Andy Roddick Weighs in on Steps to Prevent Player Harassment from Angry Bettors

Andy Roddick said the bettors won't care much about the players' feelings if they lose a tremendous amount of money.

Andy Roddick Weighs in on Steps to Prevent Player Harassment from Angry Bettors

Andy Roddick (Image via #AusOpen)

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Hateful comments on social media from tennis fans have grown in recent years, and many believe the betting apps are the biggest reason. Andy Roddick is also of the same opinion, and in one of the episodes of his podcast, he explained what the betting sites should do to curb the harassment.

Recently, former WTA player Caroline Garcia rejected a lucrative sponsorship deal from a betting company for her podcast Tennis Insider Club. Because Garcia herself has faced abusive comments, even after her career’s last match at the US Open, she doesn’t want her podcast to contribute to a system that “fuels addiction, destroys lives, and turns athletes into daily targets.”

You know, we have so many betting like individual tournaments, you know, separate site. It’s so like everything in tennis, it’s so fragmented that I think it’s a tougher problem. But from right now, the biggest impact you could make immediately is not having a player potentially be able to miss one serve in my third service game. And the cash out is the same as if you’re betting on a result from a match.

Andy Roddick said on his Served podcast

Roddick said if anyone is betting on one serve a lot of money, then the person won’t care much about the player’s feelings. This could lead to an extreme reaction from that person, and they could start holding the player accountable.

And the abuse is horrendous. It’s just that we have to eventually protect our players. It is getting more popular, which is fine. Let’s take some money. Let’s adjust the schedule. Let’s do great things with the money we’re taking in.

Andy Roddick added

Roddick also joked about the mindset of the bettors. He said if they win, they would call themselves great gamblers, and if they lose, they would blame it on the players.

Andy Roddick praises Frances Tiafoe’s personality

Frances Tiafoe appeared on Andy Roddick‘s Served podcast. And toward the end of it, the 2003 US Open champion lauded the 27-year-old for his energetic personality.

Frances Tiafoe
Frances Tiafoe (Image via X/US Open Tennis)

Like, you know, he’s like just like a good dude. Like, he doesn’t, you know, he’s just as nice and just as friendly when there are no cameras around. So props, man. You’re the real thing. I hope great things for you. I hope you believe in yourself as much as we believe in you.

Tiafoe had a forgetful season as he suffered many early-round exits. The former World No.10 ended the season with a 26-23 win-loss record at the 30th spot on the rankings table.

Tiafoe reached just one final this year. He played in the title clash of the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships where Jenson Brooksby denied him the win. He failed to reach another semifinal.

Last year as well, he was unsuccessful in winning a tournament, playing two finals, losing both. The last title that he lifted was the 2023 Stuttgart Open by defeating Jan-Lennard Struff.

Tiafoe finished his season at the Shanghai Masters after his defeat to Yannick Hanfmann in the second round in three sets. As he is dealing with a massive slump in form, he wanted to get into new habits. He thought participating in tournaments wouldn’t be of much help because he would keep thinking about his next match instead of changing certain aspects of his game.

In Grand Slam events, Tiafoe reached just one quarterfinal- at the French Open, where he lost the match to Lorenzo Musetti. In the other three Majors, the two-time Grand Slam semifinalist failed to progress to the fourth round. The semifinals that he reached in the Majors were at the 2022 and 2024 US Open.

Also read: Nick Kyrgios Claims What Needs to Happen for Alex de Minaur to Win the Australian Open 2026