Episode 42 - Serena Williams Interview; French Open Draw Dissection; Our Birthday

The last few days at Indian Wells have been some of the most eventful of the tennis season so far. We’ve had a bee invasion, the setting up of Post Sting Alcaraz vs Post Puke Sinner, shock defeats for Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka, and lots of politics as Saudi Arabia looks to grow its influence in tennis. Catherine, David and Matt get stuck into it all. OUR LINKS:Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to help us to produce the show year-round, and receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts throughout 2024, including Tennis Re-Lived and Grand Slam review shows, as well as monthly live shows on YouTube. Sign up to receive our Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, predictions, and more)Follow us on TwitterFollow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our YouTube channel.Check out our ShopRead our New York Times profileTennis Podcast TerminologyFor Friends, Hannah's latest column is about Daria Kasatkina - https://bit.ly/HannahOnKasatkina Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

15 Maalis 20241h 25min

Indian Wells is underway but it was a news-heavy week in the tennis world and Catherine, David and Matt begin by discussing the fact that Simona Halep can return to tennis after CAS reduced her suspension to 9 months. Why did CAS come to such a different conclusion to the ITIA? How do we feel about tennis’ anti-doping system in light of this case? And what do we make of Halep receiving a wildcard to play Miami? Elsewhere, there’s chat about Netflix not renewing Break Point for season three, a possible WTA grass court event at The Queen’s Club, and the main stories from Indian Wells so far. We cover the withdrawals of Rafael Nadal and Elena Rybakina, Carlos Alcaraz’s improved form, whether anyone can beat Jannik Sinner, Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka’s incredible comebacks, a Last 16 clash between Caroline Wozniacki and Angelique Kerber, and Iga Swiatek redoing her Australian Open experience and making it better. OUR LINKS:Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to help us to produce the show year-round, and receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts throughout 2024, including Tennis Re-Lived and Grand Slam review shows, as well as monthly live shows on YouTube. Sign up to receive our Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, predictions, and more)Follow us on TwitterFollow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our YouTube channel.Check out our ShopRead our New York Times profileTennis Podcast TerminologyFor Friends, Hannah's latest column is about Daria Kasatkina - https://bit.ly/HannahOnKasatkina Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11 Maalis 20241h 23min

Alex de Minaur and Katie Boulter are tennis' latest power couple after they both won 500 events in Acapulco and San Diego respectively. Catherine, David and Matt discuss the improvements to their games and how high they could go. Elsewhere, there's a similar conversation about Ugo Humbert after he picked up yet another title, this time in Dubai. We also give our takes on Andrey Rublev's disqualification, news that the Saudi PIF have struck a multi million dollar partnership with the ATP, Andy Murray's quotes about retirement, Maria Sakkari joining forces with David Witt, and the Netflix Slam in Las Vegas between Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz. OUR LINKS:Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to help us to produce the show year-round, and receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts throughout 2024, including Tennis Re-Lived and Grand Slam review shows, as well as monthly live shows on YouTube. Sign up to receive our Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, predictions, and more)Follow us on TwitterFollow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our YouTube channel.Check out our ShopRead our New York Times profileTennis Podcast TerminologyFor Friends, Hannah's latest column is about Daria Kasatkina - https://bit.ly/HannahOnKasatkina Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4 Maalis 20241h 18min

After a week of planning meetings and tech tests in Solihull, Catherine, David and Matt come together to discuss the week’s biggest stories. We analyse the surprise final between Jasmine Paolini and Anna Kalinskaya in Dubai, eat our words about Paolini, and reflect on the new back-to-back nature of February’s WTA 1000 events. On the men’s side, youngsters Joao Fonseca and Jakub Mensik took the headlines, but Sebastian Baez, Jordan Thompson and Karen Khachanov were the week’s champions. There’s chat about all of them, Carlos Alcaraz’s injury, the official retirement of Ivo Karlovic, and the third instalment of the Holger Rune-Patrick Mouratoglou coaching partnership. OUR LINKS:Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to help us to produce the show year-round, and receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts throughout 2024, including Tennis Re-Lived and Grand Slam review shows, as well as monthly live shows on YouTube. Sign up to receive our Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, predictions, and more)Follow us on TwitterFollow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our YouTube channel.Check out our ShopRead our New York Times profileTennis Podcast TerminologyFor Friends, Hannah's latest column is about Daria Kasatkina - https://bit.ly/HannahOnKasatkina Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

