To those wondering what is the point of pickleball, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf proved it Sunday afternoon.
The point is to win.
It might not have been a triumph at the grassy Wimbledon Centre Court, but Agassi and Graf beat Andy Roddick and Genie Bouchard in the $1 million Pickleball Slam 3 at Michelob Ultra Arena. Agassi beat Roddick in singles to open the afternoon.
Graf and tennis prof Mardy Fish knocked off Bouchard and fellow tennis pro John Isner. Roddick/Bouchard took two of three sets over Agassi/Graf, setting up the “dreambreaker” deciding set, which Agassi and Fish teamed to capture and give the win to Agassi/Graf.
The rules, like the game itself, is an acquired experience. Serves are underhanded, you score only while serving, the foot fault line near the net (known as “the kitchen”) keeps the volleying at a safe distance. The balls are light and plastic, like Wiffle balls, and the paddles are about the size of racquetball paddles.
After the victory, Agassi’s energy level was still palpable — palpable, I tell you! He seemed not to notice the multicolored confetti, fired by cannons, covering the court.
“We are quarters mind, so it’s very personal, and it’s very nuanced,” Agassi said afterward. “There’s little margin for error. A little misfire leads to bad things happening, real quick.”
The volleying in this sport is like watching boxers trade shots, absent of course the physical punishment. But the game is mentally taxing.
“If I played tennis for two hours, I’d be physically tired, but endorphins would be going and I could go into a business meeting,” Agassi said. “If I play pickleball for two hours, I’m physically tired, but I underestimate how mentally tired I am, because you have to be so locked on what is happening. The slightest thing can change the game.”
Graf said she and Agassi don’t play against each other. There is no point in an in-house competition.
“The fun thing is that we play with each other, like what we had today. We know very well what the other one is going to do,” said Graf, a 22-time Grand Slam winner. “We play mainly mixed. Andre plays a lot of singles. I don’t. That’s basically a little harder, so I’ve been enjoying just playing with him.
“I have a lot of respect for the game, and I’m still learning it.”
The event was broadcast on ESPN. That’s the untested frontier for the fast-growing racquet sport (posting odds for the event at MGM Resort sports books would also have added some intrigue).
“This sport is in its infancy, even though 30 million people are playing it in America,” Agassi said. “It’s only growing in mass participation. Everybody gets better after a few minutes. But the billion-dollar question is, how it translates on TV.”
Agassi, a member of Las Vegas sports royalty, is sold on the sport.
“There are still some question marks, but I’m a big believer in this,” Agassi said. “I believe it adding the people’s lives, to helping the community, to how you can improve. I love all of it.”
The Vegas ‘SNL’ effect
I became a fan of “Saturday Night Live” in its second season, 1976, sneaking off to the old Zenith to catch the late-night adventure when my folks were asleep. I was the only fifth-grader in Pocatello who knew of Buck Henry. My impression of Steve Martin in the Festrunk Brothers sketches totally baffled the nuns at St. Anthony School. As Martin would say in the day, “Give that kid a special test.”
Looking at the show on its 50th anniversary, I feel how much Las Vegas has inspired its satire. Some of the city’s icons were mocked mercilessly. Leading the crusade were Bill Murray’s Nick the Lounge Singer (backed by Paul Shaffer, who would eventually headline a lounge show on the Strip, at Caesars’ Cleopatra’s Barge), Billy Crystal’s smarmy Sammy Davis Jr. portrayal, Joe Piscopo as Frank Sinatra (swapping lines with Eddie Murphy’s Stevie Wonder in “Ebony and Ivory” (“You are blind as a bat, and I have siiiight …”).
Will Ferrell took on Vegas entertainment legend Robert Goulet during his time on the show from 1995-2002, revising the character in Sunday night’s 50th-anniversary special. I met Goulet years after moving here and he was a gracious, and very funny individual.
Murray’s Nick portrayal returned in Friday’s “SNL50L The Homecoming Concert,” backed by Maya Rudolph, Cecily Strong and Ana Gasteyer. I have always loved the Nick character, and long before moving to Las Vegas I performed a credible rendition of a Vegas lounge singer myself.
Some entertainers in town have since said Nick (with his schmaltzy “Star Waaaaars!” rendition) tarnished the local lounge scene for decades. It didn’t help. But you can find great performers of all ilk, still, in our small-capacity venues. Like “SNL,” the town has grown up, and has kept its sense of humor.
Murray himself performed on Elvis’ stage, at International Theater at Westgate, in September during the Big Blues Bender. So it’s all good, as far as we’re concerned, and Nick is welcome, anytime.
Cool Hang Alert
On the topic of Vegas in its heyday, “The Rat Pack is Back” remains a great value show at the Copa Room at Tuscany Suites. Catch it 7:30 p.m. daily (dark Sundays), go totuscanylv.com for intel (Sinatra’s in the show, but Stevie is not).
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.