The Tennis Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Ash Barty Retires - She did it her way Mar 23, 2022

Show notes

Ash Barty - the reigning Wimbledon and Australian Open champion, and World No.1 for the last 114 weeks - has announced her retirement.

In this emergency edition of the podcast, David, Catherine and Matt react to the news. How much of a surprise is it? Is it possible to feel happy for Barty but sad for tennis at the same time? In what way is this different from the last time Barty stepped away from the sport? How has the tennis world responded to the news? Might she be back at some point in the future? And how will her retirement impact the sport?

We also cover the news that Rafael Nadal will be out for 4-6 weeks with a stress fracture to his left rib. What does this do for his Roland Garros chances?

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FRIENDS OF THE TENNIS PODCAST

Friends of The Tennis Podcast receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts throughout the year and help to keep the weekly podcast and the Grand Slam dailies free-to-all. So far in 2022, we’ve produced two episodes of Australian Open Re-Lived, an Australian Open review show, a listener Q&A, and a special 100-minute show dedicated to the career of Juan Martin del Potro. Become a Friend - https://bit.ly/FriendOfTheTennisPodcast

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Indian Wells - Fritz's fangs; Nadal’s streak ends but Swiatek’s goes on Mar 21, 2022

Show notes

Before flying home from California, Catherine joins David and Matt to discuss everything which went on during an eventful (and windy) finals few days at Indian Wells. There's chat about what's different for Iga Swiatek in 2022, how much progress Maria Sakkari made this tournament, whether Taylor Fritz has developed fangs in front of our eyes, and how Rafael Nadal vs Carlos Alcaraz lived up to expectations.

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Indian Wells - Who will be the champions? Final set tiebreaks at slams - our reaction Mar 17, 2022

Show notes

David and Matt catch up to discuss how the Indian Wells draws are shaping up and who might win the titles from here. How much of an issue is Nadal's foot? Is Alcaraz ready to win big? And what made Halep and Swiatek's quarter-final victories so one sided? We also hear from Catherine with more of her impressions from on site and we react to the news that all four Grand Slam tournaments will be implementing final set 10-point tiebreaks.

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Indian Wells - Stories everywhere, Kyrgios vs. Ruud at last, Catherine’s on-site view Mar 14, 2022

Show notes

Less than a week into Indian Wells and there’s already loads for David and Matt - with some thoughts and impressions from Catherine on site - to discuss.

We talk about why it was understandable that Naomi Osaka got upset after being heckled, whether or not Sebastian Korda choked against Rafael Nadal, encouraging signs for Emma Raducanu, surprise defeats for Felix Auger-Aliassime and Garbine Muguruza, the disrespect shown to defending champion Cameron Norrie, the ultra aggressive tennis of Tommy Paul to defeat Alexander Zverev, Novak Djokovic’s very late withdrawal, why we’re excited for Nick Kyrgios vs Casper Ruud, and some powerful words from Marta Kostyuk.

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Svitolina, Yastremska play for Ukraine like never before, WTA’s win, Djokovic & Murray’s big coaching news Mar 07, 2022

Show notes

The tennis news keeps coming, meaning Catherine, David and Matt have a lot to discuss, including:

The WTA’s new title sponsor - Hologic - and how it came about from the tour’s stance on Peng Shuai and China
The inspirational run of Dayana Yastremska in Lyon just days after she fled Ukraine with her younger sister
The governing bodies’ swift action to stop Russian and Belarusian players from competing under their national flag following a statement from Elina Svitolina
An absorbing Monterrey final between Leylah Fernandez and Camila Osorio in which both players displayed their best selves
A round up of all the results from this weekend’s Davis Cup Qualifiers
Djokovic and Vajda split…again, Murray and Lendl get back together…again
Ash Barty and Dominic Thiem to miss Indian Wells and Miami
An update on Roger Federer’s rehab and comeback plans

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Russia's invasion of Ukraine - what it means for tennis; Medvedev reaches No.1; Zverev’s disgrace Feb 28, 2022

Show notes

We begin this week’s episode by talking about how tennis is affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. What have Russian and Ukrainian players be saying on social media? Should Russia be banned from team competitions in the sport? And should that ban extend to Russian players competing on tour? It’s a complex situation without any easy answers.

