John Roddick was named the UCF Director of Tennis on May 29, 2016. He serves as the men's head coach with oversight of both the men's and women's programs.
Roddick's fifth campaign with the Knights was the most successful yet as the team posted a 22-4 record and saw UCF earn their first conference championship as part of The American as well as the team's first NCAA Tournament victory. The 22 victories is the highest win total achieved as a Division I program and is just one of three 22+ win seasons in team history. A dozen of UCF's 22 wins were over ranked opponents and 14 of their victories were consecutive, leading them into the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The team also achieved their highest ranking in program history, bursting into the top 10 as high as No. 9. Gabriel Decamps repeated as an All-American in singles, becoming the first Knight to be named an All-American more than once. Trey Hilderbrand and Bogdan Pavel were tabbed as All-Americans in doubles, becoming the sixth and seventh All-Americans in program history. All three were nationally seeded in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships. Decamps became the first member of the Black and Gold to go beyond the second round of the NCAA Singles Championships, reaching the quarterfinals where he fell to the top seed of the draw. Roddick was named The American's Coach of the Year, the first UCF head coach to earn the honor since Bobby Cashman in 2003 and 2005.
A shortened 2020 dual match season saw one of the team’s best starts in program history before it came to a screeching halt due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Despite the season ending prematurely, Roddick’s fourth season at the helm was wildly successful. It saw UCF rise to its highest ranking in program history at the time, climbing as high as No. 22 in the Oracle/ITA team rankings. The 10-3 mark was their best start through 13 matches since 2003. The team was the clear favorite to be the No. 1 seed in the American Athletic Conference tournament for the second consecutive season.
The Black and Gold posted some incredible victories along the way, picking up ranked wins over No. 24 San Diego and No. 20 Texas Tech, both away from the USTA National Campus. Through four season, Roddick’s teams have protected home court well, posting a 35-14 mark. The Knights have collected 16 wins against ranked opposition through Roddick’s tenure thus far.
The first singles All-American in program history was produced through the 2019-20 campaign as Gabriel Decamps was named as one of 20 singles players to win the honor. He went 21-8 in singles in his junior year and was on pace to have one of the best seasons in program history. He climbed as high as No. 7 in the singles rankings, a new career best for Decamps. He and Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi went 17-5 overall in doubles, climbing as high as No. 6 in the doubles rankings and finishing the season at No. 7.
The fall of the 2019-20 season is what paved the way for the incredible start to the dual match campaign. Decamps and Grassi Mazzuchi shone bright from the start, finishing as runners up at the ITA All-Americans and punching their ticket to Nationals, where Decamps wound up winning the singles consolation crown. Grassi Mazzuchi earned a runner-up finish in the ITA Southeast Regionals.
The Knights took a big step from season two to Roddick’s third campaign in the spring of 2019. He entered his third season at the helm of the men’s tennis program with the No. 8 recruiting class in the country according to the Tennis recruiting Network. A young group of four sophomores and four freshmen experienced a tough start initially, going 1-5 out of the gates, falling to three top-16 programs. UCF then rallied for seven straight victories, including a sweep of No. 29 Miami on College MatchDay and wins over No. 36 Penn State and No. 42 Tulane. The team went on to finish 15-11, returning to the NCAA Tournament as an at-large selection after being edged in The American championship match.
Bogdan Pavel, Trey Hilderbrand and Decamps were named to the All-Conference squad at the end of the 2018-19 season. All three made the NCAA tournament as individuals, with Hilderbrand and Pavel partaking in the doubles portion and Decamps in the singles bracket.
UCF tennis reached uncharted territory under Roddick in 2018. The UCF men’s tennis team, comprised of two seniors, two sophomores and five freshmen, went 11-10 on the year, with a 7-5 mark at the USTA National Campus. The Knights made it to the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Championship. UCF knocked off four ranked opponents during the year, including a 4-2 decision against No. 30 Minnesota.
