FAN Q&A: Are Tennis Players the Best Athletes? Post-Match Routine, & More

Summary

Served with Andy Roddick

Episode: FAN Q&A: Are Tennis Players the Best Athletes? Post-Match Routine, & More
Date: December 2, 2025
Host: Andy Roddick with Producer Mike
Special Guest (via Video): John Legend

Episode Overview

In this engaging fan Q&A episode, Andy Roddick and Producer Mike tackle listener-submitted questions ranging from the perennial debate over tennis players’ overall athletic prowess, behind-the-scenes post-match routines on tour, and the evolving challenges of sports betting and player safety. The show features a guest video question from superstar John Legend, lighthearted fan fare about Andy’s past hair and visor choices, and an unapologetic food rant on the cultural myth of Thanksgiving food. The episode delivers candid insights into pro tennis, reflects Andy’s signature wit, and is at once insightful and warmly conversational.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

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Are Tennis Players the Best Athletes? (w/ John Legend)

Timestamps: 02:21 – 08:38

• John Legend’s Video Q: Fresh off the epic Sinner vs. Alcaraz French Open final, John asks if Andy still thinks tennis players are the most impressive athletes, and who’s the runner-up in other sports.
• Andy’s Response:
  • Affirms his belief: “I still think tennis players are the best athletes in the world.” (04:03)
  • Outlines the combination of endurance, strength, skill, recovery, and mental toughness required in tennis.
  • Runner-up athletes: Basketball and soccer players for sustained running and agility; hockey players for their unique skill set; respect for the difficulty of hitting a baseball (“we would all look like idiots”).
  • Insightful analogy comparing tennis serves and baseball pitching: both require nuanced, unreadable delivery and intense athletic coordination.
  • Difference from team sports: In tennis, there are no specialized positions—“if you can't really serve or you can't really do this, you can't really have a job.” (06:01)
  • Highlights “your mistakes are your own, your decisions are your own, and you’re having to do them in real time.” (07:32)
• Notable Quote:
  • “Me saying we’re the best athletes—listen, I’m biased. I fully understand it. And I’ll be damned if I don’t defend this sport to the last.” (07:34)
  • Emphasizes that tennis coverage should do a better job articulating how difficult the sport is.

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The ‘Visor Era’ & Andy’s Hair (Fan: Hannah)

Timestamps: 08:45 – 11:48

• Fan Q from Hannah: How did Andy get his hair spiked during his iconic visor days, what product did he use, and what happened to visors in men’s tennis?
• Andy’s Answer:
  • Used a “bedhead wax stick.” No blowdry, no elaborate preparation.
  • Blames coach Brad Gilbert for “killing” the visor, jokingly connecting him to Andy’s now-bald spot.
  • Fun tangent about the theory that wearing hats leads to baldness.
  • Denies ever frosting his tips, attributing highlighted hair to the sun and ribbing fellow player Mardy Fish for his DIY dye jobs.
  • Teasing launch of a show-branded visor for Hannah.
• Notable Quote:
  • “Brad Gilbert ruined my visor life and my hair would look like Fabio if he had never come into my life.” (11:02)
  • Quick, playful exchange about male tennis style and the dying tradition of visors.

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Post-Match Routine: Inside a Pro’s Recovery (Fan: Lily from Germany)

Timestamps: 12:35 – 19:08

• Lily’s Fan Q: What does a post-match routine look like for a top player? How long is recovery, and what comes first: the bike, press, or stretching?
• Andy’s Inside Look:
  • Recovery routine varies by match finish time—late matches, especially at the US Open, create urgency.
  • Standard sequence: Stretching immediately, icing when possible, rapid hydration, and the dreaded “eating within 20 minutes”—a “gross foamy smoothie” from his trainer Dougie Spring.
  • Stresses never rushing to press conferences before finishing full recovery. Press obligations are scheduled after body work, not vice versa.
  • “The longer the match goes, the longer the recovery process takes. And the more urgency you have with those steps.” (15:26)
• Evolution in Tech:
  • Back in the day, ice baths meant hunting down big plastic bins at venues; today, tournaments have advanced recovery setups (ice baths, compression suits, injury risk stats from data wearables).
• Notable Quote:
  • “Never, ever, ever rush a press conference. You get your work done before you go to the press conference.” (13:45)
  • “Press never ever, ever dictated routine after the match. The recovery always dictated.” (15:32)

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The Dark Side of Sports Betting & Player Safety

Timestamps: 20:41 – 28:28

• Amy from Toronto’s Q: Reflecting on a previous episode about sports betting, Amy asks what can be done to better protect players—especially women—from related threats.
• Andy’s Take:
  • Emphasizes the risk and abuse generated by “mini bets” or one-play bets. Supports the recent MLB ban on single-pitch bets; urges tennis to do the same for single-point/serve betting.
  • Explains that the opportunity for bad behavior rises with bets that hinge on tiny, easily-influenced moments.
  • Cautions about the betting-driven abuse that floods athletes’ social media—which, in tennis, players mostly run themselves.
  • Reflects on the drastic increase in fan access to players and the unfiltered, targetable backlash that results from betting losses.
• Notable Quotes:
  • “The smaller the sample size with which an athlete can throw something, you’re going to get a lot more bad behavior.” (23:44)
  • “Never once did I consider journalist timelines or anything like that... I have to stay till 2:30; I need my body tomorrow.” (16:20)
  • On fan psychology: “It’s like, when they win, it’s ‘I’m a great gambler.’ Why did you lose? ‘Because that player sucks!’ And I’m going to write a nasty anonymous note to that player because I suck at gambling.” (27:45)

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Thanksgiving Food Rant: Are We Fooling Ourselves?

