The Tennis Podcast

It was a weird day at Roland Garros, with Alexander Zverev's injury curtailing the first semi-final and a protestor interrupting the second. Catherine, David and Matt discuss where the matches were won and lost, how the conditions impacted Zverev vs. Nadal, the emotional toll this tournament is taking on Nadal, what happened to Marin Cilic as he faded, and why reaching a first slam final is a big...

After Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek set up a dream women's final, Catherine, David and Matt are joined by Pam Shriver to review the semi-finals, to discuss the careers of Gauff and Swiatek to date and the possibility of a new rivalry blossoming, and to look ahead to Saturday's final. How has Gauff developed over the last few years? And how does Swiatek compare to other dominant World No.1s? We also c...

With everyone still recovering from the very late finish to Rafael Nadal vs Novak Djokovic, Wednesday dawned with Amelie Mauresmo’s press conference, and Catherine was there to ask her about why the scheduling has favoured men’s matches over women’s matches this tournament. Mauresmo's comments - that it’s because men’s tennis is more appealing - cast a big shadow over the day’s play and we talked...

We've known for years that you should never count out Rafael Nadal. And yet we keep doing it! After his epic four set victory over Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros, Catherine, David and Matt gather in the middle of the night to talk about how he did it and what it all means. There's chat about Nadal's fast start, Djokovic's recovery, the way Nadal looked physically stronger, the role of the crowd,...

Monday was the day when the bottom half of the men's draw blew wide open, with Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev both losing to inspired performances from Holger Rune and Marin Cilic. Is that the best Cilic has played since the 2014 US Open? How did Tsitsipas assess the match in his press conference? And who is favourite to come through the bottom half? In the women's draw, we talk about an e...

We asked the tennis gods for better matches, and they delivered, with Rafael Nadal defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime in five sets on Sunday. How come it never ceases to be amazing to watch Nadal win like this at Roland Garros? Will he recover in time for Djokovic? And is Felix getting closer? Elsewhere, Catherine, David and Matt are stunned by the level of Carlos Alcaraz and assess his quarter-final...

How do you perk up a dull day at Roland Garros? You get Simon Briggs on the pod! He joined Catherine, David and Matt to talk through Iga Swiatek's worst performance in a while and why Qinwen Zheng could trouble her in the next round, the excellent form of Daniil Medvedev, a bad day for French players on Chatrier, Paula Badosa's injury, a much-needed easy win for Stefanos Tsitsipas, and growing exc...

For our second pod of the day, Catherine, David and Matt are together to talk through everything which happened at Roland Garros. There's chat about Carlos Alcaraz's statement performance against Sebastian Korda, how the scheduling might affect the potential quarter-final between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic which moved a step nearer, big wins for fan favourites Leylah Fernandez and Jil Teichma...

On 27th May 2012, Catherine and David recorded the first edition of The Tennis Podcast in David’s parent’s house. Ten years later, we’ve come a long way, and we marked the occasion by recording a bonus podcast from on site at Roland Garros with our favourite guest, Mary Carillo!  Mary tells us some stories from her visits to Paris over the years and we can get stuck into some of the biggest i...

After the drama of Wednesday, it was a bit of a slow news day at Roland Garros today, but Catherine, David and Matt made up for it by recording most of the pod on site with some beers. We talk about discovering Leolia JeanJean, Iga Swiatek's ruthlessness, a confidence boost for Paula Badosa, the aggro on display between Jelena Ostapenko and Alize Cornet in the best night session so far, and Stefan...

Wednesday was the day this Roland Garros came alive, with Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev both being forced to save match point in their five-set victories, and the women’s draw losing Maria Sakkari, all in the space of a few hours. How come Alcaraz ended up having to save match point? And will this match make him more or less likely to win the tournament? Catherine, David and Matt also talk a...

Day three at Roland Garros belonged to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Catherine, David and Matt discuss how he briefly rolled back the years against Casper Ruud before the moving scenes of his injury and retirement ceremony. How will he be remembered in tennis? Elsewhere, why can’t Lorenzo Musetti win from two sets up? How much fun was Hugo Gaston vs Alex de Minaur? Are the night sessions at Roland Garros wo...

On a wet day at Roland Garros, Rafael Nadal, Iga Swiatek and Novak Djokovic all cruised through their matches, while Naomi Osaka was beaten by Amanda Anisimova before saying that she might not play Wimbledon due to the lack of ranking points. Catherine, David and Matt talk through all of that, as well as comeback victories for Emma Raducanu and Bianca Andreescu, a round one exit for defending cham...

