The Tennis Podcast

Day one was unspectacular, but somewhat soothing. Afterwards, Catherine, David and Matt convened to figure out why it felt flat. How much of it was due to lingering fallout from all of the Novak Djokovic drama? And how much of it was the simple lack of compelling matches? Even so, there were plenty of interesting stories to discuss, including Coco Gauff’s shock defeat to Qiang Wang, mixed fortunes...

Novak Djokovic will not compete at the 2022 Australian Open after losing his appeal in the Federal Court and being deported from Australia. How did it all come to this? And what effect will it have on the tournament? In terms of actual tennis, Catherine, David and Matt look through the draws, pick out some interesting storylines, decide who's in and who's out of The Mix, and reveal what went on du...

With 3 days until the start of the Australian Open, we still do not know if Novak Djokovic will be cleared to play. On Friday, he had his visa cancelled again, and again he appealed. Catherine and Matt were in Melbourne, with David in Solihull, UK, when the verdict dropped, and they bring us up-to-date, tell us about ramifications and the Melbourne Park setup, and talk about the latest tennis acti...

The Novak Djokovic saga, which is dominating headlines around the world, rumbles on.  Catherine, David and Matt discuss all the latest developments, including how he won his court court, the unanswered questions which remain surrounding the timing of his positive covid test, the Djokovic family press conference, Craig Tiley’s first public appearance in a while, and how everything might affect...

Catherine and Matt are joined by Simon Briggs to discuss the events which led to Novak Djokovic being detained in an immigration hotel while waiting a decision on his deportation from Australia, the way in which nobody comes out of this situation looking good, how the saga might develop, and what it says about Djokovic that this has happened to him. FRIENDS OF THE TENNIS PODCAST  All Friends...

Tennis is back! In the first pod of 2022, Catherine, David and Matt discuss how they’re feeling about the ATP Cup, analyse performances from Daniil Medvedev, Alex de Minaur and Stefanos Tsitsipas, take a deep dive into Tsitsipas’ tweets, and ponder how much can be read into ATP Cup results ahead of the Australian Open.  On the women’s side, there’s talk about the season ahead for Leylah Ferna...

In our final episode of the year, Catherine, David and Matt answered more listener questions. Rank the Slams for their final set solutions Most significant matches you have commentated on/presented? Which 250, 500 and 1000 tournaments should be visited? What hobbies do Catherine, David and Matt have? Which tennis rule would you change? Which countries would rule in a combined men's and women's tea...

In our penultimate episode of the year, Catherine, David and Matt get stuck into answering some listener questions. How plausible is it that Nadal finishes with more majors than Djokovic?  Is the underarm serve here to stay? In what way could the Laver Cup be re-designed? Who will be ranked in the Top 5 at the end of 2022? What goes into being a radio commentator (David) and a TV presenter (C...

In part two of our review of 2021, we re-live the journey we all went on with Emma Raducanu this year, from watching her breakthrough at Wimbledon to seeing her lift the US Open trophy in September.  Elsewhere, there’s chat about Ash Barty’s dream coming true, what made the US Open so special, and the lasting significance of that US Open final on Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev. David also...

In part one of our review of 2021, Catherine, David and Matt review the first two Grand Slams of the year and some of the major events in between, including:  The chaos and uncertainty around the Australian Open  How great it felt to have fans back  Serena’s wave goodbye and tearful press conference in Melbourne  Discovering Barbora Krejcikova as a singles player  The time...

Catherine, David and Matt are here to tell you all about the launch of our new subscription service called Friends of The Tennis Podcast. Find out what you can expect from becoming a Friend, how it will work, and why we think it’s the right move for the future of the podcast.  BECOME A FRIEND OF THE TENNIS PODCAST - https://bit.ly/FriendOfTheTennisPodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privac...

Catherine, David and Matt discuss Russia’s Davis Cup Final victory over Croatia, the winning performances of Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, the celebrations, the event as a whole, and why questions remain unanswered about its future.  BECOME A FRIEND OF THE TENNIS PODCAST Rather than running another Kickstarter, we will launch a subscription service called Friends of The Tennis Podcast to...

Russia reached the Davis Cup Final and while the actual tennis on Saturday wasn’t particularly compelling, Daniil Medvedev provided all the drama we needed. Catherine, David and Matt discuss Medvedev provoking the crowd, his fascinating press conference, Rublev’s ruthlessness, more reflections on Novak Djokovic’s exit, and how much of a chance Croatia stands against Russia in the final. Plus,...

