Andy Roddick has revealed that he was ‘robbed by a police man’ while in Russia on a Davis Cup trip. The former world number one claims the incident happened back in 2006, when he was in Moscow for a Davis Cup clash between the United States and Russia.
Roddick’s USA lost the semi-final clash 3-2, with Russia progressing to the final where they went on to beat Argentina by the same scoreline. But away from the court, by far the most memorable – and not for the right reasons – part of the trip for Roddick was his altercation with the Russian police.
In a since-deleted post on X, the now 41-year-old claimed a Russian police man threatened to arrest Roddick, unless he handed over all of his cash. A bizarre series of events, but one which Roddick claims is a ‘true story’.
“I got robbed by a police officer on the street in Russia in 2006 when we were there for Davis Cup,” claimed Roddick. “True story. Came up and said how much cash do you have? I said $300… he simply said give it to me or go to jail.
“I paid it and he went on his way. No emotion. Transactional. Let’s not get to that level of normalising crazy s**t. It ain’t it. Never went back,” wrote the Nebraska-born ace.
Understandably fans were left with plenty of questions about the alleged event, with one user (@TTDaniel89) replying: “Did you consider making this public back then?”
To which Roddick hit back by saying: “Nope. I wanted to do my job, and get out of there safely. At that time, I didn’t wanna make a stink in case it was just a bad actor. Looking back, I now understand the surrounding factors.”
Best known for his rapid – and often unplayable – serve, Roddick would continue playing tennis for another nine years after the police man episode in Moscow, before retiring from all forms of the sport in 2015. Enjoying a solid career in the game, the American reached five Grand Slam finals during his time as a professional tennis player, but only managed to win one title.
That came at the 2003 US Open versus Juan Carlos Ferrero, where he won 6–3, 7–6, 6–3, with his next four final appearances – and losses – all coming against the legendary Roger Federer. One at the US Open in 2006, with the other three defeats all coming at Wimbledon.