Elsewhere, Catherine, David and Matt react to Daniil Medvedev becoming World No.1, titles for Andrey Rublev and Rafael Nadal in Dubai and Acapulco, a big win for Jiri Vesely over Novak Djokovic, and a ruthless week from Iga Swiatek in Doha.

There’s also discussion about what would be an appropriate punishment for Alexander Zverev after his actions in Acapulco.

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Djokovic returns; Ostapenko peaks; Alcaraz rising Feb 21, 2022

Show notes

Novak Djokovic is back. How did he look in his first match of the year against Lorenzo Musetti in Dubai? And what did we make of his interview with Amol Rajan of the BBC?

Elsewhere, we talk about Jelena Ostapenko’s destructive week in Dubai and whether or not she can keep it going, Cameron Norrie’s impressive title run in Delray Beach, and Carlos Alcaraz winning in Rio. Is he in the mix for Roland Garros?

There’s also news of yet another format change for the Davis Cup, Jannik Sinner switching up his entire coaching team, and tribute to the late Jimmy Moore who was referee at Queen’s for 42 years.

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FRIENDS OF THE TENNIS PODCAST

Friends of The Tennis Podcast receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts throughout the year and help to keep the weekly podcast and the Grand Slam dailies free-to-all. So far in 2022, we’ve produced two episodes of Australian Open Re-Lived, an Australian Open review show, and a listener Q&A. This week we will have a show dedicated to the career of Juan Martin del Potro. Become a Friend - https://bit.ly/FriendOfTheTennisPodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Auger-Aliassime Unleashed; Ruud & Kontaveit Keep Winning; Farewell Delpo Feb 14, 2022

Show notes

Felix Auger-Aliassime has done it! In his ninth ATP final, he finally won his first title in Rotterdam, and Catherine, David and Matt begin this episode by discussing what it means for him now and in the future.

There’s also chat about Anett Kontaveit and Casper Ruud continuing their respective winning streaks indoors and on clay, Maria Sakkari’s tendency to get tight in big moments, and the emotional scenes in Buenos Aires as Juan Martin Del Potro played what seemed like the last match of his career.

Finally, we cover Reilly Opelka’s title in Dallas and the success of that event, the disparity between the number of WTA and ATP tournaments in 2022 so far, and the WTA’s response to Peng Shuai’s interview with L’Equipe.

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Instagram - www.instagram/thetennispodcast

Twitter - www.twitter.com/tennispodcast

FRIENDS OF THE TENNIS PODCAST

Friends of The Tennis Podcast receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts throughout the year and help to keep the weekly podcast and the Grand Slam dailies free-to-all. So far in 2022, we’ve produced two episodes of Australian Open Re-Lived, an Australian Open review show, and a listener Q&A. This week we will have a show dedicated to the career of Juan Martin del Potro. Become a Friend - https://bit.ly/FriendOfTheTennisPodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

AO Day 14 - Rafael Nadal completes ultimate comeback to lead Grand Slam race Jan 30, 2022

Show notes

Catherine, David and Matt react to the news that Rafael Nadal leads the Grand Slam race for the first time. Catherine and Matt were courtside throughout, in the interview room straight after and you will hear:

Where the match was won and lost
What it looked, felt and sounded like in the stadium throughout
What Nadal said to Catherine afterwards
How upset Medvedev was in his post-match press conference, and why
Were the crowd out of order?
Why Nadal's win was so utterly extraordinary
Whether an asterisk should accompany his win given what happened with Djokovic

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FRIENDS OF THE TENNIS PODCAST

There are three new podcasts about the Australian Open waiting for all Friends of The Tennis Podcast - The Li Na story, the extraordinary Thomas Johansson year, and My First Australian Open. We will have another one at the end of the event. Friends receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts throughout the year and help to keep the weekly podcast and the Grand Slam Dailies free-to-all. Become a Friend - https://bit.ly/FriendOfTheTennisPodcast

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AO Day 13 - Joy unconfined for Ash Barty and Australia Jan 29, 2022

Show notes

Ash Barty became the first Australian to win the singles title at her home Grand Slam in Melbourne for the first time in 44 years. Catherine and Matt were there, and joined David to review it all.