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American tennis great Andre Agassi is set to visit India in January to officially flag off the PWR DUPR Indian Tour & League, a major pickleball event aimed at establishing the sport in the country.
Former World No. 1 Agassi, who boasts of an illustrious career with eight Grand Slam titles including four Australian Opens, a French Open, a Wimbledon, and two US Opens, as well as a gold medal in men's singles at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
"I'm excited to visit India and bring the excitement of pickleball to its fans. I look forward to the PWR DUPR Indian Tour & League and hope it will be a great success in the country," said an excited Agassi.
"We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Andre Agassi to India as he flags off the PWR DUPR Indian Tour & League. His involvement brings a tremendous boost to our efforts to promote pickleball in India and globally. Agassi's passion for the game and his legendary status in the world of sports will surely inspire players and fans alike, and we are confident that this league will set new benchmarks for pickleball in India," Pranav Kohli, CEO and Founder of PWR, said.
As per the Pickleball official website, the paddle and ball sport is one of the fastest-growing sports in the United States.
It combines elements of tennis, badminton and tennis and can be played as either singles or doubles, but is played on a smaller court than a tennis court with a lower net. The pickleball paddles are made of wood or other composite materials and the ball is plastic with small holes in it.
Former Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard was one of the big tennis stars who switched to pickleball last year along with Americans Jack Sock, Kaitlyn Christian, Sam Querrey and Donald Young.