destination for sports and entertainment , and this event is something truly special .”
Agassi was going for the three-peat after teaming up with Roddick in Slam 1 , then with his wife Steffi in Slam 2 . Between Andre and Steffi , they have 30 Grand Slam tennis titles to their credit .
“ I want to win very badly ,” said Roddick , winner of the 2003 US Open tennis tournament , prior to the event . “ Andre is my idol , and I need to beat him . We ’ re going to win . Andre is really old . Can you believe that Andre left me for his wife ?”
Former tennis pro Mardy Fish was the third member of Team Agassi while another tennis legend , John Isner , rounded out Team Roddick . “ I don ’ t play much pickleball , so I was trying to figure it out . It ’ s been pretty cool ,” said Fish , who plays to a single-digit handicap in golf as well .
Leading off the $ 1 million event was Agassi against Roddick in a best-of-three match , each game played to 15 . Agassi started off fast , going up 5-1 before Roddick settled in . With Agassi up 12-10 , a shot by Roddick was called out , which brought about a quizzical stare from Andy and a quick response from Andre : “ We are in Vegas . They ’ re always going to call the ball out .”
The packed crowd enjoyed the ongoing commentary from all the players throughout the two-hour event , especially from Agassi and Roddick . Agassi went on to take game one 15-11 . Roddick quickly went up 4-0 in game two , but Agassi ’ s quick hands and solid groundstrokes erased the gap and he led 9-8 after a backhand crosscourt winner . He closed out the match after Roddick netted a backhand return from Agassi . “ Andy is such an athlete . I had it going today with some shots at just the right time ,” said Agassi . Roddick countered , “ Andre is good at passing shots and I suck at volleying . Kind of the same old story .”
Match 2 of Pickleball Slam 3 showcased doubles action , as Graf and Fish looked across the net at Bouchard and Isner . With 107 singles titles , Steffi is considered by many to be one of the top female athletes of all time , while Fish was the top-rated American tennis player back in 2011 . Isner fired the most aces in ATP Tour history — an incredible 14,470 during his career . Bouchard was the first Canadian to reach a Grand Slam final when she played in the 2014 Wimbledon championship . Now she ’ s a regular player on the PPA Tour and recently defeated the third-ranked player in the world , Lea Jansen .
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Eugenie Bouchard with a patented forehand return from the kitchen line .
MARCH / APRIL 2025 | MAGAZINE 37