Timestamps: 29:05 – 35:49

• Andy pivots to a genuinely passionate—and divisive—take on Thanksgiving foods, igniting a rapid-fire debate about stuffing, cranberry sauce, turkey, and why we stick to tradition.
• Claims that “Thanksgiving food is average,” challenging why people profess to “love” food like stuffing or cranberry sauce, yet never eat it outside the holiday.
• Suggests Thanksgiving should be about everyone's “greatest hits” dishes, not annual mediocrity—proposes steak, burgers, chicken piccata as more genuine centerpieces.
• The segment concludes with laughter, Producer Mike agreeing to “steak-giving” next year, and Andy quipping:
  • “Why do we not have all bangers? If we’re going to carve out an entire day based around food, why would we not have all bangers?” (35:38)
  • “If someone brought a beautiful wood-fired pizza over turkey, I mean, that’s just way better, sorry.” (35:09)

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Memorable Moments & Notable Quotes

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |-----------|---------|-------| | 04:03 | Andy | “I still think tennis players are the best athletes in the world.” | | 07:34 | Andy | “Me saying we’re the best athletes—listen, I’m biased…And I’ll be damned if I don’t defend this sport to the last.” | | 11:02 | Andy | “Brad Gilbert ruined my visor life and my hair would look like Fabio if he had never come into my life.” | | 13:45 | Andy | “Never, ever, ever rush a press conference. You get your work done before you go to the press conference.” | | 15:32 | Andy | “Press never ever, ever dictated routine after the match. The recovery always dictated.” | | 23:44 | Andy | “The smaller the sample size with which an athlete can throw something, you’re going to get a lot more bad behavior.” | | 27:45 | Andy | “It’s like, when they win, it’s ‘I’m a great gambler.’ Why did you lose? ‘Because that player sucks!’” | | 35:38 | Andy | “Why do we not have all bangers? If we’re going to carve out an entire day based around food, why would we not have all bangers?” | | 35:09 | Andy | “If someone brought a beautiful wood-fired pizza over turkey, I mean, that’s just way better, sorry.” |

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Episode Structure & Timestamps

• Fan Q&A with John Legend: Tennis as the ultimate athletic challenge (02:21–08:38)
• Hair products, visors, and candid style confessions (08:45–11:48)
• Pro tennis recovery routines, then and now (12:35–19:08)
• Sports betting, social media, and protecting athletes (20:41–28:28)
• Thanksgiving food: overrated? (Andy’s food manifesto) (29:05–35:49)

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Tone & Vibe

The episode is playful, direct, and honest, with Andy Roddick’s mix of humor and clear-sightedness on full display. Listener questions unlock both expert insight and delightfully personal anecdotes, keeping the content deeply relatable for tennis fans and casual listeners alike.

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Final Takeaway

Andy Roddick’s fan mail bag delivers a rich, candid cross-section of tennis life, athlete realities, fan culture, and everyday humor. Whether championing the diverse athletic demands of tennis, reflecting on personal routines, advocating for player safety, or upending holiday food canon, Andy’s conversational candor and the rapport with Producer Mike make for an entertaining, engaging listen that leaves listeners both informed and smiling.

Transcript

[Andy Roddick]

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[Andy Roddick]

Hey, everyone. Welcome to Served. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. For those of you watching on YouTube, you might be saying, does he not have another shirt? Should we tell him?

[Producer Mike]

I don't either, apparently.

[Andy Roddick]

Should we tell him? Should we tell him?

[Producer Mike]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Andy Roddick]

End of the season comes, we are able to stack episodes. They're called Evergreen. We're not reacting to a live result. It's all in front of us. So we are doing this right after last week's episode. Dun, dun, dun. But doesn't change our enthusiasm. And also the off season is a great time to respond to what interests you. Right. Like what questions do you have that I may or may not be able to answer? Right. Last Week's episode, Top 10 Matches. A lot of notes, a lot of thoughts. Guess what happens when I don't know what's coming From Q&As, no notes, no notes, nothing. Producer Mike, walk us through what we got.

[Producer Mike]

Yeah. So all you truckers were wonderful. You responded to us on social media and all the other places where we put out postings asking for questions for Andy. So thank you guys for sending them in. And this week we got four videos. We actually got four video submissions.

[Andy Roddick]

Great.

[Producer Mike]

Including the first one from John in New York City.

[John Legend]

Hello, Andy, it's your boy, John Legend. I have a question for you. So after we saw Sinner and Alcaraz have that epic five plus hour French Open final, I said to a friend of mine on text, I was like, I think these are the most impressive athletes in the world. You know, they're doing this one on one, five hours. Speed, agility, precision, power, all of that. Just the most impressive athletes in the world. And then I heard you said something very similar on this show. So do you still think that one? And who is second place? Like, what other athletes would you consider in the running for most impressive athletes in other sports? Let me know.

