DALLAS, TX - Tennis legend Andre Agassi made headlines on Monday when his pickleball equipment and accessories partnership with JOOLA was announced to the world.

The eight-time Grand Slam champion later participated in a pickleball exhibition event at Life Time PENN 1 in New York City with players Brooke Buckner, Kate Fahey, Ryan Sherry and Genie Bouchard, former NBA star Kris Humphries, and Life Time Founder, Chairman and CEO Bahram Akradi.

While Agassi made a name for himself with a tennis racket, he clearly appreciates having a pickleball paddle in hand.

"If you have your weekend-warrior match in tennis and I give you tickets to Alcaraz-Nadal playing down the street, you’re going to give up playing to watch, but with pickleball, if I say the best are playing down the street, you’d say, 'Well, what about us? What about our game? We want to play.' It’s a real participation-centric activity," shared Agassi. "I love watching pickleball, but only until I get to that point of wanting to go play it."

Talk about a solid endorsement.

Agassi is a wonderful ambassador for America's fastest-growing sport.

“I’ve seen pickleball save so many tennis clubs because people come and play,” he said, referencing pickleball's remarkable growth in recent years. “This sport translates culture, it breaks down cultural barriers. It’s people, it’s community, anybody can play it.”

The former World No. 1 will undoubtedly help pickleball reach even greater heights in the months and years to come.

“I love the mental outlet and I like the physical outlet. And I like the fact that it's so community-driven. No matter what level you are at, when you come into the game, you enjoy it and you get better,“ noted Agassi. “As much as so many people are playing, I still see it in the infancy and I think it's only going to grow.“