Pickleball - Rohan Bopanna vs Andre Agassi tie to be a curtain raiser
The tennis legends will feature in a promotional match in Mumbai on Friday, while the main tournament begins in January.
Tennis
India’s Rohan Bopanna and the USA’s Andre Agassi, both multiple Grand Slam champions in tennis, will kick-off the PWR DUPR India League 2025 with an exhibition pickleball match in Mumbai on Friday.
While the main tournament will begin in January next year, the Rohan Bopanna vs Andre Agassi match will take centrestage to promote pickleball, one of the fastest growing sports in the world.
“Not only can they both play nicely in the sandbox, but I think they can enhance one another,” Agassi explained on how tennis and pickleball can coexist and compliment each other.
Pickleball is a fast-paced paddle sport combining elements of tennis, badminton and ping-pong, played on a smaller court. The sport has reportedly seen a massive rise in India.
Agassi believes the sport will continue to grow fast and overtake tennis’ popularity in the country.
“In tennis, especially here in India, there are significant logistical challenges - space being a major one. It’s tough to find enough room for courts. In other countries, they face different issues, like bad weather, which forces them to build indoor courts and limits opportunities to play,” said the American tennis legend.
“Pickleball, on the other hand, requires much less space. I believe pickleball will continue to grow fast, but I don’t think it will cannibalise tennis in any way,” he added.
The Pickleball World Rankings’ (PWR) previously organised the India Masters tournament in New Delhi earlier this year. The lucrative India League will now follow suit.
After the Mumbai leg of the PWR DUPR Indian League in January 2025, the tournament will move to Japan. The league will continue across India later, visiting Ahmedabad in March, Pune in June, Bengaluru in August, Hyderabad in September, New Delhi in October and Chennai in November.