In a major fillip for pickleball, tennis legend Andre Agassi kicked off the PWR DUPR India League at a grand event in Mumbai earlier today. Union Sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya lauded the initiative to launch the league and congratulated Times Group Managing Director Vineet Jain for his effort in growing the new age sport.

Agassi, the eight-time Grand Slam champion, spoke about his journey into the fast-growing sport and why he feels Pickleball is gaining popularity amongst the masses.

After a press conference, Agassi took on Indian tennis champion Rohan Bopanna in a friendly exhibition match. The two ace tennis stars displayed their Pickleball prowess and the audience lapped up everything they had to offer.

In his message for the Pickleball event, Honorable Union Minister Dr. Mansukh L. Mandaviya said, “It is a great pleasure to join you today for the launch of the PWR DUPR India League. As the world’s fastest-growing racket sport, pickleball is gaining immense popularity in India, and this league is a significant step forward in promoting the sport both here and globally. I would like to especially congratulate Shri Vineet Jain, MD, The Times Group for this wonderful initiative.

His role in promoting sports like Pickleball & Padel ball in India will go a long way in promoting the emerging sports in India. His commitment to nurturing sports is equally visible in the unparalleled sporting facilities which have been created at Bennett University. This is exactly what an emerging superpower like India needs. An all-around development of our youth.

PWR, the collaborative effort between The Times Group and Pickleball League Asia, along with the support of the Indian Pickleball Association, the Asian Pickleball Association, and the Global Pickleball Federation, is helping elevate India’s presence in the international pickleball community.

The success of the PWR DUPR India Masters in New Delhi, which attracted 100s of participants including international stars, along with Indian stars Armaan Bhatia and Aditya Ruhela, showed the incredible potential of this sport in India.

Building on this success, I hope the upcoming PWR DUPR India League, will feature top-tier global and Indian talent and will put India on the global map of Pickleball. It will inspire more young athletes across the nation to take up the sport.”

Addressing the gathering, Vineet Jain, MD, The Times Group, said, "We are clear that we want to make pickleball a very major mainstream sport in India and create a robust ecosystem benefitting players, fans, team owners, investors and infrastructure providers. Accordingly, we have signed up with the best global and Indian talent to play in our League.

I am especially thankful to our Honourable Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, for his kind words of support and encouragement to this new age sport. He could not be here in person but was kind enough to record a speech for the benefit of the Pickleball community in India and abroad.

The Times Group is proud to be an anchor investor in PWR, a path-breaking initiative that unifies the global pickleball community through its national and international league, tour events and ranking system. The Times Group is known for its innovation and for being ahead of the curve in every one of its initiatives.

To drive Pickleball’s popularity and take this sport to a larger audience, we have launched our digital platform “Pickleball Now” focused exclusively on pickleball content. We, along with the Indian Pickleball Association, plan to host the National Pickleball Championship from 23rd to 26th January 2025 at our Times Group's Bennett University --which is proud to have 10 pickleball courts.”

Expressing his excitement Pranav Kohli, CEO, Pickleball World Rankings (PWR), said, “I never envisaged that this would even be possible, but this has been a dream come true. I would like to thank Mr. Andre Agassi, thank you for making the trip. We're privileged also to have India's tennis legend, Mr. Rohan Bopanna. Finally, I would like to acknowledge Mr. Jonty Rhodes as well.

We've been privileged at PWR Group to partner with the Times Group and to bring the sport to this level. Mr. Vineet Jain, thank you so much. We met on a pickleball court and from there, his love for the sport showed through. It's great to have such a good benefactor for the sport and the sporting industry as such.

Pickleball is one of the most inclusive sports in the world. It's a sport that my daughter, my wife and my father can all play together on the same court and still have a competitive game. It’s where people like me, with my weight, can dream of playing against some of the fitter people on the court and live out our athletic fantasies. And at the same time, it's a sport where when you play singles or when you even play doubles at a very competitive level, it's one of the most difficult sports.

We see this sport getting into the Olympics in 2036 and we want the first gold medal to come from India. That's our vision at PWR. And with that embodied vision, today we want to announce an ecosystem for the players so that they can participate in leagues, participate in tournaments, participate in pathways, and not just in India, but across the globe.”

Talking about the experience, Andre Agassi said, “Over the last two years, I've been playing pickleball quite a lot. It's been a great outlet for me and my wife, a fantastic exercise. Those of you that watch it from a distance might think that it's all the way over. Maybe the old people have played it - but I guess I'm a little old - but I promise you, you can challenge yourself on any level that you pour yourself into it. I'm proud to be here on behalf of DUPR. It's the most accurate rating system in the sport, and I'm thrilled to have the opportunity and the platform to hopefully grow this sport globally. We have 30 million people in America now playing it, more or less, and I promise you it's still at its infancy.”

“I believe in the sport from top down, but I believe in it mostly from a participation standpoint, what it brings to people's lives individually, what it brings to communities, what it brings to bringing people together, which is what life is about… I'd say, you know, give pickleball a go, because that's all you have to do is try it a few times, and it'll be part of your life.”

Rohan Bopanna said, “It's really nice to be in an event where today India is picking up a new sport. It's trending, it's a vibe. It's nice to have you here Andre, and to learn and support a great sport like pickleball here in India. And I've also watched you play many, many times and it's lovely to have you here as well. It's nice when sportsmen come together to support other sports and I think congratulations and good luck for this league.”

Cricket legend Jonty Rhodes said, “Too often in India we speak about the wide sport (cricket) and it's obviously, as Rohan said, it's more than just a sport in India. But I've always pushed younger players, play something that gets you moving elastically. Also it opens up your vision. Because cricket is just linear, it's a straight line. You bowl in a straight line, you bat in a straight line.

And all these other sports will add to the game that you've chosen. And that's the one message that I have for people who want to pick up playing pickleball in India. The second thing is that it is a community… The importance of a community in developing talent and nurturing talent is essential. And I think that's what you're going to have here with pickleball, is a community that's ready. And no matter what the age is, the community is already there.”

Pickleball World Rankings (PWR) were introduced in July 2024 at a ceremony in Dubai by Pickleball League Asia Private Limited in collaboration with The Times Group. This was followed by the high-intensity PWR DUPR India Masters tournament in Delhi from October 24-27. In addition to the Mumbai league in early 2025, further events are planned in Indian cities such as Ahmedabad, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and New Delhi (in October 2025), as well as international events in Tsu, Japan.

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