Latest news with #AnnaLeighWaters
Forbes
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Anna Leigh Waters Sweeps The Pro Pickleball Association Atlanta Championships
The Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) returned to action after a month's break to host one of their biggest and most popular events of the season: the 2025 Veolia Atlanta Pickleball Championships. The host site is the amazing Peachtree Corners Life Time facility, which is normally a marquee tennis facility that's completely taken over for a week by the tour to become one of the top spots all year. Fun fact: this event was the first PPA tournament I ever covered in person, two years ago in May 2023. Much has changed on tour since then, but the energy and popularity of this tournament remains just as great now as it was two years ago. Click here for the home page for the event, where you can get tournament details, draw sheets, and results. Here's a quick recap of notable news items of import to the tour that have happened since our last PPA event was held in North Carolina more than a month ago. - The day after the NC Open ended, PPA No. 1 Anna Leigh Waters ended her long-time partnership with Catherine Parenteau. She almost immediately picks her biggest rival in Anna Bright to become her going-forward partner. The pair played seven tournaments together between January 2023 and August 2023 as ALW bounced between the two players before settling on CP from that point forward; they won all seven tournaments and are undefeated as a pair. - MLP kicked off its season with its first two events. The TL/DR summary of Orlando and Columbus? The Dallas Flash and St. Louis Shock look unstoppable, Ben and Collin Johns didn't like the lighting in Ohio and paid handsomely to quit the event, and ALW & Patriquin don't like each other. - Just ahead of Atlanta, The PPA tour re-ups with Carvana to sign a new multi-year agreement to be the title sponsor of the tour. PPA owner Tom Dundon holds a significant stake of Carvana, so in some ways this him taking money out of one pocket to put into another, but it also doesn't happen in a vacuum. With that said, let's recap the action. My leading indicator of the size and depth of pro draws at an event is always Men's Singles qualifying. This week's draw numbered 86, which is a high mark as far as I can remember. True to form, some top qualifying seeds advanced but some well-known names didn't even make the main draw (including tough players like Max Wild and Ammar Wazir). With more and more players being signed to contracts by the UPA and guaranteeing their entry directly into the 'main draw,' the eight qualifiers weren't even guaranteed a slot in the round of 64, and some of the matches The singles draw was dealt a shock early, as qualifier and No. 65 seed Alexander Crum (career accomplishments: two bronze medals in singles on the APP) toppled the No. 1 seed Federico Staksrud to open play on Tuesday. Staksrud felt the need to make some 'sour grapes' comments about how 'Pickleball is becoming like mini-tennis' and about the Life Time ball in use was a 'disaster' (a post now deleted), but all credit to Crum, who won twice more before falling to Dylan Frazier in the quarters. A side note: Crum's performance in this Slam event will net him enough points to break into the PPA's top 50, which unfortunately subjects him to a rankings/entry loophole the PPA enacted earlier this year in a gambit to force players to sign exclusivity contracts. Since he'll now be ranked inside the top 50, he cannot play qualifiers … but since he's not a signed player, he can't be entered into the main draw. It does seem counter intuitive that the tour that claims to be where 'all the best' players play has a rule in place specifically to ban players once they get sufficiently good (but are not signed). There were a slew of other 30+ seeds who made decent runs, including No. 49 Navratil with two upset wins, No. 35 Jay Devilliers with an upset of No. 5 Vich and No. 11 Tardio before falling, No. 46 Brandon French taking out No. 19 Yates Johnson, and No. 56 Tom Protzek beating No. 9 Loyd in the first round. Lastly, a special shout-out to newly PPA signed No. 52 Jhonnatan Medina Alvarez, who plays out of my home club in Richmond, who won his first two rounds before falling in the 16s. With the topside opened up by Crum, it was No. 8 Dylan Frazier who took control, advancing into the semis to face No. 3 Garnett from the top half. The bottom half's quarters ended up chalk, with No. 2 Hunter Johnson downing Duong and his new Sypik paddle and Ben Johns (now ranked all the way down at No. 4) winning an excellent tactical quarter final match against No. 7 Alshon. Alshon possibly played the most entertaining match of the event in the round prior, downing the always vocal Julian Arnold in an 11-9 three game thriller that featured a plethora of outbursts to go along