Andre Agassi gets real about pickleball after "mentally, emotionally most demanding" admission about tennis

Andre Agassi has opened up about both tennis and pickleball in an honest admission. The legendary eight-time Grand Slam champion has so far featured prominently in the first two editions of the Pickleball Slam, and is also set to appear at Pickleball Slam 3 alongside wife Steffi Graf.

The official Instagram handle of Pickleball Slam 3 recently posted a video featuring Andre Agassi talking about tennis and pickleball, with wife Steffi Graf sitting beside him. While Agassi labeled tennis as the most grueling sport, he also had praise for pickleball, a racket sport that's growing rapidly, especially in the USA.

"I'm honest to tennis players about pickleball and I'm honest to pickleball players about tennis, and tennis, and I will say this with total bias, tennis is the most demanding, most nuanced, hardest, physically, emotionally, mentally, across the board racket sport. And if you play tennis, I suggest you keep playing, right? But also open yourself up to also playing pickle, because you know there's not many things you can do at this stage in life that you can actually get better at," Agassi said.

The former No. 1 went on to laud pickleball based on how much players of the sport enjoy it, especially those who have transitioned to it from a tennis background. Andre Agassi also mentioned that pickleball is a sport where players can easily improve.

"It's also a great way for a tennis player to engage in a competition with friends and family and community. We get to enjoy it on so many levels with so many different kinds of players. And just go to a pickleball environment one time, I mean just watch the ages, the generational gaps, the gender gaps, the skill level gaps, and everybody is having a blast. They're laughing, they're engaging, the proximity of it, the community of it, and are getting better. Every 10 minutes you get better at it," he added.

The 54-year-old went on to confess that he celebrates both sports equally and appreciates the fact that he can be honest about them.

"So I celebrate tennis for everything it is and I celebrate pickle for everything it is, and I love the fact that I can say very honest things about both environments," Agassi concluded.

At Pickleball Slam 3, Agassi and Graf are set to team up against Andy Roddick and Eugenie Bouchard. So far, the eight-time Major champion has been on the winning side in both editions of the Pickleball Slam.

Andre Agassi defeated the likes of John McEnroe and Maria Sharapova across Pickleball Slams 1 and 2

Andre Agassi at the inaugural edition of the Pickleball Slam (Source: Getty)

The first edition of the Pickleball Slam saw Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick successfully pairing up to defeat the duo of fellow American tennis icons John McEnroe and Michael Chang. The winner-take-all doubles match saw Agassi and Roddick register a decisive 21-15, 21-23, 12-10 win over McEnroe and Chang and take home the $1 million prize purse. Agassi had earlier fallen to McEnroe in singles.

At Pickleball Slam 2, Agassi teamed up with wife Steffi Graf. The tennis power couple's team also featured Jack Sock. Agassi, Graf and Sock successfully saw off the challenge of McEnroe, Maria Sharapova and James Blake.

Pickleball Slam 3 is slated to be held on February 16 this year at the Michelob Ultra Arena at Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.