[Producer Mike]

Great question.

[Andy Roddick]

Love him.

[Producer Mike]

He's awesome.

[Andy Roddick]

He's the best. Did he just send in a video? No, no, no.

[Producer Mike]

Kind of.

[Andy Roddick]

Kind of one. I love John Legend. I love Chrissy. They're two of my favorite people. He texted me after the Roland Garros final this year and I think that's when I'm not on Social. I don't kind of horse blinders on at times when I started getting inbound from people that I know aren't watching Vienna is when I know there's like a massive moment or something has. Has happened. I still think tennis players are the best athletes in the world. I think the physicality, I think the well rounded nature of what you have to be, you can't just be strong. You have to be. You have to have the endurance, you have to have the motor skills, you have to have, you know, the ability to get on a plane and recover and do all of those things. Who's second? I. I don't, I don't know.

[Producer Mike]

Oh, come on. You got think like basketball maybe in.

[Andy Roddick]

Terms of like, basketball's amazing. Soccer players are a joke.

[Producer Mike]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Andy Roddick]

They can run so far and so like there's running and then there's sprinting the entire time. Hockey players are fantastic. Stepping in against a baseball player and trying to hit a. But like we would all look like idiots.

[Producer Mike]

Yeah.

[Andy Roddick]

If you sit at home and you say, oh, you know when an athlete does something and they're professional at it and you go, oh, that looked like me. I could have made that. No, no. The answer is no.

[Producer Mike]

No.

[Andy Roddick]

Like, imagine me sitting here and being like, oh, that software looks pretty easy. I could do that. Like, how absurd would that be to say out loud? Yeah, you can't, you can't.

[Producer Mike]

Maybe, maybe now with AI.

[Andy Roddick]

Yeah. I know who has the best voice in this episode already.

[Producer Mike]

100%.

[Andy Roddick]

Isn't it amazing how me, right? No, it's not. It's John Legend. Isn't it amazing how smooth he talks, but also like he's never in a hurry.

[Producer Mike]

So cool.

[Andy Roddick]

Oh my God.

[Producer Mike]

One thing I saw recently on the the socials was a side by side of you serving and a baseball, a pitcher throwing and kind of the combination of the arm movement.

[Andy Roddick]

Yeah.

[Producer Mike]

And all of that through. Can you kind of talk through the depth of mechanics that you need to be able to do all of those things. Right. Because I think what the argument about the best athlete is is like the, the lateral movement, the speed, you know, the ability to change direct and then also even the serve and being able to do all that stuff. Athletically, it's just a mixture of a bunch of different.

[Andy Roddick]

It is. And you know what it is? It's less position specific than team sports. Right. Obviously you're by yourself, but like, you can be a great pitcher and you can't really run and you can't really hit. You know, in tennis, if you can't really serve or you can't really do this, you can't really have a job. Right. But like, the pitchers are like, what they're doing and like, but it's all nuance, Right. Like, I'm fascinated by watching pitchers because they're so good at what they do. You want to, you want to give away the grips as late as possible, Right. You want a similar arm angle when you're delivering three separate pitches. We always talk about. That's what makes, you know, what made Roger serve so amazing. That's what makes Andre one of the most underrated servers of all time, is different tosses. So he would like, toss it a little bit higher. So then your rhythm set is a little bit different. Right. Roger, he could hit the, you know, four different spots with, with four different spin profiles off of the same toss. So you can't read it. It's the same as pitchers. They are so good. It's not just about, oh, he throws 101. Great. I could serve 140. And if it goes straight, it's going to get firmed up by most of the tour. Right. Motion, nuance, how to run something in and out of the game, when to choose when to serve or when to do all of these things. Tennis, little different now because people can shout something at you, but like, you know, coach going forehand, like, that's not really like a sit down.

[Producer Mike]

Yeah.

[Andy Roddick]

Thing about tennis is, like, there's not a lot of input from anywhere else.

[Producer Mike]

Yeah.

[Andy Roddick]

You know, your mistakes are your own, your decisions are your own, and you're having to do them in real time. It's not like one at bat. You sit down, you go, you know, check the iPad for a while and then adjust. It's like you have 22 seconds and then fucky Magoo, you gotta, you gotta, you gotta like, you gotta do it again. But me saying we're the best athletes is, listen, I'm biased. I fully understand it. And I'll be damned if I don't defend this sport to the last. Like, I actually think we don't tell a story when we cover it of how hard this game is. And that was frankly one of the motivating factors for this podcast. Right? It's not like these three players can play and the rest suck. No, that's not it. This person's doing that. It's not working. Tell us why they're having to attempt this. Tell us why they're missing. Tell us why it looks bad. You know, this. It was a huge reason why I wanted to do this and have the time to kind of break things down. But tennis is hard. It's not saying a million other sports aren't. Aren't. Aren't hard. You know, I don't want to sit here and tell John Legend that, like, you know, his Ohio State Buckeyes is like, tennis is way harder than that. But I will. Next question first.

