Andre Agassi is still unbeaten at the Ares Pickleball Slam, and now he has another title to prove it. Agassi and James Blake defeated Anna Leigh Waters and Genie Bouchard on Wednesday night at Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, winning the made-for-TV Ares Pickleball Slam 4 and claiming the event’s $1 million purse. The victory made Agassi a four-time champion in the exhibition franchise after he and Blake erased an early deficit and closed the night with a straight-game doubles win in front of a prime-time ESPN audience. Waters gave Team Waters-Bouchard the early edge by beating Blake in singles, but Agassi answered by taking his singles matchup against Bouchard before he and Blake controlled the deciding doubles contest to finish off a 3-1 overall victory. 
The event was built around a “Battle of the Sexes” theme, but it also served as another high-profile showcase for pickleball’s continued rise. Organizers returned the fourth edition of the Slam to Hollywood, where the franchise began, and staged it at Hard Rock Live, one of South Florida’s marquee entertainment venues. ESPN had promoted the three-match format in advance: Waters vs. Blake, Bouchard vs. Agassi, then the mixed doubles finale worth the most on the scoreboard. That structure gave the night some genuine momentum. Waters, the sport’s biggest current star, showed why quickly, taking over after a tight opening game and beating Blake 15-13, 15-5. Agassi then stabilized the men’s side of the matchup by outlasting Bouchard in three games, setting the stage for a winner-take-most doubles showdown. 
The most compelling Florida angle was not just the venue. Waters is a Florida native and the world No. 1 in women’s singles, doubles, and mixed doubles, arrived as the player with the most to lose in a novelty event that still carried real spotlight. She largely delivered. Waters handled Blake in singles and flashed the touch, pace, and precision that have made her the dominant figure in the pro game. But Agassi and Blake leaned on veteran tactics when the doubles match tightened, working points in a way that kept Waters from dictating as often as she had earlier in the night. Agassi said afterward that the strategy was to keep the ball away from her as much as possible, a telling acknowledgment of the respect Waters commanded from two former ATP stars. 
That was ultimately the difference. The opening doubles game was the match of the night, with long rallies and repeated momentum swings before Agassi and Blake escaped 25-23. Once they had that cushion, the experience gap showed a bit more clearly, and they closed out the second game to secure the title. For Agassi, it was another chapter in an unexpected post-retirement niche; his ATP Tour profile still reads like one of the sport’s great résumés, and now his Slam record in pickleball has become part of the sales pitch for this event. For South Florida, the night was another reminder of how often the region has become a landing spot for major racket-sports showcases, from tennis to the newer pickleball boom. Even in an exhibition setting, the crowd got a recognizable mix of celebrity, competition, and stakes. And for a sport still pushing for bigger mainstream windows, a live ESPN stage in Broward County was a meaningful backdrop. 
Photo by Jeff Klein/Power Play Photo
