[CoachKandSportsguy]

McEnroe, Agassi, Graf and Sharapova playing pickleball?

Still lightning fast reflexes for all of them

[Laker14]

I watched. Enjoyed it more than I thought I would. It reenforced my belief that pickleball is different than tennis, but a strong tennis background is common amongst the best players.
Unfortunately, for me, I don't have much of a tennis background.

Also interesting for me was how, during the "pro" mixed doubles, as the match progressed, the men took more and more of the court. Common in high level mixed, to the point that it almost starts to look like a singles match.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Originally Posted by Laker14

Also interesting for me was how, during the "pro" mixed doubles, as the match progressed, the men took more and more of the court. Common in high level mixed, to the point that it almost starts to look like a singles match.

Yes, I saw that as well. I think that men are a bit more aggressive, especially when they think they can win, many of them just want to win, no matter against whom or with whom they are playing.

[Laker14]

Originally Posted by CoachKandSportsguy

Yes, I saw that as well. I think that men are a bit more aggressive, especially when they think they can win, many of them just want to win, no matter against whom or with whom they are playing.

In tournament mixed, it's expected. I don't like to play tournament mixed because I don't like to play that way, partly because I can't move well enough anymore to take the whole court. I tried it a couple of times, both times with partners I had not had a chance to practice with, and both times my partners got frustrated with me because I wasn't taking up 75% of the court. I didn't find it to be much fun.

Now, in rec play most women don't really want the guy to do that because they actually want to play the ball. I would want to as well. I've been on the court with guys who want to crowd me and keep pushing me into a smaller part of the court. Sometimes even after a brief conversation they continue to do it. Sometimes it takes a smart wrap on the arm with a paddle to get the point across more convincingly. OOPS, sorry, I thought that was my ball.

[Laker14]

a few more observations:
The fact that John McEnroe was the oldest player on the court, by quite a bit, was obvious when watching him move. I also get the impression he's the least dedicated to learning the game.

The hand-eye coordination of world-class tennis players makes this an easy transition for them.

In addition to being a marvelous athlete, Steffi gets more lovely as she ages delightfully.
Andre looks more like Dr. Evil than he looks like the Andre I remember from the 1980s.
Andre also looked like the player having the most fun.

[Bay Kid]

It was great to see my favorites from the past playing pickleball.

[ThirdOfFive]

Some great free advertising for the sport, at any rate.

Tennis stars (past and present) as well as athletes from other sports are investing big in professional pickleball. Naomi Osaka and Patrick Mahomes, for example, are investing jointly in one of the "major league" pickleball teams, as well as Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios together with several other well-heeled non-athletes. Tom Brady along with former tennis great Kim Clijsters have purchased another team. Other former greats are rumored to be investing as well: Maria Sharapova for example.

Former tennis greats competing in pickleball is a pretty good guarantee that the league will fly financially.