So much for a leisurely Sunday start to Roland Garros. Catherine, David and Matt convene at the end of a day which saw Ons Jabeur upset by Magda Linette in the first match of the tournament on Court Philippe-Chatrier. What happened to Jabeur? What was the feeling like around the grounds when she lost? And will this defeat have lasting effects as she heads to Wimbledon? Elsewhere, we talk about uns...

We begin by discussing the fact that the ATP, WTA and ITF have decided to strip Wimbledon of ranking points over its decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players. What are the main factors behind this decision? What other options were available to them? Will this lead to further stand offs between the tours and the Grand Slams? And why have the ATP and WTA not stripped tour events of ranking poi...

We made it to Paris! Despite Eurostar’s best efforts to thwart our journey, Catherine, David and Matt are on site all together at a Grand Slam for the first time since January 2020, and we’re very excited about that.  After detailing our journey, we get stuck into the draws. How do we feel about Djokovic, Alcaraz and Nadal all being in the same half? Who will capitalise in the other half? Who...

Catherine, David and Matt review the last few days in Rome, which saw Iga Swiatek and Novak Djokovic sweep all before them. Will Swiatek be on her own in a mix of one at Roland Garros? What about Ons Jabeur? Did Djokovic find exactly what he needed to be ready for the French Open? How much of a concern is Rafael Nadal's foot pain? And how do we rate Stefanos Tsitsipas' chances in Paris? BECOME A F...

Together at Tennis Podcast Towers, Catherine, David and Matt catch up to discuss the biggest stories from the first few days of Rome. There's much excitement about Swiatek vs Andreescu, aggro from Danielle Collins and Yulia Putintseva, and some of the leading men finding form. Elsewhere, we continue our criticism of the unequal prize money and look at how the ATP and WTA might take ranking points...

On finals weekend in Madrid, Carlos Alcaraz beat Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev back-to-back-to-back and Ons Jabeur became the first Arab woman to lift a WTA 1000 title, leaving us with two stunning stories to discuss. Catherine joins David and Matt to reveal what it was like to be there and watch it all from up close. Which of Alcaraz's wins was the most impressive? How will Na...

David and Matt get stuck into the main talking point from the last few days in Madrid. What's different about Ons Jabeur this week? Why will so many people be happy if she wins the title? And what's going on with the scheduling which made Jessica Pegula and Jil Teichmann walk out to a practically empty stadium for their semi-final? On the men's side, disappointment about Andy Murray's withdrawal a...

Madrid is well underway, Catherine is there for Amazon Prime Video, and David and Matt talk about the big stories so far. How did Simona Halep beat Paula Badosa so easily? What do we make of Emma Raducanu's decision to split with Torben Beltz? And how do we judge Naomi Osaka on clay after one win and one defeat? On the men's side, there's chat about an exciting half of the draw featuring the retur...

It’s been an extraordinary week in the world of tennis, and this is our chance to react to it. 0 mins - 28 mins: Pam Shriver joins us to reflect on the story she told us last week, how she’s since learned that she was also a victim of physical abuse, and what next steps should be for tennis to improve its safeguarding measures.  28 mins - 53 mins: Pam stays with us to react to the decision of...

With so many geopolitical events affecting tennis, it’s a timely moment for Catherine to speak at length to WTA CEO Steve Simon.  Following yesterday’s interview with Pam Shriver, and the decision of Wimbledon and the LTA to ban Russian and Belarusian players, Catherine starts by asking him about those urgent issues.  Later, there’s discussion about the WTA’s decision to pull out of Chin...

This is Pam Shriver’s story.  In an interview with Catherine, she reveals publicly for the first time that she had an inappropriate and damaging relationship with her much older coach, which began when she was 17 and lasted for over five years.  Pam tells the story from the beginning, describing how it affected her tennis career and her personal life for many years.  She is doing th...

With the clay court season in full swing, Catherine and Matt talk through the main headlines from an exciting week in Monte Carlo, including how Stefanos Tsitsipas' game suits clay so much, what makes Alejandro Davidovich Fokina so fun to watch, and why there's pressure on Novak Djokovic to win matches over the next few weeks after his early exit. There's also a round up of what happened in the Bi...