Andy Roddick On The Ugly Truth Behind How We Treat Serena Williams

Serena has been unfairly attacked over the years.

• Justin Block Associate Sports Editor, The Huffington Post

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Retired American tennis player Andy Roddick won't be playing at the U.S. Open this year (despite the best wishes of some fans), but he is watching the matches closely, especially those of Serena Williams, the tournament's defending champion -- the only champion who's been forced to deflect accusations of match-fixing and body-shaming takedowns, seemingly all at once.

At the U.S. Open, Williams is attempting to win her 22nd career Grand Slam title to tie Steffi Graf for second all-time, which would also give her a true calendar year Grand Slam -- the first since Graf did it in 1988. With so much history on the line for Williams, Roddick voiced his support for her in an interview with The New York Observer published on Wednesday.

Roddick, who's been best friends with Williams since they were 8 years old, reflected on their journey together, noting that he faced far less criticism over the years for his outlandish behavior compared to her (emphasis ours).

To see her come from the 10-year-old with beads in her hair -- I mean [expletive], just to see her become just this complete icon and the best female athlete of all time. I love the respect she’s getting this week in the lead-up too. She has the support of an entire country. We threw lots of fits on the court. I was a [jerk] a lot of the time, and I didn’t get a quarter of the criticism that she ever got. To see her at this moment, and on the precipice of doing something great, and that will be remembered forever, it’s just so cool. I’m so happy for her, and I hope she does it.”

Throughout his professional tennis career, Roddick was poorly tempered and indignant to entire legions of tennis officials. He even tried to fight Novak Djokovic in the U.S. Open locker room in 2013. In press conferences and at events, Roddick was known for brushing it all away with self-deprecating humor, escaping harsh media criticism while he racked up fines for his antics. Generally, any time Roddick had displayed disrespectful behavior, he's been able to simply exit the moment by leveraging his privilege as a white male in a sport that's long been dominated, culturally and in terms of record holders, by white males. 

MADDIE MEYER VIA GETTY IMAGES

Ultimately, Roddick's bad-boy image isn't anything that he can't joke about. In fact, he did just that in February, reading a tongue-in-cheek apology note to tennis officials he's abused over the years on Fox Sports Live. And it was funny, too! The ability to candidly joke about one's multiple public meltdowns and takedowns of officials on the court is not something that's ever been afforded to Williams, a vastly more accomplished professional than Roddick.

As Roddick pointed out to The New York Observer, Williams simply gets criticized more for doing less. Claudia Rankine dutifully explored why that is in her August New York Times Magazine piece on Williams, noting attacks on Williams and her body have often come in the form of blissfully wrapped and coded racist sentiments. 

Imagine that you’re the player John McEnroe recently described as ‘‘the greatest player, I think, that ever lived.’’ Imagine that, despite all this, there were so many bad calls against you, you were given as one reason video replay needed to be used on the courts. Imagine that you have to contend with critiques of your body that perpetuate racist notions that black women are hypermasculine and unattractive. Imagine being asked to comment at a news conference before a tournament because the president of the Russian Tennis Federation, Shamil Tarpischev, has described you and your sister as ‘‘brothers’’ who are ‘‘scary’’ to look at. Imagine.

What Rankine describes is not impossible to imagine, because, as Roddick inferred, this shit's been happening. Time and time again.

It just took one black woman, a 21-time Grand Slam winner, and her imminent future as tennis' G.O.A.T. for us to earnestly talk about it.

Also on HuffPost:

