"I got penalized for having a shi**y backhand, why should people not be penalized for weaknesses?" - Andy Roddick calls for rule change during ball toss on serves
Andy Roddick started a debate on social media on Sunday by calling for a change in rules during the ball toss before serving in tennis matches. According to current rules, players are allowed to catch the ball after tossing to restart their serving process.
The 2003 US Open champion, however, believes that players should not be allowed to make a second attempt at their serve as the toss of the ball indicates the start of one's serving motion.
"I kinda think you shouldn’t be able to catch your toss, and try again. It’s part of the execution of a serve… Am I wrong on this? You’ve definitely started your motion once the toss goes up," he tweeted.
One fan replied by stating that it would unfairly penalize players who have a high toss. To this, the 40-year-old responded by saying that penalizing a player for his or her weakness was normal, taking the example of his backhand. During his playing days, it was a well-known fact that Roddick's weakness was his backhand, an area his opponents looked to exploit during matches.
"I got penalized for having a shitty backhand. Why should people not be penalized for weaknesses?" he asked.
@singler_w I got penalized for having a shitty backhand. Why should people not be penalized for weaknesses?
Another fan disagreed with the American, stating that a high toss is not a weakness, but "a shitty backhand is," and proceeded to call it "not the smartest comparison."
@andyroddick @singler_w A high toss is not a weakness, a shitty backhand is. Not the smartest comparison tbh.
Roddick, in his usual witty and sarcastic way, vowed to fully understand the game of tennis.
"I’ll do my best to get smarter to fully understand tennis," he replied.
@mietczynski @singler_w I’ll do my best to get smarter to fully understand tennis.
John Isner and Martina Navratilova agree with Andy Roddick's views on ball toss before serves
While fans have been divided on Andy Roddick's views, he has found backing in two fellow professionals from different generations - John Isner and Martina Navratilova.
Isner had the same views as his compatriot, though he worried that a rule change would affect those contesting the doubles the most.
"YES 100%. Half the doubles tour would be out of a job though," Isner tweeted.
YES 100%. Half the doubles tour would be out of a job though twitter.com/andyroddick/st…
This prompted Roddick and former American No. 1 Mardy Fish to take a dig at Isner, stating that it was he that was taking away jobs from doubles players.
@JohnIsner …….. you’ve already been taking their jobs
@JohnIsner That’s you though
Another player to agree with the 40-year-old was Martina Navratilova. The 18-time Major winner, who now works in broadcasting, responded by saying that a change in the rules would make things very interesting during matches.
"Was just talking about that today when doing a match. Agreed. It’s a live ball. Could be really interesting- like some serves would be good gets," she said.
@andyroddick Was just talking about that today when doing a match. Agreed. It’s a live ball. Could be really interesting- like some serves would be good gets:)