2003 US Open champion Andy Roddick will be honored with the USTA Foundation's Serving Up Dreams Award at the 2024 US Open, an award which recognizes an individual or group who embodies the spirit of the mission of the USTA Foundation.
A stalwart of U.S. tennis for the entirety of his professional career, Roddick reached five Grand Slam singles titles in his career in total; ended nine consecutive seasons inside the world’s Top 10 from 2002-10; represented the red, white and blue at two Olympic Games; and was a fixture on the U.S. Davis Cup team, leading the squad to the title in 2007. Five years after his 2012 retirement from tennis, Roddick was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. But Roddick is not just known for his tennis accomplishments: He is also an avid philanthropist. Roddick founded the Andy Roddick Foundation in 2000, at age 17, in the hopes of giving back to the community that raised him: Austin, Texas, where he's lived most of his life.
The mission of the foundation is to serve under-resourced children and the community in Austin by expanding opportunities for young people to learn, thrive and succeed. The ARF does this by partnering with the Austin Independent School District (AISD) and external organizations to provide after-school programming at partner elementary schools. Since 2012, the organization has served more than 115,000 youth, and in the past 20 years, has invested more than $30 million across central Texas to transform the lives of children, their families and their communities.
“I was 9 years old when I first picked up a racquet and realized that tennis was what I wanted to do with my life. I found my passion early on, and many young people just don’t have that,” Roddick said. “No child should ever miss out on their potential because they didn’t have an opportunity. That’s why this honor means so much to me–it’s all about helping the next generation of kids to become the best version of themselves, regardless of their circumstances.”
“No child should ever miss out on their potential because they didn’t have an opportunity." - Andy Roddick
Awarded annually in all but one year since 2015, the Serving Up Dreams Award honors those whose ideals align with the USTA Foundation's mission to uplift under-resourced youth through its flagship National Junior Tennis & Learning (NJTL) network, which are sport-based youth development organizations that provide more than 150,000 under-resourced youth each year with access to free or low-cost tennis and academic programming. NJTL was created in 1969 by pioneering tennis legend and humanitarian Arthur Ashe, and Charlie Pasarell and Sheridan Snyder.
“Andy is not just a legend for his accomplishments on the court–he is also a role model and source of inspiration for his achievements off the court,” USTA Foundation CEO Ginny Ehrlich said. “Even as a teen climbing the ranks of the professional tennis world, he keenly understood the importance of using his platform to uplift communities in need. We admire his important work through his foundation in helping youth pursue their dreams, and we are proud to honor him with this award.”
Roddick will receive his award at the USTA Foundation's Opening Night Gala, the chief philanthropic event that supports its work throughout the year. Last year, the gala raised more than $3 million to support under-resourced youth.
For more about the USTA Foundation, visit ustafoundation.com.