Serena’s Historic Summer In Pictures

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  Serena Williams of the U.S. returns in her semifinal match of the French Open tennis tournament against Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland at the Roland Garros stadium, in Paris, France, Thursday, June 4, 2015. Williams won in three sets 4-6, 6-3, 6-0. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
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  Serena Williams of the U.S. reacts she plays Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic during their final match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium, Saturday, June 6, 2015 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
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  Serena Williams of the U.S. screams after scoring a point in her semifinal match of the French Open tennis tournament against Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland at the Roland Garros stadium, in Paris, France, Thursday, June 4, 2015. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
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  Serena Williams of the U.S. reacts as she plays Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland during their semifinal match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium, Thursday, June 4, 2015 in Paris. (AP Photo/David Vincent)
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  Serena Williams of the U.S. serves in her semifinal match of the French Open tennis tournament against Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland at the Roland Garros stadium, in Paris, France, Thursday, June 4, 2015. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
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  Serena Williams of the U.S. returns the ball to Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic during their final match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium, Saturday, June 6, 2015 in Paris. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
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  Serena Williams of the U.S. celebrates winning the first set in the final of the French Open tennis tournament against Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic at the Roland Garros stadium, in Paris, France, Saturday, June 6, 2015. (AP Photo/David Vincent)
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  Serena Williams of the U.S reacts as se plays Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic during their final match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium, Saturday, June 6, 2015 in Paris. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
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  Serena Williams of the U.S. reacts she plays Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic during their final match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium, Saturday, June 6, 2015 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
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  Serena Williams of the U.S. reacts after defeating Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic during their final match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium, Saturday, June 6, 2015 in Paris. Williams won 6-3, 6-7, 6-2. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
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  Serena Williams of the U.S. celebrates winning the final of the French Open tennis tournament against Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic in three sets, 6-3, 6-7, 6-2, at the Roland Garros stadium, in Paris, France, Saturday, June 6, 2015. (AP Photo/David Vincent)
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  Serena Williams of the U.S. returns in the final of the French Open tennis tournament against Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic at the Roland Garros stadium, in Paris, France, Saturday, June 6, 2015. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
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  Serena Williams of the U.S. holds the trophy after winning the final of the French Open tennis tournament against Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic in three sets, 6-3, 6-7, 6-2, at the Roland Garros stadium, in Paris, France, Saturday, June 6, 2015. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
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  Serena Williams of the U.S. clenches her fists after defeating Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic during their final match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium, Saturday, June 6, 2015 in Paris. Williams won 6-3, 6-7, 6-2. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
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  Serena Williams of the U.S. poses for a selfie with the trophy in the cloakroom after winning the French Open Tennis tournament against Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic, at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, Saturday, June 6, 2015. Williams won 6-3, 6-7, 6-2. (Corinne Dubreuil, FFT, Pool via AP)
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  Serena Williams of the U.S holds the cup after defeating Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic during their final match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium, Saturday, June 6, 2015 in Paris. Williams won 6-3, 6-7, 6-2. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
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  Serena Williams of the U.S. poses with the cup after defeating Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic in their final match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium, Saturday, June 6, 2015 in Paris. Williams won 6-3, 6-7, 6-2. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
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  Serena Williams of the U.S. holds the trophy after winning the final of the French Open tennis tournament against Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic in three sets, 6-3, 6-7, 6-2, at the Roland Garros stadium, in Paris, France, Saturday, June 6, 2015. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
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  Serena Williams of the U.S. holds the trophy after winning the final of the French Open tennis tournament against Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic in three sets, 6-3, 6-7, 6-2, at the Roland Garros stadium, in Paris, France, Saturday, June 6, 2015. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
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  Serena Williams of the U.S. holds the trophy after winning the final of the French Open tennis tournament against Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic in three sets, 6-3, 6-7, 6-2, at the Roland Garros stadium, in Paris, France, Saturday, June 6, 2015. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
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  Serena Williams of the U.S. poses with the cup after defeating Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic in their final match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium, Saturday, June 6, 2015 in Paris. Williams won 6-3, 6-7, 6-2. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
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  Serena Williams of the U.S. poses with her trophy after defeating Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic in three sets, 6-3, 6-7, 6-2, in the women's final of the French Open tennis tournament, at Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, Saturday, June 6, 2015. The Eiffel Tower is seen in the background. (AP Photo/David Vincent)
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  Serena Williams of the United States celebrates winning a point against Garbine Muguruza of Spain, during the women's singles final at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Saturday July 11, 2015. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
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  Serena Williams of the United States plays a return to Garbine Muguruza of Spain during the women's singles final at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Saturday July 11, 2015. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
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  Serena Williams of the United States returns a shot to Garbine Muguruza of Spain during the women's singles final at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Saturday July 11, 2015. (Dominic Lipinski, Pool Photo via AP)
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  Serena Williams of the United States plays a return to Garbine Muguruza of Spain during the women's singles final at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Saturday July 11, 2015. (Dominic Lipinski/Pool Photo via AP)
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  Serena Williams of the United States holds up the trophy after winning the women's singles final against Garbine Muguruza of Spain, at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Saturday July 11, 2015. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
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  Serena Williams of the United States holds up the trophy after winning the women's singles final against Garbine Muguruza of Spain, at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Saturday July 11, 2015. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
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  Serena Williams of the United States holds the trophy after winning the women's singles final against Garbine Muguruza of Spain, at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Saturday July 11, 2015. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
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  Serena Williams of the United States holds up the trophy after winning the women's singles final against Garbine Muguruza of Spain, at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Saturday July 11, 2015. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
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 Photo by: KGC-03/STAR MAX/IPx 2015 7/12/15 Serena Williams at the Wimbledon Champions Dinner held at The Guildhall. (London, England, UK)
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  Wimbledon Champions Novak Djokovic of Serbia, right, and Serena Williams of the US, dance on stage at the Wimbledon Champion dinner, at the Guildhall, London, Sunday, July 12, 2015. (Thomas Lovelock, Pool Photo via