Tennis icon Steffi Graf (53) actually came to Hollywood last Sunday (April 2nd) to cheer on her husband Andre Agassi (52) from the stands at the Pickleball Slam.
At the $1 million show tournament, he and Andy Roddick (40) played doubles against his eternal rival John McEnroe (64) and Michael Chang (51). However, said prankster and cult choleric McEnroe had a brilliant idea when he spotted Graf on the edge of the field – and so there was a brief duel between Graf and Agassi.
Footage from the hilarious event shows McEnroe putting his bat in Graf’s hand during an interview and asking her to step in for him. “I’m going to hurt myself – will you take care of me then?” jokes the 22-time Grand Slam winner towards McEnroe. Much to the delight of the audience and the commentators, she then proves her spontaneity and actually takes the vacant seat next to Chang for a few rallies.
Agassi triumphs over McEnroe
In the end, the Agassi/Roddick duo triumphed over the challengers McEnroe/Chang and pocketed the prize money. Pickleball is a small-sided sport that combines elements of tennis, table tennis and badminton. Pickleball was invented around 60 years ago in the USA, for several years it has enjoyed increasing popularity and has matured into a trend sport – also in Germany.
Pickleball has been a recognized sport in Germany for almost ten years, and the first German Pickleball Championships took place in 2019. Anyone who wants to see for themselves will have the opportunity in just a few days: The fourth edition of the tournament will take place in Gelsenkirchen from April 14th to 16th, according to the homepage of the German Pickleball Association. But then probably without Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi on the field.
In the video: Andre Agassi – sweet declaration of love to Steffi Graf
