Andy Roddick Shares Verdict on Alexandra Eala’s Decision to Reject Venus Williams Citi Open Doubles Offer

Venus Williams was scheduled to play doubles with Alexandra Eala at the Citi Open, but the Filipino prioritized singles. Williams instead played alongside Diana Shnaider.

The American-Russian pair went past Quinn Gleason and Ulrikke Eikeri 6-3, 6-4 to schedule their quarterfinal match against the Chinese pair of Tang Qianhui and Xu Yifan. Eala, during the pre-tournament press conference, talked about her decision to withdraw from doubles.

The 21-year-old said a legend like Williams “deserves a partner who can give their all physically, emotionally, mentally when they’re on court with her.” But she herself can only do that in singles.

Now former ATP World No.1 Andy Roddick, on his Served podcast, has given his verdict on Eala’s decision to reject the doubles offer from the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion.

If I was a young player, I would be submitting my resume to play with Venus as long as she’s out there. I just think that would be so cool. So, I’m happy Eala already got to do it, but like, irrespective of if it’s Venus or someone else, you still have to be responsible to your body.

At the Citi Open, Eala came from a set down to defeat 2024 Paris Olympics champion Qinwen Zheng to schedule her second-round match against defending champion Leylah Fernandez. Before Washington, Eala played at Wimbledon, where, after knocking out defending champion Iga Swiatek, she became the first Filipino to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament.

And the goal of the summer is to make runs at these tournaments, and I don’t think Eala’s at the point where she’s prioritizing doubles over singles.

Andy Roddick added

Eala is chasing her first tour-level title in Washington. Last year, she reached the final of the Eastbourne International only to lose to Maya Joint. Williams, on the other hand, lost her singles match in her home event. Austria’s Anastasia Potapova clinched a straight-set win over her.

Andy Roddick was entertained by Mirra Andreeva’s petulance

Mirra Andreeva was hoping to have a better run at Wimbledon after her French Open triumph. But to her utter disappointment, the Russian ace succumbed to a three-set defeat at the hands of 2024 Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova in the second round.

Andreeva’s emotions got the better of her, and she flung her racket hard before shouting “I quit” toward her coaching team. Andy Roddick also revealed that his fellow ESPN commentator, Caroline Wozniacki, did not like Andreeva’s burst of emotion, but he did. Andreeva’s antics, in fact, left him in stitches.

I’d be pretty hypocritical. I did it. And I find her petulance entertaining. That’s probably not the right take. And she flings it, and I was in the green room. I started laughing. It’s a good throw. I mean, it wasn’t as if it was one of those half throws. It was like [Marat] Safin. I would have been more upset if it was like a half throw. I like the full commit. I can forgive that.

Andreeva is not playing at the Citi Open but is scheduled to start her North American hard-court swing at the Canadian Open, where she made her debut last year and lost in the third round.

After Toronto, the teenager will play the Cincinnati Open, which she skipped last year. She made her debut here in 2024 and lost in the quarterfinals. Victoria Mboko is the reigning champion at the Canadian Open, while Iga Swiatek won the Cincinnati Open last year.

Andreeva has played four finals this year. Before winning the French Open, she lifted titles in Adelaide and Linz, and lost in Madrid.

Also read: Greg Rusedski Blames Two-Week Masters 1000 Format for Jannik Sinner’s Canadian Open Withdrawal: “He Doesn’t Want to Burn Out Before US Open”