It seems like the beef between Novak Djokovic’s fans and Andy Roddick is yet to settle. The two players clashed on the Tour a total of 9 times, with the head-to-head score at 5-4 in the American’s favor, but they mostly had a cordial relationship. Roddick often agreed with Djokovic’s takes on various issues in the tennis world, but for once, the retired player has criticism for the Serbian today. And it has to do with his organization, the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA). But as Roddick put forward his opinion on PTPA, some of the Djokovic’s fans got into a heated debate with him on the social networking site X. Let’s dive deep into the story.

The PTPA has been in existence since 2019 and is slowly making its way up to fight battles in the players’ stead. But for Roddick, they have not done much other than “press releases.” However, as Roddick made that claim, a fan stepped into the scene to accuse Roddick of mudslinging at an organization with ‘limited funds’. And the former World No. 1 was not having it.

The fan wrote, “@andyroddick takes a dig at an organization that’s with limited funding, and a lot of opposition trying to make good in small steps for pro players worldwide. When asked what he’s done for players he props up that he has an org. feeding kids. No Andy, we asked about the players.”

In response, Roddick spit out some facts, “Wait wait wait ….. limited funding ? They’re literally backed by a billionaire and run a for profit business”. The American legend also attached a 2022 article from Sportico to his X post that revealed that billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman was backing the PTPA. Along with his for-profit entity called Winners Alliance, the PTPA had raised $26 million, and that was in 2022.

Even Sportico writer Eben Novy-Williams agreed, “They’re the first major moves for the PTPA, which was launched in 2020 by Novak Djokovic and Canadian pro-Vasek Pospisil, but so far has done little in terms of organization and impact.”

Roddick also told New York Magazine a few days ago, “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.”

Well, Roddick’s comments must have been like an arrow straight to Vasek Pospisil’s heart because the Canadian posted a lengthy X post to clarify the PTPA’s contributions so far. In addition to accomplishing the massive task of having a player’s association in the first place, Pospisil pointed out some other wins.

Revealing how much he has been focused on the org in the last 5 years, Pospisil wrote, “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.” He even invited Andy Roddick to join them, “Would welcome you on board with open arms.”

The retired American player had reportedly also made some other statements regarding the situation, but later revoked them. Instead Roddick promised to discuss the situation at length in his next podcast. But it did invite questions from a Djokovic fan about Roddick’s own contributions.

Andy Roddick detailed his contribution to the sport

Despite having retired, a controversy or two often mars Andy Roddick’s routine. With his latest comments on PTPA, one fan asked him point blank, “What have you done Andy??? And how would you know if this isn’t helpful for other players. All you’ve known is life as a tennis player from the richest nation with the most sponsors and richest tennis association. I want to know what you have done for players other than rant”.

Andy Roddick was, however, quick with his response, neatly listing out his own significant achievements other than contributing to American tennis. “Sure. Built a foundation that serves 40,000 kids a day in central TX area,” Roddick wrote, giving the link to the Andy Roddick Foundation. “Built a media company @Served_Podcast a real estate company,“ he continued, “… a healthcare company @ViewFiHealth.”

However, at the same time, he was cognizant to acknowledge, “Didn’t have much control over where I was born but am full of gratitude and understand I have been lucky. Cheers”

Novak Djokovic, as one of the co-founders of PTPA, has yet to comment on the situation, but we keep our eyes peeled for a response from the Serb maestro. While the PTPA has certainly made an effort to improve players’ lives, Andy Roddick’s remarks may push them to do even more!