The Tennis

Jaslyn Hewitt-Shehadie has worn many hats in tennis, from professional player to high-performance coach, tournament director, and her current position as WTA Director of Player Relations. Jaslyn sits down with Matt and Viv to share insights from her extensive journey in the sport and the lessons she’s learned along the way. Hewitt-Shehadie also explains her passion for giving back to the sport tha...

A month out from the ATP Finals, Jannik Sinner has already locked in the year-end No.1 ranking, while fellow Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka is attempting to do the same in the WTA. Storm Hunter and John Fitzgerald react to Rafael Nadal’s retirement announcement and share their favourite 'Rafa' attributes and moments from the 22-time Grand Slam champion’s career. Aussie hero Jordan Thomps...

Rising Australian star Talia Gibson joins The Sit-Down to discuss her sizzling form, which has seen her scoop three consecutive ITF titles on the Australian Pro Tour and build a 14-match winning streak. The 20-year-old now sits at a career-high world No.128 and has her sights set on bigger goals, such as direct entry to Grand Slams and an elite top-100 ranking. Born in Perth but now based in Brisb...

88 days out from Australian Open 2025, The AO Show presented by Mastercard is at THE LUME Melbourne for the AO Launch. Casey Dellacqua and Todd Woodbridge unpack some of the key rivalries that could be renewed in the first Grand Slam of the year, including between defending men’s champion Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, and two-time winner Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff. The Aussies are on the m...

In Part 2 of their sit-down with Michael Chang, Viv and Matt chat to the former world No.2 about his success in Asia where he won 12 of his 34 career titles, including the first edition of the Beijing tournament in 1993. Chang recalls the enormous support he received in the region and reflects on how the sport has evolved there in the 30 years since, including the construction of purpose-built ven...

Carlos Alcaraz has toppled Jannik Sinner for the third time this year to snatch the title in Beijing, while Chinese surprise packet Zhang Shuai has ended a record 24-match losing streak to join compatriot Zheng Qinwen in the women’s quarterfinals. Title favourite Aryna Sabalenka has a last 8 date with Karolina Muchova — Australian Billie Jean King Cup coach Nicole Pratt reveals why the Czech’s gam...

Professional player-turned-analyst Andrea Petkovic sits down with Matt and Viv to reflect on her illustrious career, which saw her crack the WTA top 10, reach the Roland Garros semifinals in 2014, and reach three major quarterfinals in a breakout 2011 season. The German’s playing career spanned multiple generations, beginning when she took her first steps on the professional tour in the mid-2000s...

After leading Team Europe to victory in the Laver Cup, Carlos Alcaraz resumes his rivalry with US Open champion Jannik Sinner in a Beijing field brimming with talent, while the Spaniard’s winning doubles partner Casper Ruud is in Tokyo where he could be on track for a semifinal showdown with his Laver Cup opponent Ben Shelton. Commentator Peter Marcato joins the panel to discuss the recent surge i...

Olivia Gadecki is Australia’s latest success story of 2024 after her recent maiden WTA singles final in Guadalajara. The 22-year-old sits down with Viv and Matt to discuss what clicked during a breakthrough week in Mexico, which vaulted her to a career-high world No.81 and Australia's No.1 WTA player. Gadecki is the first Aussie woman to reach a 500-level singles final since Ash Barty, a fellow Qu...

Outgoing captains John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg are set to lead their teams one last time at Laver Cup Berlin. Carlos Alcaraz heads a star-studded European team including Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev, while the American trio of Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe have joined forces with Francisco Cerundolo, Thanasi Kokkinakis and Alejandro Tabilo as...

Following his long stint with Angelique Kerber, esteemed German coach Torben Beltz is entering a new phase of his career. The 47-year-old sits down with Viv to discuss the highs of his 20-year partnership with Kerber, including her AO title that kick-started an unforgettable 2016 season. Beltz also relives his own playing career, which began at club level in Germany and took him through the US col...

Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner are the first pair of Australian Open champions to salute at Flushing Meadows in the same year since Steffi Graf and Mats Wilander in 1988 — Casey Dellacqua and Todd Woodbridge analyse the champions’ performances against American finalists Jess Pegula and Taylor Fritz and cast a long gaze to the Australian Open. AO tournament director Craig Tiley joins the show to...

Who better to sit down with during a Davis Cup week than John Fitzgerald, a member of two winning Australian teams in the 1980s, who later captained Australia to the 2003 title? Fitzy joins Viv and Matt to reflect on those incredible memories, plus his glittering doubles career that saw him rise to world No.1 and win all four Grand Slam titles. He's encouraged by Australia's continued success on t...

