Steffi Graf has rarely felt nervous throughout her illustrious tennis career, even on the sport’s biggest stages. But 25 years after retiring, the German legend with 22 Grand Slam titles is feeling nervous again when she steps out in front of a crowd. This time, on a pickleball court
The “fun factor” of pickleball
Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi, the world tennis power couple with a combined 30 Grand Slam titles, have left an indelible mark on the history of the sport. Graf, with 22 Grand Slam singles titles and a record 377 weeks as world No. 1, and Agassi, with eight Grand Slam titles and a unique playing style, were icons of tennis in the 1990s.
After retiring, Graf in 1999 and Agassi in 2006, it seemed that they would stick to tennis only through coaching or commentary roles. However, in recent years, the couple has unexpectedly turned to a new sport: pickleball.
For Graf and Agassi, this is not only a game of entertainment but also an opportunity for them to challenge themselves after years of dominating the tennis court. “I’ve been doing something I’ve been comfortable with all my life – playing tennis,” Graf told CNN Sport. “But pickleball challenged me in a completely different way.” Agassi, who has promoted the sport in India, said: “Tennis is the hardest racket sport, but pickleball is accessible and fun.” The two started playing pickleball regularly a few years ago, once or twice a week at their home in Las Vegas. They were quickly drawn to the “fun factor” of the game, a combination of quick reflexes, clever tactics and the sheer joy of being on the court.
Their tennis experience helped them adapt, but both Graf and Agassi admit that pickleball required a significant change in style. Graf, who is known for her powerful tennis shots, had to learn to slow down and control the tempo: “For me, it was really a process of unlearning old habits, which is one of the things I really enjoyed because it really challenged me,” she says. “I like hitting the ball hard in tennis, but in pickleball it’s not like that. It’s more about feel, about slowing down the tempo and slowing down the ball rather than hitting it hard all the time. Patience is not my strong point, but I’m enjoying the fact that it’s taken me out of my comfort zone.”
A New Playground for Legends
Graf openly admits that Agassi is the better pickleball player in their family. “He’s very good,” she says. “He plays more than I do, he’s physically much stronger and quicker. His feel for the game, the way he picks it up so quickly, is really amazing to see. It’s not like I haven’t seen that in other sports that he’s good at, but he picked up pickleball really quickly and loved analyzing it from the start, from watching videos to other clips. When he’s on the court with the pros, he always has very specific questions.”
Graf and Agassi’s shift to pickleball was marked by their participation in the Pickleball Slam series, where tennis legends compete for the grand prize. Agassi was a pioneer, participating from the inaugural event in 2023 alongside fellow tennis great Andy Roddick and winning against John McEnroe and Michael Chang. At Pickleball Slam 2 in 2024, Graf joined her husband’s team to replace Roddick and the pair defeated McEnroe-Maria Sharapova. Success continued at Pickleball Slam 3 (February 16, 2025) in Las Vegas, when they defeated Roddick and Eugenie Bouchard to defend their title, cementing Agassi’s unbeaten streak in the tournament.
The matches at Pickleball Slam were not only a chance for Graf and Agassi to show off their skills, but also a testament to their never-ending competitive spirit. “You can’t take away the competitiveness in us. It just happens,” Graf said. Their involvement also helped bring pickleball closer to the public, especially when the 2025 event attracted nearly 1 million online viewers and 6,750 live viewers at Michelob ULTRA Arena.
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