Andy Roddick gives tutorial for Zverev, Kyrgios, Brooksby: This is how you throw the racket correctly!
Andy Roddick has joined the discussion about throwing too many racquets - in his own way.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Mar 26, 2022, 09:11 am
Andy Roddick is known as an entertainer in the tennis business, with him it was never boring even when he was active. Now the ex-number 1 has taken on a serious topic: the recently increased freaking out of the ATP stars.
We remember: Alexander Zverev almost physically attacked the referee in Acapulco, Nick Kyrgios almost hit a linesman with a racket throw in Indian Wells. And Jason Brooksby in Miami as well.
Roddick, known for his dry humor, promised that he would help his colleagues avoid drama. "And show you how to throw a bat without getting in trouble." He himself could serve as a role model, having only received a point deduction in the course of his career.
"When you throw a bat, it's advantageous to hit it face down," said Roddick, so he would not fly anywhere, he explained - and demonstrated it impressively. "You don't hit anyone, he lands in a manageable area." So far so good.
Kim Clijsters: "What a great mentor!"
And when hitting the ball? We remember Novak Djokovic , who was disqualified at the US Open in 2020 after carelessly hitting a ball behind him and hit a linesman.
When you hit a ball out of anger, Roddick says, "Hit it up! Then no one can get hit hard." As opposed to slapping him flat. "Otherwise you might hit your neck," he alluded to Djokovic's mishap. The same applies if you thunder the bat sideways - as Roddick once again impressively demonstrated (to the chagrin of a tree).
His "teaching video" naturally spread rapidly, to the amusement of many colleagues. "What a great mentor," said Kim Clijsters with a laugh. "When the clubface faces down, the frame is also less likely to break," said Laura Robson, adding another advantage of this throwing technique.
Wife Brooklyn Decker is 'mighty excited...'
Only one seemed rather mediocre enthusiastic about the tutorial: Roddick's wife Brooklyn Decker, not only necessarily equipped with gallows humor. "I'm mighty excited that our kids now know how to properly throw a tantrum," she commented sarcastically.
A small disclaimer from us, keywords role model function and material costs: By the way, you do the least evil if you don't throw your rackets at all, but simply play better tennis...