We got Served
Andy Roddick proved me wrong and I hate him for that.
This week, Reem Abulleil went behind the scenes for The National to look into the rousing success of what we call around these Forty Deuce parts, The Rod Pod. I've been wanting to talk a bit about the podcast for a bit now, so you can thank or blame Reem for the next 1,600 words.
Andy Roddick launched Served just a year and a half ago, and it's filled an incredible void within the tennis media ecosystem that I'm not sure we all thought existed. And frankly – and I say this as someone who has been on the ground floor of three different tennis podcasts over the last 20 years – thank God for Served.
Now, the tennis podcast space is so chock full of podcasts, all with different flavors, that you'd be hard-pressed to feel wanting. The vast majority fall into the standard sports and entertainment format of 1-3 people summarizing and reacting to the week that was and previewing the week ahead. Some are serious, some are for laughs. Some are in it for tactics and technique, and others for tea. The alchemy may vary but all the topics are covered. If you're a tennis fan, there is a podcast for you.
Which is why when Roddick launched his podcast, "Oh boy, here comes another dude with a USB mic and some thoughts." And yes, that was meant to be derogatory.
And yet, we arrive to this very moment in time where I must type out my least favorite sentence in the world:
I was very wrong.
So how does the Roddick podcast fill the gap? Here's one of the icons of the game who isn't just a talker with some anecdotes. He is, as he ever was as a player, intelligent, reasonable, obsessed with logic and rationality, while being full of passion and hot-headedness. He's not there to be a cheerleader who turns a blind eye. He's not there to make pithy and dismissive critiques or eyeroll through a season. Nor is he there to dine on a vast stash of war stories.
"Oops."
In the same vein as that super stupid and ultimately edited New York Times headline, "Hasan Piker: A Progressive Mind in a MAGA Body", Roddick could just as lazily – but not entirely inaccurately – be "A Podcast Nerd with a Bro Affectation."
Or something like that. I never wrote headlines. For a reason. Super bad at it. Better than The New York Times, though.
Because of his unique blend of bona fides, level-headedness, insider knowledge, and willingness to take on the tough topics, Roddick has become the voice of reason. I may not always agree with him, but I never once thought "Oh man, he's so stupid and he doesn't know what he's talking about."
With all due respect to all the existing tennis podcasters – and I include myself in this critique – absolutely none of us has the same grasp and insider knowledge of not just the sport itself but the business of the sport than Roddick. And he has the unique privilege – and yes, it's a privilege – to be able to speak without worrying too much about consequences (read: loss of jobs or money).
That he has Jon Wertheim alongside him to offer a reporter's eye on things just bolsters the whole product. You won't find a more connected tennis reporter than Jon. He has the inside line on everything. It's super annoying.
One thing that Roddick has proven he can do that no one else in the tennis podcast sphere can is secure high-profile longform interviews. His interviews with Rafael Nadal and Andre Agassi are both must-watch interviews, and you can tell that Andy has done loads of research and preparation. There is also the benefit of the player feeling comfortable and safe with him, which is an intangible that goes a long way.
Also he got Lindsay Davenport to call him a dick. That's just good content:
Iga Swiatek appeared on Served a few weeks after winning her unlikely Wimbledon title last month. Now a six-time major champion, the 24-year-old had an abundance of options for her post-win media tour. In classic Swiatek fashion, she opted for the quiet route. There would be no victory tour, just a few days on the Polish sea with her friends and then back to work on the hard courts.
But Swiatek made the time for a lengthy appearance on Served. Yes, it was an episode sponsored by one of her sponsors, Infosys, but Roddick had been Swiatek's most public defender over the last seven months. This is the man who once said said, "I'm sorry, but if you're a Polish sports journalist and you're crushing Iga on a week-to-week basis, you're a fucking moron," with his whole chest:
"It wasn't a hard decision because the podcast is great," Swiatek told reporters on Wednesday ahead of the Cincinnati Open. "I know he likes to make it really about tennis and also he's really supportive. I've been listening to the podcast so I knew what it was going to look like, so it wasn't a tough decision.
"If I would have to choose from different interviews I was proposed, choosing another tennis player who is going to interview you and has been there, played everything, I think that's the best interview. It's like talking to a friend, you know?"
Listen to Iga's full answer from Cincinnati Open Media Day below:
The good news for podcasters: Iga actually prefers the podcast format over press conferences and interviews. There's hope for us yet!
"I think I got [my story] out before, but at press conferences you get asked a question and then you get asked another about a different topic, so there's not enough space to tell the full story. On the other hand, if I was going to tell the full story I would be talking for like four hours or even longer. I just felt that it's an important event in my life so talking about it, I have to make it long to make people understand what happened or how I felt."
Of course, that's just a discussion of the substance, which in this media world is just a small part of a thing's success. The production and machine behind Served deserve heaps of credit for its success. Whoever decided to frame Roddick tight, staring and talking down the barrel deserves an associate producer credit for life.
"What's an associate producer's credit?"
Watching the podcast on YouTube – which is my preferred ingestion method – you feel like Roddick is speaking directly to you. He's not lecturing you from behind a stand-up desk, nor is he staring off at another screen while speaking into the microphone, which feels more detached, as if the speaker is distracted.
And sorry kids, but camera, lighting, and audio quality MATTER. That doesn't mean you just buy a Shure SM7B and a Cloudlifter or a Blue Yeti and that's all that's needed. It's not. 95% of podcasts out there sound or look amateur, and that's not necessarily their fault. YOU LITERALLY SHOULD NOT WASTE MONEY ON EQUIPMENT when you're starting out a podcast. And if it's just a hobby, that's fine too!
I repeat: Money alone does not "buy" good audio. Sorry, I'm a big audio herd and, well, don't get me started on this very specific topic because I WILL get heated.
But, with whatever equipment you have, you should always be mindful that podcasts are an incredibly intimate medium. You are literally speaking directly into someone's ear. It has to sound good, which can be achieved with editing, sound science, and a little bit of work. And by "work" I do not mean letting sound algorithms and AI "fix your sound". I know it when I hear it.
ANYWAY.
But with a professional team around him and the resources provided by Vox Media, you can't ignore the fact that Served looks and feels premium. It's the biggest evolutionary step in tennis media since, I don't know, bloggers learned how to screengrab transcripts and journalists got all mad about it.
Served should force the everyone in the tennis media ecosystem to get better at whatever we do. It's an injection of energy and inspiration in a space that has become stagnant and prone to relying on what is tried and true – I'm not just talking about podcasts here, I'm talking about eeeeeeeeeverything.
Introduce better quality controls, learn how to more effectively use social media and the algorithms we are enslaved by, be smarter and more empathetic in how we opine and interact with players, have the courage to take a stand on the issues that genuinely impact the sport as a matter of course.
Everything from the YouTube thumbnails and episode titles, to breaking down the segments into additional snippets to be shot out onto every social media platform, the Served team is – sorry – aceing it. We shouldn't all aspire to be more like Served the podcast – that is not possible because we all not Andy Roddick – but we should, simply, aspire to be more. Roddick is already looking to build, telling Reem that he wants Served to be a media company. That is awesome.
Competition breeds innovation and innovation is progress. And if there's one thing Roddick knew, it's how to compete. And serve.
Ok two things. Pretty good things, though.