Australian Open champions Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka have won their AO final rematches against Daniil Medvedev and Zheng Qinwen to book their spots in the US Open semifinals. Jess Pegula has joined fellow American Emma Navarro in the last four and the pair could meet in the championship decider, while Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe will battle it out for a spot in the men's final, ending a...

Viv and Matt have always wanted to sit down with Simon Rea, a colleague who began his tennis journey in his native New Zealand. Emerging through the NZ junior pathway to become a national champion and Davis Cup representative, he completed a journalism degree as a US college player. He later transitioned to high performance coaching, which brought him to Melbourne and saw him link up with Nick Kyr...

Alexei Popyrin has lined up a third-round clash with Novak Djokovic in a testing first week that’s also seen Thanasi Kokkinakis upstage Stefanos Tsitsipas and Chris O’Connell outclass Nicolas Jarry. Storm Hunter and John Fitzgerald join the show to discuss the big stories, including two-time champion Naomi Osaka who’s scored her first top-10 win since 2020 against Jelena Ostapenko. Top seeds Janni...

Alexei Popyrin is riding a sweet wave after his recent ATP Masters 1000 triumph in Montreal. He enters the US Open with a career-high ranking and is seeded at a Grand Slam for the first time. The 25-year-old sat down with Viv and Jon to talk milestone breakthroughs, Aussie inspiration, and the sacrifices that are helping to turn his long-held tennis dreams into reality. AusOpen.com iHeart Apple Po...

Jannik Sinner will take his place in the US Open draw after he was cleared by an independent tribunal of all wrongdoing — Todd Woodbridge and Casey Dellacqua discuss the outcome and the implications for the world No.1. Cincinnati champion Aryna Sabalenka is in form and the favourite to take the women’s crown in New York, but can any of the Americans rise to the occasion? 2001 men’s champion Lleyto...

Michael Chang remains the youngest man to win a Grand Slam title following his historic triumph at Roland Garros in 1989. But, as he reveals in this episode of The Sit-Down, the former world No.2 often felt more at home on the North American hard courts, where he won titles in Toronto, Indian Wells and Cincinnati — the latter of which where he reached four consecutive finals and won twice. Now 52...

Alexei Popyrin has scored the biggest title of his career while Jess Pegula has become the first woman since Martina Hingis to go back to back on Canadian soil — Casey Dellacqua and Simon Rea cast a magnifying glass over the champions and who’s looking the goods in Cincinatti. Alex de Minaur is continuing his recovery from his Wimbledon hip injury as he looks to make his mark on the US hardcourt s...

As we bid farewell to the Olympics, we spend time reminiscing with Andre Sa. In an impressive playing career, Sa represented Brazil in four Olympic Games, including at his home nation in 2016. He was also a Wimbledon singles quarterfinalist and a top-20 doubles star. Andre joined The Sit-Down to talk about those dream Olympic experiences, the evolution of team tennis and why the friendships he for...

Tennis at the Paris 2024 Olympics has ended with historic gold medals for Novak Djokovic, Zheng Qinwen and Aussies Matt Ebden and John Peers, plus so many other memorable winners and stories -- Storm Hunter and John Fitzgerald join the podcast to re-live an incredible tennis event at Roland Garros, while looking forward to the North American season. We have now arrived in Canada, with plenty of Au...

Mirra Andreeva is one of the stars of the moment: an Olympic silver medallist in doubles at the Paris 2024 Games not long after capturing her first career WTA singles title in Iasi, and now a top-25 player. The 17-year-old sat down with Viv at the recent Wimbledon championships, showcasing her strikingly mature personality and unique perspective on the game. Andreeva discusses her love of all surf...

Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz remain on a collision course to meet in the gold medal match — can Alex Zverev, Casper Ruud or any of the last eight club stand in their way? Tommy Paul is holding together Team USA’s medal hopes following the elimination of Coco Gauff, Danielle Collins and Emma Navarro in all formats. Australian Open finalist Zheng Qinwen faces the toughest battle in women’s tenn...

Twenty years on from winning Olympic bronze in singles at the Athens 2004 Games, Alicia Molik reflects on her 'career pinnacle' achievement. She remains the only Australian tennis player to have won an individual medal since the sport returned to the Summer Games in 1988. The then-23-year-old’s performance ignited a fruitful six-month period in which she reached the Australian Open quarterfinals a...