BREAKING NEWS: Alcaraz Playing US Open, Slam Player Council Formed, & More

A normal Thursday turned into three stories at once: Alcaraz announcing his US Open return, the USTA's record $108 million prize money package & Slam Player Council, and Karen Moorhouse stepping down as CEO of the ITIA. Andy and Jon get into what a 20% prize money increase actually buys the players, why first-round qualifying money is now higher than what Andy earned reaching the main draw, and the ticket price fight that's about to define this tournament — including why the $400 grounds passes people are screenshotting on Twitter aren't the USTA's list price. COMMENT BELOW: Are you excited for Carlos Alcaraz return? 📩 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/ Learn more about ServiceNow here: https://www.servicenow.com/?campid=271869&cid=pc:brd:brnd:served:26q1:paitwfp_audioredirect_PAITW2_GAI_PAITWFP_HostRead_:none:br_ams:awa&utm_medium=podcasts&utm_source=served TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Ads 02:40 Alcaraz announces US Open return 06:35 Practicing with Rune, and why reps against top-20 players matter 11:50 The $400 grounds pass problem 21:30 Record $108 million in prize money 23:00 Jess Pegula and the Grand Slam Player Council 38:00 Karen Moorhouse steps down from the ITIA --- --- --- Served with Andy Roddick is your home for all the ATP and WTA Tours Tennis Breaking News, Draw Previews, Match Recaps, Player Interviews, Match Previews and more. We cover the largest tournaments throughout the season including the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, US Open, Shanghai and talk about the best players including Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Rafael Nadal, Coco Gauff, Iga Świątek, Naomi Osaka, Aryna Sabalenka, Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, Emma Raducanu, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Roger Federer, Jack Draper. --- --- --- Thank you to our sponsors: ServiceNow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices