"More accomplishments Iga Swiatek has, the more intimidating it is to play her": Andy Roddick on the World No. 1's 'aura' and how it disarms opponents

Former World No. 1 Andy Roddick and tennis journalist Jon Wertheim recently took on a topic that has become synonymous with discourses about the sport — aura.

Most fans would remember Novak Djokovic's comments from January this year, where he admitted to being intimidated by Rafael Nadal's locker room presence ahead of their first-ever match at the French Open in 2006. That's exactly what "aura" means in tennis; certain players have such established credentials that they hold the advantage in a match even before it starts.

In that context, Jon Wertheim fielded a question to Andy Roddick that he had got from a fan. He used Djokovic's underwhelming 2024 season and Iga Swiatek's recent dominance of the WTA Tour as two examples.

"I got a really interesting question, like half an hour ago before we did this. This whole idea of aura. Novak losing his aura in the locker room," the journalist said (at 1:08:28). "Conversely, does Iga have so much aura that's worth 'X' games even before she goes on court?"

In response, Andy Roddick claimed that the tennis community should give much more emphasis to a player's accomplishments than the effect they might have on their peers in the locker room.

"I think aura is this catch-all word which, in fact, we're talking about accomplishment. The more accomplishments Iga Swiatek has, the more intimidating it is to play her. Not because she walks in the locker room and everyone moves out of the way to create a line," Andy Roddick said (at 1:10:20).

"Everyone goes about their business, when you're on the court, you're confronted with what they're presenting as a player and that is the intimidating thing," he added.

Andy Roddick: "Aura is not a halo around someone's head"

Andy Roddick also claimed that many fans wrongly believe that players gain confidence on a whim as they reach the important stages of a tournament. Instead, he argued that pros can only have an increasing belief in their abilities if their games are fundamentally strong.

"It's one of these things that, like, I think fans use a lot. I think some journalists use a lot. Michael Jordan is like, 'I will flip a switch!' No, if you're an athlete, you'd choose to play well all the time. That's the point. It's not as if we're ever out there one time in my entire life and I've been in the first round of Miami and I'm playing great," Andy Roddick said (at 1:09:04). 'Maybe if I play worse now, I'll play better later,' like that's not a f***ing thing."

"So aura is not a halo around someone's head. The aura comes with knowing that you have to change your style of play, and that is intimidating in its own way. It's the adjustments that you have to make," he continued.

The former World No. 1 went as far as to suggest that the term "aura" was one of the age-old stereotypes associated with world-class athletes.

"And then the eventual exhaustion if that doesn't work and you're down 6-2, 2-0. Because your best chance at winning... you're upping risk profile, and therefore, if it doesn't work out, you look like an idiot," Roddick said (at 1:09:55).

And then someone saying, 'Hit it to his backhand!' Ugh! I promise you we have thought about that. I understand the stereotypes around athletes," he added.