Andy Roddick has outlined the changes he wants to see made to professional tennis from the Professional Tennis Players Association’s lawsuit.
Following the lawsuit filed by the PTPA, a press release highlighted seven areas they believe have been ignored by the top people in tennis.
The timing of the lawsuit was an interesting one, given the Indian Wells Masters had just concluded and the Miami Open had just commenced.
Now former world Number one Andy Roddick has weighed in on some changes he thinks would make the tennis circuit a better place.
Andy Roddick explains what he wants changed in tennis
Over the past year certain players have complained about the gruelling tennis schedule.
There were short timeframes between some tournaments last year, such as Wimbledon and the Olympic Games and the US Open and Davis Cup. This is something Roddick wants to see change moving forward.
Furthermore, Roddick wants more prize money being distributed to players, one of the topics covered in the PTPA’s lawsuit against tennis’ governing bodies.
“We all want more prize money for players. But we have to deliver that in a responsible way. The fact that the Slams give 15 percent of total revenue to players is laughable,” Roddick said during an episode of his ‘Served’ podcast.
“Most of tennis Earth can easily agree that the schedule can’t be 11 months. We can’t have five days between sanction events for 2024 and 2025 – between Next Gen finals and United Cup starts.
“Let’s just agree on the most sane parts of what they said, which is pointing out problems which people largely know exist.
“We agree on the macro points and issues and the fact that the ATP needs to act with a sense of urgency sometimes instead of in self protection, and I think that goes for most organisations in tennis. Good people can make bad and wrong decisions over time.”
What did Andy Roddick say about the PTPA’s lawsuit?
While Roddick agrees with some of what was said in PTPA’s lawsuit, there is something that he is not happy with.
The American largely felt that those involved with producing this lawsuit did not do so in the correct manner, as Roddick claims some of tennis’ biggest names were not spoken to about the lawsuit.
“One of the other things as an example, in all their press this entire week. [They claim] we have had 250 different player conversations. I can’t have an opinion on that because I am not you, I wasn’t there, I can have no basis in fact to disagree with you,” Roddick explained.
“But what I do know is that you chose not to speak to Carlos Alcaraz, Coco Gauff and you didn’t run the language by your co-founder Novak Djokovic to the point where his comfort level would have been okay putting his name on this.
“I know Jack Draper didn’t hear from you. So for me I am going do I want you representing me if it’s the most obvious things in the world to talk to the people who are going to get asked about it the most.
“And to have clarity of message for the people who are going to be in front of the microphones. For them to say we haven’t even heard from you but then you are claiming this blanket coverage of conversations makes me go that’s probably b——— too.
“Maybe I am wrong but you didn’t speak to the most obvious mouth pieces but yet you are telling me you covered all your basis. You have done it in a bad way then.”
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