As we’ve previously reported, Pickleball Slam 2, the second iteration of the Pickleball Slam series, will be taking place at the Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, on February 4.
An Added Attraction
As an added attraction, an amateur pickleball event, open to all South Florida residents, has also been announced and will serve as the hors d’oeuvres to the main event. The tournament will take place on Friday and Saturday, February 2 and 3.
As Gary Curreri of sunsentinel.com reports, 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.
Eligibility Criteria
The Am-Slam features 64 teams (single-gender and mixed-gender teams allowed). To be eligible for registration, 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.
Telecast Live By ESPN
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.
Also taking part will be former tennis players turned pickleballers Jack Sock and James Blake – also the owner of the pro pickleball team, The Milwaukee Mashers. 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.
Minimizing The Learning Curve
“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 returns to where he had such great success at the Delray Beach Open in tennis.
“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.
“Many of my skills from tennis, such as quick twitch movement, hand-eye coordination, footwork, and knowing how to play with dimensions and angles, help my pickleball game,” said Sock.
A First-Of-Its-Kind Event
The inaugural Pickleball Slam was a first-of-its-kind event, and the afternoon telecast was the highest-rated competition in pickleball history.
David Levy, co-CEO of HS&E, said, “Following the success of the inaugural Pickleball Slam, we’re excited to 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.”
“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.”
A Combined Total Of 42 Tennis Grand Slams
Levy said the one significant change to this year’s event is that it will air live on primetime. He also pointed out 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 information and to register for the Amateur Slam Challenge, visit thepickleballslam.com.
The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino is situated in Miami Beach on Lincoln Road between Michigan Avenue and Lenox Avenue.
