Backhands and Compliments: A Tennis Podcast

It’s delusion hours, everyone! So, it’s like every other episode? Maybe. We talk about each quarter and who is left in the Wimbledon draw. Miranda and Katie go all in with Matteo and call for an upset. We might also be the only podcast saying Chris Eubanks will win Wimbledon. We also ask the very important question, is Novak Djokovic a vegan or does he just do yoga? Either way, he’s probably eatin...

We started this podcast six months ago with Tsitsislander, but now it's time for Tsitsidosa. (Although Katie does throw in quite a bit of Tsitsislander.) Before we talk about the relationship between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa, we talk about Roland Garros. This was recorded a lifetime ago and for that, we apologize. Novak Djokovic won his 23rd slam, whatever, whatever, good job, but t...

From asking Gerry to default him to now winning the whole thing, Daniil Medvedev is really the main character. Despite all the rain, this tournament wasn’t gloomy for us. After months without a Stefaniil match, we finally got our favorite matchup. Unfortunately, all the drama is more familial, but there is nothing we love discussing more than the mental and emotional side of tennis. Which means we...

We get a little more serious this week as we go over the various controversies and misogyny that happened in the last days of Madrid. From Cakegate to the ball crew’s uniforms and the mockery of them, to the silencing of the final two women’s doubles teams, to the alleged rigging in favor of Carlos Alcaraz. As women, it is our responsibility to talk about these problems and shed light on misogyny....

Mercury is in Retrograde and so is Madrid. We’re here for our not-so-regularly scheduled episode to talk less about tennis and more about the multiverse of madness that is tennis and pop culture colliding. Miranda prepared a quiz about the fame and popularity of tennis players in honor of the Met Gala. Katie gives her dream teams for the Laver Cup, including the addition of another team of her fav...

Monte-Carlo truly is the most beautiful tennis tournament, and not just because Andrey Rublev won it this week! We’re back to celebrate Andrey’s win and discuss all the drama, from Daniil Medvedev dragging his not-friend Alexander Zverev to Taylor Fritz beating American clay hater Stefanos Tsitsipas. Also included: half a grid of F1 drivers and Big Babies™️ Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune roughhousi...

After a week to dry off from the downpour of the Sunshine Double, we’re back to discuss the fortnight of tennis at the Miami Open! Daniil Medvedev has kept his impressive run going to capture another title, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz played another thriller of a match, and most importantly, Morgan Riddle and Taylor Fritz fostered kittens! We also debate the necessity of crowd silence during...

With two weeks to recap, Miranda and Katie really focus on the most important aspects of the year’s first Masters 1000. Like the fact that Cam Norrie called Felix his “daddy”. Of course, we talk about Daniil Medvedev’s “court” case against Indian Wells and their slow "hard" courts. Miranda reveals her Indian Wells teddy bear’s name and Katie tells her truth about a certain retired player...

It's very Katie and Miranda to name the 13th episode of the podcast after Taylor Swift lyrics. Last week, Miranda ventured out into the desert for a couple days at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California! This episode is just a recap of all the action she was able to catch on the first Friday and Saturday of the tournament. We answer all of the most essential questions, like which pla...

Tell a friend to tell a friend, he’s backkkk. And by he, of course we mean Daniil Medvedev. This week was an exciting one and pretty wholesome. Daniil might have won his third tournament in a row, but more importantly, he re-ignited the Stefaniil rivalry again and won Best Friend of the Week by defending Andrey. We talk about the kids: like Holger Rune v. Ben Shelton, Lorenzo Musetti’s anxiety, an...

In an oddly normal week, Daniil Medvedev wins a terrible bird trophy in Doha, Cam Norrie beats an injured Carlitos in Rio, and Hubi Hurkacz slays a Frenchman in Marseille. We, as usual, give the rundown of the most important happenings, like Andrey Rublev finally getting a win outside of a Grand Slam, Carlos's GenZ Instagram handle, the balls discourse, Novak Djokovic's water manifestations. We al...

Flop-off February continues as Daniil Medvedev wins Rotterdam, Carlos Alcaraz wins Buenos Aires, and Taylor Fritz wins Delray Beach. We talk about all the important topics, like whether we’re worried about Andrey Rublev (yes) and whether Felix Auger-Aliassime named his new dog after Tim Hortons (maybe?). Is there a budding rivalry between Jannik Sinner and Stefanos Tsitsipas? How do we give the Go...

TW: We discuss the decisions made in the cases surrounding Kyrgios and Zverev. We give ample warning before these topics are discuss, and once we start discussing this, you can skip to 1:08:00 to get to our end of show game.  February tennis is in full swing and thrown into post-AO chaos. The slam race is tied, and we truly couldn’t care less. We discuss all the happenings from the past coupl...

 In big week-two-of-a-slam fashion, please enjoy this slightly late recap of round three through the quarterfinals of the 2023 Australian Open. Aside from the most important matches, we discuss the player GQ photoshoot, the real reason Stefanos Tsitsipas is actually obsessed with Margot Robbie, and a personified net cord getting her revenge. You can also enjoy making fun of our predictions th...

It's been a wild first four days of the 2023 Australian Open. Katie and Miranda sit down to dissect all the most important tennis moments. By that we mean The Netflix Curse, new player kits, and the matches that have left us the most devastated. Our sleep schedules have gone to hell, and so have our draws.  New to tennis or trying to get a friend into the sport? Check out our ATP 101 and 102...

The 2023 Australian Open draw has been unveiled. Time to grab your energy drinks and popcorn, and get ready for the first slam of the 2023 season. Katie gives a tarot reading for the tournament before we dive into a breakdown of each quarter, the matchups to watch, and the potential upsets in round one. It's all hypothetical, unfortunately, but we still provide our feelings, reactions, and Miranda...

The first week of the 2023 ATP Tennis Season is in the books, and so is the first weekly episode of Backhands & Compliments! In this one, Katie and Miranda recap everything that happened during the week, except Novak Djokovic winning a title. (What, like it's hard?) The US won a team tennis event, and we explained the unhinged edits we would make to the United Cup format. Also, we're not sure...

Welcome to Backhands and Compliments! The 2022 tennis season may have come to an end, but the 2023 season is upon us! Katie and Miranda make their predictions (bingo board style) for 2023, and it really runs the gamut. Predictions include a certain someone starting an OnlyFans, someone breaking a curse another player allegedly placed on them, and everything in between.  New to tennis or tryin...

Welcome to Backhands and Compliments, a tennis podcast and safe space for anyone looking to get into tennis!  On today's episode we talk about how tennis works! The tournaments, the point system, the surfaces, and how the season plays out. If 101 was the characters, then this is the plot. We also recommend our favorite apps for getting scores and updates and where we watch tennis. On a seriou...

Welcome to Backhands and Compliments, a tennis podcast and safe space for anyone looking to get into tennis. On today's episode we talk about the culture surrounding tennis, rivalries, and our favorite characters--I mean athletes. Follow us on Instagram @backhandsandcompliments and on Twitter @backhandspod Follow Miranda @tennisera for Morgan Riddle fancams, lessons on feminism, and tennis screami...

Welcome to Backhands and Compliments, a tennis podcast and safe space for anyone looking to get into tennis. We’re for anyone who is – cold sweat haunted by a slam final psychoanalyzes Andrey Rublev unironically stans Morgan Riddle gets war flashbacks from Viva la Vida is unfortunately attracted to someone annoying believes Cincy is the fifth slam counts down the days to Novak's retirement is a sm...