“It is disrespectful,” Andy Roddick blasted by the camp of Wimbledon doubles champions for his comments about doubles players

Despite the criticism, Roddick stated that he stood by his comments.

“It is disrespectful,” Andy Roddick blasted by the camp of Wimbledon doubles champions for his comments about doubles players

Andy Roddick (Via Imago)

Former World No. 1 Andy Roddick faced criticism for his remarks about the new Wimbledon doubles champions Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara. He made these comments on the latest episode of his podcast Served with Andy Roddick.

The controversy began after Patten, once an airport worker, and Heliovaara, formerly with IBM, won the men’s doubles title. Roddick criticized the status of doubles at Wimbledon and pointed out the lack of overlap between singles and doubles players.

The former World No. 1 also claimed that singles players are superior to their doubles counterparts, which angered many fans as well as Patten’s coach Calvin Betton. Betton took to social media to call Roddick’s comments uninformed and urged him to educate himself. Fans also joined in to defend the doubles players, showing strong support for Patten and Heliovaara.

FS Video

You tried to make the point that doubles is rubbish because a data analyst and an airport worker can win a Wimbledon title. It’s a nonsense false narrative, it’s disrespectful to them, it’s disrespectful to your listeners, and it’s disrespectful to the lads they beat in the final.

Calvin Betton said in a post on X

Despite the backlash, Roddick did not apologize for his remarks. He expressed happiness for the doubles champions but stood by his opinion.

You can choose to believe me or not believe me on what my intent was. I’m not going to convince you and I’m also not gonna apologize for something I didn’t do.

Andy Roddick replied

Historically, many top players like Andy Murray, Serena and Venus Williams played both singles and doubles. While this trend has declined recently, players like Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula still compete in both formats.

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Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara make history by winning the Wimbledon doubles title

Henry Patten partnered with Harri Heliovaara in the gentlemen’s doubles at Wimbledon and won the title. They began their campaign by defeating the No. 5 seeds Andrea Vavassori and Simone Bolelli 6-3, 6-4. In the second round, they beat Pedro Martinez and Jaume Munar from Spain 7-6 (5), 6-3.

Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara
Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara (via Imago)

In the Round of 16, they won 7-6 (1), 6-2 against Rafael Matos and Marcelo Melo. In the quarterfinals, they came back from a set down to beat No. 4 seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6 (7). They advanced to the semifinals, where they beat No. 9 seeds Michael Venus and Neal Skupski 6-4, 7-6 (1).

In the final, Patten and Heliovaara faced No. 15 seeds Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson. Purcell and Thompson won the first set after Patten and Heliovaara saved five set points. However, Patten and Heliovaara won the second set and took the match into a decider, where they won in the tiebreak to clinch the title. They became the first unseeded pair since 2014 to win the title at SW19.

In the mixed doubles, Patten teamed up with Olivia Nicholls. They won their first match against Julian Cash and Maia Lumsden 7-5, 7-6(5) before losing to Erin Routliffe and Michael Venus 7-5, 5-7, 9-11.

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