Ever wondered what all the fuss about pickleball is about? Tennis legend Andre Agassi did too! But it didn’t take long for the eight-time Grand Slam champion to catch the pickleball bug. From watching videos to playing regularly at his local club, he’s even designing his own paddles. Having clinched two consecutive Pickleball Slam victories(in 2023 and 2024), Agassi is aiming for a three-peat this year. With Pickleball Weekend finally upon us, he looks primed and ready, especially if Eugenie Bouchard‘s practice video is anything to go by!

On Sunday, February 16, 2025, at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, Agassi teams up with his wife, fellow tennis icon Steffi Graf, for Pickleball Slam 3: The Duel in the Desert. This dynamic duo faces formidable opponents: former World No. 1 Andy Roddick and professional pickleball player Eugenie Bouchard. The winners will take home a whopping $1 million—and, of course, bragging rights!

Ahead of their showdown, Bouchard took to her Instagram story and shared a video of herself practicing with Agassi at The Summit Club, Las Vegas. She captioned it, “Little pro am before the big event tmrw! @thepickleballslam @agassi” The friendly rivalry didn’t stop there.

They also engaged in some light-hearted ‘trash talk’ ahead of the match. On Pickleball Slam’s official Instagram page, the World No.17 pickleball player threw down a challenge to the reigning champions, saying, “The Genie is out of the bottle, and I’m ready to kick some a–” Agassi and Graf didn’t back down as Graf gave it back to her by replying, “We’re gonna put the Genie back in the bottle!”

The former American tennis player is no stranger to the Pickleball Slam. He’s the two-time defending champion, having won the inaugural event in 2023 with Andy Roddick against John McEnroe and Michael Chang. He then defended his title the following year alongside his wife, Steffi Graf, against McEnroe and Maria Sharapova.

Andre Agassi has truly been bitten by the pickleball bug. But what does he have to say about his new passion?

Andre Agassi talks about being a ‘big supporter’ of pickleball

The allure of pickleball is understandable, considering it doesn’t require you to dedicate your whole life to reach the upper echelons of the sport. Anyone can pick up a paddle at anytime in their life without facing the physical constraints of tennis. The official age of retirement in tennis is 27, with the ‘big three’ being the outliers. However, the average age of a pickleball player was 38.1 years old in 2021. This represents a decrease of 2.9 years in average age since 2020, indicating that pickleball’s player base is becoming younger.

In an exclusive chat with Forbes Travel Guide, Andre Agassi highlighted this contrast, saying, “I’m a big supporter of [pickleball], and I want to grow the game, not just in the United States but globally. I’m honest with tennis. I’m honest with pickleball. Tennis is the Everest of any racket sport. And I will proudly say there’s no question about it, but I will also say that pickle offers something to so many people that you have to appreciate it.”

He continued, “You look at an environment with a lot of courts, and you’ll see people playing at the highest level, just doing stuff that is pretty hard to do. Then you see older people playing, and then you see generations playing, where you see 23-year-olds returning from graduating college playing with their parents. You see this mix, and have a hard time deciding who’s having the best time.”

Pickleball continues to bridge generations and bring legends back into competition. Will Agassi and Graf keep their undefeated streak alive, or will Roddick and Bouchard shake things up in the desert?