Maria Sharapova congratulates "best duo" Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi for winning Pickleball Slam 2
Maria Sharapova recently extended her congratulations to the the "best duo" of Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi for winning Pickleball Slam 2.
The second edition of the Slam took place on February 4 at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida, with an astounding $1 million prize purse. The event witnessed the participation of John McEnroe and Sharapova, who were joined by James Blake. The trio faced off against Graf, Agassi and Jack Sock.
The Pickleball Slam consisted of three matches, with the first two matches being worth one point each and the final match being worth two points. In the opening match, Agassi and Sock defeated McEnroe and Blake with a score of 11-7, 9-11, 11-8. The second match saw Graf and Sock extending their lead as they defeated Sharapova and Blake (9-11, 11-8, 17-15.)
Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf entered the final match with a two-point lead. The duo went on to defeat John McEnroe and Maria Sharapova too, securing a resounding 11-7, 13-11 victory. With this triumph, Agassi and Graf achieved a flawless 4-0 record and secured the title.
Following Graf and Agassi's win, Sharapova took to social media to congratulate them hailing them as "the best duo."
"The best duo," Sharapova captioned her Instagram story.
Before the commencement of the Pickleball Slam, Maria Sharapova had revealed that her decision to participate in the Slam was due to her admiration for Steffi Graf.
"The main reason I wanted to participate in this event was to play against Steffi Graf, who I admired for so many years," she told Forbes.
Pickleball Slam 2023 outperformed a few MLB, NBA, and NHL matches in TV ratings
The inaugural edition of the Pickleball Slam witnessed the participation of American tennis legends Andre Agassi, John McEnroe, Michael Chang, and Andy Roddick. The event was broadcasted live on ESPN US, right before the 2023 March Madness women's championship game.
According to Yahoo News, ESPN's coverage of the Slam attracted an impressive viewership of 237,000 adults under the age of 50. It had an average of 669,000 viewers, reaching a peak of 796,000 during the doubles match that marked the event's conclusion.
The tournament proved to be a lucrative platform, generating a staggering 46.8 million adult advertising impressions for ESPN.
The viewership surpassed that of 13 nationally televised Major League Baseball (MLB) games, seven National Basketball Association (NBA) matchups, and five National Hockey League (NHL) games.
In fact, the Pickleball Slam even outperformed a few international soccer matches. Those included games from the Premier League, Liga MX, Bundesliga, and Major League Soccer (MLS).