AO Day 1 - Djokovic pushed like never before; The Backhand is back

Part one - We cover an impressive first performance for Iga Swiatek, the still taboo subject of periods in sport, and Naomi Osaka’s sadness and worrying press conference following her narrow defeat to Paula Badosa. Part two (35m12s). Novak Djokovic finally does his pre tournament press conference and it does not disappoint. We discuss his answers on Andy Murray, being part of the Nadal ceremony, and the form he found in Geneva. Plus, shock defeats for Francisco Cerundolo and Taylor Fritz. Part three (58m22s). Jannik Sinner wins a fun one. And FFT President Gilles Moretton says Roland Garros night slot is based on ‘what’s better for spectators’. Sigh.Buy tickets for Tennis Podcast Live in London on Thursday 26th June at Shoreditch Town Hall. Check out our new merch shop! Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts, including Tennis Re-Lived episodes, Grand Slam Review Shows, and monthly Live Shows on YouTube. Friends also get access to The Barge, Hannah’s Column, and an ad-free listening experience to all episodes of The Tennis Podcast. 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.

26 Mai 1h 23min

Part one - Our reaction to the ceremony honouring Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros, which saw Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray come onto court to celebrate his career. Part two - Women’s results and headlines (28m00s). Dominant starts for Aryna Sabalenka and Zheng Qinwen, we learn more about Victoria Mboko and Eva Lys as they set up a second round clash, and Jasmine Paolini survives a scare. Part three - Men’s results and a look ahead to Day 2 (50m35s). There weren’t too many great matches on the men’s side, but Lorenzo Musetti impressed, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard brought the vibes on Lenglen, and Tommy Paul beat Elmer Moller and then revealed more about his truck being repossessed.Buy tickets for Tennis Podcast Live in London on Thursday 26th June at Shoreditch Town Hall. Check out our new merch shop! Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts, including Tennis Re-Lived episodes, Grand Slam Review Shows, and monthly Live Shows on YouTube. Friends also get access to The Barge, Hannah’s Column, and an ad-free listening experience to all episodes of The Tennis Podcast. 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.

25 Mai 1h 12min

With just one day to go until Roland Garros, Matt Futterman joins Catherine, David and Matt on the show to wrap up media day and get hyped for the start of the tournament. Part one - More reflections from media day, including a big discussion about whether tennis has a toxic culture of playing through injury. Part two - Novak Djokovic wins his 100th title in Geneva, but what does it mean for Roland Garros? (from 39m54s). Part three - Day one order of play (from 53m32s).Buy tickets for Tennis Podcast Live in London on Thursday 26th June at Shoreditch Town Hall. Check out our new merch shop! Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts, including Tennis Re-Lived episodes, Grand Slam Review Shows, and monthly Live Shows on YouTube. Friends also get access to The Barge, Hannah’s Column, and an ad-free listening experience to all episodes of The Tennis Podcast. 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.

24 Mai 1h 9min

On media day at Roland Garros, David loitered in the area, Catherine spent time with all the big names, and Matt didn’t speak to Amanda Anisimova. Part one - Men’s headlines. We cover Arthur Fils’ aura, Carlos Alcaraz’s love for draws and dogs, Jannik Sinner’s physical concerns, and interesting reflections from Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev on how the sport has changed and maybe left them behind. Part two - Women’s headlines (from 38m46s). We discuss just how much Aryna Sabalenka loves being number one, Iga Swiatek’s attempts to talk herself into confidence, and Coco Gauff hints at who’s in the mix. Part three - Qualifying results and Novak Djokovic goes in search of title #100 (from 57m34s). Buy tickets for Tennis Podcast Live in London on Thursday 26th June at Shoreditch Town Hall. Check out our new merch shop! Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts, including Tennis Re-Lived episodes, Grand Slam Review Shows, and monthly Live Shows on YouTube. Friends also get access to The Barge, Hannah’s Column, and an ad-free listening experience to all episodes of The Tennis Podcast. 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.

