"Pro tennis player playing pickleball" - Mardy Fish amused by sight of Steph Curry shooting from FIBA lines

Mardy Fish jokingly compared Steph Curry shooting from the FIBA (International Basketball Federation) lines to tennis players playing pickleball. Steph Curry is part of the star-studded lineup of USA's basketball team which will be competing at the upcoming Paris Olympics.

Recently, Curry was videographed practicing his shooting from the FIBA line. The FIBA's 3-point line is 6.75 meters off the baseline while NBA's is 7.34 meters away.

Fish quipped that Curry shooting from the FIBA line was similar to a tennis player playing pickleball, implying that tennis players would find a pickleball court very small.

"That’s the equivalent of a pro tennis player playing pickleball," Mardy Fish joked.

A fan commented that this was possibly a jibe at tennis players who pick up pickleball after retirement.

"Jack Sock catching strays," the fan wrote.

Fish clarified that it was not a dig at Jack Sock, who is now a professional pickleball player after retiring from tennis.

"That’s not a stray. He’s the best in the world in like 5 months," Fish replied.

screengrab from X

Fish is an investor in a pickleball club, Miami Pickleball Club, joining tennis stars such as Nick Krygios and Naomi Osaka.

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Mardy Fish - "Tennis is reactive. In golf, it’s the opposite"

Mardy Fish at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions (Source: GETTY)

Mardy Fish is one of the few sportspersons who have played more than one sport and can point out the difference between the two from personal experience. Fish is a mainstay in the 'Pro Players Tour', which is a celebrity golf circuit, and talked about the difference between golf and tennis.

The American said to Golf.com that it was impossible to predict what would happen next in golf.

“Golf is the craziest game. You really have no idea what’s going to happen from one round to another, even from one shot to the next. You could play a terrible front nine and then have the best back nine of your life. You can’t predict what’s coming. So don’t even try," Fish said.

In his view, tennis was a reactive sport while golf allowed a lot more time to think about the next move.

“In tennis, there wasn’t a lot of let up. It was also reactive. In golf, it’s the opposite. You get a ton of time to think, and that can take you places that aren’t good for your mental state. In tennis, I was trained to never let my focus waver. In golf, you’ve got to cut yourself some slack,” he said.

Mardy Fish has won the 2020 American Century Celebrity Golf Championship and the Diamond Resorts Invitational/TOC thrice.