The Tennis Podcast

At the end of a great night session match between Aryna Sabalenka and Sloane Stephens, Catherine, David and Matt discuss whether this was Sabalenka demonstrating how much of a title contender she is, debate how well Stephens played, explain why it mattered that this match was good, and react to the fact that Sabalenka once again did not do a press conference. Elsewhere, there's excitement about ho...

It wasn't a vintage day at Roland Garros - Elena Rybakina's sad withdrawal rather set the tone for a day filled with defeats for lots of fun players and plenty of one-sided matches. But Catherine, David and Matt still had lots to discuss, including Iga Swiatek's form after her 6-0 6-0 victory, how Coco Gauff showed her maturity to beat Mirra Andreeva, breakthrough wins for Beatriz Haddad Maia and...

At the end of Day 6 at Roland Garros, Catherine, David and Matt cover the longest straight sets match of Novak Djokovic's career against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Carlos Alcaraz's thrashing of Denis Shapovalov in the night session, a tantalising last 16 match between Aryna Sabalenka and Sloane Stephens, Sabalenka's decision to skip her press conference and how it was handled by the tournament,...

The drama just keeps coming at Roland Garros. On the Day 5 pod, Catherine, David and Matt discuss Daniel Altmaier’s incredible win over Jannik Sinner, Mirra Andreeva and Coco Gauff setting up a tantalising R3 encounter, the form of Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina, Taylor Fritz making himself public enemy number one, and much more. ON LOCATION: This edition of The Tennis Podcast is brought to you in...

There was a ‘morning after the night before’ feeling to Wednesday at Roland Garros, with the reverberations from Gael Monfils’ epic late night win still being felt around the grounds. But such is the pace of these Grand Slam tournaments, new stories quickly formed on Day 4. Catherine, David and Matt discuss Novak Djokovic's victory over Marton Fucsovics which included an epic first set, defeat for...

Tuesday at Roland Garros was a lot: Gael Monfils somehow came back from 0-4 down in the final set while cramping, Rome champion Daniil Medvedev was beaten by Thiago Seyboth Wild in five dramatic sets, and Bianca Andreescu came surging back to defeat Victoria Azarenka in a thriller. Catherine, David and Matt cover all of that, as well as the domestic violence charge facing Seyboth Wild, wins for Ig...

Novak Djokovic won his opening round match at Roland Garros on Monday without too much fuss, but he sparked a potential political row after writing the phrase ‘Kosovo is the heart of Serbia’ in the customary post-match camera signing. We discuss what he was referring to, why it's a controversial statement, and the rest of what he had to say in the Serbian part of his press conference. Elsewhere, C...

There's no longer such as thing as a slow Sunday start at Roland Garros. Catherine, David and Matt discuss Lucas Pouille's comeback continuing, the tension on court and in the press conference room between Aryna Sabalenka and Marta Kostyuk, Karolina Muchova's "upset" win over Maria Sakkari, a survival act by Stefanos Tsitsipas against Jiri Vesely, lots of fun from Constant Lestienne, and meeting A...

Shortly after attending media day at Roland Garros, Catherine, David and Matt react to what the players had to say. There's chat about Stefanos Tsitsipas' coaching set up, Coco Gauff's forehand, Iga Swiatek's health, Aryna Sabalenka and Daniil Medvedev's developing relationships with clay, the way Carlos Alcaraz is taking everything in his stride, and much more. ON LOCATION: This edition of The Te...

Catherine, David and Matt have arrived in Paris and attended the Roland Garros draw ceremony! What do we make of Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic being in the same half? Has David changed his mind about Daniil Medvedev not being in The Mix? What are the most eye-catching round matches of the women's draw? Is this a good draw or a bad draw for Aryna Sabalenka? And much more. ON LOCATION: This edit...

Another week in tennis, another tournament where the women were treated as second class citizens. This time, the singles final didn’t start until 11pm and the doubles final took place on a non-televised court. There were some reasons for this - rain being the obvious one - but Catherine, David and Matt discuss why this shouldn’t be acceptable.   There’s also chat about Anhelina Kalinina’s gre...

It's been quite a day in tennis as Rafael Nadal held a press conference to announce that he will be missing Roland Garros while he takes an extended break from the sport in an attempt to recover from the injury he sustained at the Australian Open. He also said that he plans to retire after the 2024 season. In this show we react to that news, discuss the reasons behind his decisions, ponder what hi...