23 Mai 1h 10min

For our first show from Paris in 2025, Catherine, David and Matt are at Roland Garros to discuss the French Open draws.Part one - Women’s draw. The big headline from the draw was that Jelena Ostapenko has landed in Iga Swiatek’s section. Will that match happen? And just how tricky is Swiatek’s possible route here? There’s also chat about how top heavy the draw is generally, how Aryna Sabalenka’s draw could develop into a hard one, and why it looks like a dream draw for Coco Gauff. Part two - Men’s draw (from 20m11s). We react to Carlos Alcaraz coming to the draw ceremony and studying the draw, ponder whether things could get difficult for Jannik Sinner, and consider how things might go for Alexander Zverev, Novak Djokovic, Casper Ruud and Lorenzo Musetti. Part three - Results so far this week and the Mike Dickson Award (from 51m40s).Buy tickets for Tennis Podcast Live in London on Thursday 26th June at Shoreditch Town Hall. Check out our new merch shop! Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts, including Tennis Re-Lived episodes, Grand Slam Review Shows, and monthly Live Shows on YouTube. Friends also get access to The Barge, Hannah’s Column, and an ad-free listening experience to all episodes of The Tennis Podcast. 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.

22 Mai 1h 7min

On Monday night we were live to review Finals weekend in Rome, talk a little bit about our new partnership with The Athletic, and look ahead to Roland Garros. Part one - WTA. We discuss Jasmine Paolini beating Coco Gauff in the final, following it up with the doubles title, and forcing us to eat some humble pie. Part two - ATP (from 26m30s). We talk about how Carlos Alcaraz beat Jannik Sinner and how the course of their rivalry has changed. Part three - This week in tennis (from 47m58s). Charlie Eccleshare joins the show to preview Roland Garros. Who’s In The Mix? Buy tickets for Tennis Podcast Live in London on Thursday 26th June at Shoreditch Town Hall. Check out our new merch shop! Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts, including Tennis Re-Lived episodes, Grand Slam Review Shows, and monthly Live Shows on YouTube. Friends also get access to The Barge, Hannah’s Column, and an ad-free listening experience to all episodes of The Tennis Podcast. 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.

19 Mai 1h 24min

Catherine, David and Matt look back on the last few days of action in Rome and ahead to Finals weekend. Part one - WTA Results. We discuss Coco Gauff’s remarkable semi-final victory over Zheng Qinwen, the significance for Zheng of beating Aryna Sabalenka for the first time, Peyton Stearns’ incredible deciding set tiebreak win streak, and Jasmine Paolini’s run in front of her home crowd. Part two - ATP Results (from 32m15s). We cover the remarkable performance by Jannik Sinner to defeat Casper Ruud 6-0 6-1, Alexander Zverev’s bizarre comments following his loss to Lorenzo Musetti, and Tommy Paul having his truck repossessed. Part three - Reaction to the news that Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic are no longer working together (from 62m13s). Buy tickets for Tennis Podcast Live in London on Thursday 26th June at Shoreditch Town Hall. Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts, including Tennis Re-Lived episodes, Grand Slam Review Shows, and monthly Live Shows on YouTube. Friends also get access to The Barge, Hannah’s Column, and an ad-free listening experience to all episodes of The Tennis Podcast. 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.Check out our Shop Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

16 Mai 1h 18min

A career relentlessly put together by Rafael Nadal has been painstakingly chronicled and analysed by author Christopher Clarey in his new book 'The Warrior - Rafael Nadal and His Kingdom of Clay'. In conversation with David Law, Chris describes the teenage Nadal he knew, his unprecedented, absurd dominance at Roland Garros, and the backlash to his success that followed in France. They talk about the process of putting the book together, and what might follow next, for Nadal, for tennis, and possibly a Novak Djokovic follow-up for the author.The Warrior is available this week, wherever you get your books.Buy tickets for Tennis Podcast Live in London on Thursday 26th June at Shoreditch Town Hall. Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts, including Tennis Re-Lived episodes, Grand Slam Review Shows, and monthly Live Shows on YouTube. Friends also get access to The Barge, Hannah’s Column, and an ad-free listening experience to all episodes of The Tennis Podcast. 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) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

13 Mai 56min