What’s the story?
Andy Roddick’s wife Brooklyn Decker has said that the former World No.1 has thrown away almost all of his trophies during a cleaning spree at their house in Austin, Texas. In an interview with People magazine, the fashion model stated, “We have his US Open trophy, but all his other trophies Andy threw away in the garbage.”
“It was really upsetting. He did it one day when I was out of town. [He] said that ‘these don’t mean success to me, these don’t define me and I don’t really care to have these material things sitting around the house’, so he threw them in the trash. I think he saved a few but they are not on display.”
Since his retirement in 2012, Roddick has been working on his foundation with the motive of aiding at-risk youth.
In case you didn’t know...
In January, it was announced that Roddick along with another former World No. 1 Kim Clijsters would be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. The ceremony is scheduled to take place eight days from today at the Hall of Fame located in Newport, Rhode Island.
The heart of the matter
Known for his huge serve and on-court temper, Roddick is the last American male player to have won a Grand Slam Singles title. He won the 2003 US Open aged 21 when he defeated former French Open champ, Juan Carlos Ferrero.
The 34-year-old went on to reach four more major finals during his career including three Wimbledon finals in 2004, 2005, and 2009 as well as a second US Open final in 2006 but ended up losing to Roger Federer on all four occasions.
Roddick won a total of 32 titles during his 12-year professional career that ended at the 2012 US Open where he lost to Juan Martin del Potro in the fourth round in four sets.
What’s next?
Roddick will be looking forward to being inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on the 22nd alongside Clijsters, wheelchair player Monique Kalkman-van den Bosch, tennis historian Steve Flink, and late instructor Vic Braden.
Author’s take
It is strange that one of the most accomplished tennis players of the 21st century threw away most of his hard-earned trophies which are the reasons for his induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. While Roddick claims that these trophies don’t define him, throwing them away is a disrespect to his years of hard work.
