Andre Agassi's journey at US Open Pickleball Championships ends with defeat in second round

Former world number one Andre Agassi’s journey at the US Open Pickleball Championships. Pickleball has become one of the most famous formats of the sport and has been gathering a lot of attention because of the easy access all over the world. It is now claimed that the sport is the fastest growing in the United States, with just under 50 million adults playing it between 2022 and 2022, according to the Association of Pickleball Professionals (APP).

Agassi, who was one of the most successful players during his playing days and retired from professional tennis back in 2006, has now turned his attention to pickleball. His professional debut ended on a losing note as he and partner Anna Leigh Waters came second best against Len Yang and Trang Huynh-McClain.

The duo, who claimed a victory in their first match against Stevie Petropouleas and Tristan Dussault with a score of 11-8, 9-11, 11-7 in Naples, Florida on Wednesday, failed to contain their opponent who came out on top with a score of 11-7, 4-11, 7-11.

Agassi, while talking to the media after the match as quoted by Reuters, praised his partner Waters.“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,” he said.

Agassi finished his career with eight Grand Slam titles. Despite winning less than 10 major titles in his career, he has managed to win a major event on every court. His most successful competition was the Australian Open, where he lifted the title as many as four times. His first-ever major title was Wimbledon in 1992, where he defeated Croatia’s Goran Ivanisevic in the final in a five-set thriller with a score of 6–7(8–10), 6–4, 6–4, 1–6, 6–4. His last major title came in 2003 when he lifted the Australian Open after beating Germany’s Rainer Schuttler in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-2, 6-1.