"If I hear one more time that it is the fastest growing sport, I'm gonna throw up": McEnroe still not a fan of pickleball

John McEnroe will play in the inaugural Pickleball Slam on April 2 at the Hard Rock Arena near Hollywood alongside Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick and Michael Chang.

They will compete for $1m in prize money and for McEnroe that was the deciding factor in him playing as star power looks to be brought to the fledgling cousin of tennis.

“This came to us, like, ‘What, you’re going to throw some money at us? OK,” McEnroe told the Miami Herald.

“I’m an old man, way over the hill, but this is unpredictable,” he said. “Who knows how any of us are gonna do!”

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So much has been the hype of Pickleball that McEnroe went on to say that it makes him feel sick it being called the fastest growing sport and that the only got part is the competition.

“No, I don’t enjoy it. Tennis is my game. But it’s something I’ve been enjoying with friends because it’s sort of an equalizer. You can learn and pick it up and be reasonably good at it. My friends come and they think they can beat me.

"They forget I know something about the geometry of a court. I do like the camaraderie of pickleball. Playing for $1 million, that is enjoyable also. But the cement court ain’t exactly ideal for a 64-year-old man at this point.”

“i don’t look at pickleball like, ‘Oh my God this is great! If I hear one more time that pickleball is the fastest-growing sport I’m gonna throw up. I look at like, there’s the NFL and then there’s arena football.

"It’s hard to imagine something small like pickleball being great on TV. It’s like watching ping-pong on TV. Tough to see how that can really work. But I’ve had people say they started watching tennis because of pickleball. Hopefully it’ll be a win-win for both.”

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