[Producer Mike]

I'll go blue. Next question is from an avid tennis player and friend of the show, Hannah.

[Fan/Listener]

Hi, Andy.

[Andy Roddick]

Oh, we're loading these up.

[Fan/Listener]

Huge fan. Very important question. During your visor era, how did you get your hair to be so spiked? What? What product did you use? Were using a blowout. How did it get so perfectly pointed? And then why did you stop wearing the visor? Cuz now no men wear the visor. And what do we have to do to bring the visor back?

[Producer Mike]

Thank you, Provisor.

[Andy Roddick]

Hannah, I love you. Thank you for listening to the show. You did an episode with Kim earlier this year. You're the best. We spent some time together at the hall of Fame. I'm curious to see who the last two people are because I feel like you've set precedent a little bit. It was a bedhead wax stick.

[Producer Mike]

Oh, the bedhead.

[Andy Roddick]

The wax.

[Producer Mike]

I remember the bedhead.

[Andy Roddick]

There was no blow dry. There was no, like, you can, like, you're in Saint Poltin, Austria. They don't have blow dry. Like, you don't know what you're dealing. Brad Gilbert killed the visor. Ruined it. I still blame him for my bald. Like, my bald spot in the back. Like, I have this weird theory and tell me if you guys think this is real or not. And be sure to write in if you have any experience. But like, I think if you wear a hat, it bald you. It pushes it up. I think it like right here, a lot of rubbing. These aren't my strengths. Those aren't my best spots. You know, I think if Brad Gilbert didn't Come into my life, I'd have a glorious head of hair.

[Producer Mike]

You think so?

[Andy Roddick]

Yeah. But even with all the stuff I take, like to make it seem less. Less. Less terrible.

[Producer Mike]

Yeah.

[Andy Roddick]

Which obviously.

[Producer Mike]

Do you think you'd ever frost tips again? You think you'd ever just.

[Andy Roddick]

I never frosted a tip.

[Producer Mike]

I don't know if I believe him.

[Andy Roddick]

Swear to God.

[Producer Mike]

I think I've seen some stuff.

[Andy Roddick]

Swear. Like we've seen photos. Yeah, you can see all the fucking photos you want. Was.

[Producer Mike]

It was just like a little lemon juice because you were down on that floor.

[Andy Roddick]

There's no lemon juice.

[Producer Mike]

That's.

[Andy Roddick]

That's the Marty Fish play.

[Producer Mike]

That's the Marty Fish.

[Andy Roddick]

Marty Fish couldn't get through a month without throwing something at his head.

[Producer Mike]

Just a little bit of dye, a little bit of something.

[Andy Roddick]

Copy tag him. Yeah, he had a lot of. He had a lot going on. He had like his. He was. He was. He had like full in sync going for a while.

[Producer Mike]

Full in sync?

[Andy Roddick]

No, mine was just like, listen, if sun shines on brown hair, it becomes a little lighter.

[Producer Mike]

I feel like we should. I feel like we should launch a visor.

[Andy Roddick]

As long. As long as I don't have to wear it. That highlights all the wrong spots for me. Now I gotta be. You'd look great in a visor.

[Producer Mike]

I don't know.

[Andy Roddick]

You'd look. You'd look fine in a visor. We can bring them back. We'll definitely make one just for Hannah. But yeah, let's do that in no uncertain terms. Brad Gilbert ruined my visor life and my hair would look like Fabio if he had never come into my life. Next question. Avoiding your unfinished home projects because you're not sure where to start. Thumbtack knows homes, so you don't have to. Don't know the difference between matte paint, finish and satin or what that clunking sound from your dryer is. With thumbtack, you don't have to be a home pro. You just have to hire one. You can hire top rated pros, see price estimates and read reviews all on the app download today.

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[Producer Mike]

Next question is from. It's a little question from Europe from a friend of the show.

[Fan/Listener]

Hi, Andy, my name is Lily. I'm 16 years old and I'm from Cologne, Germany. And my question is, what does a post match routine look like? How long does the process take? What happens right after the match? Do you go on a bike first? Do you do the press conference? How long does the process takes?

[Andy Roddick]

Great question, Lily. It depends on when you finish. It depends on like for instance, if you play a late match, the US Open, everything has to be expedited because you're already panicked about the match two days later and recovery. You already know you've written off half a night of rest. But yeah, generally you come off. I would, I would, I would stretch right away. If there was an ice option, I would do it. You start hydrating immediately. I hate the part I hated the most past, just like obvious pain, right? If you're dealing with an injury. But the easy part that I hated was having to eat within 20 minutes. So if you work out hard, you should put something into your body within 20 minutes after you finish. That is the biggest recovery meal that you would have. So Dougie, my trainer, Dougie Spring, legend would come with this gross foamy smoothie bullshit was gross. And I was still so nervous, like my stomach was still churning and I was still anxious and I didn't want to sit and eat. And he would make me like banana or rotten ass bar or smoothie foam thing or whatever. And I hated eating immediately after matches. But you stretch. You never, ever, ever rush a press conference. You get your work done before you go to the press conference. Now if you, if you're fresh, what.

[Producer Mike]

Do you mean by that? You get your work done before the press conference. You're getting off, you're getting on the.

