"We lost the two greatest women of our sport to pickleball" - Steffi Graf and Maria Sharapova joining Pickleball Slam 2 disappoints tennis fans

Tennis fans were left disappointed by the announcement of Steffi Graf and Maria Sharapova taking part in the upcoming Pickleball Slam 2.

The inaugural Pickleball Slam, which featured Andre Agassi, John McEnroe, Andy Roddick and Michael Chang, enjoyed tremendous success. The event is now set to return for its second year.

The second edition of the Pickleball Slam will see the return of Agassi and McEnroe, who will be joined by fellow tennis legends Graf and Sharapova. Agassi and Graf will join forces against McEnroe and Sharapova for a $1 million purse.

The rising popularity of pickleball, particularly in the USA, has been a cause for concern among fans over its potential negative impact on tennis. The recent announcement of Pickleball Slam 2 has only deepened the fans' dismay.

One of the fans lamented the news of Maria Sharapova and Steffi Graf joining the second Pickleball Slam event, seeing it as a loss for tennis.

"We lost the two greatest women of our sport to pickleball," the fan tweeted.

Screenshot of tweet by @nnakalinskaya

Another fan was disappointed with the news of Graf's involvement given the 22-time Grand Slam champion's absence from the tennis scene over the past two decades.

"Steffi not getting involved in the tennis world in any capacity for the past 20 years but doing this," the fan commented.

Screenshot of tweet by @sogsupreme

One user urged Sharapova to request a wild card into a WTA tournament instead of competing in the pickleball event.

"Maria pick up the racket and request a main draw WC instead of Pickleball," the user posted.

Screenshot of tweet by @thetraintruther

Here are a few more fan reactions:

Screenshot of tweet by @socorooopova

Screenshot of tweet by @lau_rar

Screenshot of tweet by @moonballs_

Screenshot of tweet by @LillaMay

Screenshot of tweet by @NorthCaroliNats

Screenshot of tweet by @radiustachyon

Screenshot of tweet by @goobertilaker

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A brief look at the career achievements of Steffi Graf and Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova won the 2014 French Open

Widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Steffi Graf won 22 Grand Slam titles over the course of her illustrious career.

She ranks only behind Serena Williams in the Open Era record for Majors won by a woman. The German also held the coveted World No. 1 ranking for 377 weeks, a record that stood until February this year when Novak Djokovic eclipsed the mark.

In 1988 Graf completed the Golden Slam, becoming the first and only singles player to win each of the four Majors and the Olympic gold medal in the same calendar year. Additionally, she is the only player to win all four Grand Slams at least four times.

Meanwhile, Maria Sharapova enjoyed a hugely successful career of her own. She won five Major titles over the course of her career, and is one of only 10 women to achieve the Career Grand Slam. The Russian also won the Olympic silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics.

She ascended to World No. 1 in 2005, becoming the first Russian woman to claim the top spot in the WTA rankings.