Served with Andy Roddick: "Facing Prime Pete Sampras, Andy Roddick’s Off-Season Workout Routine & More | Q&Andy"
Episode Date: February 12, 2026
Hosts: Andy Roddick, Mike (Co-host)
Overview
This Q&A episode features tennis legend Andy Roddick and his co-host Mike as they tackle listener questions spanning the evolution of tennis, changes in the sport since Roddick's retirement, training routines, media engagement for younger fans, and Andy's memories of playing against Pete Sampras. With an informal, candid style, the duo provide personal stories, practical advice, and honest takes on the sport's hottest topics while keeping the conversation lively and accessible.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. How Tennis Has Changed Since Andy’s Retirement
- Question: Have you ever realized you "aren't a player anymore" because of a conversation about something now common on tour but unfamiliar to you?
- Andy on being out of touch with some changes (01:57):
"I was not really around the game at all for eight years. You know, I feel like I needed a break before I could love again... Lots change, I’m sure."
- Topics unfamiliar to Andy: Mixed doubles formats at Slams with shootouts, significant changes in tournament logistics and preparation, especially with roof closures and new equipment standards.
- On equipment and surfaces (03:15):
"Seb Korda and I were talking about the balls... Wimbledon in the 90s, the court was so fast and the balls were so light that servers just walk back and forth. It’s not that way anymore."
2. Should Masters 1000 & Davis Cup Matches Return to Best-of-Five Sets?
- Context: From 1990 to 2007, some Masters 1000 finals were best-of-five sets.
- Roddick’s firm position (04:16):
"Not all the Masters had best of five sets. But... I don’t like starting a tournament in one format and then finishing in another format."
- Player concerns: Wear and tear, TV scheduling, lack of player support for longer matches.
- On women’s five-set discussion (04:49):
"From what I’ve heard, Coco doesn’t want to. Sabalenka says she doesn’t want to. What are we doing?"
- On women’s five-set discussion (04:49):
- Unique value of slams (05:32):
"I think it makes the slams on the men’s side with the three out of five, it makes them this extra special, like, litmus test."
- Summary: Transitioning formats mid-tournament or adding more five-set matches would only exacerbate existing challenges with physical strain and scheduling.
3. Is Tennis Doing Enough to Engage Younger Audiences?
- Question inspired by the NFL’s success at reaching all age groups (06:25):
- Andy’s enthusiastic aside (06:55):
"Did we just get called media?... Credentials. Submit it to the slams right now."
- Accessibility and content delivery (07:48):
"We can only talk about tennis on a network, we’re missing a huge swath of fans who want it when they want it on their phone, when they’re driving..."
- Andy’s enthusiastic aside (06:55):
- Mike adds:
"If you want to watch us on YouTube, you find us on YouTube, but if you want us on Spotify, we’re there too. Like, and I’m an expert on all those socials. So yeah, super big expert at TikTok. I’m not even an expert…"
- Andy’s takeaway (08:51):
"A buffet of options of how to consume I think is the best way to get to all types of audiences. Five years ago versus now, can you find the spots in tennis for a 6, 10 year old to consume? Absolutely."
4. Andy’s Off-Season Workout Routine
- Question: What exactly did Andy do in his famous track workouts pre-tournament? (09:37)
- Andy details his routine (09:52):
- Mix of short sprints (10, 12, 40, 60 meters), hurdle work for hip mobility, a lot of core and mobility exercises, repeated 300s ("the worst"), and resisted band training, not heavy weights.
- Notable advice:
"Do not put a 7 year old in a weight room. Please don’t do it. Bands are great, resistance training is great. Remember, anything you put on in tennis you have to carry around for an entire match."
- On mobility:
"That wiry mobile muscle is, I think, where you look. I mean look at Novak, right? That’s kind of what you want."
- Advice for parents: Do intense training only in the off-season, not during tournaments; focus on functional movement.
5. Adapting Training to Tournament Schedules or Time Zones
- Does Andy train at "match times" to adjust his body clock?
- Andy’s perspective (11:31):
"Training in December, when you know you’re going to fly across Earth and be 16 hours ahead or behind makes no... No. But at the US Open, I would always try to get a hit in at night the week before, because I played most of the night sessions."
- Andy’s perspective (11:31):
6. Facing Prime Pete Sampras – US Open 2002 Quarterfinal
- Question: Did a foot injury hurt your movement in that match?
- Andy’s honest recollection (12:29):
- Had previously beaten Sampras and thought it was winnable.
- Realized he’d never seen "prime" Sampras until that match –
"I’ll tell you what I didn’t know. I didn’t know what Prime Pete looked like. And then all of a sudden, about 45 minutes into that match, I was done, cooked. He was all over me, just smothered me. And I’m like, oh, this is like, Major Pete Sampras."
- Classic moment (13:18):
"He came in... so quick, and he’d knock off a volley. And then he kind of looked at me like, ‘This is what you’re gonna deal with.’ …I just froze. My foot had nothing to do with that loss. It was all Pete Sampras."
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- On being left behind by the game:
"I feel like I needed a break before I could love again." – Andy Roddick (01:57)
- On media credentials:
"Did we just get called media?... Team, write that down. Submit this for credentials." – Andy Roddick (06:55)
- On children’s workouts:
"Do not put a 7 year old in a weight room. Please don’t do it." – Andy Roddick (10:14)
- On facing Sampras:
"I didn’t know what Prime Pete looked like…about 45 minutes into that match, I was done, cooked. He was all over me, just smothered me." – Andy Roddick (12:48)
- Summing up his loss:
"My foot had nothing to do with that loss. It was all Pete Sampras." – Andy Roddick (13:43)
Key Timestamps for Major Segments
- 01:32 – First listener question: Changes since retirement
- 03:56 – Should best-of-five return to Masters 1000?
- 06:25 – Does tennis engage younger audiences?
- 09:37 – Andy’s track workout explained
- 11:31 – Matching training to match times/time zones
- 12:29 – Memory: Facing prime Pete Sampras
Tone & Style
The episode flows with playful banter, Roddick’s characteristic candor, and a healthy dose of honesty about tennis’s quirks, both past and present. Andy and Mike’s rapport creates an accessible yet occasionally irreverent tennis conversation that goes beyond stats to the lived experience of pro tennis.