Soccer icon David Beckham has toasted a meeting with his ultimate tennis icon as a ‘bucket list moment’.

The former Manchester United, Real Madrid and England midfielder got a chance to meet up with tennis legend Andre Agassi, as the Las Vegas-born tennis legend attended the finals of the Miami Open.

Beckham is a co-owner of the Inter Miami soccer team and has a home in Florida, so he didn’t spurn an opportunity to meet up with a sporting great Agassi.

The former England captain is a huge tennis fan and has been a regular in the Wimbledon Royal Box in recent years, cheering on Scotland’s Andy Murray as he claimed two won titles at the All England Club.

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Yet as he met up with Agassi, Beckham revealed he has long been an admirer of showman Agassi as he posted this message on Instagram: “Bucket list moment. As a kid I had the racket, the over sized shorts, the walk & the hair and now I got to meet the man WOW what a morning & I got to see that backhand @agassi Thank you ”

 

Beckham’s love of tennis is long-standing and in recent years, he has also developed a passion for padel.

A mix between tennis and squash, padel is a fast-paced racket sport, with the court surrounded by a glass wall in a sport that is a cross between tennis and squash.

“It’s a sport that I got hooked on very suddenly. I train and have fun at the same time, and doing it in a place like this is fantastic,” said Beckham.

“You can play at any level, whether you’re a child or an adult. It’s growing a lot, even within the clubs I already know many friends and former teammates who are hooked and that’s incredible.”

Tennis has been a prominent sport in the Beckham family as his son Romeo was a fine junior player and flirted with the prospect of trying to make it as a tennis player.

Beckham paid out to have an expensive tennis court installed in the family home to assist Romeo, but his son eventually followed in his footsteps and started a career as a footballer.

While Beckham may be a big fan of padel, Agassi is a huge advocate of pickleball, which appears to be gathering mass appeal in America over the last couple of years.

While padel requires an expensive court for competitors to play on, pickelball is a cut-price racket sport by comparison and that may mean it leaves padel behind in the battle for popularity.

“I never thought I’d say this, as long as I can walk I’m playing pickleball, I can’t wait to get back on the court,” said Agassi of his new sporting passion.

“I love finally doing something I can actually get better at. I went downhill at tennis a long time ago, so this sport is great for me. Pickleball is where tennis players go to die, so I am officially dying!”