Category: Todd Woodbridge

Todd Woodbridge Berates Djokovic’s Players Association for Lack of Inclusivity

Tennis ace Novak Djokovic has carried on with his plans to form a breakaway group from the Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP, which has been the governing body for the sports since over 6 decades. 

Titled as the Professional Tennis Players Association or PTPA, the association will represent male players as announced in an email. While tennis legends Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have criticized the association for disrupting unity between players, former world’s doubles number one Todd Woodbridge has berated the association for not including women players and for completely missing the mark. 

It’s just poor judgment at this time,” insisted Australian doubles great Woodbridge in a recent interview.

“Everybody’s losing jobs, millions are out of work, tournaments are struggling to stay up and afloat, and the tour’s been trying for the last six months to get back.

But there’s the biggest downfall of all and that’s … where are the women? If you’re going to do this, tennis is the one sport that’s united in the world with equal prize money. Our majors are played together.

This is tone deaf by the group that has decided to break away. The ATP is the players’ representation.

They’ve got their seat at the table; they want more, they want more control of that.

This is the first week back and they throw this sort of bomb out there? I’m pretty disappointed with the way that they’ve gone with that timing.”

World number two Rafael Nadal also tweeted his concerns and called it a “difficult and complicated” time for the world.

“I personally believe these are times to be calm and all work together in the same direction,” said the Spaniard.

“It is time for unity, not for separation. These are moments where big things can be achieved as long as the world of tennis is united.

Players, tournaments and governing bodies have to work together. We have a bigger problem and separation and disunion is definitely not the solution.”

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWZ94jRemmU

Todd Woodbridge and His Mockery of a Claim of How Federer and Nadal Transcend the Sporting World

Nadal and Federer

According to Todd Woodbridge, the former Australian tennis star, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are the perfect role models for all sportsmen to follow. Woodbridge suggests that the two stars are still topping the ATP rankings, in spite of being in the latter years of their illustrious careers. While it is true that Federer has moved past his peak days, what made the former Australian tennis star make such a claim about Nadal—aged 31—is shocking for all. Sure, Nadal is not at his peak anymore, but it would be foolish to suggest that he is at the end of his career as well.

Woodbridge’s statement would have been completely justified, had it been about tennis, as a sport only. However, when you consider how Woodbridge has claimed that both, Federer and Nadal, transcend all sports, you cannot help view the statement as a cheap publicity stunt. On top of that, Todd Woodbridge also decided to go all Shakespeare with his statement by saying that you need to lay your soul bare in the pursuit of being as good as you possibly can. He, then, went on to comment on how Federer lays his sole bare with his emotions and how Nadal does with same with his physicality.

However, to act as if these two are the only sporting superstars who lay their soul bare would be nothing short of a joke, especially when you consider the other sporting giants—such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo—who have been known by people, all around the world, to inspire greatness, awe and magic. On top of that, regardless of which sport you talk about, it is a fact that no sportsman will ever match the legacy left by the greatest of all time, Muhammad Ali. It is good to live in today—as Woodbridge does—but then you have got to remember not to make such erroneous claim or else you will making a fool out of yourself—which Woodbridge did.

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iW_8_U3JxeE