The Pickleball Slam was held at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and was broadcasted by ESPN on Sunday.
“I think it was a shot in the arm for us as old fogies that were on the tennis court, getting a chance to come with some crowd and energy that doesn’t happen too much anymore,” McEnroe told USA TODAY Sports.
McEnroe was undoubtedly the star of the show and was engaging with the fans with every big point. Agassi was also entertaining to watch.
“I got so into it,” Agassi told USA TODAY Sports.
“You’re doing something you have no familiarity with, so it just begs for total focus, and you focus too much and you lose perspective. So, it just got the energy going. It got the nerves going. It came together and it was fun. It was a blast for everybody.”
It didn’t take long for McEnroe to throw a fit and The Pickleball Slam jokingly posted a video of it on their Twitter account with the caption, “So this is what ‘McEnroe Meltdown’ looks like up close.”
So this is what a ‘McEnroe Meltdown’ looks like up close: pic.twitter.com/gnTsLXNerq
— The Pickleball Slam (@pickleballslam) April 2, 2023
At one point, there was an exchange between the referee and McEnroe, it went:
“She called it, man!” McEnroe shouted to Agassi.
“I did call the score,” the referee said.
“It’s the first argument I was won in 40 years,” McEnroe said. “But I don’t feel right because he wasn’t playing the rally.”
The point came off the board.
“I’ve never seen this side,” Agassi said to McEnroe as they resumed play.
Play announcer Chris Fowler later said:
“John’s tremendous at delivering the theatre, and I think early on his outbursts were theatrical, and later on they were authentic.”