[Andy Roddick]

Okay, so the way, so the way it works, I should explain this. So the way it works is you get off the court and you go to the locker room. And then at some point in those first five to 15 minutes, someone who's head of press for that event and, or the ATP or Slams, whatever, will come in and check in because they have to schedule a press conference. Like you can go immediately, you can go in five or 10 minutes. You could schedule one for two hours later. So it depends if you. I opened the US Open a couple times at 11am in the morning that first match and got through it quickly. At that point I feel good, body's fine. I'm in a. I want to get to the rest of the day. And at that point I'm like, okay, I want to go back into the city. I want to get away from the tennis. It's going to be a long two weeks. I want to do all my treatment in room. Right. And so I might rush a press conference and say I'll be there in 10 minutes and then do all the stuff afterwards because I have a full, especially if you played night match, you have full two and a half days recovery. So I'm not as worried. Whereas if you finish a late night match, you have to get food in your body. You have to ice if you want to, if you want to give your legs a quick little, little flush. Right. 20 minutes just to get lactic acid before you get to the, the longer one when you get back to the room. So it all depends on timing. But Lily, to your question, the longer the match goes, the longer the recovery process takes. The longer the match goes, the more urgency you have with those steps in the recovery process. Press never ever, ever dictated routine after the match. The recovery always dictated. When you did press never ever was like, oh, I have to get into press. I never, I should, I shouldn't say this because like obviously we're part of the hamster wheel now, but never once did I consider like journalist timelines or, or anything like that. Like, and people get pit. Well, you know, they finish the night match at one. I have to, you know, it's, it's. I can't stay until 2:30. I'm like, I have to, I have to stay till 2:30.

[Producer Mike]

Yeah.

[Andy Roddick]

Yeah. What are you talking about? Yeah, like I, you know, I need my body tomorrow. So never once thought about that. The, it was pretty clear what, what you, what, what you had to do. But it's, it's everything, everything. You mentioned hydration, have to get food into you immediately, like within the first 20, 25 minutes. That's something that people don't do enough even just generally with like working out and stuff. Stretch, ice, massage, maybe massage after massage and then hope that the adrenaline wears off in time for you to go to sleep. I keep referencing after night sessions because that was the worst. Yeah. For recovery. Best memories. The worst in real time.

[Producer Mike]

What's just a follow up to this? You know, it's, it's been a pretty significant gap in terms of like recovery technology since you retired. What are the Things that you're seeing now that you're like, man, I wish we would have had that in my recovery.

[Andy Roddick]

So I'll give you an example. I remember we. We used to. I got into ice bass, and I was probably one of the only people there. Like, I'd do it. And people like, that's stupid.

[Producer Mike]

Oh, really?

[Andy Roddick]

Yeah. Like, I would do it, but we used to.

[Producer Mike]

That was so common in other sports.

[Andy Roddick]

Yeah. Dougie Spring. Well, it's. You have to remember in other sports, you're building a locker room for a team for an entire season.

[Producer Mike]

Yeah, that's true.

[Andy Roddick]

If you're going to Vienna, Tennis has just rented that venue for a week. Right. You're not gonna change the infrastructure of the locker room for 40 tennis players for six days. Like, you're not gonna take on that cost. Right? And so, like, I remember even at the US Open, they had these huge, like, plastic tal bins, like, where you need, like, a real adult to push it. Right? And so Dougie would go find a spare one somewhere, and he would go, ice machine. So we would do it that way.

[Producer Mike]

And I would jump, grab one of the big, like, blue towel bins, and.

[Andy Roddick]

He would fill it up.

[Producer Mike]

Oh, my gosh.

[Andy Roddick]

And I would jump and do the big ass talbin. And now if I had to have an ice bath.

[Producer Mike]

That's crazy.

[Andy Roddick]

Like, and after a night session, you could do it because no one else is there. Yeah, right. Like, day session, you couldn't, and you'd want to go back or you do it in a tub or whatever. But yeah, like, I remember, Doug, when we played in Australia, we would do. And, like, we stayed at this hotel, and one of our requests was, can you. At some point, if I. You know, you can watch the match. If we're getting close to the end, can you fill the bathtub with ice?

[Producer Mike]

Wow.

[Andy Roddick]

And so we do that. We turn on the faucet, and then we would. We would jump in. Now, all those places have them, you know, and they have the. You know, what are those suits, the compression suits that make you look like the Michelin man? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, that one. All of this stuff. But I think the biggest technology points are basically getting data readouts on or data on what you need.

[Producer Mike]

So you can be really.

[Andy Roddick]

Well, they can tell you your potential risk for injury based on your rest periods over the previous three days. We didn't have that. Right. Like, the predictive nature of the data now has to be a massive advantage.

[Fan/Listener]

Oh, hey.

[Andy Roddick]

Welcome to gift wrapping. Whoa. So we saw Donna.

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Hey, can you wrap these please.

[Producer Mike]

Wow.

[Andy Roddick]

IPhone 17s.

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[Andy Roddick]

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[Andy Roddick]

So I have to trade in my old phone, right?

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[Andy Roddick]

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[Andy Roddick]

Forget that.

