A 55-year-old Andre Agassi showed that he is still capable of moments of brilliance as he teamed up with Coco Gauff against John McEnroe and Venus Williams for the Stars of the Open event on Thursday. Early on in the exhibition match, with him and Gauff up 5-3, the eight-time Grand Slam champion sent a diagonal forehand that left Venus Williams without an answer. The audience inside the Arthur Ashe Stadium, 23,000 strong, erupted in applause as Gauff, too, was stoked. Unfortunately, however, that spark of brilliance didn’t amount to much as the duo lost the match 12-10. That being said, the excitement was far from over, thanks to former USWNT star Alex Morgan.

Morgan made quite a show jogging onto the court as smoke cannons and applause heralded her entry onto the court, where she joined Gauff for a few hits with McEnroe and Williams. “I love it—the preparation,” the commentator said, making no secret of how impressed she was by the two-time FIFA World Cup winner’s enthusiasm. And if you are wondering if the swings lived up to the show, they did. 

Alex Morgan may be known for her footwork, but she just proved that she is a mean customer with the racquet, too. “Form is good!” came the verdict from the commentary box as she exchanged shots with Venus Williams. Soon, the trajectory of the ball changed, and it was McEnroe she was going up against, until Venus intervened only to net the ball, leading Gauff to joke, “She’s already doing better than Andre,” she joked. The commentator, who had praised her form, was once again thoroughly impressed.

“Once an athlete, always an athlete,” she said. No opposition there. But it’s funny how, not too long ago, Morgan wasn’t exactly excited to pick up a tennis racquet. 

Alex Morgan reveals her thoughts on tennis before teaming up with Coco Gauff

In 2023, when

Iga Swiatek and her friend, skiing maestro Mikael Shiffrin, were mulling over a potential doubles match, they decided on Ons Jabeur and Shiffrin’s fiance, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, as their opponents. The Tunisian ace, however, had her mind set on Alex Morgan. “@iga_swiatek @MikaelaShiffrin Count me in @alexmorgan13 maybe you wanna play with me, how is your serve? ” she sent out a tweet. Morgan, however, decided to respectfully turn down the invitation. “Love the game but not my serve, I’ll be watching though!” she replied.

But now, Morgan shared a special message for the tennis world. She stated, “My tennis skills may not be anywhere close to soccer skills, but at least I’m bringing the vibes 😎.” And that she did! Before entering the court to partner with Coco Gauff, she reacted to an X post by US Open Tennis and wrote, “Time to see what my backhand can do,” followed by a laughing emoji. 

In the end, through an Instagram Story, Morgan thanked the US Open and the sponsor, Chase, for the opportunity. Tell us what you thought about her time with the racquet. And to keep tabs on what’s going down at Flushing Meadows, head to EssentiallySports’ live blog of the US Open.