While Rome has been underway for a few days now, we pick off this episode where we left off, by discussing the fallout from the women’s doubles final ceremony in Madrid where the players were not allowed to speak.  Four days after the event, the tournament finally apologised, but not before Jessica Pegula had had more to say and a piece by Matt Futterman in the New York Times had drawn attent...

It was a thrilling finals weekend in Madrid with Aryna Sabalenka getting revenge on Iga Swiatek before Carlos Alcaraz survived a great performance by Jan-Lennard Struff to defend his title. Catherine is back home and she joins David and Matt to review it all. Is Sabalenka-Swiatek now a legitimate rivalry? Will Sabalenka be able to take this form to Rome and Roland Garros? And did Struff provide a...

Iga Swiatek will face Aryna Sabalenka's in Saturday's Madrid final which means the rivalry we've all wanted is officially happening. David, Catherine (in Madrid) and Matt talk through how both players have got there, Swiatek's intensity and focus this week, and the way in which Sabalenka is embracing the prospect of a rematch with the world number one. On the men's side, we look ahead to the Carlo...

With Madrid well underway, Catherine, David and Matt catch up to discuss everything that's happened so far. There's chat about an impressive win for Maria Sakkari over the improving-but-not-there-yet Paula Badosa, more forehand woes for Coco Gauff, Mayar Sherif becoming the first Egyptian to reach a WTA 1000 quarter-final, and the thrilling run of 15/16 year old Mirra Andreeva to the fourth round....

There was a feeling of déjà vu this week as Iga Swiatek in Stuttgart, Carlos Alcaraz in Barcelona and Holger Rune in Munich all defended their titles. In what way was this a big statement from Swiatek? Just how dominant was Alcaraz against Stefanos Tsitsipas? And how did Botic van de Zandschulp let it slip in the Munich final? Catherine, David and Matt discuss all of that, as well as a hard-earned...

The week in Monte Carlo belonged to Andrey Rublev and it belonged to aggro. In this episode we discuss Rublev finally winning his first Masters 1000 title, why it was so deserved, and what it might mean for his career, and we savour the way in which Taylor Fritz, Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune all provided aggro that was right in the sweet spot. There's also a round up of all the Billie Jean King...

Their WTA's suspension of business in China in reaction to the allegations and silencing of Peng Shuai lasted 16 months. In this podcast, recorded a few days later than usual due to Matt's ill health, covers our reaction to that WTA announcement. We also update on Monte Carlo, including a loss for Novak Djokovic and the re-emergence of clay-court Medvedev. ON LOCATION This edition of The Tennis Po...

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The last few days in Miami did not go as expected, with both Carlos Alcaraz and Elena Rybakina unable to complete the Sunshine Double. Instead, Petra Kvitova rolled back the years and Daniil Medvedev showed why he's a specialist in hard courts. David, Catherine and Matt are together to discuss an uplifting week from Kvitova, whether fatigue played a role in Rybakina's final performance, the latest...

With Carlos Alcaraz and Elena Rybakina both still on course for the Sunshine Double, we catch up on the last few days of action in Miami. David and Matt go through the biggest stories, from the run of Christopher Eubanks, some comments by Stefanos Tsitsipas that got everyone checking the ATP rulebook, and the Indian Summer of Sorana Cirstea's career, while Catherine sends voice notes about her imp...

Catherine, David and Matt reconvene for the first time since Indian Wells to chat about everything which has happened in the last week, from playing tennis with Pam Shriver, going to Las Vegas to see Taylor Swift, and of course lots of great matches in Miami. We cover the form of Indian Wells champions Carlos Alcaraz and Elena Rybakina, dispiriting losses for Casper Ruud and Matteo Berrettini, ano...

Elena Rybakina and Carlos Alcaraz are the 2023 Indian Wells champions. Rybakina got her first victory over Aryna Sabalenka to get some semblance of revenge for the Australian Open final, while Alcaraz destroyed Daniil Medvedev. On one final pod from Indian Wells, Catherine, David and Matt discuss the incredible first set between Rybakina and Sabalenka, the return of Sabalenka’s double faults,...

Daniil Medvedev will take on the famous Carlos Alcaraz in a mouth-watering men's final at Indian Wells on Sunday. Catherine, David and Matt discuss how both players made it, chat about what might happen when they meet for only the second time, and preview the blockbuster women's final between Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina. ROLAND GARROS TICKET OFFER We have a 15% discount for Tennis Podcast l...