Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi take home $1 million prize pool and electric guitars after beating Maria Sharapova, John McEnroe in Pickleball Slam 2

Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi downed Maria Sharapova and John McEnroe in the final of Pickleball Slam 2 to take home the $1 million prize money. The Graf-Agassi duo won the final 11-7, 13-11.

The event, which took place in Seminole Hard Rock Casino, Hollywood, Florida, on Sunday (February 4) featured three doubles matches between two teams. Graf and Agassi spearheaded one team while Sharapova and McEnroe led the other.

In the first doubles match, Agassi partnered Jack Sock, with the duo beating McEnroe and James Blake 11-7, 9-11, 11-8. The next match saw Graf and Sock clinch a 9-11, 11-8, 17-5 victory against the duo of Sharapova and Blake. The victors were rewarded a point per match.

As a result, Graf and Agassi went into the final match against Sharapova and McEnroe leading 2-0. In the final, the husband-wife duo came out on top with an 11-7, 13-11 scoreline in their favor. The win helped the tennis power couple's team to the $1 million prize pool. They were also presented with electric guitars following their victory.

After sweeping the event alongside his wife, Agassi talked about the two sports — tennis and pickleball — happily coexisting.

"The sports themselves, they can live and play happily in the sandbox. There's no reason why a tennis player can't have a paddle in their bag and pull it out at any time. Courts are everywhere now, and I think that's less and less", Andre Agassi said, via USA Today Sports.

---

John McEnroe cuts a frustrated figure after Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi's clean sweep

John McEnroe's team lost to Andre Agassi's team at Pickleball Slam 2.

At the inaugural edition of the Pickleball Slam held in April 2023, John McEnroe tasted defeat at the hands of Andy Roddick and Andre Agassi. Unlike the latest edition, the format was slightly different last time around as there were two singles matches and only one doubles contest.

While McEnroe came out on top against Agassi in their singles encounter, his teammate Michael Chang could not get the better of Andy Roddick. In the ultimate doubles match, McEnroe and Chang lost 15-21, 23-21, 10-12.

This time, McEnroe's frustrations boiled over as he threw his paddle a couple of times. After the event's conclusion, he took a cheeky look at his outburst and said, via the aforementioned source:

"I'm probably more frustrated, but I am getting older. So I'm trying to come up with something new, you know?"

McEnroe also opened up on his efforts to close the gap between pickleball and tennis.

"To me, tennis is always the king. But it's easy to play this (pickleball). That's why my friends play with me all the time."

After coming out on the losing side across two consecutive editions of the Pickleball Slam, McEnroe would be hoping to exact some revenge next time around; if he plays in the event next year.