Tennis And Bagels Podcast

Wimbledon will have a nineth first-time champion in as many years. In the Semifinal line up, Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova played what was possibly the match tie-break of the tournament, with some insane tension, volleys, defense, and even a choke. Muchova goes on to reach her second Grand Slam final, again saving match point, after she came back from 2-5 down in the third set vs Sabalenka at Ro...

Doubles in tennis has a problem, but it's not being boring, neither it's athletes being less good than singles tennis players. The problem is not even in the actual sport at all: as entertainment, it does just fine, and as a recreational activity, probably the majority of amateurs play in doubles more often than singles. Well, then, how come the ATP is killing doubles little by little? I'm afraid...

Watching Serena Williams back in her first singles match in almost four years was an amazing experience. She fought like she never left, hit incredbile serves, saved match point, almost went on to win, but ran out of steam in the end against Maya Joint. Nonetheless, it left the feeling that she really could do it. Will she try again, or was it just a one off for the good ol' days? Plus, Novak Djok...

It's yet another major, the third of 2026 and arguably the most important one in terms of prestige: Wimbledon starts next week. We got the draws in front of us and go through each of the 8 sections in both women's and men's singles draws, identifying popcorn matches, and key challenges for key players. Oh, and, for the time being, Serena Williams playing her first professional singles match in alm...

Marketa Vondrousova has received a four-year suspension for refusing to take a doping test late in 2025. At first, the ITIA seemed to have it under control, the content they posted and their explanation made sense. But then, Vondrousova came with a response, and pointed out inconsistecies in the process and what seemed to have been a poorly executed visit by the tester. Whether or not she has a ca...

Serena Williams will be back at Wimbledon playing singles for the first time since 2022! At 44 years old, she played some really good tennis with Mboko before the Canadian injured her knee at Queens. This decision to come back and even play singles at the most well-known tennis tournament in the world is intriguing: what does she want to get from this? While it's practically impossible to see Sere...

I was convinced Alexander Zverev would never win a grand slam title. I was proven wrong - but he needed mighty help from the tennis gods to make it happen. I have questions about whether this will translate into more success or if things will remain more or less the same. (If you want to skip the DV case discussion part, I talk exclusively about tennis from 16:32 until the end.) But, before the te...

A discussion on Alexander Zverev’s route to winning the title and analysis of the final with historical implications, Jannik Sinner’s shocking defeat, João Fonseca vs Djokovic, thoughts on Flavio Cobolli and Jakub Mensik plus future projections.  On the Women’s side, we recap Mirra Andreeva’s impressive title run, Maja Chwalinska’s heroics to get to the final, and discuss each of the Core 4 (...

Mirra Andreeva caps off an amazing clay season with the biggest clay title possible at Roland Garros. At only 19 years old! If the season before clay wasn't filled with her best moments, Andreeva came back with fire for the clay, winning 22 of 25 matches, and lifting her first major title. While she was pretty much expected to achieve all there is to achieve in tennis, maybe this title at Grand Sl...

The biggest favourite since Rafael Nadal in 2009, Jannik Sinner lost in a shocking comeback effort by Juan Manuel Cerundolo only in the second round. The details of this match you already know. But this loss will remain in the history books, and the complete absence of a serious second best player, with Carlos Alcaraz sidelined by a wrist injury, means that whoever wins, we will always note the co...

With a pretty disappointing season prior to the clay, Iga Swiatek looked a lot better with a new coach in her camp. After a solid run in Rome losing out to defending champion Elina Svitolina, some even said Swiatek might be a big favourite to win the Roland Garros title a fifth time. She won her first two rounds, avoided a dangerous clash against Ostapenko, and then lost in two sets to Madrid cham...

Gael Monfils and Stan Wawrinka played their final matches at Roland-Garros this year. They went out in the way they wanted, and on their own brand: Monfils almost pulling a miraculous comeback from two sets to love, but ultimately his body couldn't carry him, and Wawrinka blasting backhand winners, but now unable to match the aggression with defensive play. It was amazing. I will miss them so much...

Old school Tennis and Bagels is BACK with the brains of the podcast: Vansh Vermani, the living tennis encyclopedia brings all his in-depth analysis and knowledge of players' form, injury, court conditions, past results, and more. We are doing a full draw preview, going section by section of both the Roland Garros men's and women's draws and finally making our picks for semi-finalists, finalists, a...

