The Olympic torch may be extinguished, but tennis is still filled with controversy. At the center of the storm is Novak Djokovic, the newly crowned Olympic champion. Djokovic’s historic Olympic gold was overshadowed by the absence of ranking points and prize money. Unlike ATP or WTA events, the ITF-run Olympics does not offer any of these rewards, despite its immense prestige for players. This has sparked a debate, particularly considering the high value players place on participating in the Olympics. Many are advocating for rule changes to encourage greater involvement. While Coco Gauff’s coach Brad Gilbert previously criticized this rule, Andy Roddick is the latest to condemn it.
On August 6, Roddick hosted an episode titled “2024 OLYMPICS RECAP” of his Served podcast. The episode aimed to reflect on the “interesting” week of the Olympics. Describing this year’s Summer Games, Andy said, “I think this Olympics was as good as it could be for tennis. There is a lot, there is a lot to pay attention to if you are a tennis fan. But this was just full of enjoyable, positive, intriguing, dramatic storylines.”
After discussing a few surprising victories at the Games, Roddick made a point: “…I think, there is nobody that can tell me that Novak shouldn’t receive some benefit to his ranking,” for participating in the Olympics and representing his country. “We used to have points, we took them away,” he further added.
“There’s nothing to show for him (Novak). He should have points at least. No one’s getting paid. I’m not saying anyone should get paid, you should not get paid to play in the Olympics, at least not directly, but you should have points,” the former U.S. Open champion said while discussing Djokovic’s Olympic performance.
Referring to this peculiar rule, Roddick further stated, “It’s not disrespectful to anyone playing, but the strength of the draws is weak and they’re still awarding 500 points to the winner. I can’t be convinced that Novak doesn’t deserve more points for what he achieved at the Olympics. You’re playing the same game the best players play, and when you have all the best players taking it as seriously as possible in one place, and you beat them, you should receive something. It’s just foolish, I don’t understand it, they should get points.”
This comes just two days after Gauff’s coach, Gilbert, expressed the same opinion on X, “Absolutely absurd. No points. There should be 1500 points for winners in singles and doubles. We used to have points, I believe it was 750 for the winner.”
This is possibly one of the reasons why numerous players have opted out of the largest sports platform, the Games! Topping the list are Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton, Sebastian Korda, Ons Jabeur, Aryna Sabalenka, Madison Keys, and many others. Instead, certain players have chosen to participate in alternative tournaments, which will provide additional points and significantly impact their career ranking. For instance, take Korda, who withdrew from the Olympics and, in the meantime, earned 500 points by winning the Citi Open on August 5, even ascending to a higher career rank (No. 20).
This vocal opposition emphasizes the necessity for reform in Olympic tennis. Will the governing bodies heed the call, or will this ‘absurd’ regulation persist and continue to tarnish the sport’s pinnacle event? A few years ago, even Djokovic expressed his candid thoughts on the matter!
Skipping the Olympics to compete and acquire points in the traditional tours is not a novel concept for players. Looking back to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, a similar scenario unfolded where numerous players, including John Isner, opted to withdraw from the Games and focus on other ATP Tournaments. Reflecting on this decision, Djokovic shared his perspective, stating, “That was one of the debates, I think, whether or not we should have points in the Olympic Games.”
Furthermore, Djokovic added, “To be completely honest, I fail to see a reason why not. You know, we have the finest players in the world participating in arguably the fifth Grand Slam. It holds that level of importance for all of us, even more so because it occurs every four years. I would definitely urge people to reconsider the exclusion of points in that setting.”
As an increasing number of respected individuals come together to highlight this glaring flaw in the Olympic regulations, hopefully we may soon witness a resolution, possibly by the 2028 Olympics!
Photo from Andy Roddick Instagram
