Tennis Hall-of-Famer making pro pickleball debut

We're giving away 15 adidas Metalbone paddles

April 24, 2025

 

In a surprising announcement earlier this week, tennis Hall-of-Famer Andre Agassi revealed he would be making his pro pickleball debut at the upcoming U.S. Open Pickleball Championships with world No. 1 women’s pickleball player Anna Leigh Waters. The pair will be playing pro mixed doubles together.

We didn’t see that one coming, but we are definitely intrigued. Learn more about how this unlikely partnership came together below.

On the topic of big names making a splash in pickleball, this week adidas released its updated line of Metalbone paddles and several other models geared toward different playing styles. Will the sports equipment and apparel giant be able to break through in the paddle game? We’ll find out soon enough.

Also in this issue:

  • We love a good rec play highlight 🎥

  • MLP season is here 🙌

  • PPA pro gives his advice on when to speed up 🧠

  • Florida bans pickleball courts in state parks 🌴

Let’s cook. 🧑‍🍳

GIVEAWAY

FIFTEEN Adidas Metalbone Paddles! 🦾 

We’re partnering with Adidas to give away 15 of their brand new Metalbone pickleball paddles. Your choice of the four new models.

SIGN UP HERE and also get 100 BONUS ENTRIES HERE!

HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK

Pro rec play hits different

There are no highlights like pro rec pickleball highlights, and this point featuring Dekel Bar, Tyson McGuffin, Connor Garnett and Rafa Hewitt delivers everything you could want — lobs, great gets, an ATP and an ATP defense.

Speaking of rec play and ATP defense, check out this insane game point in a rec game we came across.

FEATURED STORY

Andre Agassi teaming up with Anna Leigh Waters at US Open

By now most pickleball fans have seen videos of former tennis star Andre Agassi playing on the short court. He’s got some serious game.

Even so, we didn’t have a partnership with the GOAT Anna Leigh Waters on our bingo card for 2025.

The two announced earlier this week that they will be teaming up in mixed doubles at the upcoming U.S. Open Pickleball Championships.

Agassi has been heavily involved in pickleball for the past several years, releasing a signature line of paddles with JOOLA earlier this year, but this will be his professional debut.

Agassi and Waters will play their first match April 30 at noon ET at the annual event that has been hosted in Naples, Florida, since 2016.

The partnership was actually Waters' idea, telling CNBC that she had watched him play on YouTube and liked his game.

“We both tend to err on the aggressive side, and I think that works,” she said. “Andre’s goals are to grow the sport of pickleball, and that’s a huge goal of mine. I thought if we partnered together, this would be a really awesome way to grow the sport.”

Although he's looking forward to competing at the pro level, Agassi indicated he doesn't intend to play in more pro events.

“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,” he said. “I’m in a different season now.”

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PADDLE CORNER

Can adidas break through in the paddle market?

Adidas has been involved in pickleball for the past couple years, but 2025 has a different feel to it.

The iconic apparel and equipment brand made it clear earlier this year that it was ready to expand its footprint in the sport when they signed two players who were coming off big 2024 seasons:

Federico Staksrud: Was No. 1 in the world at the end of 2024 after a dominant season in which he won nine singles titles, five men's doubles titles and medaled in at least one division in all 24 PPA Tour events.

Mari Humberg: Had a breakout season in MLP last year with the New Jersey 5s, who finished runner-up to the Dallas Flash.

They joined Rafa Hewett – a longtime adidas player – to form a roster of pros that rivals what other major pickleball brands have at the game’s highest level.

While those moves generated a lot of buzz earlier this year, the brand is only continuing to gain momentum in the sport. Earlier this week the company released its new line of Metalbone paddles designed in conjunction with Staksrud, Hewett and Humberg – and if the early chatter from the pros is any indication, these paddles are going to be popular.

PICKLE DANCING

POV: When you only have pickleball dance moves

THE PROS

The 2025 MLP season starts today!

In Samin Odhwani’s mind, the reaction from JW Johnson after the Dallas Flash won the 2024 Major League Pickleball Championship tells you everything you need to know about the team league.

Johnson, normally one of the most stoic players on tour, threw his hat down, let out a roar and embraced his teammates with a huge smile on his face after they beat the New Jersey 5s in the final.

It was a reaction only MLP could bring out of a player like Johnson, Odhwani says, and that unmatched energy returns this week with the first event of the season: MLP Orlando.

“To garner that level of emotion from a player like JW was amazing,” Odhwani said. “An MLP title is the hardest trophy to win in pro pickleball because there’s only one that gets handed out every year.”

Building off of the thrilling end to the 2024 MLP season has been Odhwani’s main objective since becoming the Chief Strategy Officer of the United Pickleball Association at the beginning of the year.

We recently caught up with him for a state-of-the-union style interview discussing where MLP has been, where things stand heading into the 2025 season and where the league is headed this year and beyond.

Odhwani said he feels the league has done a good job building off of 2024 and has strong momentum heading into the 2025 season, which kicks off Thursday in Orlando.

TIPS FROM A PPA PRO

Know when to speed up

Pro player Connor Garnett here. Amateur pickleball players often ask how frequently they should speed up when I’m teaching camps and clinics. But the answer to that changes with every match and frequency shouldn’t be the question -- because if you can win every point by speeding it up, by all means go for it.

When I think about when to speed up I break it into a two-part question:

Did my opponent give me an easy enough dink to attack?
Can I gain an advantage in the point by speeding up?

If yes to both questions, fire away.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR BEFORE SPEEDING UP

When attacking out of the air: We are typically looking for a ball that's high enough to hit down on or drive straight through. It is also important that we are balanced as well when making contact, otherwise the shot won't be as effective.

When attacking off the bounce: I'm looking for a ball that allows me to get my bodyweight into the shot and maintain a height of the ball around waist level on my opponents.

Of course, there are times when I'll take a chance based on my opponent seeming a bit hesitant or if they are off balance. If the ball bounces high enough and I can get behind it quickly, I'll speed that ball up all day.

In a rare instance where we actually agree with the people trying to stop pickleball courts from being built, the Florida House of Representatives last week unanimously passed a bill that outlaws pickleball courts and other developments in Florida state parks.

The measure received broad support from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in a 113-0 vote, according to a news release from Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman’s office.

Gossett-Seidman helped craft House Bill 209 in response to public outcry last summer after plans were leaked showing the planned development of pickleball courts, golf courses and luxury hotels at some of Florida's most popular state parks.

While we can get on board with this move because state parks provide safe haven for wildlife and nature, we hope this stance doesn’t start getting applied to regular old community parks.

PRODUCT OF THE WEEK

Adidas dropped 10 new paddles this week 👀

Earlier we told you about the four new Metalbone paddles adidas released this week. But they also released several other models geared toward different types of players.

→ The RX Team ATTK and RX Team CTRL are high-performing paddles that come in an elongated and square shape and feature a traditional polypropylene honeycomb core with a fiberglass hitting surface for added pop.

→ The RX Carbon ATTK and RX Carbon CTRL also come in the elongated and square shapes but have raw carbon fiber hitting surfaces, which deliver good spin and more of a plush feel.

→ Adidas also has a new version of their Match paddle, which is geared toward beginners.

QUICK HITS

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