26 Helmi 20241h 9min

Catherine, David and Matt are together to look back on an eventful week, headlined by Iga Swiatek's third straight title in Doha. We discuss the significance of her victory over Elena Rybakina in Doha, an extraordinary week for Karolina Pliskova as she dashed from Cluj, and the latest instalment of Victoria Azarenka beating Jelena Ostapenko which came with delicious handshake aggro. On the men's side, there's chat about Jannik Sinner backing up his Australian Open title, Alex de Minaur's improvements, a first title for Facundo Diaz Acosta in Buenos Aires, current concern levels for Carlos Alcaraz and Frances Tiafoe, and the dying art of the one-handed backhand. Finally, shout out to Reuben Greeph for this episode's outro...a Tennis Podcast classic. OUR LINKS:Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to help us to produce the show year-round, and receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts throughout 2024, including Tennis Re-Lived and Grand Slam review shows, as well as monthly live shows on YouTube. Sign up to receive our Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, predictions, and more)Follow us on TwitterFollow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our YouTube channel.Check out our ShopRead our New York Times profileTennis Podcast TerminologyFor Friends, Hannah's latest column is about Daria Kasatkina - https://bit.ly/HannahOnKasatkina Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

19 Helmi 20241h 8min

Catherine, David and Matt start with an eventful week in Abu Dhabi which saw Elena Rybakina lift her second trophy of the season, Daria Kasatkina impress, and injury concern for Ons Jabeur. Elsewhere there’s chat about Karolina Pliskova’s first title in four years, Ugo Humbert delivering on his immense talent by winning in Marseille, Tommy Paul’s title run in Dallas, and an all-qualifier final in Cordoba. There’s also a disqualification in UTS, coaching news for Holger Rune and Jessica Pegula, and a look ahead to this week as the tennis keeps coming. OUR LINKS:Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to help us to produce the show year-round, and receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts throughout 2024, including Tennis Re-Lived and Grand Slam review shows, as well as monthly live shows on YouTube. Sign up to receive our Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, predictions, and more)Follow us on TwitterFollow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our YouTube channel.Check out our ShopRead our New York Times profileTennis Podcast Terminology Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12 Helmi 20241h 3min

We’re home from Melbourne, David is feeling better, and we’re here to talk about the tennis that’s happened since the Australian Open. There’s chat about Jelena Ostapenko’s incredible consistency in 2024, Diana Shnaider and her bandana, Alexander Bublik's unlikely record-setting week in Montpellier, the latest round of Davis Cup Qualifiers, Holger Rune’s quick split with Severin Luthi, and a tweet from Andy Murray which caused a storm. OUR LINKS:Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to help us to produce the show year-round, and receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts throughout 2024, including Tennis Re-Lived and Grand Slam review shows, as well as monthly live shows on YouTube. Sign up to receive our Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, predictions, and more)Follow us on TwitterFollow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our YouTube channel.Check out our ShopRead our New York Times profileTennis Podcast Terminology Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5 Helmi 20241h 4min

Jannik Sinner is a Grand Slam champion! He came back from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev in a fascinating Australian Open final. Catherine and Matt discuss how Sinner did it, what another loss from two sets up means for Medvedev, the role Medvedev's path to the final played in his performance, the way Sinner has proved us wrong, and what lies ahead for him in the short and long term. There's also chat about Su Wei Hsieh and Elise Mertens winning the women's doubles title and some final reflections on what's been a thrilling but challenging tournament to cover. ON LOCATION:We are proud to be sponsored by On Location, the premium hospitality and experience provider, throughout the Australian Open.On Location has fantastic ticket, hospitality and travel packages available for the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, the Miami Open, the Madrid Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon, the US Open and Laver Cup.And we have a 10% Discount for Tennis Podcast listeners on 2024 Roland-Garros Official VIP Ticket Packages courtesy of Steve Furgal's International Tennis Tours.To buy an official VIP Ticket Package to Roland Garros and take advantage of our 10% discount, just go to Tours4Tennis.com/Podcast and use the discount code CLAYSEASON at checkout.Terms and conditions apply.OUR LINKS:Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to help us to produce the show year-round, and receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts throughout 2024, including Tennis Re-Lived and Grand Slam review shows, as well as monthly live shows on YouTube. Sign up to receive our Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, predictions, and more)Follow us on TwitterFollow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our YouTube channel.Check out our ShopRead our New York Times profileTennis Podcast Terminology Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

28 Tammi 202451min