Tennis with an Accent

We’re kicking off a brand-new series on the podcast: Barstool Conversations at TWAA. In our inaugural episode, we dive into The Championships, Wimbledon, with a panel that brings together perspectives from across the tennis world. Joining the conversation are Steve Flink (media), Gene Mayer (former player), and Skip Schwarzmann (fans), each offering a unique lens on one of the sport’s most iconic...

TWAA regulars Coach Mert Ertunga and Andrew Burton join host Matt Zemek to preview The Championships, Wimbledon. The panel agrees that the women’s draw features a broader group of genuine title contenders, while the men’s event appears more concentrated at the top. Mert and Andrew take a deep dive into both draws, breaking down their favorites, dark horses, and dangerous floaters capable of making...

Former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash is this week’s podcast guest. Cash returns to the show to relive some of his greatest victories and most painful defeats along with the overall arc of his career. A tennis career is about more than wins and losses—it also involves training methods, overcoming chronic injuries, and making significant lifestyle sacrifices. During the mid-1980s, Cash transformed him...

Mirra Andreeva and Alexander Zverev each captured their first major title over the past fortnight at Roland Garros, but the significance of those victories was very different. For Andreeva, it was a coming-of-age triumph that could mark the beginning of a long and successful reign among the sport’s elite. For Zverev, it was about finally seizing a golden opportunity, taking advantage of an open dr...

This week's podcast guest is Hana Mandlíková — a four-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. 3, widely regarded as one of the most talented players of her generation. With this edition of Roland Garros marking 45 years since her victory in Paris, Mandlíková joins host Saqib Ali for a candid and wide-ranging conversation covering the full arc of her storied career. She reflects on her fierce...

We preview the Roland Garros draws- WTA and ATP in this episode of the podcast. Host Matt Zemek is joined by tennis historian Steve Flink and podcast resident guest Andrew Burton. The WTA draw is loaded with more balance of power and depth compared to the ATP and is the bigger draw card. The trio breaks down all the burning questions ahead of the draw. All the top favorites and contenders are cove...

Rome champions were crowned this weekend. TWAA crew of Matt Zemek, Andrew Burton and Skip Schwarzman return to talk about the finals and key takeaways from the eternal city. The crew tires to address the fact is Jannik Sinner being so good means his game is boring? What does the Elina Svitolina’s third triumph in Rome means for her status as Roland Garros favorite? We have detail and nuance filled...

Roland Garros is a tournament where some of the most attacking players on the men’s side have come in short. In this episode we talk about those very players - the best of their generation who could not lift the French Open title. 1990 Roland Garros champion Andres Gomez and Hall of famer Steve Flink join host Saqib Ali to share their respective lists of tennis greats who did not win the title in...

Marta Kostyuk and Jannik Sinner won their maiden Madrid 1000 events over the weekend. TWAA panel of Andrew Burton, Skip Schwarzman and Matt Zemek break down some of the key talking points from Madrid and also look forward to Rome. The WTA event had three players - led by the eventual winner Kostyuk making their first semi final at a M1000 event. Madrid is an outlier on the road to Paris given that...

Hall of famer Steve Flink and Tennis Channel commentator Gill Gross reunite with host Saqib Ali to breakdown the clay power rankings of the ATP. The episode was recorded few days before Carlos Alcaraz's withdrawal from Roland Garros was announced. The other names discussed by the panel makes this a compelling listen given we are still in the heart of the clay season. Brew your favorite cup of coff...

Hall of famer Mark Woodforde returns to the pod to give insights on why players chose Monte Carlo as their home base during playing days. In a typical and candid Woodforde fashion this episode is full of rich details on his journey as a Monte Carlo resident and also playing money tournaments in South of France while he was tryig to establish himself on the pro circuit. Also sheds light on some of...

Host Saqib Ali shares his experience on being at the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters this past week. Mert Ertunga plays host duties as the duo exchanges notes on watching Monte Carlo live on site. Mert also breaks down the patterns of the Jannik Sinner Carlos Alcaraz finals and gives his views on the rise of Valentin Vacherot and the conundrum of the situation for Alex Zverev.

