Andre Agassi Hosts Inaugural National “Agassi Open Play Day” at Life Time Green Valley in His Hometown of Las Vegas to Celebrate Pickleball Boom

 

Tennis icon Andre Agassi traded in his racquet for a paddle today, Saturday, April 12, as he hosted the first-ever “Agassi Open Play Day,” a nationwide pickleball celebration in honor of National Pickleball Month. The event was held at Life Time Green Valley in Agassi’s hometown of Las Vegas, and was mirrored at more than 775 Life Time pickleball courts across the country.

Agassi was joined by Founder, Chairman and CEO Bahram Akradi of Life Time, a driving force behind the brand’s nationwide pickleball expansion, along with Maroon 5 lead guitarist and pickleball enthusiast James Valentine, professional pickleball standout Ryan Sherry, and 11-year-old pickleball phenom Jack Lowridge, a signed JOOLA athlete. Akradi and Agassi developed a friendship over their shared love of tennis more than 15 years ago, which in recent years, has extended to pickleball for both.

“When I talk about my involvement with pickleball I have to qualify it, because I used to be really good at something called tennis,” joked Agassi, who now serves as the chair of the Life Time Racquet Sports Board. He added, “There’s this assumption that I am really good at pickleball, but it’s not even about that. It’s about how much I enjoy it, how much it’s added to my life, how good it is for the mind and the body, and how good it is for communities. It brings people together. I hate to say it, and I don’t know if it is something I should admit, but my wife and I, we’re making new friends now, which can be hard to do as you get older, and it’s all because of pickleball.”

In between games, Agassi stopped to autograph a magazine for a fan – the cover of an original Tennis magazine that featured him on the cover. Agassi joked about his hair at the time – which set trends.

The three-hour event, which ran from 9 a.m. to noon PDT, welcomed dozens of both Life Time members and non-members for a day of open play, giveaways, and community connection. Among the featured prizes was the new Agassi x JOOLA Pro paddle, autographed by Agassi and given away at the event.

Celebrity and wellness media flocked to the event to catch a glimpse of Agassi in action and hear firsthand his take on the pickleball phenomenon that’s captivating everyone from school kids to Hollywood stars and retirees.

Across the U.S., thousands of players participated simultaneously, as Life Time brought people together for an unprecedented day of nationwide pickleball open play. The event spotlighted pickleball’s cross-generational appeal, with players of all ages coming together to celebrate a sport that, according to the 2023 APP Pickleball Participation Report, has reached more than 48 million players nationwide—with an average age of just 34.8 years old.

Life Time (NYSE: LTH) empowers people to live healthy, happy lives through its portfolio of more than 175 athletic country clubs across the United States and Canada, the complimentary, comprehensive Life Time app and nearly 30 of the most iconic athletic events in the country. The health and wellness pioneer uniquely serves people 90 days to 90+ years old through its healthy living, healthy aging, healthy entertainment communities and ecosystem, along with a range of healthy way of life programs and information, and the most trusted LTH nutritional supplements and products. Life Time was recently certified as a Great Place to Work®, reinforcing its commitment to fostering an exceptional workplace culture on behalf of its more than 42,000 dedicated team members.