“Nobody that can tell me that Novak shouldn’t get some benefit to his ranking” : Andy Roddick criticizes ‘dumb’ Olympics rule
Novak Djokovic’s recent glory at the Olympics has been well received by fans around the world, seeing the Serbian finally add the missing piece of the puzzle to his historic career. But ever since the end of the tennis Olympics in Paris, controversy has been sparked around the world about the lack of points system and prize money.
Many big personalities have commented on the fact that players participating in the Olympics do not receive any points, unlike other ATP and grand slam tours. This has made players feel that their efforts do not receive much rewards in the Olympics, with many notable players like Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton and Aryna Sabalenka opting out to focus on other tournaments which will benefit their career ranking more.
Tennis icon and analyst Andy Roddick and Coco Gauff’s coach Brad Gilbert have been the latest to criticize on this matter, with the latter commenting on this ‘ridiculous’ rule on X (formerly known as Twitter):
Andy Roddick’s spiteful words on absurd Olympics rule
The former American tennis player remains an influential figure, with his thoughts and analysis taken seriously around the world of tennis. Roddick recently reflected his views of the tennis Olympics on his ‘Served’ podcast, and said that it was the best it could possibly be – games and performance wise. But he was very disappointed regarding the issue of having no points or prize money.
“I think, there is nobody that can tell me that Novak shouldn’t get some benefit to his ranking, we used to have points, we took him away. There’s nothing to show for him (Novak). He should have points at least. No one’s getting paid. I’m not saying anyone should get paid you should not get paid to play in the Olympics at least not directly and but like you should have points,” said the 41-year-old (via Served).
“It’s no disrespect that any playing that but it’s the strength of draws is weak and they’re still giving out 500 points to the winner. I can’t be told that Novak doesn’t deserve more points for what he did at the Olympics. You’re playing the same game the best play anytime you get all the best players that are taking it as seriously as possible in one place. And you’re beating them; you should get something like that’s it’s just dumb I don’t get it they should get points,” added the former US Open champion.
Andy Roddick was visibly frustrated and confused over this rule, and was disappointed for his friend and rival Novak Djokovic among others, whom he has gained a lot of respect for post-retirement. The American has always praised the Serbian for his incredible achievements and his ability to sustain success over such a long period.
Novak Djokovic had also previously commented on the tennis Olympics rule, stating that he would definitely encourage more voices to get on this in hope for change.
“To be quite frank, I don’t see a reason why not. You know, we have the best players in the world participating in arguably the fifth Grand Slam. It’s of that important for all of us, even more, because it happens every four years. I would definitely encourage people to rethink of getting points out there,” said the 37-year-old.
As many important people of tennis have spoken about this matter, it could be a matter of time we see the rule revised and the Olympics add points for increased participation and competition, ahead of the next Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles.
