There’s no question that pickleball is one of the hottest sports on the planet, but it’s still getting a frosty reception from tennis great John McEnroe.
McEnroe and his brother, Patrick, were doing their alternate broadcast of the French Open called “The MacZone,” when they welcomed tennis star-turned pickleballer Genie Bouchard to the program.
McEnroe — not known to be one to bite his tongue — couldn’t help but take a shot at the nation’s favorite sport that your mom probably plays.
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“She leaves the sport to play that damn stupid pickleball,” he said.
Bouchard called him out, saying he played it too.
“I played two weekends, and they paid me more money for that than I got paid for tennis,” McEnroe said. “And I was playing tennis players, so that’s a little different than playing some pickleball people.”
See? He wasn’t playing pickleball; he was selling out. There’s a huge difference.
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McEnroe does have one major issue he thinks the sport needs to address, and it isn’t player compensation, which appears to be quite generous.
“The sound of the plastic ball; you know how when you hit a tennis ball it sounds awesome? But when you hit a pickleball, personally, I think [the sound] is a big negative,” McEnroe said after asking Bouchard if she found the sound annoying.
I get that. It’s not one of the better sports noises like the crack of the bat or the rev of an engine.
It sounds like what it is: a wiffle ball plinking and plonking off a court.
I still think the big stumbling block is the name. It’s just too goofy sounding.
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When I was in high school, my gym teacher made us play pickleball. Between the plastic ball and the dumb name, I thought he made it up. Hell, it was years before I realized it was a real thing, and not an excuse for him to sit in his office and set his fantasy football lineup while we took turns hitting each other with serves.
Nope. It turns out it’s very real.
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