"Steffi Graf looked at me like, 'What's the matter with you?'"- Andre Agassi reveals wife's shock at his state after playing pickleball

Andre Agassi recently opened up about how his wife, Steffi Graf, initially reacted when she saw his state after playing pickleball. The American legend also disclosed that he lost a staggering 40 pounds after taking a liking to the sport.

Agassi, alongside former doubles World No. 1 Rohan Bopanna, launched pickleball’s PWR DUPR India League in Mumbai on Friday, December 13. During the press conference, he said that although he is jaded after tennis sessions with his wife, Graf, and friends, he often resets quickly.

"If I go play tennis now with my wife or friends, I spend a lot of energy and I can do it for a period of time until I am exhausted. And then I come home and I take a shower and I’m ready to do anything – okay, I’ve got a meeting, a business meeting, I’ve got this, I’ve got that," the eight-time Grand Slam champion said.

Andre Agassi then pointed out a surprising contrast in his energy levels after playing pickleball.

"When I play pickleball, the same exhaustion happens but when I get home – I’ve just realized this over the past few months, I can’t go from a pickleball court to a meeting," he said. "Because I’m so tired mentally, too. Tennis, physically, no question, and you’re concentrating, but you get these breaks. Pickleball, you don’t get it."

According to the American, the exhaustion reaches a point where he just crashes on the couch. He also said that Steffi Graf was initially shocked by his state.

"So I get home and I just lay on the couch," he added. "In the beginning when, Stef, my wife wasn’t playing… she looked at me like, ‘You just played pickleball, what’s the matter with you?’"

"But I promise I am honestly as tired mentally as I am physically. And it was like I just came out of the swimming pool. That’s how much I sweated."

While joking about his weight loss after regular pickleball sessions, Agassi said:

"It helped me lose 40 pounds! I mean, I shouldn’t ever have had the 40 pounds in the first place."

---

Andre Agassi and wife Steffi Graf to team up for Pickleball Slam 3

Andre Agassi and wife Steffi Graf pictured at Pickleball Slam 2 - Image Source: Getty

Since her initial surprise, Steffi Graf, too, has warmed up to the sport. In 2023, the tennis legend made a cameo during her husband Andre Agassi’s Pickleball Slam match against Michael Chang and John McEnroe, where he partnered with Andy Roddick.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion decided to participate alongside Agassi during the second edition (2024). The power couple, who were up against fellow former World No. 1s McEnroe and Maria Sharapova, won the title and $1 million in prize money.

Agassi and Graf are now set to renew their on-court partnership at the upcoming Pickleball Slam 3 on February 16, 2025, in Las Vegas. They will compete against the American-Canadian pair of Andy Roddick and Eugenie Bouchard.