Playing Pickleball with Andre Agassi

What’s up, guys? This week we are talking about the poll results from last week, playing with Andre Agassi, my backhand roll lesson, and some upcoming paddles!

Last week I asked you guys what shape you were using. The results were interesting!

By far elongated paddles have been the most popular in the Pickleball industry, but last week the results went:

• Widebody 28.2%

• Hybrid: 47.6%

• Elongated: 24.2%

This is obviously a very small subset of the paddle market, and it is the very nerdy gear heavy focused side as well.

However, was still interesting to see that hybrid had almost 50% of the votes, and that widebody overtook elongated!

Sammy Lee helps me fix my backhand roll

• Watch video here

If you missed it, last week I posted a video where I took a lesson with one of our younger pros in Minnesota, Sammy Lee. He has a really nice backhand roll and I think a lot of people could learn something from it.

For me specifically, it was less about learning the mechanics of the shot (though, I could always improve) and more the mindset that I need to be ready for the ball after my roll. I tend to treat it like a finishing shot and am not ready for the follow up. That mindset shift when working with Sammy made a big difference in my ability to counter.

I think a lot of players should think in that mindset more. Particularly if you combine it with the “Triangle rule” to give you a better understanding of where the ball may come back to, so you can better anticipate the follow up counter.

Playing with Andre Agassi

• Watch video here

We also had the chance to play Pickleball with Andre Agassi.

This was a really fun experience, and Andre is a great player.

One thing that particularly stood out to me is that he is just a chill normal guy. He doesn’t act like he’s a big deal from his Tennis days, he talked about watching YouTube videos on Pickleball to work on his backhand, he’s passionate about the game, just a very down to earth guy.

It’s amazing how much Pickleball is an “equalizer” where regardless of your status in life, on the court everyone is often an equal. I think that’s one of the things that makes this sport so unique and I love it.

A lot of people have asked me if I was nervous, and to be honest, no I wasn’t. Maybe the first 3 points only because I knew if we lost, everyone would just make fun of me. 😂 But I think because of everyone feeling so equal on the Pickleball court, it really wasn’t that bad.

Though in hindsight watching the video, it is hilarious how many times I tried to tap paddles with Andre and did not connect. bahahah.

Hopefully we get the chance to play with him again in the future. Would be fun to play a match against him.

Upcoming paddles

Most of the upcoming paddles have been talked about, but I wanted to make a quick list for you guys just so you can stay in the loop.

• March 4th: Joola Perseus & Agassi Pro IV

  • Price: $279.99

• March 5th: Franklin C45

  • Price: $229.99

• March 18th: Gearbox Pro Ultimate Power 14mm

  • Price: $274.99

  • Shape: Only elongated

• Unknown date:

  • There is a new Gearbox GX2 paddles that I’m a bit excited for. I haven’t tested it thoroughly yet, but my initial impression was fairly positive. It’s the first time Gearbox has decided to do an edge guard with their SST core instead of edgeless.

🎙️ Latest podcast

If you missed it, this week we talked about the recent Chorus Fire USAP delisting, the new Perseus Pro IV and what we learned at the event, as well as some thoughts in the kitchen about the “triangle rule” that everyone talks about.