with amazing shot-making from both sides. In the semis, Garnett made fast work of Frazier to get to his first singles final since last December's tour finals, while Johns, playing in just his 4th singles event of the season, came from behind to topple Hunter Johnson to return to the final. In the final, a clearly depleted Johns did what he does best; win on the sports' biggest stage, claiming the 2000 point gold medal and putting himself in great shape for the year end tour finals race. It is Johns' 42nd career singles gold medal, and his 2nd in three appearances this year. Gold: Ben Johns. Silver: Connor Garnett. Bronze: Hunter Johnson. Sometimes the PPA doesn't even need to hold Women's Pro Singles qualifiers. Not this weekend, where 33 women attempted to qualify into the main draw, by far a record on tour. Only one of those qualifiers was able to get out of the main draw's first round; No. 55 seed and two-time APP singles medalist Maria Klokotzky, who trounced fellow No. 11 Genie Bouchard 2,6 to move into the 32s. There she fell to recently new UPA signee Felicity Di Laura, who herself had a solid upset win in the first round over No. 20 Alix Troung. No. 19 Liz Truluck had a solid event, upsetting No. 8 Devidze and advancing to the quarters and thus becoming the only non-top 8 seed to break into the chalk back-end of the draw. In the quarters, No. 1 Anna Leigh Waters ground out a win against No. 5 Buckner, who hung in there before losing 7,5. No. 4 Parris Todd ended Truluck's run with a dominant 2,2 win to force a shot at the No. 1 player. Kate Fahey, now all the way up to No. 2, made fast work of No. 6 Lea Jansen 3,4, and long-time top two ranked Parenteau (now all the way down at the 7-seed here) upset No. 3 Christian to return to the semis. In the semis, both top players Waters & Fahey made relatively fast work of their opponents (Todd and Parenteau respectively) to set up the No. 1 vs No. 2 final that the neutrals were hoping for. In said final, Fahey rebounded from a quick 11-1 game loss to grind out an 11-7 game two win to force the deciding third game. Unfortunately, Waters found another gear (as she usually does) and swept Fahey away 11-1 in the third for the win. This is Waters' astounding 51st career PPA Singles gold. Gold: Anna Leigh Waters. Silver: Kate Fahey. Bronze: Parris Todd. I firmly believe that Mixed Pro Doubles is the hardest draw to win. There are now a sufficiently large enough number of signed pros with 'automatic main draw' spots that the draw now needs to start with a nearly full round of 128, with qualifiers being seeded into the 80s to make way for all the teams. Household names on tour are seeded in the 60s now, and the round of 32 now routinely features past gold medal winners. Combine this depth with the dominance still shown by the top seeded teams (Waters & Johns, the Johnson siblings, and whoever Alshon is playing with on a given weekend), and you have an awfully tall order to break onto the podium all around. Despite the overall depth of Mixed, it also routinely highlights the concentration of talent at the top. We saw that in Atlanta, as seven of the top eight mixed seeds advanced into the quarters (the sole omission being No. 3 Staksrud & Parenteau being upset in the 16s). The top seeds Waters & Johns had little trouble advancing to the final, winning their quarters and semis matches easily. The No. 2 seeded Johnson sibling team couldn't repeat their feat from North Carolina (where they gave Waters & Johns a rare h2h loss), falling in the semis to the tough Christian Alshon/Etta Tuionetoa team. The final was one way traffic for the top seeds, who cruised to a 3,2,7 win for their astounding 49th Mixed medal together. Gold: Waters & Johns. Silver: Alshon & Tuionetoa. Bronze: There were 60 TEAMS of qualifiers here. That's 120 men attempting to qualify into the main draw. That's what makes this specific event special. Unlike in the singles draw, we did not see too many of the qualifying teams make waves in the main draw, perhaps a nod to the depth on the regular PPA tour at this point. Like in Mixed, the top pairs had little problems getting to Friday in the progression draw. Seven of the tournament's top eight seeds advanced with mostly little fanfare. Much attention has been given to Ben Johns' new partner selection of Gabriel Tardio, but some other attention-crazed splits are starting to gel. Last fall, the well-publicized split of JW Johnson & Dylan Frazier has now settled with JW's new partner being established as lefty youngster CJ Klinger; the pair took on the formerly unbeatable Staksrud/Patriquin team in the quarters and came out on top 11-8 in the third to make a statement. Former partners met up (as one could inevitably guess) in the semis, with JW advancing over Dylan in another 11-8 third game nail-biter to secure the Sunday final. From the bottom half, Johns & Tardio cruised past