An amateur pickleball event, open to all South Florida residents, will kick off the Pickleball Slam 2 weekend (Feb. 2-3), in Miami Beach on Lincoln Road between Michigan and Lenox avenues.
Teams will compete for $25,000 in prize money and the chance to play against tennis legends Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, Maria Sharapova and John McEnroe.
The Am-Slam features 64 teams (single-gender and mixed-gender teams allowed) and teams cannot have a combined DUPR doubles rating over 8.5.
The top team from each group, 16 groups of four teams in each, will advance to a single-elimination bracket. The team that finishes second in group play will advance to a single-elimination consolation bracket.
The winner of the main draw and the consolation draw will face off against two of the legends in a game to 11. Additionally, fans can come out and watch for free both days, on Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Pickleball Slam 2 is returning to the Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood on Feb. 4.
The four legends will compete in SLAM 2 for a total prize purse of $1 million. Created and produced by Horizon Sports & Experiences and InsideOut Sports & Entertainment, it will be telecast live by ESPN at 8:30 p.m.
They will be joined by former tennis players turned pickleballers Jack Sock and James Blake, who is a pro pickleball team owner. There will be three matches: McEnroe/Blake vs. Agassi/Sock; Sharapova/Blake vs. Graf/Sock and McEnroe/Sharapova vs. Agassi/Graf.
Sock and Blake will both assist in coaching the two teams (Agassi/Graf and McEnroe/Sharapova) and they will compete in two of the matches before the main event on Sunday.
“I am fairly new to pickleball, but I feel like my experience playing tennis at a very high level will help minimize the learning curve,” said Sock, who is playing in the event just 30 minutes away from where he had such great success at the Delray Beach Open in tennis.
Sock said playing in South Florida brings so many positive memories due to the experiences he had here in his tennis days.
“There are a lot of things in pickleball that I can enjoy from my early tennis days such as hands battles, precise shots, the cat-and-mouse games,” he said. “Pickleball, for me, was such a joy when I first started playing. As a new father, it’s great that pickleball allows me to play competitively while also not having to travel the world all year to do so. So, it’s always a pleasure to play here competitively.”
Sock said tennis has played a huge part in his transition to pickleball. He said he’s unable to rely on his strong serve and physicality but will try and find advantages in other ways.
“Many of my skills from tennis such as quick twitch movement, hand-eye coordination, footwork, and knowing how to play with dimensions and angles helps my pickleball game,” Sock said. “Tennis and pickleball are completely different sports and the top pickleball players are good, so I have great respect for them. I’m very passionate about pickleball though, so my competitive fire will help drive me in trying to become the best pickleball player in the world… With a racket in my hand on any playing surface, I will always like my chances.”
The inaugural Pickleball Slam showcased McEnroe, Agassi, Andy Roddick and Michael Chang competing for a $1 million purse, the largest tournament purse in pickleball history.
The 2023 event was broadcast live on April 2 on ESPN before a record-breaking capacity crowd at Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood. A first-of-its-kind event, the afternoon telecast was the highest-rated competition in pickleball history.
“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 an NBA regular season game,” said David Levy, co-CEO of HS&E. “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.”
Levy said the one significant change to this year’s event is that it will air live on primetime. He noted that the four legends have a combined total of 42 grand slams in tennis.
“The inaugural Slam was a first-of-its-kind televised event that delivered on many levels from a record-breaking capacity crowd to strong social engagement to a telecast that peaked with nearly 800,000 viewers,” Levy said. “For our maiden voyage, the inaugural Slam not only met but exceeded our expectations and provided us with the opportunity to come back to South Florida this year.
“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 in a statement. “Naturally, I am so excited to share this experience with one of the best tennis players, my wife (Steffi Graff).”
For information and to register for the Amateur Slam Challenge, visit thepickleballslam.com.