He’s a man of many titles. To name a few: Former world No. 1 tennis player. Eight-time major champion, claiming titles in each of the four major tennis tournaments — Wimbledon, the Australian Open, the French Open, and the U.S. Open — at least once. Olympic gold medalist. Father, husband, philanthropist. And, most recently, pickleball enthusiast. Andre Agassi has accomplished a lot on and off the court.
Since retiring from professional tennis in 2006, Agassi, 54, has kept busy. He published his memoir, Open, in 2009; expanded the efforts of his education-focused foundation (more on that in just a bit); and remained involved in the racquet-sports world, discovering the joy of pickleball along the way.
“I have this outlet athletically and physically,” Agassi says. “There are so many reasons why I can talk about loving pickleball.”
That passion has led to a growing awareness of and participation in the sport. In early 2024, Agassi was appointed the inaugural chair of Life Time’s newly formed pickleball and tennis board. Together with cochair Bahram Akradi, the company’s founder, chairman, and CEO, they’re expanding racquet-sports access, enhancing programming, and building community across the nation.
“It was a no-brainer for me to participate in an organization that is the largest provider of pickleball by far,” Agassi explains.
Yet it’s playing the game that he enjoys most. “In tennis, I can push myself to extreme movement with the rotational wear and tear, and that really comes at a higher price for me at this stage. You wake up the next day and sometimes hurt in places that aren’t great places to hurt.
“I never feel that way after playing pickleball. If I hurt, it’s only muscular and soreness. It’s a good kind of pain.”
Along with his wife, fellow tennis star Steffi Graf, Agassi will be playing in the Pickleball Slam 3 in Las Vegas in February 2025. “My wife and I will be taking on [tennis stars] Andy Roddick and Genie Bouchard. I think it’s going to be an awesome matchup,” he says. “Steph and I have been playing a lot more together and have been enjoying pickleball as a couple in this new season of life.”
Agassi and Roddick were partners during the first Pickleball Slam, in April 2023. “I have fond memories of being with him that first year,” Agassi says. “I’m excited for him to be back and also to bring Genie to the event. She’s recognized by tennis athletes for how she’s embraced pickleball, and I have a great deal of appreciation for her.”
Beyond the Court
When he’s not on a pickleball court, Agassi spends time growing the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education. Since 1994, the organization has provided educational opportunities and resources to underserved populations.
“My philanthropic efforts have been focused on education, probably largely due to my own lack of education. With that lack of education, I sort of had a lack of choice in my life. And tennis was never really my choice; I just happened to be good at it. I struggled with my relationship with it for a lot of years,” he acknowledges.
“When I saw kids who didn’t really have a choice in their life, I was compelled to provide that through education,” he explains. “It has been so important to me to provide education in an equitable way to children who otherwise might not have that opportunity.”
With his close friend Bobby Turner, who taught him about navigating the business world, Agassi has opened 130 charter schools across the country.
“When you can find a private-sector solution to a daunting societal issue, you really have scalability and sustainability,” he notes. “And that’s what we’ve done.”
Q&A With Andre Agassi
Experience Life | You are the inaugural chair of the racquet-sports board at Life Time. Can you explain how that started and what it entails?
Andre Agassi | This started 15 years ago when I met Bahram Akradi, and we grew close with no business overlap or interest together — just a mutual respect for the other one’s world and execution of it.
A few years back, we started chatting about how it would be fun to do some things together that would be mutually beneficial. Bahram then approached me with this idea of the racquet-sports board maybe a year and a half ago and said, “I would love for you to sit on my team and be a voice of experience and direction.”
Bahram and I have talked so passionately about the growth of pickleball specifically, along with all racquet-sport endeavors, which is my background. I took him up on it and said to him, “Let’s see how this goes. If I can provide inspiration and hopefully guidance for how to best grow the things we love as individuals and Life Time as a company, that makes the world a better place.”
EL | Have you been playing more pickleball since taking on a more official role in growing the sport?
AA | My passion for pickleball would have continued regardless, but I have more reason to engage and to understand the sport through different lenses now. I can see the sport through the participation side of it, in some cases the facility side of it, and just the overall business side of it.
As it relates to Life Time, it’s definitely given me the platform to play more pickleball. But most importantly, it’s motivated me to understand the direction that pickleball can go.
EL | Do you prefer to play singles or doubles?
AA | With the right foursome for doubles — meaning an equal level of abilities — I think doubles pickleball is more enjoyable. Singles is just more straightforward — explosive and shot making — and I always know what I’m going to get. It’s always going to be a great workout and I’m going to get better. If you have the wrong matchup in doubles, you’re not going to get better.
EL | What kind of movement brings you the most joy or satisfaction?
AA Obviously I play pickleball and tennis, but I also enjoy golf and snowboarding too. When the family gets together, we enjoy snowboarding over certain seasons of the year. I typically need to distract myself with traditional workouts, and playing sports is a great way of doing that. I also prefer playing sports outside; getting vitamin D from the sun is a bonus.
Photography: Kwaku Alston for foureleven.agency, Grooming: Mahie Stoner; Wardrobe: Nike. This article originally appeared as “A Whole New Focus” in the January/February 2025 issue of Experience Life.
This Post Has 3 Comments
Wow, great article! I had no idea LT had a Racquet-Sports Board. This is wonderful and I’m very excited to see where LT goes with pickleball expansion.
I love Andre Agassi’s content! I hope we see more space dedicated to pickleball in the future, as it continues to grow in popularity and bring joy to many. 💪🏼👏🏻
I happen to be fortunate to have seen Agassi play tennis many years ago in Los Angeles. Truly phenomenal career that has inspired so much. Now, as a member of Life Time, I’m going to pickleball. Thank you, Andre, for awesome, soulful memories in tennis.