Tennis legend Andre Agassi has recently ventured into the world of pickleball.
The eight-time Grand Slam champion is a strong advocate for the sport and even played a professional tournament in 2025.
He won his first match at the US Open Pickleball Championships, partnering with 18-year-old Anna Leigh Waters.
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Agassi has also featured at the exhibition ‘Pickleball Slam’, taking on another American legend, Andy Roddick.
But having played both sports, which does Agassi find to be the most challenging and tactical?
During a recent podcast appearance, Agassi answered that very question.
Andre Agassi believes tennis is more challenging than pickleball
Appearing as a guest on ‘The Kitchen Pickleball‘ podcast, Agassi said this.
“More challenging, more strategic? I find that there is a lot of nuance in pickle, but a lot of patterns too,” he said.
“So if you simply understand patterns, you can… So I think… Tennis, you have pace, depth, you have spin, you have people who can generate or not off of different wings.
“So there’s no real pattern that you can just kind of repeat, it has to be inside that match up.
“So I would say [in tennis] there are more dimensions, from bigger courts, to more grabbing of the ball, to longer levers…
“Like I’ve said, to me, tennis is the Everest of racket sports.”
Agassi believes tennis is more challenging than pickleball, but what have other tennis icons said about the fastest growing sport in the United States?
Andy Roddick and Andy Murray’s pickleball verdicts
During a 2025 episode of ‘Served with Andy Roddick‘, the former world number one shared his thoughts on pickleball.
“On a participatory level, I love pickleball,” said Roddick.
“I think it’s brought a ton of joy to a ton of people.
“It’s not for me, yet. I enjoy it; [But] I choose tennis when I get to play.”
Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray delivered a far more damning verdict of pickleball last year.
“I’m really not a fan of pickleball,” he said.
“I don’t like pickleball, I know it’s really popular, particularly in the [United] States, but yeah it’s just not for me.
“I don’t like it, I find the noise a bit annoying, I think it’s quite an easy game.
“Look as a game to play, I think it’s fun.
“It’s a nice way of socializing, with a bit of an active component to it, but I’m not a huge fan, no.”
When is the next Pickleball Slam?
The 2026 Pickleball Slam is set for April 15, in Hollywood, Florida.
Tennis stars Andre Agassi and James Blake will take on tennis-turned pickleball pro, Eugenie Bouchard, and Waters.
$1 million is on the line in an event televised live on ESPN.
Mark your calendars for that one!
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