long-time rivals Wright & Newman in the quarters, then got a solid come-from behind win over the No. 3 pair of Christian Alshon & Andrei Daescu, who many in social media have tabbed to be 'the next big thing' on tour. Not on this day, as the Johns/Tardio pairing worked its way back into the match and secured their fourth straight gold medal match in as many tries. In the final, JW came to play. He may not have had his 'No 12' Dallas Flash jersey on, but he certainly wanted to make a statement. Johnson & Klinger took the gold in three tight games, 9,9,7. Johns & Tardio aren't a finished product yet, but certainly they've been consistently in the finals since joining up in February of 2025. Gold: Johnson & Klinger. Silver: Johns & Tardio. Bronze: Alshon & Daescu With all due respect to the rest of the Women's tour, the storyline here was always going to be the first tournament post Waters-Parenteau split. As things turned out, Waters broke up her long-time rival pairing of Bright & Rohrabacher, and the spurned partners ended up joining forces themselves … and even secured the top seed in Atlanta. It seemed inevitable that the pairs would meet, and indeed both teams found their way into the final. No. 2 Waters & Bright blew through the bottom half of the draw, not being seriously challenged until the semis. No. 1 Rohrabacher & Parenteau were pushed in both the quarters (where they dropped a game) and the semis, but fulfilled their side of anticipated matchup. In the final, the pairs came out swinging. There was some question as to how the new Catherine/Rachel team would line up and we got an early answer: Parenteau lined up on the left, while Waters assumed her normal dominant left side position with Bright manning the right hand side. The match ended up being anti-climactic; Waters & Bright cruised to a three game win 4,7,3 and remain undefeated as a pairing. However, battle lines have been drawn, and we have the dawn of a new rivalry on tour. With the win, Waters sewed up the triple crown at the slam, her 34th on tour. It's such an amazing statistic; Waters has more triple crowns than any other player on tour not named Johns or Parenteau has total golds. And she's just 18. Gold: Waters & Bright. Silver: Parenteau & Rohrabacher. Bronze: Todd & Black. The Pro Pickleball Medal Tracker has now been updated with these results; check out this link online for a complete pro medal history for all tours and all pro events dating to the beginnings of all the major pro tours, plus pro events that predated 2020. Next up on the Pickleball Calendar? According to my Master Pickleball Schedule, the APP's biggest event of the year happens, the NYC Open. There's also a tentative PPA Challenger event in Punta Gorda. Lastly, MLP is back in action in Austin for the 3rd event of the season, and for the first time this year we'll see the Challengers teams in action. Next up for the PPA? The main tour makes way for MLP for a bit , then return in Mid-June for the Orange County Cup and favorite venue Life Time San Clemente. There's a few PPA Challengers sprinkled in, but the main pros are on MLP duty for a while. All match stats quoted in this article are courtesy of PickleWave. Visit for the premier source of Pro Pickleball data, including match replays, highlights, stats, and discussion. PickleWave has more than 22,000 matches in its database across all the pro tours. Other resources I use frequently to cover Pickleball include:
Free Malaysia Today
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Free Malaysia Today
Tennis great Agassi to make pro pickleball debut
Andre Agassi won eight tennis Grand Slams among his 60 ATP Tour-level titles. (EPA Images pic) ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS : Former tennis world No 1 Andre Agassi will make his professional debut in the fast-growing sport of pickelball next week when he teams up with top-ranked Anna Leigh Waters for the mixed doubles at the US Open Pickleball Championships. Invented in 1965 by a group of American friends, pickleball is a fast-paced paddle sport similar to tennis and badminton played on smaller courts using a perforated plastic ball, and interest has skyrocketed in recent years. Waters, 18, is the Professional Pickleball Association's top-ranked player in the world for singles, doubles and mixed doubles and Agassi said he would likely weigh her down. 'She's probably sick of winning so much, and that's why she called me and asked me to play,' Agassi, who won eight tennis Grand Slams among his 60 ATP Tour-level titles, told CNBC today. The 54-year-old added that he did not see himself joining the growing ranks of pro pickeball players after the tournament, which takes place in Naples, Florida. 'If I had the luxury of bandwidth to focus all my energy on just playing and body recovery and all that stuff, that would be a joy. But I don't. I'm in a different season now,' he said.
