The Tennis Podcast

For the first time in three years, Catherine, David and Matt are all together in Melbourne for the Australian Open. And after Thursday's draw, the excitement has only grown for the year's first major. We talk through those draws, speculate about what might happen over the next two weeks, and cover the biggest storylines from this week so far, including Naomi Osaka's announcement that she is pregna...

With seconds to spare before boarding the plane to fly to Melbourne, Catherine and Matt join David from the London Gatwick Departures Lounge to look back on the United Cup, the week of Novak Djokovic and everything else that went on in the tennis world over the last 7 days. FRIENDS At 12.01am tonight (Monday 9th January), a special edition of The Tennis Podcast reviewing Break Point, the Netflix t...

Happy new year! With the 2023 tennis season very much underway, Catherine, David and Matt get stuck into the United Cup. What have we made of the event generally? Is there a way to guarantee more live mixed doubles matches? And which players have impressed? We talk Iga Swiatek, Paula Badosa, Taylor Fritz, Cameron Norrie and Rafael Nadal.  Elsewhere, Holger Rune and Felix Auger-Aliassime faile...

It's our final Tennis Podcast of 2022, and Catherine and Matt joined David at his home in Solihull for the occasion! We talk about coaching changes, the ever diminishing off-season and generally hype up 2023. Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast  to help us to produce the show year-round, and receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts throughout 2023, including Tennis Re-Lived, listener ques...

A quick pod to let you know that we’re re-launching Friends of The Tennis Podcast for 2023 - our subscription service that gives you access to bonus podcasts such as Tennis Re-Lived and Grand Slam review shows, the opportunity to enter our competitions, and the chance to involved by getting yourself a shout-out or an intro, taking us on at predictions, becoming a guest editor, or having your pet a...

It was the first Davis Cup final without a European team in it for 32 years, and both Canada and Australia had produced heroics this week to get there. Catherine and David convened after the tie to talk about where it was won and lost, what was said in the press conferences, and to hear a contribution from the much-missed Matt! Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast  to help us to produce the...

Canada have set up a Davis Cup final clash with Australia after a thrilling semi final victory over Italy. David and Catherine dissect all the day's drama, including some very eyebrow raising doubles picks by both teams. Exactly how desolate were the Italians, and is it fair that the Canadians are in the competition at all? Plus a look ahead to a mouth watering final. Friends of the Tennis Podcast...

Australia have reached a first Davis Cup Final since 2003, thanks to the heroics of Braveheart/Alex de Minaur and the unexpected doubles pairing of Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell.  Who will they face in the final, and who will Italy and Canada put in to battle? Plus the fallout from Ram-gate rumbles on on Tommy Paul's twitter account. Become a  Friend of the Tennis Podcast  to help...

The United States and Canada experienced very different endings to their Davis Cup by Rakuten quarterfinals, and Catherine and David are here to discuss all of the many storylines that emanated. Surely now Mardy Fish accepts he made the wrong call about Rajeev Ram. Or does he? Where did Italy win the tie? And how did Denis Shapovalov go through such a spectacular metamorphosis from set 1 to sets 2...

There is nothing quite like watching Marin Cilic, both in a positive and a negative sense. Catherine, Matt and David describe the latest instalment of the experience after Croatia's Davis Cup quarterfinal against Spain in Malaga. Plus Matt catches up with USA captain and Mardy Fish to ask him the question we've been so curious about: why did he not pick Rajeev Ram for doubles?? There's also a Thur...

Australia have beaten Netherlands 2-0 to reach the Davis Cup semi-finals. Catherine, David and Matt discuss comeback wins for both Jordan Thompson and Alex de Minaur, Lleyton Hewitt as a captain, the good atmosphere for the tie in Malaga, and what might happen tomorrow between Spain and Croatia. Tickets  for the Davis Cup Finals Friends of the Tennis Podcast  help us to produce the show...

Matt's in Malaga for the Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals. What's it like? Running through the teams, and what to expect. Day 1 Predictions. Tickets for the Davis Cup Finals Friends of the Tennis Podcast  help us to produce the show year-round, and receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts throughout the year, including Tennis Re-Lived, listener questions, and Grand Slam review shows.  Becom...

Djokovic draws level with Federer on 6 titles Why were sets 1 and 2 so different? Does Ruud need to stop being so nice? What happens when this Djokovic comes up against the pack of cubs in ’23? Salisbury/Ram land title at last Friends of the Tennis Podcast  help us to produce the show year-round, and receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts throughout the year, including Tennis Re-Lived, li...

