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Tennis great Steffi Graf got bitten by pickleball's 'fun factor'

Nerves were rarely an issue for Steffi Graf during her decorated tennis career, even though she found herself playing on the sport’s biggest stages time and again.

To give of sense of the sport’s burgeoning popularity, a peak ESPN audience of close to one million watched on as she and husband Andre Agassi defeated John McEnroe and Maria Sharapova in Hollywood, Florida, last year. The small, 20-foot by 44-foot court means that pickleball is played with a greater sense of urgency than tennis, lending itself to those who rely on quick reactions and soft hands in other racket sports. They are, undeniably, some of the easiest racket sports to play, but tennis as a spectacle carries more historical significance and its top players are some of the most compelling, skillful and physically impressive athletes in the world.

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