Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images
In a tightly contested matchup at the Pickleball Slam, Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick defeated John McEnroe and Michael Chang 3-1 to win the $1 million purse.
The slam had two singles matches and one doubles match. The latter match was worth two points in the final scoring, while the former were worth one apiece. This was the first annual event, and it was played at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino & Hotel in Hollywood, Florida.
McEnroe defeated Agassi 15-13, 16-14 in the first singles match, while Roddick defeated Chang 15-10, 15-10 in the second. The doubles game was the decider in the slam, and Agassi and Roddick squeaked by 21-15, 21-23, 12-10.
This was a foray into professional pickleball for the four participants, but all of them came prominent tennis careers. Agassi won eight Grand Slam titles and McEnroe won seven, while Roddick and Chang each claimed one Grand Slam.
The event saw a lot of personality from the participants, as their reactions and arguments were audible for the audience. Tennis legend Steffi Graf also subbed in at one point to the delight of the crowd.
ManyArbs @manyarbs
Agassi/Roddick vs McEnroe/Chang on 2023 Pickleball Slam. As a child of the ’80’s’/’90’s this is about the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen.
Pickleball Rookie @PickleballNY
It’s never easy watching your childhood idols breathe heavy, but warts and all, #pickleballslam is pure joy and good for our growing sport. @pickleballslam @AndreAgassi @JohnMcEnroe
The Pickleball Slam was inspired by The Match golf series, which has featured the likes of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Tiger Woods and Patrick Mahomes. It was conceptualized by Horizon Sport and Experiences.
“What I was thinking was let’s take the concept of The Match, which I did at Turner back in 2018,” said Horizon co-CEO David Levy (via Chris Smith of Sports Business Journal) “Thinking about that from a pickleball perspective, we said ‘Wait a minute, it’s the fastest-growing sport in the U.S., so let’s take the best racquet player brand names in the world—McEnroe, Roddick, Agassi and Chang—and put them in a $1M purse live at the Hard Rock Casino.'”