Former top 10 players Gene Mayer and Tim Mayotte join host Saqib Ali to discuss the depth of the American men. Currently US has 17 players in the top 100 and this resurgence is led by Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton. Both guests break down their set of players using a tier system. Tune in and see if your tiers have the same players as Mayer and Mayotte.

Carlos Alcaraz and Elena Rybakina have created their own history in Melbourne at this year's Australian Open. Host Matt Zemek is joined by TWAA panelists - Mert Ertunga, Andrew Burton and Skip Schwarzman to break down the finals weekend! In depth analysis on men's semis and both sets of finals - starring Djokovic, Alcaraz, Sinner, Zverev, Sabalenka and Rybakina.

To kick off the 2026 podcasting season the TWAA crew came up with the list of “The greatest men’s matches of the century”. This was an incredibly fun exercise with a lot of minute details and the surrounding context of these great matches. The panelists are Steve Flink, Andrew Burton, Mert Ertunga and host Saqib Ali. Get ready for this detailed unpacking of some of the best men’s matches of last 2...

In an off season throw back episode we relive the Australian Open transition days of the 1980's - the move from Kooyong to Flinders Park now called RLA. Host Saqib Ali is joined by podcast repeat guests Mark Woodforde, Tim Mayotte and Kevin Curren. This is a classic conversation from the vault where the guests had so much shared experience and knowledge from their playing days to impart to the lis...

Mert Ertunga joins host Saqib Ali to review the Nitto ATP finals. The season finale was a fitting extension to the all year long dominance of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. This level of dominance is a first according to Mert where the two players have separated themselves from the field by quite a distance. This has been the repeat mode of conversation on who can possibly disrupt the party of...

Hall of Famer Steve Flink joins host Matt Zemek on the the TWAA pod this week to create a timeless episode where they tackle some of the biggest what if questions through the prism of a historian. Matt brings his A game to extract the wealth of knowledge only has to offer. The conversation focuses on the extended dominance of the big three to the latest stranglehold the “new two” have on the men’s...

Carlos Alcaraz has won the US Open for the second time and in the process has regained the number one ranking. It also means for the second straight year the dynamic duo of Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have cleaned up the four majors between them. We break down the final and speculate if this duopoly is good for the sport or do we need an intervention from a third player in 2026. To do the honors hos...

Aryna Sabalenka has successfully defended her US open title and in the process has salvaged her season which had her endure few heartbreaks in various big matches. Coach Mert Ertunga joins host Matt Zemek to review the WTA edition of the US open 2025. It was a tournament which lived up to the hype of the pre tourney draw and delivered many noteworthy matches and plot lines. One of those big storie...

In the latest episode of the podcast we preview the WTA and ATP draws for the US Open. The panel includes podcast regulars Andrew Burton, Mert Ertunga and host Matt Zemek. We tee off with the ATP side of the house as it's the more predictable event compared to the more deeply balanced WTA. The menu consists of tricky pockets, seeds who are a lock to go deep and party spoilers. Its all here - pleas...

In this week’s episode host Saqib Ali is joined by hall of famer Steve Flink and coach Skip Schwarzman to discuss the best ATP player who fell short at the US Open. In Skip’s words the book of “If” is a never ending book and fittingly the conversation covered a lot of ground from Tony Roche to Marat Safin. It is a free flowing discussion where Bjorn Borg was the unanimous choice as the best player...

In a special episode former major champions Pat Cash and Andres Gomez join TWAA podcast host Saqib Ali to relive the 1980’s ATP - especially the hard court tennis leading up to the Open. It’s a conversation super rich in anecdotal value and information on some of the big names of that generation. It is a great episode for fans of all generations given the guests are great story tellers and recall...

Former Wimbledon finalist Kevin Curren joins the podcast this week to look back at his tennis career. The conversation covers a lot of ground from his early days in his native country of South Africa to his move to play collegiate tennis in Austin, TX and all the way to his famous centre court date with Boris Becker in the 1985 final of Wimbledon. Curren is very forthcoming about all the facets of...

Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner are your new Wimbledon champions! While doing that they respectively became first player from their respective nations to win their respective titles at Wimbledon. Host Matt Zemek is joined by resident guests Andrew Burton and Skip Schwarman to review The Championships. Sinner reversed the heartbreak of that result from Paris and defeated arch rival Carlos Alcaraz for...