Fox News
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Andre Agassi raves about pickleball after making pro debut in sport: 'I'm loving it'
Andre Agassi is back on the court, just a smaller one. The eight-time Grand Slam winner made his professional pickleball debut last month at the U.S. Open Pickleball Championships, teaming up with 18-year-old Anna Leigh Waters, the top-ranked female player in the world, in a mixed tournament. He won his first match before dropping his second, but after participating casually over the years, he's hooked. "Dude, I'm not just liking it, I'm loving it. … It's an anomaly to see any support ever at this kind of pace, but it's easy to see why," Agassi said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital. "My family was looking for things to do, and watching how like bring people together, generations together, how it breaks cultural barriers, breaks down gender barriers, breaks down generational barriers, low-point of entry, nobody's intimated to try it, it's challenging at every level. Tell me when to stop, for crying out loud." Agassi caught wind of "Dreambreaker: A Pickleball Story," a Netflix documentary directed by Ashley Underwood, Larry David's wife. She, too, has caught the pickleball fever, which might make for an amazing "Curb Your Enthusiasm" episode. "I played pickleball, my husband and I played. We had a fun group during COVID. That's actually when I got started," Underwood told Fox News Digital. "I was a tennis player before, and someone asked me to come play pickleball, and I fell in love with the sport. I went to a major league pickleball tournament in November 2021, and I couldn't believe what I saw in the pro game. They're just playing like a completely different sport almost than recreational players. Just real athletes, incredible to see, and honestly, I saw that this was the birth of a professional sport. So I wanted to chronicle a unique moment in time." Despite his tennis success, though, there are a lot of nooks and crannies that Agassi still needs to get used to. "It's really hard. These guys are so specialized, it's so sensitive, such little margin for error," Agassi said. "There's so much nuance that creates opportunity. It's not like 'see space, hit space.' There was a lot I had to unlearn, but some things came instinctively. I grew up with a racket in my hand, and in this case it's a paddle, so I'm going to make good contact. But the blood pressure, it's hard to find a place to put it when you're out there on the pickle court." A report found that there were nearly 20 million participants in 2024, a 311% increase from 2011. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Forbes
06-05-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
Fudge And Munro Win Double Golds At 2025 US Pickleball Open
NAPLES, FLORIDA - MAY 03: Anna Leigh Waters and Leigh Waters pose for a photo with their gold medals ... More after defeating Megan Fudge and Jillian Braverman during the 2025 US Open Pickleball Championships Pro Womens Doubles gold medal match at the East Naples Community Park on May 3, 2025 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by) Getty Images Tucked in between the excitement of MLP's two opening events was an event that used to be a lot bigger deal to those who follow pro pickleball, the 2025 Minto US Open Championships, powered by Margaritaville. While the US Open remains the premier annual tournament for both Amateurs and Senior Pros, the exclusivity contracts barring UPA-signed players from competing in this event for the third year running has taken its toll on the quality of the pro draws. In the first year without PPA players in 2023, there remained enough quality 'APP players' at the time to ensure solid podiums. 