The Tennis Podcast

The vibes came late on day six at Roland Garros but when they came, they were sensational. Carlos Alcaraz played a great match to defeat Sebastian Korda and Corentin Moutet had the Lenglen crowd in the palm of his hand as he reached round four. There's chat about both matches in part two of the pod, while part one focuses on Iga Swiatek's birthday victory, Ons Jabeur's joyful win over Leylah Ferna...

A rain-soaked and miserable day session turned into an electric and thrilling night session at Roland Garros, meaning that Catherine, David and Matt were buzzing when recording the pod in the media centre at 1am. There's chat about Holger Rune surviving a fifth set tiebreak against Flavio Cobolli, aggro involving Denis Shapovalov and Frances Tiafoe, a Djokovician performance from Novak Djokov...

It was a dreary day at Roland Garros, with the rain falling and play on the outside courts cancelled, but it came to life when Iga Swiatek and Naomi Osaka came onto Court Philippe-Chatrier and played one of the most thrilling matches of the year. Swiatek escaped as the winner, saving a match point, but it felt like Osaka won something too as she played her best tennis in years. On the pod, Catheri...

On the final day of round one action at Roland Garros, rain fell for most of it, but once the clouds cleared there were plenty of talking points for Catherine, David and Matt. There's chat about Elena Rybakina's awesome performance on court before a pretty chippy press conference, Novak Djokovic showing some signs of life, a dreadful day for French players, Alize Cornet's retirement, and excitemen...

Rafael Nadal may have played his final match at Roland Garros. That's a lot to comes to terms with, but we tried on the pod after watching his straight sets defeat to Alexander Zverev. We describe where the match was won and lost, how it made us feel, and whether Nadal will fare better at the Olympics in a couple of months. Elsewhere, there's chat about convincing wins for Iga Swiatek and Coco Gau...

As opening days of Grand Slam tournaments go, that was a pretty crazy one, starting with Naomi Osaka winning a match that became too close for comfort, ending with Andy Murray walking off Court Philippe-Chatrier for probably the final time, and featuring lots of fun matches involving French players. The new Suzanne Lenglen roof was also unveiled and Novak Djokovic gave a cryptic press conference w...

In our final preview show ahead of this year's Roland Garros, we were live in our AirBnB in Paris to react to an astonishing Rafael Nadal press conferences as he confirmed that he's feeling better, said there's a chance he could play this tournament again next year, and revealed that he's been practising well in preparation for his first round match against Alexander Zverev. There was a dose of re...

Catherine, David and Matt divided and conquered on media day at Roland Garros as Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner both spoke positively about their fitness, Daniil Medvedev and Coco Gauff discussed their serves, Andy Murray reflected on his 2017 semi-final against Stan Wawrinka, Alexander Zverev talked about his round one showdown with Rafael Nadal, and Iga Swiatek gave off a real air of confidenc...

The Roland Garros draw threw up 128 first round singles matches, but there’s only one which everyone is talking about: 14-time champion Rafael Nadal drawn to face Alexander Zverev.  On the pod, hear the reaction from inside the room when Zverev’s name was drawn next to Nadal’s, as well as Catherine, David and Matt’s own feelings about the prospect of that match.  Elsewhere, there’s chat...

It’s Roland Garros week! And Iga Swiatek will head to Paris as an overwhelming favourite for the French Open title after her dominant victory over Aryna Sabalenka in Rome. Catherine, David and Matt discuss the final, Swiatek’s game on the clay, and where she stands in relation to some of the all-time greats.  On the men’s side, Alexander Zverev won his second Rome title over Nicolas Jarry in...

Catherine, David and Matt are together at Tennis Podcast Towers to discuss everything that's happened in Rome since Monday. There's lots of excitement about a final rematch between Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka, David's hopped on board Matt's Nicolas Jarry hype train, and Catherine rants about the French Open's decision not to give Dominic Thiem a wildcard. OUR LINKS: Join  The Barge! Becom...

For the first time since 2004, neither Novak Djokovic nor Rafael Nadal will feature in the quarter-finals of Rome as both lost early at the Foro Italico.  Djokovic was beaten in just over an hour by Alejandro Tabilo, a couple of days after being hit on the head by a water bottle, while Nadal was a shadow of himself in a 6-1 6-3 loss to Hubert Hurkacz.  Catherine, David and Matt discuss b...

