John
McEnroe and
Maria Sharapova will team up to face the duo of Andre Agassi and
Steffi Graf in a new
pickleball exhibition on February 4, 2024.
The
emergence of pickleball has attracted several former stars of the tennis world.
Both
John McEnroe and Andre Agassi previously participated in an exhibition in
Las Vegas alongside Michael Chang and Andy Roddick, but this time they're
aiming for mixed doubles.
Agassi will
team up with his wife and 23-times Grand Slam champion Steffi Graf, while
McEnroe will partner with former world No. 1 Maria Sharapova. Sharapova sent a
message to her fans to promote the event.
“I’m playing pickleball. Not just any pickleball, I am playing with John McEnroe against Steffi
Graf and Andre Agassi. Dare I say I’m getting a little competitive. Slightly
nervous and anxious," she said previously in a video on her X handle.
The
Instagram account Pickleball Slam took advantage of the situation to share a
video of a conversation between Sharapova and McEnroe in the form of an
interview. In the video, McEnroe directly asks Sharapova about her motivation
to compete for the $1 million prize.
McEnroe
mentioned that Sharapova probably would prefer playing on hard courts, although
he recalled that the Russian had no trouble on grass when she defeated Serena
Williams in the final of the 2004 Wimbledon. She secured her first Grand Slam title
at just 17 years old.
"I
think we could potentially arrange to have it on clay if you want. But I think
you're pretty good on the... To me, your hard courts was your best surface,
although I did see you beat Serena on the grass. So I like our chances, though.
You've just got to get sort of better and more motivated. Are you
motivated?" McEnroe asked rhetorically to which Sharapova replied in the
affirmative.