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Tennis icon Andre Agassi left the court mid-way through an exhibition match marking the Australian Open's opening ceremony. The American was competing in a doubles encounter alongside Roger Federer against Lleyton Hewitt and Pat Rafter. The contest was played as a best-of-three format with sets to four games. Hewitt and Rafter claimed the opening set 4-2, before Federer and Agassi drew level by winning the second set 4-2.

Prior to the third set, Agassi, the eldest of the quartet of former champions, welcomed surprise guest Ash Barty onto court. The Australian hung up her racquet in March 2022, just months after claiming the Australian Open title. She replaced Agassi on court, with him retreating to the sidelines to spectate the remainder of the match, whilst also offering humorous commentary and advice.

Federer and Barty proceeded to claim the third set 4-2 and clinch victory.

Agassi's withdrawal from proceedings followed what appeared to be Rafter playfully calling him a 'd***' during a light-hearted exchange between the pair.

Throughout the game, all five participants wore microphones, allowing any interaction between the players to be audible, resulting in several amusing moments.

Early in the second set, following a point won against Rafter, Agassi quipped: "Does that bring back some bad memories, Pat?"

Chuckling, the Australian responded: "You're such a d***". Agassi promptly quipped: "I can even feel Roger twitching over here", to which Rafter retorted: "I could say the same to Roger, too, but I don't, OK?"

Throughout their careers, Agassi held a favourable head-to-head record against Rafter, having triumphed in both encounters at the Australian Open. He defeated the local favourite in the semi-final in 2001, paving his way to clinching the third of his four titles at the tournament.

The match was peppered with friendly banter between the players. After the final point, Agassi returned to the court for a group hug at the net with all the players.

Following a brief intermission, all five players participated in an on-court interview with Jim Courier as part of the opening ceremony. This was succeeded by a more extensive one-on-one interview with Federer.