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Andy Roddick Minces No Words in Exposing Women’s Tennis’ Bad Culture While Being Honest About Coco Gauff’s Father

Published 02/01/2024, 7:00 AM EST

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We have all heard about Andre Agassi‘s ‘difficult relationship’ with his father, which he has highlighted in his book. Interestingly, a few days back, Jannik Sinner shared a story of the emotional sacrifices his parents made to fulfill his dream. He credited his parents for his AO triumph. But what about women’s tennis?

American tennis legend, Andy Roddick, recently exposed a rampant problem in women’s tennis on the recent episode of the ‘Serve with Andy Roddick’ podcast. He shared some strong words about the fathers of women’s tennis players. He even highlighted how Coco Gauff‘s father has been differed from all of them.

Andy Roddick shares why Coco Gauff’s father should be an example to look at for all hyper-attentive parents

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Andy Roddick spoke to Jon Wertheim in the podcast. He said, “It has been spoken about a little bit but it needs to be spoken about more. Especially, in our sport where there has been a negative history of fathers of women’s tennis players being psychopaths. And, being irresponsible to the total human rights. Not the tennis but the total human. Corey Gauff was here also and his ability to not be the centre of attention doesn’t need the information to come from him that’s rare. And, it sounds like something that should be very obvious. But it’s not in the history of our sports, it’s not.”

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He added, “There are a lot of cautionary tales and I won’t name them because out of respect for the people who are on the bad side of these cautionary tales. But it has been rampant in our sport. So to find someone who says listen after Wimbledon, it’s not about me. He knows a lot like he has date sets, he knows exactly what she was holding.”

Talking more about how a father should know more about their daughters, he said, “He knew if she could hold 6% more service games, what the AI projections were and what that meant for match wins. The guy has studied and he has dialled and for him to kind of take a back seat and let Brad be Brad, which is a little a weird or bit in itself.

Recalling Coco Gauff’s father’s interaction with Brad Gilbert and him when they were called to help improve Coco Gauff’s serve, Roddick said, “And let me who he doesn’t know have a say in her serve for a couple of days like. Bravo! it needs to be said over and over again. I hope this creates a precedent for other tennis parents, especially of young females.

Coco Gauff’s parents gave up their careers to focus on training their daughter. Her father was her primary coach and Gauff has always spoken highly about the support she got from her parents since childhood.

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Gauff recalls the moment when she saw her father cry for the first time

Coco Gauff paid a touching tribute to her father after clinching her first Grand Slam title at the US Open last year. She said, “He was the first person I saw. That was the first time I saw my dad cry. At the French Open, he claims he wasn’t crying. But today, I saw it. I rarely see my mom cry either.. That moment. I’ll never forget that ever. I’m so happy. That man has supported me through so much.”

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Gauff continued, “People always tried to tear us apart, saying he didn’t need to be in my box or he didn’t need to coach me anymore. Little do they know, he’s the reason I won this match.Although Coco Gauff has now become a tennis star, her journey and the sacrifices of her parents will always be an inspiration to the tennis world.

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Written by:

Sayantan Roy

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Tennis has been my passion since my childhood. My sheer love and enthusiasm for the racket sport has been a major influence in me wanting to build a career in sports journalism. Additionally, being a die-hard Real Madrid fan makes me more connected to my tennis idol-Rafael Nadal, who himself is a huge Los Blancos fan and a contender to become its next President.
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Edited by:

Shudh Mukherjee