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[Andy Roddick]

Sounds like my family drama. Oh, I got it.

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[Andy Roddick]

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[Producer Mike]

All right, next up, we have a family of fans from north of the border.

[Andy Roddick]

Boom.

[Fan/Listener]

Hi surf team. It's Amy from Toronto with Mila the dog and baby Elsie. The whole crew is here to say that we love listening to the show. Well, Elsie doesn't really listen, but Mummy listens. Just want to say love the dynamic between all of the members of the team. Social Sophie, producer Mike JW Techie Sean. Just love the camaraderie and what you guys are putting out. Look forward to listening every Tuesday. My question is, you know the most recent episode where you talked about the sports betting and how player safety is becoming even more important with some of the threats, especially against female players. I'm so curious to learn more about just what your thoughts and what we can do to help protect our players.

[Producer Mike]

Thanks.

[Andy Roddick]

One Elsie is like one of the cutest babies I've ever seen. I know. So thank you so much for listening. Apologize in advance. I would be mortified if Elsie's first words were fucky Magoo. That would be, would not be great and I apologize. Is it bad that I saw a baby listening to our show and I was like, I felt guilt immediately. I'm sorry. Thank you for listening. All right. I don't know that we could ever say it enough. Almost two years into this thing, it's absurd. We get our numbers feedback week to week and year over year and it's just the most humbling thing ever. We come in here and we bullshit about a sport that we love. I can't believe people actually listen. I'm so thankful for it. Now you have 15 year olds come up that have never ever seen me play, don't remember that I played and just watch YouTube. I literally get asked about the YouTube guy. So thank you. I, we, I, you were saying how much you appreciate the camaraderie. It's something that we feel. I'm thankful for our, for our team. It's something that is genuine. I think the biggest thing, and you just saw Major League Baseball do it last week is stop these one pitch bets. Stop these one serve bets up these little prop bets. I think that's the biggest, biggest step you can take immediately because sports betting kind of used to be or at least the way I remember it, like if you bet with a buddy about a game, it's like let's bet 20 bucks on the Super Bowl. It's about a result and basically it's an investment in entertainment for the next three hours. Right. And we can be good natured. Your team sucks, you say go blue. When John Legend says, you know, Buckeye or what, you know, so it's just these little prop bets. One the athletes. It's gotten to a point where, and we saw with, with, with Classe and this other pitcher in Major League Baseball where the guy was doing it last year and his ERA was under one.

[Producer Mike]

Yeah. So like he was basically betting just on random like pitches and random games.

[Andy Roddick]

He would say, you could say like if the counts three, oh, I'm going to throw a ball and you know, someone might ch. Whatever it is. But like these little one off bets, you know, even the same with, with, with Rozier and like everyone who's kind of getting into trouble, the smaller the sample size with which an athlete can throw something, you're going to get a lot more bad behavior. Right. If you're betting on an entire result. Right. Where you have to actually invest in two or three hours or with a friend or like, you got to get rid of these many prop bets. And I hope that tennis follows the lead of, of Major League Baseball. Now the challenges are, you know, Major League Baseball, you sign, like a massive contract. 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. Yeah, right. And the abuse is horrendous. It's just 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. Let's just do the minimum to create the most effect on safety with betting the right way. Right. My head's not in the sand. I understand. You got to go to where the money is if you want to improve the game. And I hope that's what we end up doing with this. Right. I hope, even if it's decisions with tournaments, going places or betting or what things that, I don't know, like, aren't popular all the way around, hopefully people can understand. Let's take the bag and let's improve the sport.

[Producer Mike]

Yeah.

[Andy Roddick]

Tell us how you're going to improve the sport. Also, that, that would make it a lot easier to digest. But these mini bets and JW was all over it in the gambling episode. That was like his thing, and I fully agree with him.

[Producer Mike]

Yeah. I think there's a big part of the abuse, too, comes from the fact that it's so much easier for people to get touch points into athletes nowadays. And I think tennis players, more so than other major athletes, run their own social media accounts. Yeah, right. Like it's. You are directing, they are getting messages from folks and they're seeing them because they are the ones managing their own accounts on like a Tom Brady or somebody like that.

[Andy Roddick]

Well, the entire landscape of connection between athlete and fan has changed with social media. Yeah, right. We used to go play Memphis and what you would do is you'd sit down with the five journalists in Memphis who, you know, had to run the stories for the region and you would tell a story to that region. But you needed a conduit to talk about the tournament, to talk about how you're feeling, to talk. You don't need that now. Massive profiles are still available. But that week to week thing, players. The advantages are players can largely control their own narratives now. Right. Like you don't need someone and you don't used to do an interview and you had no idea how it was going to come out. You don't know if you're going to.

[Producer Mike]

Get smoked because you wouldn't see it right away. Right?

[Andy Roddick]

No, it's like they found something wrong with what you said and maybe that turns into the story or whatever. So there are advantages to it. And also so many more touch points. Right. Like there's no world where I'm taking feedback, you know, in 2003, after a bad match from tens of thousands of people. And like anyone betting on one serve, a significant amount of money isn't going to care about your feelings for the most part. You know, if it's enough money to ruin your day, I just think you're more likely to get an extreme reaction from that person. Right. And if that's their livelihood that they've somehow held you accountable for. Isn't it amazing how betters.

