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“It Felt Weird”: Andy Roddick Hints at Favoring ATP After Finishing PTPA Interview With Novak Djokovic’s Colleagues

Nandini Rikhee
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There are not many tennis podcasts better than Andy Roddick’s ‘Served.’ The former American player keeps tennis enthusiasts engaged with his opinions on several matters in the sport. He recently had the Professional Tennis Players’ Association’s co-founder Vasek Pospisil and executive director Ahmad Nassar as guests on his podcast.

Though the conversation between the two parties was informative, Roddick wasn’t very happy with it. As soon as the episode with Pospisil and Nassar concluded, Roddick told his podcast producer, Michael Fiur, that he felt the conversation with PTPA officials was ‘weird’. He also mentioned that his earlier conversations used to be fun, but the latest one was unlike them.

Mike, on the other hand, felt it was a ‘great’ episode with a lot of information. He further suggested that they should also have someone from ATP on the podcast to put forth their opinions and the steps they have taken to elevate the sport of tennis.

“There was a lot. I mean listen the way you want but I felt weird but I guess that’s good. We never want to be the medium that avoids… disagreements, both ways,” said Roddick.

This statement from the former American tennis player further supports some fans’ belief that he is siding with the ATP. Many have criticized Roddick in the past for this, with one fan even accusing him of seeking sponsorship from the ATP for his podcast due to his support for Jannik Sinner in his doping case.

Roddick Responds to ATP Sponsorship Accusation

Roddick decided to school the fan and replied to him explaining how he owns an independent media company with his team working on their own content without getting influenced by anyone. He added that he doesn’t need ATP’s money and is already successful without it.

“I own my own media company. I don’t answer to anyone. I write my own shows, have a production team, and edit the shows in-house. Nobody dictates our content. You may like it and that’s fine. Haven’t taken a dime from ATP and don’t need their money. I’m about as anti-establishment as it gets in tennis media. Have done it all my way with my own team and zero input from outside,” responded Roddick.

This is also not the first time that Roddick has shown his disagreement with PTPA. In the past, he condemned the association for not doing anything other than issuing ‘press releases.’ This sparked criticism from Novak Djokovic’s fans, which subsequently led to heated arguments.

It also reached Nassar, who responded to this remark by offering to join him on his podcast along with Pospisil and clearly explain what the PTPA was doing.

About the author

Nandini Rikhee

Nandini Rikhee

Nandini Rikhee is a Tennis writer for The SportsRush. Having done her bachelors in Journalism from Lady Shri Ram College for women, Nandini has been working in the field of sports journalism for around 3 years now. During the course of this time, she got the opportunity to cover some major sports events and tournaments like the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games etc. She grew up watching Roger Federer hit his iconic backhand and Rafael Nadal his classic forehand. Being a Tennis enthusiast, working for this sport is a matter of delight for her as it helps her enjoy and love the work.

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