On Night 1 of the US Open, Andy Roddick Was Honored at the USTA Foundation’s Annual Gala

On the debut night of the 2024 US Open, the USTA Foundation hosted its 23rd annual Opening Night Gala from the gleaming aerie of Arthur Ashe Stadium’s President’s Suite (if new to tennis geography: Arthur Ashe is the flagship arena at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, New York, where the US Open is held).

The event drew the likes of Vera Wang, Alec Baldwin, Anna Wintour, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and many more, who enjoyed a quick cocktail half-hour before a seated dinner and fundraising auction ahead of the evening’s first contest: Sloane Stephens versus Clara Burel (Stephens, a former US Open champion, would win her first set handily before ultimately losing the match).

The Annual Gala serves as a charity event for the USTA Foundation, which supports underprivileged youth country-wide through tennis and education programs. Since 2015, the group has bestowed something called the Serving Up Dreams Award, which goes to an individual or individuals who embody the values of dedicated service aligned with the Foundation’s mission. 2024’s recipient? Andy Roddick, whose eponymous organization carries out similar youth-centric philanthropic efforts.

“We started off with a tennis clinic in the year 2000,” says Roddick, sitting at ease in one of the President’s Suite’s corners. “And now, we serve 50,000 kids a day in central Texas.” He adds, humbly: “In the house of Arthur and the center of Billie, to get this honor in this place, amongst these giant names… I’m happy with it personally, but I am happier for our staff, our team, and our kids.”

Roddick is the most recent American man to win a Grand Slam–the US Open, back in 2003. He has remained deeply involved with the sport, his foundation notwithstanding; Roddick runs a popular podcast called “Served” and has stayed a tennis celebrity even across the era of those that followed him (think: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic). He’s as close as anyone to the sport’s evolution, which has had a zenith year in 2024–and plenty of spillover into pop culture (Challengers, et al.)

“I think when it looked like we were eventually going to lose Roger and Serena to retirement, Venus too, and I don’t know if we’ll see Rafa again, I was kind of concerned that there would be a vacuum of interest. When you lose your biggest stars, it is a logical thought. But… I was completely wrong. The COVID-era bump in participation is now manifesting in fandom. And it seems like every week, there’s a new doc on the streamers. Tennis’s story is getting told more and more.”

He laughs briefly. “Here I am talking about storytelling, and Lin-Manuel Miranda is right out there. I might throw up. I’m star-struck.”

David Scharf, USTA Foundation’s Secretary, and Officer of the Board, echoes Roddick’s sentiment regarding popular interest; where there was a fear around the fading of the greats, many have found that the youth aren’t bothered. They’re looking at their contemporaries.

“Kids are relating to tennis in a new way,” he says. “They see Coco Gauff, Frances Tiafoe, Sloane Stephens, Carlos Alcaraz. These are the players inspiring the youth to pick up a racquet. We try to help to make that happen.”

Roddick is encouraged by the state of US pro tennis, too. Right now marks the first time since 1997 that there are five American men in the top twenty.

“What I like in this group is that there’s a healthy jealousy. There’s a belief system. If Tommy Paul goes and makes a semis somewhere, Taylor Fritz says, ‘yeah, I can do that too.’ We’ve seen this kind of leveling up, together. In our best eras, we see this at play.”

He adds: “Not to mention, there are also five American women in the top 20 on the WTA Tour. This isn’t as new of a scenario, but, to say the US has 25% of the top 40 players on earth, in a global sport? I think that’s pretty great.”