2024 enabled a few top players who were in the midst of contract disputes to compete and allow the likes of JW Johnson, Dylan Frazier, and Jorja Johnson to take home medals. However, in the 2025 iteration only a UPA contract carve-out enabling Anna Leigh Waters to compete prevents the pro draws from resembling an APP major. One by one, the UPA has signed away/locked up nearly every pro medalist in the last three seasons, leaving this event as a pro afterthought. While the event benefitted from the fun ALW-Agassi storyline, the rest of the pro draws seemed to pale in comparison to the excitement we had at a run-of-the-mill MLP event a thousand miles away. Click here for the home page for the tournament, the software platform owned by the new US Open tour operators and which was used to coordinate signups and matches. As far as I can tell, Pickleball Den does not maintain a permanent/persistent link directly to the tournament, and I found the software quite challenging to use as someone attempting to cover the event. If you'd like to view matches, you'll have to search for the tournament then navigate a slew of pop-up boxes in a user experience that is truly lacking. Anytime the back arrow is hit, you're dropped back to the search bar instead of back to, say, a list of brackets or a tournament home page. With that said, let's recap the action. No. 1 seed Christopher Haworth cruised to the gold medal, beating No. 2 seed Grayson Goldin in the final and rehashing their frequent APP gold medal matches from the past half season or so. Ammar Wazir surprised the field to claim bronze. Other Notable results included a very early loss for No. 3 Ryler DeHeart to Nejc Sitar and defending champ No. 6 Jack Foster withdrawing early. Gold: Christopher Haworth. Silver: Grayson Goldin. Bronze: Ammar Wazir. Women's Pro Singles Recap No. 1 Megan Fudge improved on her 2024 2nd place finish by claiming Gold in Naples. She topped four-time US Open singles champion Simone Jardim in the semis, then Bobbi Oshiro in the final. Rising star Sofia Sewing was upset in the 16s by Emilia Schmidt, teenage sensation Alexa Schull fell to the Agassi-scalping Trang Huynh-McClain in the 32s, and the defending APP pro champ Pei chuan Kao was felled by Oshiro early on her way to the finals. Gold: Megan Fudge. Silver: Bobbi Oshiro. Bronze: Amanda Hendry. Mixed Pro Doubles Recap The APP's top Mixed pair Megan Fudge & Jack Munro had an adventurous run to the gold medal at the US Open. In the round of 16 they downed the US Open legend Simone Jardim, playing with her brother Marcello (who was looking to win more gold after his double senior golds earned later in the week). In the quarters, Megan had to play her husband Ryler DeHeart and downed him and partner Pei chuan Kao 0,3. In the semis they topped two of the better up-and-coming players in the sport in Sofia Sewing & Casey Diamond. In the final they topped another couple of APP-Nextgen graduates in Richard Livornese & Riley Bohnert, who had gone on a solid run of their own from the bottom half of the draw. Fudge goes home with a double gold for the weekend. The Mixed draw here was overshadowed by the debut of Andre Agassi, which we covered last week. Agassi & Waters fell in the 16s. Gold: Fudge/Munro. Silver: Livornese/Bohnert. Bronze: Sewing/Diamond. Men's Pro Doubles Recap NAPLES, FLORIDA - MAY 03: Jack Munro hits a forehand serve (with Partner Len Yang) against Ryler ... More DeHeart and Richard Livornese during the 2025 US Open Pickleball Championships Pro Mens Doubles gold medal match at the East Naples Community Park on May 3, 2025 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by) Getty Images APP No. 1 Jack Munro was without his normal partner Will Howells (on MLP duty in Columbus), and teamed with the little-known Len Yang for the event. They powered to the final regardless, where they met No. 2 Ryler DeHeart & Richard Livornese. In the final, Munro was the best player on the court and led his team to gold. The win gave Munro a double for the weekend. Notable finishes: the bronze medalists were none other than the top Indian pair Armaan Bhatia & Harsh Mehta, who toppled APP veterans and No. 3 seeds Brandon Lane & Ben Newell in the 3rd place match. This is a notable result; Bhatia has some significant accomplishments in the burgeoning world of pro pickleball in Asia and Australia, but this is his first major foray into the US-based competitions. The pair's run to the semis (where they lost a 12-10 game three to Munro & Yang) should be a warning shot for the globalization of the pro game. Gold: Munro/Yang. Silver: Livornese/DeHeart. Bronze: Bhatia/Mehta. Women's Pro Doubles Recap NAPLES, FLORIDA - MAY 03: Megan Fudge hits a backhand drive shot during the 2025 US Open Pickleball ... More Championships at the East Naples Community Park on May 3, 2025 