[Producer Mike]

It's like.

[Andy Roddick]

It's like when they win, it's like, why'd you win? Because I am a great gambler. I am a great gambler. That's why I won't.

[Producer Mike]

Yeah.

[Andy Roddick]

Why did you lose? Because that player sucks.

[Producer Mike]

That is. I've never actually thought about it that way. It's actually great.

[Andy Roddick]

Yeah, I'm a great gambler, but when I lose, it's because that player sucks. And I'm going to write a nasty anonymous note to that player because I suck at gambling.

[Producer Mike]

Make me rethink the way I think about when I play blackjack because I definitely never get the right card until I decide if it's the right time to hit.

[Andy Roddick]

That's like a. I mean, those data, that math has been proven for a long time. It's lucky. It's not lucky. You're going to. I don't know. But as long as they can keep there long enough to sell you four drinks, you're like, you know, it's a win. But this is a little bit different. But I don't know. I just want my first humble gambler. Yeah.

[Producer Mike]

Well, maybe next time.

[Andy Roddick]

Yeah. Anyways. Is that.

[Producer Mike]

It is. That's it. And you know what? I think we like doing this so much, I feel like we should get you to do it every week.

[Andy Roddick]

I think we're going to.

[Producer Mike]

Yeah.

[Andy Roddick]

Thursday's next year. Expanding our offerings. We obviously have your Friday situation.

[Producer Mike]

Yep. Friday Five seller.

[Andy Roddick]

That's it. We're going to fill a whole bunch more content this year. I like doing these fan Q and A's. We're going to try to do a couple questions every week. I don't know, how's it, how's it work?

[Producer Mike]

Yeah, we'll do about four questions every week. Every Thursday show will come out and it'll be served Q and Andy. And we'll be doing like that.

[Andy Roddick]

See what you did there?

[Producer Mike]

Yeah.

[Andy Roddick]

Can I, can I, can I go off on one more thing?

[Producer Mike]

Of course.

[Andy Roddick]

Real quick. This is. You're going to be listening to this the week after Thanksgiving, so maybe it's fresh in your mind and I want, I want to get you guys opinion on this.

[Producer Mike]

Okay.

[Andy Roddick]

Because I have a theory, but I got in an argument with a friend last week about it. I know that's. You can't believe it.

[Producer Mike]

Nope.

[Andy Roddick]

Sure. So you guys like stuffing? Love stuffing. You love it. Love it. You love it. You love it. You.

[Producer Mike]

I like it.

[Andy Roddick]

You love it. Love it. Okay. How many times this year have you had stuffing outside of Thanksgiving? I know your answer. Yeah, it's zero. Zero.

[Producer Mike]

That's not true. I had a Thanksgiving sandwich. I forget where we were. I think it might have been when we were up in Newport, there was a place that had a Thanksgiving sandwich and had stuffing on it.

[Andy Roddick]

You're more likely to have stuffing if you just like it versus people are like, I love it. I don't know. Does everyone really like cranberry sauce?

[Producer Mike]

I mean, I do when it's.

[Andy Roddick]

Do we need to put marshmallows on top of potatoes?

[Producer Mike]

That one's weird. That one's weird to me.

[Andy Roddick]

What?

[Producer Mike]

You ready? We never did that growing up.

[Andy Roddick]

You ready for it?

[Producer Mike]

Social.

[Andy Roddick]

Sophie, get ready. This is gonna kill it. I think Thanksgiving food is average. I do. I actually had a conversation with someone last night and she said, I think that we should switch from turkey to steak.

[Producer Mike]

This is my.

[Andy Roddick]

Oh, my God. You know what? I actually don't disagree with you. Turkey's not that great. You know the response, the stuffing one led you down a rabbit hole. Literally everyone's like, I love stuffing. I go, what else do you love? That is a pretty low price point comparatively, that you can have 365 days a year that you don't choose to ever have. Yeah, bullshit techie. Sean. What if I had it more often? Would I actually love it? I'm sorry. Like, because my.

[Producer Mike]

My ideal plate. My ideal plate, which we had is, you know, a little bit of turkey, a little Bit of honey baked ham.

[Andy Roddick]

I like the ham.

[Producer Mike]

A red lobster, cheddar biscuit, some creamy mashed potatoes, and a little bit of stuffing. Cut that. Cut that biscuit open and slap all that in a sandwich. Thanksgiving sandwich.

[Andy Roddick]

Like, everyone's like, oh, I hate. I love cranberry sauce. Like, when's the last you have a. You choose to have it once a year. It's not that hard.

[Producer Mike]

Do you do, like, the chunky cranberry sauce or the one that looks like the can as it comes out?

[Andy Roddick]

I'm glad you asked. I don't do any cranberry sauce because it fucking sucks. It does. I like it. So gross.

[Producer Mike]

I'm sorry.

[Andy Roddick]

So. And people are like, oh, well, you know, you can't say that. Okay. And in turkey, okay, let's take the toughest meat to prepare, where you have to, like, thread the needle, you have to stick your arm up it, and no one can ever get it right.

