Andy Roddick lends harsh criticism to Novak Djokovic-led PTPA for 'not doing much' for players, walks back statement later
Andy Roddick and PTPA co-founder Vasek Pospisil got into a rather surprising argument after the American accused the organization of not doing much to help players despite their claims to the controversy. Thankfully, peace was restored soon after Roddick walked back his statements and promised to discuss the situation at length in his podcast later.
It all started with an interview the former World No. 1 gave recently to New York Magazine, where he had raised some questions about the functionality of the Novak Djokovic-led PTPA (Professional Tennis Players Association).
Roddick had called out the lack of accomplishments of the association since their inception 2019, complaining that they have not clearly established what their goals were.
"I've had board members text me, and I said, "If you had to list your three accomplishments, what would it be?" It's like, "I don't know - press releases?" There was an email that went out. It was like, "We have professional photo shoots available for the players." But I don't know what the goals are," Roddick had said in the interview.
As transcripts of the interview reached social media, co-founder Vasek Pospisil took it upon himself to clarify the tennis body's goals to Roddick. Pospisil listed various deals the PTPA has stuck with partners to give players more access to airport lounges, trading card deals, suitcases, mental health programs and other benefits.
Pospisil added that these were all benefits that players did not get under the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) or the WTA (Women's Tennis Association), and urged patience with the organization to make more advances in the tennis eco-system.
"As you know, we as players do not truly have this within the ATP/WTA structure. There is the so-called “player advisory council” which is completely powerless in a pursuit of any meaningful change. This is why the @ptpaplayers was born and is essential," Pospisil said.
"Rome wasn’t built in a day.. but this is quite the start in such a short time frame. Players have wanted an association for decades and no one was able to get it off the ground or even really know where to begin. Many players over the years have talked a big game, few actually act," he added.
Vasek Pospisil assured Roddick that the PTPA was focussed on more than just press releases - an accusation that had been levied against them by the American in the first place - and extended him an invitation to come on board with them.
"Hard to describe how much work went into this the past 5+ years and, on a personal level, how much this journey has taken away from my own tennis career. I agree there’s still a lot to do but I assure you, as you can see above, we’ve done more than just press releases," Pospisil said.
"Our goal is to be the catalyst behind the much needed transformational change in this sport. This is what we are actively working towards. I can confidently say we are well on our way. We are the only organization that fights for the players and represents solely their interests. We both know how important a player’s association is for this sport.Would welcome you on-board with open arms," he added.
Andy Roddick, however, did not take kindly to the response. The former US Open champion did not think the list Pospisil gave out could be counted as worthy accomplishments. He also doubled down on his belief that the PTPA did not make clear where their focus was.
"I don't think that it's that I'm not up to speed. I don't think you all have done much. Seems to be press and photo shoots. You've negotiated trading card deals? Are you an agency? The list of accomplishments your CEO sent was hiring a bunch of people and communicating w slams....... That's not an accomplishment. I've literally asked former board members what has been accomplished and they said nothing," Roddick said.
"You sent out an email approaching yourselves for organizing the opportunity for photo shoot opps for players. Like I'm not sure where the focus is. Cool on lounge access at airports. Can be done w the right credit card usage I wouldn't have responded but the quote tweet nature of your tweet made it seem like you wanted a response," he added.
Roddick also did not seem to appreciate the 'bragging' tone taken up by Vasek Pospisil's response in what they have managed to bring to the table for players.
"Like are you seriously bragging about getting players a suitcase?" Andy Roddick said.
However, the American's response quickly got some pushback from fans, who responded to Roddick saying that he had misunderstood what Pospisil was trying to say. A few minutes later, the original response was taken down, with the former World No. 1 clarifying that he might have been "too harsh" in his takedown of the PTPA's goals.
Roddick, more importantly, extended Pospisil an invitation to come on to his 'Served with Andy Roddick' podcast and have a detailed discussion about the PTPA and explain to him why he was wrong to think they haven't accomplished much.
"Gonna delete as I feel this is harsh if true. People trying to help. Instead I’ll extend an open invite to come on @Served_Podcast and tell me why I’m wrong. I’m sure as Vasek put it, I simply don’t know what’s going on," Andy Roddick said.
In addition to co-founders Novak Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil, the PTPA also has an Executive Committee that includes the likes of Ons Jabeur, Paula Badosa, Taylor Townsend and Hubert Hurkacz.
In light of Andy Roddick's criticism, what has Novak Djokovic said about why he founded the PTPA?
As for why Novak Djokovic co-founded the PTPA with Vasek Pospisil in the first place, the Serb has been very clear -- he wants to give players more representation at the table, something he feels is not the current norm with the ATP and WTA leading the charge.
Speaking in an interview with ESPN last year, Djokovic stated his belief that the association had a bright future and was making 'huge strides' in accomplishing their goal of making players' voices heard.
"Tennis has an incredible tradition and we are very proud of it. But can we be at a better place collectively? Absolutely... We've been trying to obviously position ourselves in the ecosystem in such a way that will give more power and more representation to the players," Novak Djokovic said.
The PTPA is definitely making huge strides. And we're making sure that the players' voices and needs are heard. ... I mean for me personally, knowing that there's now a serious team of people in our association working day and night tirelessly to build this association, [to] make sure players have a better livelihood from tennis, is something that relaxes me. ... And I think the future is bright," he added.
In 2022, the PTPA hired Ahmad Nassar, who previously led NFL Players Inc. as President, as its Executive Director.