"Embarrassing for everyone involved": Not all reaction to Pickleball Slam has been positive with tennis fans weighing in

The recent surge in the popularity of Pickleball has not been sitting very well with tennis fans, especially in the United States.

The latest Pickleball event, the inaugural Pickleball Slam, was broadcast on Sunday April 2 on ESPN and featured retired tennis legends John McEnroe, Andre Agassi and others competing for a $1 million purse.

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VIDEO: The two types of Pickleball players featuring fired up McEnroe and muted Agassi

Tennis fans took to Twitter to vent their frustration at the growing support the paddle sport is receiving from within the tennis world itself. Bastien Fachan, author of the book 'Big Three,' made his views clear, with a candid tweet.

"Embarrassing for everyone involved," he tweeted.

Other fans chimed in, with several expressing their annoyance at the attention Pickleball was taking away from tennis.

"Please pour some of this attention and energy back into tennis. The sport is filled with growing storylines right now and your platform obviously has the reach to amplify them," wrote a user.

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"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

"This is what people play at the retirement home please give it up," said another tennis fan.

"For what it’s worth: Sure, play pickleball. Play ANYTHING. But watching pickleball on TV or in an arena? Watching tennis is watching Beyoncé. Watching pickleball is watching karaoke," said another opinionated user.

Bastien Fachan

@BastienFachan

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Embarrassing for everyone involved

ESPN

@espn

This pickleball rally 😱 John McEnroe was amped up after scoring a point 🔋 📺: 2023 @pickleballslam on ESPN

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