Andre Agassi & Eugenie Bouchard join hands for pickleball match at Life Time New York event
Tennis legend Andre Agassi and Canadian player Eugenie Bouchard recently competed in a pickleball match at the Life Time New York event. Agassi later shared a glimpse of the match.
Agassi is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time with eight grand slams under his name and a Golden Slam—achieved by winning all four majors and an Olympic gold medal.
The 54-year-old tennis legend has shown a strong interest in pickleball evident from his participation in two consecutive editions of the Pickleball Slam, held last year and this year. This year's event was also headlined by his wife, 22-time Major champion Steffi Graf.
Meanwhile, Eugenie Bouchard had joined the Professional Pickleball Association in September last year but maintained that she had not given up on tennis. Moreover, her most recent tennis appearance was at the Canadian Open qualifiers, where she was eliminated by Moyuka Uchijima 5-7, 7-5, 6-4.
Following her exit from the WTA 1000 event, the former World No. 5 was spotted playing a mixed doubles pickleball match against Andre Agassi at the Life Time NYC event held in New York. Agassi later shared a picture from their match on Instagram.
Bouchard later shared Agassi's post on her Instagram story.
While legends like Agassi, John McEnroe, Jack Sock, and Steffi Graf have shown strong interest in pickleball, others, including Rennae Stubbs and Novak Djokovic, have been more critical of the sport.
However, Djokovic along with Jannik Sinner and Barbora Krejcikova will participate in the Head NYC Mash Up, a pickleball event scheduled to take place before the 2024 US Open.
Andre Agassi on pickleball - "You enjoy it and you get better"
Speaking with Pickleball TV recently, Andre Agassi praised the rapidly growing sport for its mental and physical benefits. The 54-year-old noted that regardless of the skill level, a player can enjoy and improve as he plays the game. He added that he sees the sport with significant growth potential.
"I love the mental outlet and I like the physical outlet. And I like the fact that it's so community-driven. No matter what level you are at, when you come into the game, you enjoy it and you get better. As much as so many people are playing, I still see it in the infancy and I think it's only going to grow," Andre Agassi said.
Watch the clip shared by Pickleball TV on Instagram:
Agassi had previously emphasized that Pickleball is particularly accessible for those over 50, noting its ease of play compared to tennis.
The 8-time Major champion, while teaming up with his wife Steffi Graf, also won the Pickleball Slam earlier this year. They defeated John McEnroe and Maria Sharapova to win the event and a $1 million prize money.