Live from Wimbledon Day 8 - Dimitrov's devastation, Sinner's uncertainty

Catherine, David and Matt were live on Friday night to look back on the dramatic final few days in Canada and ahead to Cincinnati. Part one - WTA Montreal. Rarely have we felt such conflicting emotions watching a tennis match as we did during Victoria Mboko’s victory over Naomi Osaka. For Mboko, what made this run so special? And what does this title mean for her future? But what happened to Osaka? How much criticism should she get for her post match speech? And where does this tournament leave her? Part two - ATP Toronto (43m20s). Ben Shelton won his first Masters 1000 title. What developments did we see in his game this week? What gave him the edge over Karen Khachanov in the final? And what’s his US Open Mix status? Part three - Coaching news and Cincinnati preview (66m57s). We cover Emma Raducanu’s decision to work with Francisco Roig, Holger Rune hiring Marco Panichi, Aryna Sabalenka adding Max Mirnyi as a consultant, and the breaking news that Stefano Vukov has had his WTA Tour suspension lifted. Become a Friend of The Tennis PodcastCheck out our ⁠⁠⁠new merch shop⁠⁠⁠! Talk tennis with Friends on ⁠⁠⁠The Barge! ⁠⁠⁠Sign up to receive our free ⁠⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠⁠ (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, Fantasy League updates, and more)Follow us on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our ⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠ channel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8 Elo 20251h 28min

David is back from holiday to join Catherine and Matt in discussing week one of the Canadian Open, where lots of the big names are out, there has been loads of good matches, and both draws feel pretty open heading into the final few days. Part one - WTA Montreal. We cover Victoria Mboko’s special run to the quarter-finals, Coco Gauff’s recurring double fault issues, Naomi Osaka’s resurgence under new coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, compelling matches involving Madison Keys, Elena Rybakina and Marta Kostyuk, the unorthodox game of Aoi Ito, and the decision to give Eugenie Bouchard a wildcard so she could retire. Part two - ATP Toronto (from 49m). How much meaning can we take from a tournament without Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic? That’s the task when assessing the men’s event, which has seen Alexei Popyrin mount an impressive title defence so far, Daniil Medvedev continue to slump, and compelling final set tiebreak wins for Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton. There was also a strange complaint from Alejandro Davidovich Fokina leading to sweet spot social media aggro involving Dan Evans. Part three - US Open news (from 70m15s). With most of the US Open mixed doubles pairings having been announced, we quiz David on his views, and he throws a fun name into the ring for one of the remaining wildcards. There’s also the launch of the US Open’s matchmaker show to discuss. Tickets are on sale now for the Tennis History Conference at Wimbledon on Tuesday 9th December. Become a Friend of The Tennis PodcastCheck out our ⁠⁠⁠new merch shop⁠⁠⁠! Talk tennis with Friends on ⁠⁠⁠The Barge! ⁠⁠⁠Sign up to receive our free ⁠⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠⁠ (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, Fantasy League updates, and more)Follow us on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our ⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠ channel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4 Elo 20251h 29min

Catherine and Matt are joined by The Athletic’s Matt Futterman to discuss an eventful week in Washington and a whole lot of tennis news. Part one - Washington Review. We start by covering an incredible performance from Venus Williams to beat Peyton Stearns and why her wildcard this time felt like a perfect one. Leylah Fernandez’s impressive title run, and where it fits into the narrative of her career, is also covered, as well as Alex de Minaur’s extraordinary victory over poor Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the final. Will ADF ever get a title? Part two - News (from 42m20s). We debate Jannik Sinner’s decision to re-hire Umberto Ferrara, and discuss where things went wrong for the Stefanos Tsitsipas-Goran Ivanisevic and Naomi Osaka-Patrick Mouratoglou coaching partnerships. We also give our takes on more US Open mixed doubles pairings being announced, Bill Ackman receiving a wildcard to play in Newport, and Tara Moore’s four year doping ban. Part three - Canada Preview (from 82m25s). How are our excitement levels as the women head to Montreal and the men to Toronto? Become a Friend of The Tennis PodcastCheck out our ⁠⁠⁠new merch shop⁠⁠⁠! Talk tennis with Friends on ⁠⁠⁠The Barge! ⁠⁠⁠Sign up to receive our free ⁠⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠⁠ (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, Fantasy League updates, and more)Follow us on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our ⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠ channel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

28 Heinä 20251h 32min

David is away on holiday, but Catherine and Matt are here to wrap up the week’s results and talking points, before an audio montage of Wimbledon highlights. Part one - Catherine and Matt discuss the title winners from last week including Lois Boisson and Alexander Bublik, the spate of withdrawals from Canada, and the upcoming week in Washington which looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun. Part two (24m25s) - If you’re missing Wimbledon, then this will hopefully be just the thing for you. The wonderful Vicki Spreadbury has put together a montage of some of the lighter, funnier moments from the podcast during Wimbledon. Become a Friend of The Tennis PodcastCheck out our ⁠⁠⁠new merch shop⁠⁠⁠! Talk tennis with Friends on ⁠⁠⁠The Barge! ⁠⁠⁠Sign up to receive our free ⁠⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠⁠ (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, Fantasy League updates, and more)Follow us on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our ⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠ channel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

