New USTA CEO Craig Tiley on Leaving Australia & "Big Swings" + Pegula & Paul Open Clay Season

Served with Andy Roddick

Served Media

Tennis, Society & Culture, Sports

4.8 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 7 April 2026

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Andy Roddick sits down with incoming USTA CEO Craig Tiley and President Brian Vahaly at the 2026 USTA Annual Meeting. Tiley opens up about leaving Tennis Australia after 20 years to take "big swings" at American tennis, the college tennis crisis and NIL's impact on scholarships, and his plan to get 35 million Americans playing by 2035. Plus, Andy tells a great Michael Chang story that nobody saw coming. COMMENT BELOW: What was your favorite part from the Craig Tiley interview? 📩 Sign up for the Newsletter here: https://servedmedia.substack.com/ Check out some Served Merch: https://store.servedpodcast.com/ 📱If you're new to the Served with Andy Roddick, we're happy you're here! Follow us for more: https://www.instagram.com/servedpodcast/ https://x.com/Served_Podcast https://www.tiktok.com/@served_podcast Theme music composed, produced, and mixed by Dan Whittemore. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dwhit.wav/ TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 Introduction 1:29 Welcome to Served 2:56 Racket Rundown: Jess Pegula Defends Charleston Title 4:26 Racket Rundown: 19-Year-Old Rafael Jodar Wins in Morocco 6:28 Racket Rundown: Tommy Paul’s Grit in Houston 7:47 Poll Results: The Next American Disruptor on Clay 9:03 Coaching Drama: Francisco Roig & Player-Coach Relationships 12:12 Andy Roddick interview Craig Tiley & Brian Vahaly 14:41 Why Craig Tiley Chose the USTA 18:50 Brian Vahaly on the Global CEO Search 23:06 Solving the Tennis Calendar & Off-Season Crisis 24:28 Is College Tennis in Crisis? NIL and Scholarships 27:54 The "35 by 35" Growth Strategy 31:32 Scaling Innovation from Australia to the USA 33:15 Q&A: Fostering a Love for Tennis in Kids 36:14 Q&A: Controlling the Controllable on Court 38:46 Q&A: Prioritizing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 41:08 Q&A: What is Craig Tiley excited about? 43:05 Q&A: Expanding Women in Leadership 45:11 Q&A: A New Path to US Open Wild Cards? 48:48 Q&A: Incentivizing Coaches to Grow the Game 50:30 Q&A: The Future of Innovation at the US Open 53:00 Andy’s Iconic Match vs. Michael Chang 55:24 Craig Asks Andy: The Power of Hitting Against the Wall 58:13 Final Thoughts & Wrap Up Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Jamie Lang and Sophie Haboo have arrived on Disney Plus.
0:04.0	We're having a baby.
0:06.0	We're having a baby.
0:07.0	I've always wanted to be mom.
0:09.0	And we're bringing you on our journey through everything.
0:12.0	I have no idea what we're doing.
0:13.0	Thank you. I have more of an idea.
0:15.0	I think of it like a Tamagocchi.
0:17.0	At the end of all of this...
0:20.0	We're going to have a little baby.
0:21.6	Raising Chelsea, a Hulu original series streaming exclusively on Disney Plus.
0:26.6	18 plus subscription required T's and T supply.
0:29.6	There's no one like you, and there never will be.
0:32.6	From the producer of Bohemian Rhapsody.
0:35.6	There are many legends,
0:38.3	but there was only one.
0:40.3	Michael in IMAX in Cinema's Wednesday, April 22.
0:44.3	My wife says you look like a young Bill Clinton.
0:47.3	A young Bill Clinton.
0:48.3	I always get Stifler, but okay.
0:50.3	Why the USTA? Why now?
0:52.3	I much prefer to make a decision that's wrong than not make a decision at all. I've kind of lived my whole life like that, but I'll have no problem taking big swings again. I would love to walk every street across America, and I will know that people in that town are all playing tennis. That's not a dream, that's a reality, and we're going to get there. No pressure. I hope you pull it off. The question is, are we losing opportunities for some of our American youth who are not ready to go out on tour? You were ready at 17. You were an outlier there. There were many of us who need to play college tennis. You look at John Isner among many players who needed those four years. John Isner needed to go to school. Yeah. Flip it, Mike. Send it out.
	...

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