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by) Getty Images Anna Leigh Waters may not have had the mixed pro success she had last year (where she teamed with JW Johnson to take US Open gold), but she was able to repeat last year's success by repeating as US Open Women's Pro doubles champions with her mom, Leigh Waters. The two won a slew of pro medals during the early parts of the PPA tour before Leigh was forced to the sidelines with an ACL injury. However, mother-daughter pairing occasionally rekindles their partnership, and this weekend they defended their 2023 US Open title. They dominated a top APP pair Megan Fudge & Jill Braverman in the final 0,4. Gold: Waters/Waters. Silver: Fudge/Braverman. Bronze: Bates/Sewing. Split Age Pro Competition Recaps The U.S. Open features a fun Pro competition called 'Split Age,' where doubles teams are comprised of one 50+ player and one under-50 player. These draws are held earlier in the week before the main pro draws get started, serving as nice warm-up events for the top touring pros. Here's a quick review of those competitions. Men's Split Age Pro Doubles Recap: When you pair arguably the best senior pro out there (Jamie Oncins, currently No. 1 in APP Men's Champions doubles) with one of the best 'young' pros (Jack Munro, currently ranked No. 2 in APP Men's Doubles), you're going to get a team that's tough to beat. This pair cruised to the gold medal, topping Kyle Yates & Dave Weinbach in the final. When you pair arguably the best senior pro out there (Jamie Oncins, currently No. 1 in APP Men's Champions doubles) with one of the best 'young' pros (Jack Munro, currently ranked No. 2 in APP Men's Doubles), you're going to get a team that's tough to beat. This pair cruised to the gold medal, topping Kyle Yates & Dave Weinbach in the final. Women's Split Age Pro Doubles Recap: APP No. 1 Ranked Women's Doubles player Megan Fudge teamed with Sheri Courtier to cruise through the split age draw for the title. APP No. 1 Ranked Women's Doubles player Megan Fudge teamed with Sheri Courtier to cruise through the split age draw for the title. Mixed Split Age Pro Doubles Recap: Newly minted 'senior pro' Lee Whitwell teamed with one of the young guns on tour Patrick Kawka to take the split age mixed gold. Senior Pro Competition Quick Recap Men's Senior Open Singles: Marcello Jardim cruised to the gold medal as the No. 1 seed and defended his 2024 singles title here. Marcello Jardim cruised to the gold medal as the No. 1 seed and defended his 2024 singles title here. Men's Senior Open Doubles: Jamie Oncins & Marcello Jardim, ranked No. 1 and No. 4 on the APP's Champions tour, took the final as the No. 1 seeds. Jardim gets the senior men's double for the weekend. Jamie Oncins & Marcello Jardim, ranked No. 1 and No. 4 on the APP's Champions tour, took the final as the No. 1 seeds. Jardim gets the senior men's double for the weekend. Women's Senior Open Singles: Karin Ptaszek-Kochis defended her 2024 US Open senior singles title. Karin Ptaszek-Kochis defended her 2024 US Open senior singles title. Women's Senior Open Doubles: Sheri Courter & Molly Carter took the title after the top seeds were upset early. Sheri Courter & Molly Carter took the title after the top seeds were upset early. Mixed Senior Open Doubles: Jaime Oncins paired with Lee Whitwell to make it a double Senior pro gold weekend. The Pro Pickleball Medal Tracker has now been updated with these results; check out this link online for a complete pro medal history for all tours and all pro events dating to the beginnings of all the major pro tours, plus pro events that predated 2020. Next up on the Pickleball Calendar? According to my Master Pickleball Schedule , the APP returns to action next weekend at the Vlasic Classic in Cincinnati. It's also the first waiver period for MLP (which should be fascinating). The rest of the month gives us some of the biggest events of the season: PPA's Atlanta Grand Slam and the APP's NYC Open follow in successive weekends in mid to late May. It's a great month for pro pickleball! All match stats quoted in this article are courtesy of PickleWave. Visit for the premier source of Pro Pickleball data, including match replays, highlights, stats, and discussion. PickleWave has more than 22,000 matches in its database across all the pro tours.
