Andy Roddick might not be a stranger to high-pressure battles but his latest encounter against Andre Agassi left him fuming. Former partners in Pickleball Slam 1, whose camaraderie and coordination delighted everyone, stood across the net in the Slam’s third edition. Roddick also took a quirky yet funny jab at Agassi telling the latter “kicked out” him to bring his wife into his team. However, things got extra sizzling when a rule jeopardized Roddick’s chances against Agassi, showing how these legends are rediscovering their equation within the intricacies of a new sport.

For the unversed, the Pickleball Slam 3 featured 3 matches. After the first match between Agassi and Roddick, which the former won by 2-0, the second match was a doubles encounter with Steffi Graf and Mardy Fish representing Team Agasso and Eugenie Bouchard and John Iser representing Team Roddick. This match went in the favor of Team Agassi again by 2-0.

However, Team Roddick gained some control with Roddick himself teaming up with Bouchard in the second doubles encounter to overpower Agassi and Graf in Match 3 of the Slam. But Team Agassi eventually sealed the victory in the tiebreaker and took home a million-dollar prize. The event was a hit with the Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas being houseful. However, a moment between Roddick and Agassi during the first match caught some extra spotlight.

The Pickleball Slam’s official IG page shared an incident where Roddick returned a shot from Agassi before it could touch the court. Roddick’s mistake ended in the Volley Violation aka kitchen rule, resulting in a fault. This frustrated the former US Open champion as he yelled, “No no buddy, it’s a dumb rule.” Pickleball Slam’s IG profile shared the moment with a sarcastic dig at the former American tennis pro. “IT’S A DUMB RULE – @servedpodcast not 1️⃣ but 2️⃣ feet in the kitchen 😂😂,” they wrote.

The pickleball rules prohibit players from using a volley standing from a non-volley zone. A player could only return a volley from the non-volley zone if the ball had bounced, which didn’t happen in Roddick’s case. He returned the shot standing in the non-volley zone, often termed the kitchen, when his feet must have been outside. He lost the point to his opponent and expressed his frustration, which became a moment of entertainment and laughter in the stadium.

Roddick’s frustration goes back to the time when he issued a funny warning to his opponent Andre Agassi ahead of their Pickleball clash, a month ago. Dumped by his former partner, with whom he won the Pickleball Slam 2, Roddick expressed his sadness, all in jest. “This day was always coming, as soon as Andre dumped me from the winning team. Like, who wins and then gets dumped? I guess me, even worse when it’s by your idol. So, I’m coming for him! There’s no escape now! Andre’s stamina obviously isn’t what it once was. I think he legally collects social security now,” he said.

Although, in match 1, Roddick couldn’t live up to the expectations against his old tennis rival, he bounced back in match 3. “I worry the most about myself on the court. Like, I’ve literally played with a pro. We have to win; otherwise…it’s on me. It’s very squarely on my shoulders. Genie, I hope I live up to the very tiny expectations you have for my pickleball ability,” he had said earlier.

Despite a hard-fought battle, Andy Roddick couldn’t stop Andre Agassi from winning his third Pickleball Slam. Their pre-Slam trash-talk built quite an excitement among the audience, but deep down Roddick admired Agassi’s spirit and transparency hailing him as one of the finest in tennis.

Andy Roddick thinks Andre Agassi is “someone who is honest about his faults”

Andy Roddick, who enjoyed a sound career in the sport, once received great advice from Agassi on tour. In a video that was circulating on social media last year, he said about Agassi, “Andre Agassi was more generous with his time than he should have been when I was 17, 18 years old. He got a little quiet when I passed him in the rankings.” 

Roddick also hailed his Pickleball Slam 3 opponent as someone who never shies away from accepting his drawbacks. “He’s someone who is honest about his faults. I don’t know if anyone has read his book but if you haven’t you’re welcome. He’s won eight Grand Slams, gold medal, he’s one of the biggest crossover stars we’ve ever had and he wrote a book that was all about his faults which is fantastic,” Roddick remarked.

Continuing further, he added, “I was lucky because I was the one they were looking at, I had access to my idols which is a crazy thing to actually experience and live.” Interestingly, Agassi played against Roddick six times in his career but could win only once, in the 2003 Queen’s semi-final.

Talking to Jon Wertheim in an episode of his podcast, dated 23rd April 2024, Roddick reflected on their 2000 Miami Open clash, saying: “I woke up that morning [of the match] and I couldn’t comprehend the situation… the tournament in that he has won four times already, I try to stay off his way, I don’t know if he knows who I am, at that point we didn’t have an established relationship, He walks up and goes, ‘Hi Andy!’ He goes, ‘I’m Andre, we’ll have fun tonight.’ I’m like, ‘Okay, alright Andre Agassi.’ I literally couldn’t swallow, I couldn’t breathe,” he said. It was Roddick’s 2nd match on the ATP tour.

Andy Roddick might trash-talk or vent his frustration against Agassi, but deep down, he has immense respect for the legend for obvious reasons. However, that competiive spirit is still there. Once fierce opponents on the tennis court, they now battle over a Pickleball trophy. Did you enjoy their rivalry on the pickleball court?