21 Heinä 20251h 17min

On the final day of Wimbledon 2025, Jannik Sinner became the first Italian to win the singles tournament, and Catherine, David and Matt were live afterwards to react to his four set defeat of Carlos Alcaraz.In part one we talk over the manner of this win and how Sinner put paid to any suggestion of scar tissue from Paris with a focused and intelligent performance. We discuss Alcaraz’s unmatchable brilliance at the end of the first set, and how Sinner’s resilience allowed him to stay on task, break at the start of a second, and win clinically in four sets. There’s speculation about what might happen next, with the incredible prospect of Sinner, Alcaraz - and Iga Swiatek - all heading into 2026 with the potential to complete a career slam before the age of 25. Will this rivalry between the two of them continue as a duopoly? Or is there a third player yet to emerge from their wake and challenge at the top?In part two (43m34s) we round up the other results from the day at Wimbledon, including a tense battle between Alfie Hewett and Tokito Oda for the men’s wheelchair singles crown, and a thrilling women’s doubles won by Mertens and Kudermetova over Hsieh and Ostapenko.Thus ends Wimbledon 2025! In part three (49m44s) we finish with a look back at our favourite memories from the past fortnight, and thanks to all those who have contributed to the making of our shows from the Championships.Become a Friend of The Tennis PodcastCheck out our ⁠⁠⁠new merch shop⁠⁠⁠! Talk tennis with Friends on ⁠⁠⁠The Barge! ⁠⁠⁠Sign up to receive our free ⁠⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠⁠ (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, Fantasy League updates, and more)Follow us on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our ⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠ channel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

13 Heinä 20251h 11min

Catherine, David and Matt were joined by Charlie Eccleshare of The Athletic to talk through Iga Swiatek becoming Wimbledon champion and her 6-0 6-0 win over Amanda Anisimova in the final. In part one we talk through what happened in a match that had the most one-sided of scorelines and the most brutal of defeats for a nervous and – in her own estimation – tired, Amanda Anisimova. We discuss how nerves played their part in limiting Anisimova’s ability to hurt Swiatek and how much the semi-final against Sabalenka may have taken from her in emotional energy. Disappointing as it was from her point of view, however, we had plenty of space to talk about the brilliance of Iga Swiatek in grand slam finals, her ruthlessness and power today, her resilience in coming back after a number of disappointing results to take this title, and how her victory changes the narrative of women’s tennis. Finally, it’s a scoreline which once again got us talking about best of three vs best of five. In part two (44m04s) we discuss the other results from today, including a first victory in a very long time for an all British pair – Cash and Glasspool - in the men’s doubles, of an intense and dramatic victory for De la Puente and Spaargaren over Hewett and Reid in the men’s wheelchair doubles, and of a new star in Chinese wheelchair tennis as Wang Ziying denied Yui Kamiji her first Wimbledon victory and a career golden slam. In part three (50m18s) we give you a preview of the men’s final tomorrow and look ahead to the final order of play at the Championships 2025. Become a Friend of The Tennis PodcastCheck out our ⁠⁠⁠new merch shop⁠⁠⁠! Talk tennis with Friends on ⁠⁠⁠The Barge! ⁠⁠⁠Sign up to receive our free ⁠⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠⁠ (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, Fantasy League updates, and more)Follow us on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our ⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠ channel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12 Heinä 20251h 6min

Catherine, David and Matt were live from Wimbledon on Day 12 as Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner set up a mouthwatering final, while Novak Djokovic looked his age.In part one we focus on Djokovic and digesting his press conference after his one-sided loss to Sinner. We speculate about what Djokovic’s future may look like now injuries are affecting him and he can’t keep up with Sinner and Alcaraz.In part two (20m54s) we cover Alcaraz’s four set win over Taylor Fritz, another strong serving performance, and whether we actually like it when he plays this way. There’s also plenty of chat about Fritz, his impressive attitude and consistency in this match and in this tournament, and whether he can one day win a grand slam title. Finally, we can’t help ourselves and we start previewing Alcaraz vs Sinner on Sunday.In part three (43m16s) we look ahead to tomorrow’s women’s final between Iga Swiatek and Amanda Anisimova. Will Matt be going blond?Become a Friend of The Tennis PodcastCheck out our ⁠⁠new merch shop⁠⁠! Talk tennis with Friends on ⁠⁠The Barge! ⁠⁠Sign up to receive our free ⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠ (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, Fantasy League updates, and more)Follow us on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ channel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11 Heinä 20251h

Catherine Matt and David were joined by special guest Pam Shriver to analyse two completely different women’s semi-finals and look ahead to tomorrow’s men’s semis.In Part 1 we discuss the gripping match between Amanda Anisimova and Aryna Sabalenka, a tight, three-set tussle that felt on the edge until the very last point. We talk about where the match was won and lost, whether Sabalenka got her tactics right, and what Anisimova did to carry herself over the line.Part 2 (40m44s) - Anisimova will meet Iga Swiatek in the final, who was utterly dominant against a seemingly compromised Belinda Bencic. We discuss Swiatek’s progress on grass and how her own success has surprised her at this tournament. Plus, a brief detour to sample some strawberry pasta.In Part 3 (55m56s) we review the Wimbledon mixed doubles final and Pam and David disagree on the status of the US Open mixed doubles to come. Then we look ahead to the men’s semi-finals, do some more punchy percentage predictions, and Pam gives us her scoop on what happened to Djokovic’s scheduled practice.Become a Friend of The Tennis PodcastCheck out our ⁠⁠new merch shop⁠⁠! Talk tennis with Friends on ⁠⁠The Barge! ⁠⁠Sign up to receive our free ⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠ (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, Fantasy League updates, and more)Follow us on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ channel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10 Heinä 20251h 15min