Novak Djokovic and Casper Ruud will face off in the final match of the 2022 ATP season after Djokovic’s narrow victory over Taylor Fritz and Ruud’s thumping of Andrey Rublev.  How well did Djokovic play against Fritz? Could Fritz have done more? What happened to Rublev’s newfound mental resilience? How much has Ruud improved as a player? And does he have the belief to beat Djokovic?  Wit...

With the semi-final line-up set at the ATP Finals, we hear from Catherine in Turin, discuss the biggest storylines so far, and look ahead to the weekend's action. What's impressed us most about Andrey Rublev at this tournament? In what way has Novak Djokovic looked a level above the rest of the field? Will his 3+ hours on court on Friday cost him against Taylor Fritz? Why did we expect more from F...

Twelve months on from the heartbreak of Prague, Switzerland are the Billie Jean King Cup champions for the first time ever after beating Australia in the final in Glasgow.  David and Matt react to wins for Jil Teichmann and Belinda Bencic, discuss the celebrations, and go inside the press conference room as Matt came full circle with a very happy (and tipsy) Swiss team.  There’s also adm...

The two most recent runners-up, Switzerland and Australia, will play the Billie Jean King Cup Final on Sunday after another absorbing day of action in Glasgow.  David and Matt discuss the way in which Storm Sanders and Harriet Dart stepped up for their teams, whether they can take this form onto the tour, a curious team selection from the Czechs, and why Sunday’s final matters so much to both...

Switzerland vs Canada and Czech Republic vs USA did not quite produce the spectacular showdowns we were expecting, but there’s still lots for David, Catherine and Matt to discuss, including some bold team selections by the captains, a good day for Matt’s backhand list, the state of Coco Gauff’s forehand, why Bianca Andreescu isn’t the same player as the one who won the US Open in 2019, and a previ...

It was a surreal day in Glasgow as Great Britain won all three matches in straight sets to defeat Spain and reach the semi-finals of the Billie Jean King Cup for the first time since 1981. David and Matt discuss how it happened, from Heather Watson's superb performance to get things going, to Harriet Dart upsetting Paula Badosa, to the relatively unknown duo of Alicia Barnett and Olivia Nicholls c...

Well we got the epic matches we were craving at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, but at the cost of a post-midnight finish in Glasgow. David and Matt chat about deciding set tiebreak wins for Jil Teichmann, Nuria Parrizas Diaz and Danielle Collins, a welcome return to form for Paula Badosa, a disappointing display from Madison Keys, and an emphatic victory for Coco Gauff and Caty McNally, AKA McCo...

Day 1 of the Billie Jean King Cup Finals from Glasgow is in the books and David, Catherine and Matt are all together to talk through Kazakhstan’s victory over Great Britain and Australia’s win against Slovakia.  How did Rybakina and Putintseva display their quality over Dart and Boulter? How far can Australia go in this event? And why do we think people will come to love Ajla Tomljanovic when...

The Billie Jean King Cup Finals by Gainbridge are here, or in Glasgow to be more precise. There for us is Matt, who spent the day in and out of preview press conferences talking to the teams, captains and players. That meant being reunited with the Swiss team, who Matt interrogated after a controversial loss in the final last year. We hear all of the gossip and chat from behind the scenes, despite...

We knew Holger Rune was good, but did we know he was this good? What happened to Novak Djokovic in the final, and what can we expect from them both going forwards? Stefanos Tsitsipas has left the 'sweet-spot' behind. So now what? The WTA Finals final is set, but will Catherine (Sabaelnka) or David (Garcia) win? Plus, lots of news to catch up on. Friends of the Tennis Podcast help us to produce the...

With the WTA Finals having reached the last four stage, David and Matt come together to wrap up the Round Robin action which saw some surprising results (Maria Sakkari finding her best form) and some unsurprising ones (Iga Swiatek serving up bagels).  There’s chat about Sakkari playing with freedom again, Swiatek dominating everyone, a gripping and dramatic match between Caroline Garcia and D...

The WTA Finals are here and who better to preview the tournament than 10-time WTA Finals doubles champion Pam Shriver?!  Pam joins Catherine and Matt to discuss what to expect from the next week in Fort Worth. What will the conditions be like and who will they favour? Can anyone stop Iga Swiatek? Can Coco Gauff make some headway in her rivalry with Swiatek? Does Ons Jabeur have something to p...