Waters and Agassi knew they were going to be on opposite sides of the net for this year’ s classic, and preevent jabs began to take center court early on.
“ I could never imagine in my wildest dreams that I would be playing Andre Agassi for $ 1 million, but here we are and I’ m going to have to take it to him,” said ALW, who is ranked # 1 on the PPA Tour and has amassed an astonishing 184 gold medals to go along with 43 Triple Crowns. Agassi responded,“ I’ m going to expose all of ALW’ s weaknesses.”
Long considered one of the most recognizable names in all of sports, Agassi has quickly become passionate about pickleball.
“ What I enjoy most about pickleball is I’ m always getting better at it. I like that feeling that I could be better at something, and it’ s such a physical outlet. I love how community-driven it is. I see people making friends in their 50s and 60s. The older you get, the less friends you have. Pickleball has really been a bridge to generations.
“ I have a very long and complicated history with tennis, so winning and getting over the finish line in tennis was always my biggest accomplishment, but also my hardest challenge. [ With ] pickleball, I don’ t have those same demons.”
Bouchard is another former tennis player who has crossed the bridge over to pickleball.“ Signing on to play in the PPA almost two years ago, I went from a full-time pro tennis player to a part-time tennis player, and on to pickleball in a way that was just a nice transition.”
Added Waters,“ I’ ve played against Genie a lot over the past couple of years, especially in singles, and she has improved a lot so I’ m excited to play with her and get to know her a little bit better.
" Fun fact: My tennis coach coached Genie early on in her career and I have one of her pro training towels in my house. It’ s pretty funny. I sent her a video thanking her for the towel when I was 10 or 11 and now here I am playing next to her... I wouldn’ t say it’ s a fan girl moment, but I guess it kind of is.”
Blake is perhaps the newest entry into the sport, but it didn’ t take long for the 10-time ATP Tour winner and member of the 2007 winning U. S. Davis Cup team to gain confidence on the smaller court. Like Agassi, he loves the feeling of getting better at a new activity.
TENNIS LEGENDS ANDRE AGASSI AND JAMES BLAKE DEFEATED PICKLEBALL PHENOM ANNA LEIGH WATERS AND FORMER TENNIS PRO EUGENIE BOUCHARD IN A " BATTLE OF THE SEXES " FORMAT.
“ It’ s something I’ ve always enjoyed. I’ m not getting any better at tennis, so the ability to get better at another racket sport and see the nuances is really enjoyable and it has taken me to a point where I really love the sport.”
Opening play in the Ares Pickleball Slam 4 was a singles match featuring Waters going up against Blake. That was followed by Bouchard facing Agassi, and then the marquee doubles match of Agassi and Blake taking on Waters and Bouchard.
Each singles match played a best of three format with each game playing to 15, while doubles action played to 21 points in a similar best of three setup.
Blake, perhaps the least experienced player of the foursome, started out strong, displaying quick hands at the net and kept Waters off-balance early in their singles game. At 10-9, Blake couldn’ t handle a sharp return from ALW, netting a forehand that evened the game at 10-all. After dropping the next two points, Waters called a timeout and then came storming back, winning the next 6 out of 7 points to take game one 16-13.
“ I love my time-outs. I love calling them,” said Waters.“ I felt like I needed a mental reset. I thought James was playing amazing and wanted to kill some momentum. [ I was thinking ] he’ s not used to time-outs in tennis— let’ s give him something new. I play off instinct and play some of my best when I’ m down. I came back to win, which gave me some confidence going into game two.”
The time-out may have worked to ALW’ s advantage in the next game as well when she jumped out to a quick 8-1 lead. Pace of play was electric at times and clearly favored the 19-year-old. Blake tried to come back with some more rushes to the net, but Waters’ passing strokes were on
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MAY / JUNE 2026 | MAGAZINE 51