Independent Singapore
02-05-2025
- Sport
- Independent Singapore
From tennis to pro pickleball: Tennis legend Andre Agassi eliminated in the second match of a US Open Pickleball event
FLORIDA: Former tennis world No. 1 Andre Agassi's debut in professional pickleball came to an early exit at the US Open Pickleball Championships in Naples, Florida. He teamed up with top pickleball player Anna Leigh Waters in the mixed pro division of the event. He won his first match but was eliminated in the second round. Agassi and Waters opened their game with a hard-fought 11-8, 9-11, 11-7 victory over Stevie Petropouleas and Tristan Dussault. However, they were defeated by Len Yang and Trang Huynh-McClain in their second match with a final scoreline of 11-7, 4-11, 7-11. Despite the early exit, Agassi's appearance in his new sport drew attention and excitement, as fans were eager to see how his tennis skills would translate to the fast-growing sport of pickleball. On partnering up with Waters Ahead of the tournament, Agassi had high praises for his partner, Anna Leigh Waters, and called her an exceptional talent. The 18-year-old is currently the No. 1-ranked pickleball player in the world, and Agassi expressed excitement about teaming up with someone like her. He admitted: ' She's right up there with the greatest ever in what she does and the idea of challenging myself to not screw things up for her is daunting.' In a social media post, Agassi shared: 'What an incredible day at the @usopenpickleball! Thank you to the incomparable @ You are an absolute force on the court and a joy to partner with—she is such a special talent. Thank you to @usopenpickleball team: Bob, Ben, and Nick, the fans who packed the stands, and my family for coming out to support you made this experience unforgettable. Also, thanks to @travisrettenmaier for helping me on and off the court. I love this sport and am committed to learn and improve.' Netizens commented on the post and said: 'Let's go! Competed well out there…all of us in the sport are lucky to have you', 'LEGEND!!!!!! So happy to see you on this stage as well!! 👏👏', 'So much fun to watch! Thanks for being such a great ambassador of the sport! 🔥', and 'Just seeing this guy on the court again is awesome. My all time favorite tennis player' What is pickleball? Pickleball has quickly become the fastest-growing sport in the US. It's a mix of tennis, table tennis, and badminton; played on a smaller court; and is easy for people of all ages to learn. It can also be played indoors or outdoors, by one person or in teams of two. Between 2022 and 2023, about 48.3 million American adults tried pickleball at least once, according to the Association of Pickleball Professionals (APP). Agassi is no stranger to pickleball, and he's often seen playing the sport with his wife, Steffi Graf, who is also a tennis legend with an outstanding 22 Grand Slam singles titles. The couple, who are icons in tennis, have been playing pickleball in recent years, enjoying it as a fun and competitive way to stay fit. Graf said about her husband: 'He's so good… And he's played a little more, he's physically so much stronger and quicker (than me). His sense for this game, how quickly he picked it up, was absolutely phenomenal to watch…. Not that I didn't see it in the other sports that he's so good at, but he picked it up and he loved the analysis of it, from the beginning on watching videos and other clips…. When he goes out and plays with some of the professionals, he will have very specific questions that he needs answered to get better.' Agassi has become a big fan of pickleball and now helps promote the sport. He declared: 'It's going to grow like you can't even imagine.'
