Listen up, pro tennis players ... Rich Paul is offering some free business advice -- explaining to TMZ Sports he believes a career switch to pickleball could yield huge benefits for athletes if they officially traded in rackets for paddles.
Paul broke it all down for us at LAX this week ... about a month after he, Patrick Mahomes, Naomi Osaka, Nick Kyrgios and others joined forces to own a Major League Pickleball team.
The founder of Klutch Sports Group said he believes the sport is awesome and about to take off -- and noted that if a pro tennis player made the switch over now, it might lead to a big windfall of cash and fame later on.
"Those that play tennis that may be, you know, average or a little bit above average could be really great at this," Paul said. "It may be a little more lucrative."
He continued, "If I was someone who played a different sport that was kind of, what I would say would be an evolution or somewhat similar to another sport, and it was new, and it was hot and lucrative, I would take a look at it myself."
MLP began in 2021 with just eight teams -- but as the sport, played on a smaller version of a tennis court with paddles and a plastic ball with holes in it, has grown ... the org. expects to have 24 teams this year.
Paul's new squad will be one of the '23 additions to the league ... and he told us he's stoked for the potential it has, and the influx of talent that could be headed its way when people realize it.
As for his best friend LeBron James -- the King has also invested in MLP ... and is scheduled to actually compete against Paul's team this year.
Game on!!