Tennys Sandgren has accused
Andy Roddick of throwing 'stones' at lower-ranked players, saying there was no need to bash those he describes as 'underrepresented' in the sport.
American tennis player Sandgren has called out his compatriot Roddick after the former world No. 1 said players ranked outside the top 800 were not "professionals."
The 2003 US Open champion was speaking to the Tennis Channel when he said that only players who make a living off the sport should be considered pros.
Roddick suggests amateur players couldn't beat pros
The 40-year-old also suggested that a player outside the top 800 could not beat a professional in order to back up his argument.
"Did I ever play anyone 800...? No. I was on tour... like the real tour where we make paychecks right," he said.
Roddick went on to state that, in his opinion, those who do not make a yearly income from something cannot be a professional in it.
"If you do not make your yearly income doing something, you're not a professional," he added.
Sandgren hits back at Roddick
Former world No. 41 Sandgren, who is now ranked at No. 210, took to Twitter to voice his disagreement with Roddick, implying that there were already enough commentators that bash players on tour.
"Yes we need more commentators that bash players that are on tour," he wrote sarcastically.
"An underrepresented player base doesn’t need any more stones thrown at them," he added.
Instead, Sandgren said Roddick should be building players up.
"No reason to come at everyone not inside 200. Build the players up. They are the product after all," he commented.
Roddick has since defended his comments, saying:
"We were talking about a hypothetical someone ranked 800 in the world. I made the crazy statement that they’re still 700 spots from participating in a grand slam. The levels are so far apart. There’s nothing crazy about what I’m saying. [It is] what it is. It’s not close," he posted.
"Also the point at large was yes there could be games won against someone ranked 800. When I hear pro, I think about someone making a living on the tours. That’s all. Happy to be disagreed [with]," he added.
