American sportscaster Kay Adams talked about her first tryst at covering tennis with the Netflix Slam 2024. She hosted the panel featuring stars like Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick. On her YouTube channel named Up & Adams Show with Kay Adams, she compared Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz to NFL stars Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes.
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Adams jokingly said she is not a competent tennis player but ‘had a blast’ covering it for the exhibition event. She called Agassi ‘the coolest dude ever’, clearly having enjoyed working with the eight-time Grand Slam winner.
She said she was drawn to the Netflix Slam 2024 because of the ‘passing of the baton’ storyline surrounding it. Adams hailed Nadal, calling him one of the best in the sport, and said it moved her how this match signified the change of guard.
She likened it to Tom Brady passing the torch over to Patrick Mahomes. Adams further said since Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz were both Spaniards, it was like Brady handing the baton over to Mahomes if both were in the same team. She termed the duo ‘GOAT’ and ‘young GOAT’, respectively.
Adams was quoted as saying in her podcast –
“Why I got compelled by it (Netflix Slam 2024) is the storyline. The storyline of this amazing Spaniard who has changed the game and is one of the best. You can make the argument for him for being the best, even though obviously (Novak) Djokovic has the numbers.
“But for him to be like, it’s like Brady to Mahomes passing the torch, if Mahomes was on the Patriots side. That’s what it was. It was like ‘This is all yours!’ and all these Spanish flags running around. It’s like ‘I’m giving it to you’ and he (Nadal) lost. It’s like you are a tough competitor. It’s like from the GOAT to the young GOAT if they were playing in the same team.”
For most of her career, Adams has covered the NFL. She most famously worked as a host for seven years for Good Morning Football. Her comparison arises from experience and holds weight.
Like Nadal, many also consider Brady the GOAT of his sport. He had a long career spanning 23 years and collected a horde of records and achievements. The quarterback is undoubtedly an all-time great in American football, a legacy not dissimilar to Nadal in tennis.
Mahomes, meanwhile, burst onto the scene in 2017. However, only seven seasons in, fans already hail him as one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL. Like Alcaraz, he too has collected some amazing records and laurels in only a few years.
Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz made the Netflix Slam 2024 a success
Further elaborating upon why tennis piqued her interest, Kay Adams remarked she was surprised at the number of NFL personalities at the Netflix Slam. The exhibition event, the streaming giant’s first foray into live tennis, was a roaring success. Many celebrities apart from the NFL stars descended and the thrilling encounter surely created a lot more fans of tennis. The arena in the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino was at full capacity, tickets being fully sold out.
Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz also helped bring in a lot of Spanish audiences. Many reports claim the Netflix Slam performed better than the Netflix Cup, the golf-F1 crossover streamed in 2023. While there is no confirmed news, rumours suggest that the Netflix Slam’s immense success means it will not be a one-off event. It could return in 2025, possibly bigger and better.
