MEGAN FUDGE CAPTURES GOLD IN THE PRO WOMEN ' S SINGLES DIVISION.
PHOTO BY MICHAEL GAUTHIER
As if the sport of pickleball needed any more residual hype, who comes along now but a tennis legend to grace the courts of the Pro Mixed Doubles division at the US Open in Naples, Florida. The name should be familiar to you: Andre Agassi. The eighttime Grand Slam singles champion was paired with another recognizable name, Anna Leigh Waters, who just happens to be the queen of the courts in the world of pickleball.
Agassi, winner of the career Golden Slam in tennis— and recently coming off a win at Pickleball Slam 3 in his hometown of Las Vegas— had high praise for ALW.“ 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.”
At 18 years old, ALW is the top-ranked women’ s player in the world and has accumulated an astonishing 173 PPA titles, including 148 gold medals while playing in all three divisions. She came into the US Open at East Naples Community Park on the Paradise Coast as the defending women’ s doubles and mixed doubles champion, having captured the latter title with JW Johnson. But for now, JW is out and Andre is in.
Agassi, who celebrated his 55th birthday at the tournament, had displayed supreme confidence on the tennis court throughout his career but was a bit apprehensive sharing the court with Anna Leigh at such a prestigious event, taking a lighthearted jab at himself:“ She’ s probably sick of winning so much, and that’ s why she called me and asked me to play.”
ALW did initiate the conversation with Agassi, and despite an early onset of nerves, was glad she did. Before the tournament, she said,“ While everyone is saying how excited they are to see Andre Agassi and me play together at the US Open Pickleball Championships, they don’ t realize how excited I am to play with AA!”
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MAY / JUNE 2025 | MAGAZINE 27