Andre Agassi has not just joined pickleball. He is pulling people into it.
That much was clear at The Hood in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, where the eight-time Grand Slam champion and world No. 1 Ben Johns drew over 100 fans into an intimate but electric setting for the JOOLA Titans Tour 2026 exhibition. The energy in the room told the story before anyone said a word.
For Christian Didier Chin, the moment was personal. The 25-year-old local tennis ace turned padel pro once wore Agassi’s signature shoes as a kid. Seeing him in the flesh, in a pickleball context, landed differently.
“I don’t think anyone expected him to jump into pickleball and take it to the next level,” Chin told The Malay Mail. “It’s his charisma… his character. That’s what’s driving this.”
The impact, he said, goes well beyond nostalgia. Agassi’s involvement is giving Malaysian players something to aim toward—and starting them younger than ever.
“It gave more motivation for Malaysian players to want to play… to become something bigger,” Chin added.
Starting Out Young and Converting Others
Olympic badminton silver medallist Goh Liu Ying, 36, is already converting. The former shuttler has since traded smashes for paddles, and she sees exactly why the sport is growing so fast.
“Pickleball, the barrier to entry is lower. Shots are mostly below the waist and while there are nuances it’s pretty simple to learn,” she said. “I will say it’s more social.”
Goh has already begun introducing the sport to children through the Kidlympics programme, and the response has informed her thinking about where pickleball sits in Malaysia’s sporting landscape. “Either way it’s good that you have many sports around you to enjoy,” she said.
The Hood itself is a physical expression of what pickleball’s rise looks like on the ground. Owner Low Juan Shen, 32 and a former national badminton player, transformed what was once an abandoned exhibition space into a lifestyle-driven sports hub—courts, cafés, and what regulars have described as five-star toilets. He knows what is drawing people in, and it is not just the sport.
“Everyone dresses up, very Instagrammable… you got gang, you got group, you got the social aspect,” Low said.
He also knows who delivers the biggest pull at the door.
“If you say Ben Johns, pickleball people will know. But Agassi… everybody reacts.”