(I said Svitolina beat four Top 20 players on route to the Rome title - this is wrong. She beat three Top 5 opponents, but the next higher ranking she beat was World no.25 Hailey Baptiste.) Elina Svitolina wins her first WTA 1000 since Rome 2018. Her third crown in the Italian capital, with hard-fought, well-earned wins over Elena Rybakina, Iga Swiatek, and Coco Gauff. What a tournament by the Ukr...

Since Alcaraz announced he'd miss the remainder of the clay season, it was obvious: Jannik Sinner would be utterly unchallenged to win Madrid, Rome, and Roland Garros. It has gone pretty much as expected from him. Only surprise was losing a set to Medvedev. Other than that, it almost seems disingenuous to say there's any doubt Sinner will sweep the Clay Slam, just like Rafael Nadal did in 2010, th...

I love tennis. I love talking about tennis. I love having discussions with other fans about players who are great, players who could be better, things that I love about tennis, and things that annoy me. I love the GOAT debate. How fun is it to compare stats, types of shots and game style, and have the evening extend into the late hours as we let our outrageous opinions on the table, call our frien...

Joao Fonseca passes the eye test. He has passed the test a long time ago. Now what he needs is the support of his fans in the highs AND the lows. He needs people to known HOW to support him, too, both on social media and on court. Sure, the atmosphere can be great with lively fans. But tennis has a specific kind of behaviour that is expected of fans, and it's not at all similar to a soccer match....

Zverev once again reaches the later stages of a tournament, and is once again utterly incapable of making a match out it against Sinner. As Jannik Sinner continues to sweep every Masters 1000 of the year virtually unchallenged, the question is beginning to get loud online: is the ATP Tour boring? Some might even start saying that Sinner himself is the problem. Well, is he? Short answer is no. But...

Aryna Sabalenka is a three-time Madrid champion, World No.1 by many points, and possible favourite for Roland Garros. Elena Rybakina is the Australian Open champion. World No.1 in the Race, an just won Stuttgart with only one tough match. Yet, in a turn of events, it was Marta Kostyuk who rose up to the challenge and took the opportunity in the final by defeating a struggling Mirra Andreeva to win...

The stage was set in Madrid. The only teenagers in the ATP Top 100 faced each other for the first time. Both carrying the weight of some ever-distant "future of tennis". One loses, gets called overrated, unsubstantiated hype, flop. The other, the real deal, the next Rafa Nadal, the one who will disrupt the Sinner-Alcaraz dual dynasty. Of course, tennis is played over many tournaments, over many mo...

Carlos Alcaraz should not have played Barcelona. Now, dropping out of the remainder of the clay season, he's left with no Barcelona title, no Madrid title, no Roland Garros and a chance to hold all four majors at once, and probably no No.1 until 2027. It seems like it's never going to get easier for Sinner. He now has the chance to completely dominate the tour, win every tournament he enters, post...

Elena Rybakina could have lost in the quarterfinals in Stuttgart. She didn't. And maybe that was the confidence boost she needed to know she could be one of the big favourites for Roland Garros and the World No.1 mantle, both for the first time. Losing to Fernandez could have thrown Rybakina's No.1 quest off course, and given Sabalenka almost free rein over Madrid and Rome, making only herself her...

This is a really important step for the Pod. I really believe in it, and I think we can do even better work and be dedicated to having a place where fans can talk about their wild tennis ideas, predictions, criticisms, and just geek about the sport in general. With the Patreon, we open up an avenue that could allow us to focus a lot more on this project. Join here: patreon.com/TennisBagelsPodcast...

Iga Swiatek doens't present the same aura as she did a couple years ago. She's lost her edge, and not only on rivalries she used to dominate. It feels like every player is now feeling more and more confident when they step on court against her. For her biggest rivals, this means that the sense of danger is no longer there. Gauff hasn't lost in their last five matches despite losing 11 straight, an...

It wasn't the best match of their rivalry, but it might as well be one of the most important. Jannik Sinner was yet to win a big title on clay. He lost several really important finals to Alcaraz, including that mystical Roland Garros final in 2025 (last year). Now he unlocked new potential. What will happen next? Will Alcaraz play Barcelona and Madrid, maybe skip one or the other? Will Sinner play...