"Cannot end well" - Andy Roddick's wife Brooklyn Decker reacts to his "smirk" while interviewing Novak Djokovic-led PTPA leaders after harsh criticism
Andy Roddick has sat down with Novak Djokovic-led PTPA's co-founder Vasek Pospisil and executive director Ahmad Nassar to discuss the organization's efforts. The meeting came about after Pospisil pushed back against Roddick's strong criticism of their apparent lack of accomplishments.
In a recent interview with New York Magazine, Roddick voiced his dissatisfaction with the lack of clear goals outlined by the PTPA, contending that the only action he had heard about was arranging professional photoshoots for players.
"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," Andy Roddick said.
Co-founder Vasek Pospisil defended the PTPA in a lengthy statement, listing the various deals the organization had struck. He also asserted that the goal of the organization "is to be the catalyst behind the much needed transformational change in this sport." However, the American remained unconvinced and continued his scathing criticism.
After facing backlash from fans, Andy Roddick deleted his posts on X and walked back his "harsh" statements. He also invited the Canadian to make an appearance on his podcast to discuss the matter in depth.
"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.
The discussion has since materialized on the 'Served with Andy Roddick' podcast. In a preview clip, executive director Ahmad Nassar addressed the organization's reluctance to reveal its list of members, revealing that players had been "threatened."
"We get this a lot. How many members? Where is the list of members? And without sounding cagey, these players have been threatened right?" Nassar said.
At Roddick's prompting, Nassar blamed the ATP for the threats, claiming that they had amended their bylaws to make it possible to revoke player benefits if they were part of any "rival group."
"The ATP amended its bylaws to say that you are not eligible for benefits, your pension, what they call platinum benefits, if you are a member of any sort of rival group. And they don't define that. They leave the discretion with themselves. It could be that on a Tuesday somebody says, 'I'm a member of the PTPA' and on a Wednesday, the ATP says, 'Oh well you're not eligible for your pension," he said.
In response, Roddick pressed Nassar on whether any players had actually lost their privileges. He also questioned whether Pospisil, a known PTPA member, had faced any repercussions from the ATP.
"Has that happened to anybody? Because Vasek says he's part of PTPA, have your benefits been pulled?" Roddick asked.
Andy Roddick's wife Brooklyn Decker poked fun at the former World No. 1 for sporting a familiar smirk in the clip, humorously remarking that the interview "cannot end well."
"Also ahahahahahaha I've seen that smirk more times than I can count. This cannot end well," Decker commented on Instagram.
"👀👀," she commented further.
"That's not an accomplishment" - Andy Roddick's now-deleted response to co-founder Vasek Pospisil remarks on PTPA's accomplishments
In a since-deleted post, Andy Roddick took issue with the list of the PTPA's accomplishments compiled by co-founder Vasek Pospisil. The former World No. 1 argued that striking trading card deals and organizing photoshoots and press releases did not count as worthy achievements.
Roddick also disclosed that he had spoken to former PTPA board members, who had reportedly claimed that the organization had achieved "nothing" of note.
"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," Andy 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.
Novak Djokovic, for his part, has maintained that the goal of the PTPA is to "give more power and more representation to the players." In an interview with ESPN last year, the Serb also shed light on the organization's tireless efforts to ensure players could make a "better livelihood" from the sport.