Tennis Great Speaks Out as Americans Want Ash Barty Amid Serena Williams Split
American tennis great Andy Roddick says he does not want to see Ash Barty overshadowed by Serena Williams heading into the International Tennis Hall of Fame voting process.
The former US Open champ spoke out as drama continues to swirl surrounding the decision to overlook Williams from the list of nominations for the Hall of Fame Class of 2027.
Barty was the headline nominee announced on Monday alongside Juan Martin del Potro and Svetlana Kuznetsova in the player category.
Japan’s Shingo Kunieda is up for nomination in the wheelchair tennis category.
However, the entire process has been overshadowed by Williams missing out.
Under the criteria of players needing to have been retired for more than five years, the 23-time grand slam champ will have to wait until 2032 to finally be inducted if officials rule her 2026 season dalliance constitutes an active career.
Roddick, who has been inducted into the Hall of Fame, said it was “bulls***” that Williams may have to wait another five years.
“I know it’s supposed to reset the clock,” Roddick said on his Served podcast.
Are we saying that if she plays another year, we are gonna wait for Serena to get into the Hall of Fame? Let’s say she plays next year. We are gonna wait until 2033, when Serena’s like 50, to put her into the Hall of Fame? Bulls***. Right now.
“If you get a unanimous yes, I don’t care how long you have been retired. Who would have actually cared if Serena came back right now and was already in the Hall of Fame? Who would say that’s wrong? That doesn’t make any sense.”
The 44-year-old also lamented the possibility of Barty’s inclusion getting overshadowed by Williams — which would have been even more severe if Williams had made the list for 2027.
“Honestly, if I’m this class, I don’t know if I want Ash Barty to be overshadowed by Serena going in the same year,” he said.
“Ash Barty. I miss Ash. I’ve thought that like twice this week. I miss her on tour. I’m happy that she retired and she’s happy and all that, but man I just feel like, she was one of my favourites to watch.”
The complex voting process means Barty, Kuznetsova and del Potro could all be inducted at the same time. However, del Potro and Kuznetsova were overlooked when nominated last year with Roger Federer the only player added to the Hall of Fame for the Class of 2026.
Fan voting, which makes up part of the voting result, begins on October 25.
Williams would have been an automatic addition if not for her ill-fated return to play in the ladies draw at Wimbledon this year where she was defeated by Aussie Maya Joint.
Williams first retired after playing the 2022 US Open and some tennis commentators have shared surprise at the 45-year-old’s name missing from the announcement.
The Official Voting Group which is made up of tennis journalists, historians, and Hall of Famers, will cast also their ballots before December.
To be elected to the Hall of Fame, candidates must receive an affirmative vote of at least 75 per cent or higher from the combined total of the Official Voting Group result, and any bonus percentage points earned in the Fan Vote.
The date for the 2027 Induction Celebration has not yet been set.
The general benchmark for Hall of Fame induction has traditionally been a minimum of three slams and more than 13 weeks as world No. 1.
Barty is the only player who meets this criteria this year.
Lleyton Hewitt was the most recent Australian to be inducted when he was added to the Hall of Fame in 2021
