Andy Roddick Defends the US Open for Offering Venus Williams a Wildcard

Venus Williams is set to open her US Open singles campaign against 11th seed Karolina Muchova.

Andy Roddick Defends the US Open for Offering Venus Williams a Wildcard

Venus Williams (via Mubadala Citi DC Open), Andy Roddick (via Served with Andy Roddick)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

Andy Roddick has defended the US Open’s decision to award seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams a wildcard. The tournament organizers have been criticized for giving the American star a smooth entry into the women’s singles event despite winning just one match in over 16 months.

The former World No.1 played at the US Open in 1997, a few months after making her Grand Slam debut at the French Open, where she reached the second round before losing to Nathalie Tauziat. That was the same year she broke into the Top 100. However, in New York, she reached the final as a 17-year-old, losing to Martina Hingis.

28 years later, she’s set to make her return to the US Open at the age of 45. The American star is one of the few active players of her generation and is still competing in the women’s circuit. She featured at the Citi Open in Washington last month and got to the second round after stunning Peyton Stearns in straight sets.

Magdalena Frech knocked her out in the second round of the WTA 500 tournament. She was given a wildcard for the Cincinnati Open after her performance at Washington, but she couldn’t get past Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, who defeated her 6-4, 6-4 in the first round. She then competed at the US Open mixed doubles event alongside Reilly Opelka and lost to Karolina Muchova and Andrey Rublev in the first round.

During the latest episode of Served Podcast, Andy Roddick said that he doesn’t care if Williams will win a match at the tournament, but awarding her a wildcard was the right thing to do by the tournament. He added fans should be full of gratitude for having the 45-year-old competing at the US Open:

I want her to win. I want it to be a story. Also, that is not the most important thing for Venus Williams this tournament. I don’t know how much longer we will have her in tennis. I don’t care if she goes out and doesn’t win a single game, we should be full of gratitude for having had Venus Williams in our game. Here is my take on the wildcard thing. They [critics] are like they are taking it away from someone who is deserving.

Venus Williams was handed a very difficult draw at the US Open and she’s expected to crash out in the first round. She will face the 11th seed Karolina Muchova in the opening round of the tournament, which kicks off on August 24.

Andy Roddick backs Ben Shelton to upset Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner at the US Open

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are the favorites to win the US Open men’s singles title. The pair have reached the final of the last two Grand Slams and have won the last seven major titles on tour. They are also projected to face each other in the final in New York, but were handed a tough draw, particularly Alcaraz, who could possibly face Daniil Medvedev in the fourth round.

Ben Shelton Canadian Open 2025
Ben Shelton (image via National Bank Open)

That has led Andy Roddick to believe that with the tricky draws that Alcaraz and Sinner have at the US Open, Ben Shelton has a chance of winning the title. He also revealed during the aforementioned podcast that the American star has what it takes to upset the duo at the tournament:

I think it’s Ben Shelton. Based on [the] draw. Based on the Opelka thing [first round for Alcaraz], I think Shelton has levelled up. Novak, I think going through Fritz and then Alcaraz, that’s a tough one. I think Novak is the third favourite, but based on [the] draw I think Ben Shelton.

Shelton will kick off his US Open campaign against a lucky loser or qualifier. But, he’s projected to face Alcaraz in the quarter-finals. The American star enjoyed his best run at the event in 2023, when he got to the semi-finals before losing to Novak Djokovic in four sets.

Also Read: Emma Raducanu’s Ex-Coach Finally Reveals the Reason Behind their Recent Split