[Producer Mike]

Yeah.

[Andy Roddick]

It's like the worst of the meats. Sorry. Or you. You try and fry it and risk lighting your house on fire. I'm sorry. I could lit. And everyone. Everyone goes to the frying argument. I could fry my notebook and it would be fine. Right? Like, here's my proposal.

[Producer Mike]

Yeah.

[Andy Roddick]

Because I'll be like, thanksgiving, food sucks. And I'd be like, I can't believe you don't like getting together with family. I'm like, that's not what I said. If there's a day centered around, and it's like, well, that's what they ate 300 years ago, I go, prove it. Well, prove it one. But, like, without Mike's tinfoil hat. Also, it's like, we've made advances. Did you ride your horse over here? I think I'm gonna make the move. Did your milk get delivered to your doorstep this morning? Like, how far do we want to take this?

[Producer Mike]

I'm gonna make the move to steak, dude.

[Andy Roddick]

Here's my proposal, and tell me why I'm wrong. If we're going to each bring a dish. Yeah. Why are we going to spend time on something we are average at? Maybe it's the preparation. Someone nails a turkey. That's great. And also, I want to put a poll up. How many people think they're good at making turkey. And that's going to be like a 70, 80% number versus how many people think other people are good at making turkey. It's going to be 20%. 60% of you guys are liars.

[Producer Mike]

My brother's good at making turkey, and that's pretty Much It.

[Andy Roddick]

That's it. And he's the only one. You know more than that. You know more people than that. No, here's what I think. Why does. Why don't we create a greatest hits album? Why do we have to, like, make people listen to the B sides?

[Producer Mike]

They're like a little buffet.

[Andy Roddick]

Especially the one holiday that's revolved around food. Why is it. That's a great point. The entire day. And Brooks is going to roll her eyes when this comes out because I go off on this tangent, like, once a week right now.

[Producer Mike]

She lives our show.

[Andy Roddick]

No, she doesn't. But she'll see this clip because I'm sure this will be the viral one. Because she's like, he hates. Thanks. I love Thanksgiving. I just think we can do better. Why not? If you're gonna bring a dish to Thanksgiving, like Teki Sean, I'm assuming you don't cook all the time, but you had a background, so that's the wrong part. I'm assuming you don't cook all the time, Mike.

[Producer Mike]

No. No, I don't. I love cooking, but I don't.

[Andy Roddick]

But what is your banger? What do you walk into a room full of 10 people and you have to make, like, what do you.

[Producer Mike]

Steak.

[Andy Roddick]

Great. See? Great.

[Producer Mike]

Or a burger.

[Andy Roddick]

Techie Sean. Chicken picotto, probably. Okay, so do you know how excited I would be? That'd be amazing. If you were like. And techie Sean can actually. Like, he's good at it. But if you came in and I was like, I didn't know what was coming. Right. Also, there's no drama. Like, if we have a day around.

[Producer Mike]

Oh, you're just talking like, bam, reveal.

[Andy Roddick]

Oh, my God. If techie Sean comes in, he's like, techie Sean, what'd you do? He's like, I am great at chicken piccata. I'd be like, boom. In my belly.

[Producer Mike]

I like that.

[Andy Roddick]

Like, I think, why not? Why. Why do we not have.

[Producer Mike]

Can we all agree Mac and cheese is delicious? Yeah.

[Andy Roddick]

Mac and cheese is amazing.

[Producer Mike]

Boom. That's the one. That's the one.

[Andy Roddick]

Great. But how often do you have Mac and cheese outside of Thanksgiving?

[Producer Mike]

I try as often as possible because it's actually awesome.

[Andy Roddick]

It's not Thanksgiving awesome. It's always awesome. Like, that's the entire point.

[Producer Mike]

Yeah.

[Andy Roddick]

Yeah.

[Advertisement Voice 2]

Right?

[Producer Mike]

Like, this is great. It's a good point. You know what? You know what? I am thankful for the checkers.

[Andy Roddick]

Next year's Thanksgiving. When you make what you want.

[Producer Mike]

I know. Next year, we'll just do it. We'll do. I'm going to do a steak giving.

[Andy Roddick]

I'm sorry. If someone brought like. I know, I know. You're. You're a pizza fan. If someone brought a beautiful wood fired pizza over. Over turkey, I would. I mean that's just. That's way better. Sorry. Yeah, but it doesn't have marshmallows on it. Like. Give me a break. Sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top is incredible. Once a year. Exactly. I think that's good all year round then.

[Producer Mike]

Really great.

[Andy Roddick]

When was the last time you had it? I'll make it in March next year. That's not what I asked. This is not a retro. This is not a proposition.

[Producer Mike]

This is de round.

[Andy Roddick]

Right. But I just think. I don't know if we're going to carve out an entire day. Yeah. Based around food. Why would we not have all bangers?

[Producer Mike]

I'm in.

[Andy Roddick]

Right.

[Producer Mike]

I'm in.

[Andy Roddick]

Thank you for watching. Served. AI is only as powerful as the platform it's built on. With the ServiceNow AI platform, your AI data and workflows all work together, connecting every corner of your business. To see how you can put AI to work for people, visit servicenow.com AI agents.