Andre Agassi Plays It Safe When Drilled on Wife Steffi Graf’s Pickleball Skills – ‘She Does a Couple of Things Better..’

The world of pickleball is set for a treat early next year with the announcement of ‘The Pickleball Slam’ exhibition match. Former tennis stars Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, John McEnroe, and Maria Sharapova will go head-to-head in what is being billed as a showcase of pickleball between some of the biggest names in tennis history.

Andre Agassi has been one of the biggest promoters of pickleball recently and was the driving force behind bringing this star-studded lineup together. “I’ve really gotten into pickleball in retirement and love the competitive spirit it brings out. When I floated the idea of a legends match to some fellow former players, the response was amazing,” Agassi said on The Pat McAfee Show on November 8th, 2023 where the match was announced.

Tennis legends to clash in highly-anticipated pickleball exhibition

From their discussion on the show, it seems Andre Agassi and his wife Steffi Graf are confident of defeating the Maria duo. Agassi gave a prompt reply when interviewed, “I’m curious with you and your wife steffie, do you have any friendly competition on who may be the better pickle ball player right now and who wins ?” 

Agassi goes on to say, “Oh my gosh ! Yeah so you know there’s obviously singles and doubles in Pickle and singles is a much more direct translation of tennis than Doubles. Doubles is an entirely kind of different sensibility if you will so singles we haven’t gone after each other because it’s a lot, it’s not as small as a court seems.” Being partners for life, Agassi went on to highlight his wife’s pickleball skills.

Andre Agassi added, “Things happen quickly because of the distance between two people and there’s a lot of ballistic urgent movements and it comes with a little bit more you say physical demand and risk but doubles we can really get out there and mix it up and honestly we’ve enjoyed being on the same side of the court so much, we haven’t gone after the other one. She does a couple of things better than me and a couple of things come more naturally to me than her based on our tennis game but we do make a good combo and I don’t think, I just don’t see John and Maria you know being able to live upto the standard we’re going to bring and I just like to highlight that.” While acknowledging that Graf has some skills that come more naturally to her tennis game and vice versa, Agassi said they make a good combo in doubles. He doesn’t think McEnroe and Sharapova will be able to match the level they will bring to this exhibition match.

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John McEnroe and Maria Sharapova team up

In a surprising teaming up of opponents from their playing days, McEnroe and Sharapova will join forces to take on Agassi and Graf. “When John asked me to partner up, I thought it could be fun. We didn’t always see eye to eye on the court but hopefully we can get along better on the pickleball court,” said Sharapova on the show, according to a quote from McAfee.

McEnroe added, “Maria was always so intense in tennis, I’m hoping she brings that same competitive fire to pickleball. With my experience and her athleticism, I think we’ve got a good shot at winning this thing.” He laughed, “Plus it will be fun to try and get under Andre and Steffi’s skin a little bit, that’s really what pickleball is all about for me.”

‘The Pickleball Slam’ promises to be an entertaining exhibition of the sport between some of the biggest names the tennis world has ever seen. While Agassi and Graf will be favorites given their long history together. However, the unorthodox team of McEnroe and Sharapova can’t be disregarded. This unique matchup is sure to bring new attention to the rapidly growing game of pickleball. Fans won’t want to miss the action when it takes place on the pickleball court in February 2024.

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