Catherine, David and Matt look back on Finals weekend in Madrid which saw Iga Swiatek win an absolute thriller against Aryna Sabalenka and Andrey Rublev overcome illness to defeat Felix Auger-Aliassime. There's chat about both matches, how this sets us up for Roland Garros, and a look ahead to Rome. OUR LINKS: Join  The Barge! Become a  Friend of the Tennis Podcast  to also help us...

Madrid is nearing the finish line, so here's a podcast to round up what's happened since the last one. There's coverage of Arena Sabalenka's comebacks against Danielle Collins and Elena Rybakina, a men's draw that has rather fallen apart, and concerns over Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev. Plus, the latest on Rafael Nadal, and of course our reaction to the Twitter storm we were pa...

With Madrid pretty much at the halfway stage, Catherine, David and Matt catch up to cover the biggest stories so far, headlined by Rafael Nadal’s stirring victory over Alex de Minaur.  We also cover defeats for Stefanos Tsitsipas and Holger Rune, promising signs for Carlos Alcaraz, a ridiculous match between Corentin Moutet and Juncheng Shang, convincing victories for most of the top women, a...

Catherine, David and Matt round up the results from another hectic week on the clay, headlined by Elena Rybakina’s victory in Stuttgart. We discuss her win over Iga Swiatek and what that might mean for the pair’s rivalry, and pay tribute to an incredible week for Marta Kostyuk.  Elsewhere, Sloane Stephens’ run to the title in Rouen had us checking the Roland Garros odds and Catherine was trol...

An eventful week in Monte Carlo means there's lots for Catherine, David and Matt to discuss, not least a return to form for Stefanos Tsitsipas. In what ways is he just a much better player on clay? And can he make sure his Monte Carlo title is not just a one off? There's also chat about Holger Rune's tweets, another week for Novak Djokovic without his top level, Casper Ruud's Finals problem, and J...

For the second week in a row, Danielle Collins headlines the pod after she kept her winning streak going in Charleston. Catherine, David and Matt try to find new things to say about her incredible form and wonder once again whether this puts her In The Mix at the remaining Grand Slams this year. Elsewhere there's chat about some surprise winners on the clay on the ATP Tour in the form of Matteo Be...

David speaks to Goran Ivanisevic after his recent split from Novak Djokovic. Goran talks about what it was like coaching Djokovic over the last five years, the areas they worked on together, their on court dynamic, the reasons for the split, Djokovic's biggest rivals, how much time Djokovic might have left in the sport, and what's next for both of them. OUR LINKS: Join  The Barge! Become a&nb...

Our post-Miami live show was mostly devoted to the two champions, Danielle Collins and Jannik Sinner. With the help of listener Vicki Spreadbury, Catherine distills why it means a lot to see a woman like Collins succeed, Matt explains why she's now a certified member of The Backhand List, and David wonders how much more she could achieve before she retires at the end of the year. As for Sinner, th...

Catherine, David and Matt convene to discuss a busy few days in Miami.  The women’s final is set between Elena Rybakina and Danielle Collins and there’s chat about Rybakina’s resilient run so far, Collins’ more destructive path through, and what might happen in the final. How much has her decision to retire at the end of the season helped Collins on court? Should she be on The Backhand List?...

Catherine, David and Matt catch up on the opening few days of action in Miami which have been heavily rain-affected. There’s chat about Casper Ruud’s takedown of the event, Simona Halep’s return and Caroline Wozniacki’s feelings about her wildcard, some greatest hits from Andy Murray, the latest editions in the Caroline Garcia vs Naomi Osaka and Iga Swiatek vs Linda Noskova rivalries, heavy d...

Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz are the Indian Wells champions. Catherine, David and Matt discuss Swiatek's utter dominance in the desert, whether she can translate her tour hard court success to the slams, and how Alcaraz rediscovered his best form and his joy on court in his first title run since Wimbledon. There's also chat about the strides made by Maria Sakkari this week, Coco Gauff's serve, a...

The last few days at Indian Wells have been some of the most eventful of the tennis season so far. We’ve had a bee invasion, the setting up of Post Sting Alcaraz vs Post Puke Sinner, shock defeats for Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka, and lots of politics as Saudi Arabia looks to grow its influence in tennis. Catherine, David and Matt get stuck into it all.  OUR LINKS: Become a  Friend...

Indian Wells is underway but it was a news-heavy week in the tennis world and Catherine, David and Matt begin by discussing the fact that Simona Halep can return to tennis after CAS reduced her suspension to 9 months.  Why did CAS come to such a different conclusion to the ITIA? How do we feel about tennis’ anti-doping system in light of this case? And what do we make of Halep receiving a wil...