Catherine and David look back on Friday's action at the Davis Cup Finals. Gojo shows resilience to be his country’s hero once again. But why was Lajovic selected? Was Troicki right to blame Lajovic for the team’s defeat? Djokovic calls for a Serbian specialist doubles team to help them to Davis Cup glory in the future Mektic & Pavic are the difference makers once again. Singles players vs doub...

Catherine, David and Matt begin this episode by discussing the WTA’s decision to suspend tournaments in China as Peng Shuai’s situation remains unresolved. What sort of message does it send? And what’s been the response of the ATP and the ITF?  Onto the Davis Cup Finals, we cover how Serbia and the Russian Tennis Federation booked their spots in the last four, including heroics from Mikhail K...

One of the best things about Davis Cup has always been decisive doubles matches so you can imagine our excitement when the first two quarter-finals - Italy vs Croatia and Germany vs Great Britain - both came down to the doubles.  Catherine, David and Matt recap both ties in full, including Borna Gojo’s heroics, Marin Cilic’s nerves, Mektic and Pavic’s reliability, and lots of missed opportuni...

Catherine, David and Matt convene to discuss the biggest stories from the 2021 Davis Cup Finals so far. Who’s through to the quarter-finals? And who’s out? Those prove to be trickier questions to answer than expected with Group Stage qualification scenarios driving us mad.  Despite the mathematics, there’s been plenty of good tennis to cover, including Feliciano Lopez rolling back the years a...

The Davis Cup Finals by Rakuten are about to get underway, and Matt is in Madrid to give us the lowdown. Who are the favourites, what are the best matches to look forward to, and who has David predicted will win this time? There's also discussion of the Simon Briggs report in which he says the event is going to move to Abu Dhabi in a five year deal. BECOME A FRIEND OF THE TENNIS PODCAST Rather tha...

Alexander Zverev won a second ATP Finals title. He was excellent, and we examine his on-court performances in detail. We also provide an update on the ATP's internal investigation into domestic abuse allegations against him. Plus, there's the doubles final, the latest on Peng Shuai, rule changes for next year, and we introduce Friends of The Tennis Podcast. BECOME A FRIEND OF THE TENNIS PODCAST Ra...

David and Matt bring you the latest in the story involving Peng Shuai’s disappearance and discuss the main talking points from Turin as the ATP Finals group stage comes to a close.  In what way was Daniil Medvedev vs. Jannik Sinner the best dead rubber of all time? Why did Medvedev’s fake yawn provoke such a reaction? Why does David like Casper Ruud so much? How did Ruud get the better o...

We begin this episode by discussing the latest developments surrounding Peng Shuai who has not been heard from since she made sexual assault allegations against a top Chinese government official two weeks ago.  Steve Simon, chairman of the WTA, has continued to take a strong stance by casting doubt on an email released by Chinese state media attributed to Peng Shuai and saying that there rema...

It’s down to the final four at the WTA Finals in Guadalajara. David and Matt discuss how perfect it feels for Paula Badosa to be facing Garbine Muguruza in the semis, the way in which Maria Sakkari’s physical prowess should enable her to recover from her gruelling win over Aryna Sabalenka, and whether Anett Kontaveit’s momentum has been snapped at just the wrong time.  Over in Turin, the ATP...

The WTA Finals in Guadalajara have come to life, with Garbine Muguruza keeping her hopes alive, Paula Badosa battling past Maria Sakkari, and Aryna Sabalenka using the crowd's energy and support to summon her best tennis. David and Matt talk about it all and we hear from Iga Swiatek who spoke openly in her press conference about how PMS affected her in the first match. There's also a review of Tom...

With everyone having played their first match at the WTA Finals, Catherine, David and Matt discuss the main talking points so far, including the epic contest between Garbine Muguruza and Karolina Pliskova, the strong performances from Paula Badosa and Maria Sakkari, Iga Swiatek’s sadness at her own display, and Anett Kontaveit continuing her awesome form. There’s also discussion about the conditio...

Catherine Whitaker is back alongside David Law to talk about another extraordinary achievement from Novak Djokovic - ending a year as the World No.1 male for a record 7th time. They cover the stress of his semifinal and serenity and joy of his final against Daniil Medvedev. Plus, there's chat about the crowd, Hugo Gaston, and what the week might mean for the Djokovic vs. Medvedev rivalry. With a b...