Andy Roddick weighs in on Andrea Petkovic's '5 stages of grief' theory

Andy Roddick has weighed in on Andrea Petkovic's 'five stages of grief' theory, calling tennis players “professionals in being in denial.”

Former German tennis player Petkovic stated a few years ago that every tennis player goes through five different stages of grief every time they take to the court. These five stages, according to her are — denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

"Have you ever noticed that while playing a tennis match, you basically go through the 5 stages of grief every time? Denial. anger. bargaining. depression. acceptance."

Explaining her statement on Tennis Channel, Petkovic said that unlike Roger Federer, who said that he enters every match with the same mindset, she goes through a multitude of emotions. Sometimes, she experiences all of them during her warmup itself.

“I stand by that tweet. And I heard one thing Roger Federer said: He said that he goes into every single match with the same emotional state. Well, guess what, Roger? I go through five different emotional states in the warmup alone. So, good luck for you, I'm going to do my thing.”

Former American World No. 1 Andy Roddick, who was also a guest on the show, expanded on Petkovic's words. He called tennis players “professionals in being in denial.” He also said that the acceptance part was the easiest of the five.

“We're professionals in being in denial. I don't think that just stops and starts with every match. I think we're just constantly saying, ‘Oh no, I'm gonna get better from this injury quicker. I definitely have a shot today', even though everything that's logical would say that I'm not the favorite in this match.

“But the acceptance part is easy,” Roddick added. “You win, you lose, that's the way tennis is. You don't have to accept it going away, right? We don't want to, but it is what it is. That's a beauty of tennis.”

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Andy Roddick post-retirement: Dazzles at Met Gala, reconnects with Andre Agassi through pickleball

Andy Roddick is an American former World No. 1.

Andy Roddick has been enjoying his post-retirement life. He and his wife Brooklyn Decker recently attended the 2023 Met Gala on Monday, May 1.

The Met Gala is an annual fundraising event for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in New York City. It's held on the first Monday in May every year and sees celebrities from many walks of life take to the red carpet.

Roddick and Decker posed hand-in-hand, wearing stunning outfits that complemented each other perfectly. He sported a classic black tuxedo and loafers, while she was decked in a white crochet dress by Chanel.

The former World No. 1 has not completely stopped playing sports either. He recently took part in the Pickleball Slam exhibition event. He partnered with eight-time Grand Slam champion Andre Agassi and defeated compatriots John McEnroe and Michael Chang for a $1 million purse.

While he enjoyed taking part in the event, Roddick was just as happy to be able to reconnect with Agassi.

"What has been pretty fun is getting the daily analysis from Andre Agassi and his breakdowns of what he's learned, what's working for him, what we should do," Roddick said. "It's been kind of a fun excuse to reconnect almost on a daily basis now," he told PEOPLE magazine in an exclusive interview.