“ As long as I can walk , I ’ m playing pickleball — that ’ s how much I enjoy this game .”
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“ As long as I can walk , I ’ m playing pickleball — that ’ s how much I enjoy this game .”
— ANDRE AGASSI
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Last April , after the inaugural Pickleball Slam , John McEnroe walked off the court disappointed from his loss . Andre Agassi had teamed up with Andy Roddick and outlasted McEnroe and Michael Chang , taking home the $ 1 million prize by winning the third-game tiebreaker 12- 10 . Always the competitor , he turned to David Levy , co- CEO of Horizon Sports and Experiences and organizer of the event , and said , “ I never thought I ’ d say this , but as long as I can walk I ’ m playing pickleball . I can ’ t wait to get back on the court !”
Levy knew he had his marquee name again and was poised to further enhance the Slam 2 event , adding a few matches prior to the showcase event and — rather than having it be a men ’ s doubles exclusive — introducing to the mix two of the greatest former women ’ s tennis players in the world : Steffi Graf and Maria Sharapova .
“ The main reason I wanted to participate in this event was to play against Steffi Graf , who I admired for so many years ,” said Sharapova . She didn ’ t have the chance in tennis competition to face Graf , who , at 22 Slams , owns more major titles than McEnroe ( 7 ), husband Agassi ( 8 ) and Sharapova ( 5 ) combined . She was also ranked # 1 in the world for an incredible 7½ years .
Never one short on confidence , however , Sharapova was ready for the challenge with her partner “ Johnny Mac ,” saying before the event , “ It ’ ll be great to compete against Steffi and Andre with John , and all of us playing this sport that ’ s having such a moment . I ’ ve been practicing a bunch , so we ’ ll see . But I think John and I are going to be a formidable team .”
Back home in Las Vegas , Agassi and Graf hit the courts as only world-class athletes know how , to get ready for the showdown with McEnroe and Sharapova . “ Mac is one of those guys who you don ’ t have to overthink your strategy because he kind of defeats himself , and I ’ m kind of counting on that as game plan A ,” said Agassi . “ But game plan B is going to be so much better , with my wife — my secret weapon . Her learning curve is like the greatest German engineering you ’ ve ever seen . We have 30 Grand Slams between us , and Mac has seven . I ’ m worried about Maria though , because if she gets into pickleball I can see her being very effective .”
As with all former tennis champions , the transition from one court to the next takes some getting used to and it was no different for Graf , who possessed perhaps
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MARCH / APRIL 2024 | MAGAZINE 31