"No one's going to ask me to play after watching this": John McEnroe jokes about retiring after losing Pickleball Slam 2 to Andre Agassi & Steffi Graf
John McEnroe joked about retirement after tasting defeat at the hands of Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi at Pickleball Slam 2.
McEnroe was partnered by Maria Sharapova at Pickleball Slam 2, which was hosted by Hollywood, Florida's Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. The duo was spearheading a team against another led by arguably tennis' most famous couple, Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi. It was an embarrassing showing from Team McEnroe and Sharapova, which lost all 3 doubles matches it featured in.
In the first match, McEnroe and partner James Blake took on Agassi and Jack Sock and suffered a 7-11, 11-9, 8-11 loss. Sharapova and Blake were partners in the next match, but they did not fare any better, as they lost to Graf and Sock 11-9, 8-11, 5-17. The results of these two matches tipped the scales in Team Graf-Agassi's favor, as they led 2-0 going into the final.
The final doubles match was worth two points, and it saw the respective team leaders partnering up. However, McEnroe and Sharapova were thoroughly outclassed by Graf and Agassi 7-11, 11-13. As a result, it was an abject 0-4 humiliation for Team McEnroe-Sharapova and a pure delight for Team Graf-Agassi as it took home the trophy along with the $1 million reward.
After the conclusion of the event, McEnroe joked that his pickleball career was not shaping up to what he thought it would.
"I don't think that the pickleball thing's going to happen," the 64-year-old said.
The former ATP World No. 1 also joked about 'retiring' from the sport.
"I may be retiring but that's also because no one's going to ask me to play anything after watching this."
John McEnroe came out on the losing side at the inaugural edition of the Pickleball Slam as well
In 2023, Michael Chang partnered with John McEnroe against the duo of Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick at the inaugural Pickleball Slam. Last year, the format was slightly different compared to this year's format, as it featured two singles matches and a doubles encounter. However, even then, Team McEnroe-Chang came out second-best.
McEnroe defeated Agassi in the first singles match 15-13, 16-14. However, Roddick leveled matters after beating Chang 15-10, 15-10. The deciding doubles match went in Team Agassi-Roddick's favor, as it clinched the final 21-15, 21-23, 12-10.
During the final, McEnroe also stirred up some controversy as he cut a frustrated figure after he was found guilty of multiple foot faults.