Roddick joins McEnroe, Agassi, Chang in competition at Pickleball Slam

When Andy Roddick agreed to join John McEnroe, Andre Agassi and Michael Chang at the Pickleball Slam, the 2003 U.S. Open champion figured he had two distinct advantages against the three other International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees participating in the made-for-TV exhibition in Hollywood, Fla.

At age 40, Roddick is the junior member of the quartet (McEnroe is 64, Agassi 52, Chang 51). And Roddick's serve, which topped 150 miles per hour back in his days on the tennis tour, was the fastest among the group of retired Grand Slam title winners who signed up for something that features a $1 million US purse and airs Sunday on ESPN at noon E.T., before the March Madness women's championship game.

"As I'm walking through the [pickleball] rules, I saw they took away my youth with [limited] movement, and they took away my serve with having to serve underhand," Roddick said with a chuckle, "so I'm not really sure what's left."

He will face Chang, then McEnroe will take on Agassi, before a McEnroe-Chang vs. Agassi-Roddick doubles competition at the Pickleball Slam — the latest in a series of attempts to draw eyeballs to a sport taking over courts in neighbourhoods all over while still finding its footing on television.

"Everyone likes it instantly. It's pretty well-regarded by people that play it," Roddick said. "But you also don't know if it will ever translate to TV and be a very watchable product without knowing the ins and outs and nuances that, frankly, I don't know that people have the time to learn."

With this much smack talk from <a href="https://twitter.com/andyroddick?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@andyroddick</a> , how can you not be here for the Slam just to see what <a