The Black and Gold were led by the doubles power team of senior Korey Lovett and freshman Eero Vasa. Together, the duo made UCF history on numerous occasions, including taking down the No. 1 ranked pairing of Alfredo Perez and Johannes Ingildsen from Florida in the season opener. The tandem went 16-3 on the campaign, with a 15-2 mark at No. 1 doubles, and climbed to a school record No. 3 ranking in the Oracle/ITA poll. Vasa and Lovett also became the first doubles team in program history to earn a spot at the NCAA Men’s Tennis Doubles Championship, where they reached the Round of 16. At season’s end, they were named ITA Doubles All-Americans, the program’s firsts in Division I.
The UCF women’s tennis team also made history during their second campaign under Roddick. The Knights posted a 20-5 record and defended home court with a 14-1 mark. UCF received its first ever at-large bid to the NCAA Women’s Tennis Championship, where they reached the Second Round. Doubles duo of Maria Martinez and Ksenia Kuznetsova also punched their ticket to the NCAA Women’s Tennis Doubles Championship, becoming the first tandem to qualify in program history.
In his first season with the Knights in 2017, Roddick guided the Black and Gold to a 16-7 record, including a 12-3 mark at home. UCF took down four ranked teams, including No. 23 Texas Tech in Roddick's first match in charge. The Knights earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, their first appearance since 2005. Korey Lovett was named First Team All-AAC. Lovett also became the first player in program history to be selected for the NCAA Men's Tennis Singles Tournament. UCF finished the year ranked No. 33 in the Oracle/ITA National Rankings.
Roddick joined the Knights after seven successful seasons as the head men's tennis coach at the University of Oklahoma. He led the Sooners to their third consecutive NCAA Division I runner-up finish in May 2016, and was named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Coach of the Year in 2014. He is also a two-time ITA Central Region Coach of the Year and a four-time Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year.
Under Roddick's guidance, the Oklahoma men's tennis team earned its first Big 12 Conference championship (2012), its first ITA No. 1 weekly ranking (2014) and the program's first-ever No. 1 overall seed for the NCAA Division I Team Championship (2015). Roddick compiled a 146-48 record with the Sooners.
Prior to his tenure at Oklahoma, Roddick served as the ATP Tour Coach for his brother Andy Roddick. During that time, Andy defeated the top three players in the world in a six-week span. From 2002-09, he also served as Director of Roddick Total Tennis, a high-performance boarding academy in San Antonio and Austin, Texas. He also mentored top touring professionals such as his brother, Mardy Fish and Uladzimir Ignatik. In 2006 and 2008, Roddick served as Team Captain for the United States' World Team Cup squad.
Roddick's first collegiate coaching jobs were as assistants at Florida State (1999-2000) and Georgia (2000-02). During his two-year stint with Georgia, the Bulldogs won the national championship (2001) and finished as runners-up (2002).
Born in Omaha, Neb., Roddick and his brothers Lawrence and Andy, grew into promising players. John earned All-America honors four times at Georgia and was named the UGA Athlete of the Year in 1998. He proved his prowess in the classroom as well, earning three SEC All-Academic Team selections. Prior to his collegiate playing days, Roddick was a top junior. He qualified for the 1993 and 1994 U.S. National Teams as his player rating climbed as high as No. 6 in the world in singles and No. 3 in doubles.
RODDICK'S COACHING RECORD
| YEAR | OVERALL RECORD | CONFERENCE RECORD | HOME RECORD | NCAA APPEARANCE |
| 2017 | 16-7 | 1-2 | 10-2 | First Round |
| 2018 | 11-10 | 1-2 | 7-5 | -- |
| 2019 | 15-11 | 3-0 | 9-5 | First Round |
| 2020* | 10-3 | 1-0 | 5-0 | Cancelled |
| 2021 | 22-4 | 7-0/ AAC CHAMP | 14-3 | Second Round |
| OVERALL | 74-35 (.679) | 13-4 (.765) | 45-15 (.750) |
* Remainder of season cancelled due to COVID-19