Future of American Tennis: Craig Tiley Interview and Pegula & Paul Clay Titles
4/7/20261 hr 3 min
In this special episode of Served, Andy Roddick and crew are on the ground at the 2026 USTA Annual Meeting to sit down with the incoming CEO of the USTA, Craig Tiley, and President Brian Vahaly. Craig Tiley reveals the real reason he left Tennis Australia after 20 years to take "big swings" at the USTA. We dive deep into the current "crisis" facing college tennis, the impact of NIL on American scholarships, and the goal of building tennis participation in America. Plus, Andy shares a legendary story about Michael Chang and the power of sportsmanship. 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
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSteve Cornell0:00
My wife says you look like a young Bill Clinton.
Jon Wertheim· Co-host0:02
A young Bill Clinton.
Steve Cornell0:03
Oh.
Jon Wertheim· Co-host0:03
I always get Stifler, but okay. [laughs] Why the USTA? Why now?
Craig Tiley· Guest0:07
And 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, and I'll have no problem taking big swings again. I would love to walk every street across America, and I will know the people in that town are all playing tennis. That's not a dream, that's a reality, and we're gonna get there.
Jon Wertheim· Co-host0:23
No pressure. I hope you pull it off.
Speaker 30:25
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 needed to play college tennis. You look at John Isner among many players who needed those four years to grow.
Jon Wertheim· Co-host0:38
John Isner needed to go to school.
Speaker 30:39
Yeah.
Jon Wertheim· Co-host0:40
[laughs] Clip it, Mike. Send it out.
Speaker 30:43
Clip.
Jon Wertheim· Co-host0:44
Is the tennis season too long? You go to 20 people, and they go, "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes." Can we fix it? I don't know.
Craig Tiley· Guest0:50
So I, I actually think it's a bit of a crisis. I think that we've gotta, like, lean in big time.
Speaker 40:54
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Speaker 31:29
Hey, everybody.