Agassi, Graf, McEnroe and Sharapova to take part in second Pickleball Slam event

MY TENNIS LIFE: Sam Querrey attended the first Pickleball Slam event in April.

Four of the best tennis players in history will swap their racquets for paddles on the pickleball court at the second edition of the Pickleball Slam next February.

Andre Agassi and his wife, Stefanie Graf, will face John McEnroe and Maria Sharapova at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., also the home of the inaugural event this year, on Feb. 4, 2024. The first Pickelball Slam took place in April, and featured Agassi, McEnroe, Michael Chang and Andy Roddick.

Agassi and Roddick bested Chang and McEnroe in front of a capacity crowd, a match aired live on ESPN, for a $1 million cash prize and donations to a charity of their choice.

“After Andy and I took home the hardware at the first Pickleball Slam, I said I would be playing pickleball as long as I can walk—that’s how much I enjoy this game,” Agassi said, via a press release. “Naturally, I am so excited to share this experience with one of the best tennis players, my wife.”

Graf added that she's been "hooked" on pickleball since she watched the first Pickleball Slam, and took the court herself.

“Andre and I can’t wait to get back out on the court together to face off against Maria and John," she said.

The first event drew 669,000 viewers in a midday window on ESPN, per a report by Sports Business Journal. Next year's event will also air live on the network, following the NFL Pro Bowl in primetime.

"Following the success of the inaugural Pickleball Slam, we're excited to once again partner with and return to the Hard Rock and present SLAM 2 in primetime on ESPN, an ideal timeslot coming out of the network's coverage of the NFL Pro Bowl and a NBA regular season game," David Levy, the co-CEO of the event's producers, Horizon Sports & Experiences, added.

"It's great to have both John and Andre return for SLAM 2. In pairing them up with Stefanie and Maria, two of the greatest and most competitive players in the history of tennis, there's sure to be no shortage of incredible action and entertaining moments on the court."