassi might not be confident with his pickleball skills but he is certainly positive about his love for the sport. Speaking ahead of the event, the eight-time Grand Slam champion stated that he is among the millions of people playing the sport for 'obvious reasons'.

"As far as the interest in it, are we anywhere near the best pickleball players? One-hundred-percent no is the answer to that question," Agassi said. "But there's tens of millions of people playing the game for obvious reasons. They love it. And I'm one of them."

Agassi also stated that he will continue playing pickleball beyond the event, given its physical health benefits.

"I'm going to play beyond this event just because I've learned it's a great form of exercise outlet," he added.

Meanwhile, Roddick expressed delight at the rapid growth of pickleball. However, he remains skeptical about its viewership potential when moved to television.

"Everyone likes it instantly. It’s pretty well-regarded by people that play it,” Roddick stated. “But you also don’t know if it will ever translate to TV and be a very watchable product without knowing the ins and outs and nuances that, frankly, I don’t know that people have the time to learn."

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Andre Agassi believes the pickleball community always want to measure themselves

Andre Agassi at the 2019 Australian Open

Andre Agassi recently observed that the pickleball community has a spirited mentality focused on consistently evaluating themselves and improving for the future. He opined that they aim to be a better version of themselves.

"One of the things I recognized with all the pickleball community, is they always want to measure themselves and they always want to feel like they're better than they are," he stated.

Apart from Andre Agassi, several other players, including Serena Williams, Andy Murray and Sloane Stephens, have also expressed an interest in pickleball.