The Tennis Podcast

Women's quarter-final day never quite caught fire, but there were some stellar performances from Aryna Sabalenka, Karolina Pliskova, Angelique Kerber and Ash Barty, and it's set up two tantalising semi-finals on Thursday. Catherine, David and Matt discuss all of that, Hubert Hurkacz's upset of Daniil Medvedev, and the reaction to Emma Raducanu's statement. The Tennis Podcast is presented by Cather...

The last ever Manic Monday was a day of breakthroughs, with 11 players reaching their first quarter-final at Wimbledon, among them Ons Jabeur, Aryna Sabalenka, Ash Barty, Karolina Pliskova, Denis Shapovalov, and Felix Auger-Aliassime.  Catherine, David and Matt chat about all of those significant wins, but not before discussing the sad end to Emma Raducanu’s run, who was forced to retire agai...

Recorded after spending the evening with Billie Jean King(!) and Ilana Kloss(!) while watching England progress to the semi-finals of the Euros(!), Catherine, David and Matt take in another sensational day at Wimbledon, headlined by Emma Raducanu's dazzling display to reach the Last 16. What makes her special? Just how surprising is this run? And can she go further? Elsewhere, there's chat about R...

Making your debut on Centre Court at Wimbledon can be an intimidating experience, but Ons Jabeur, Sebastian Korda and Denis Shapovalov all relished it in different ways on Friday to reach the second week. How did Jabeur compose herself after vomiting underneath the Royal Box? Where does Korda get his calm temperament from? Can Shapovalov back up his win over Andy Murray against Roberto Bautista Ag...

Why was Angelique Kerber vs. Sara Sorribes Tormo the match of the tournament? How did Richard Gasquet play Roger Federer into form? Matteo Berrettini and Felix Auger-Aliassime come through tests Emma Raducanu arrives with stunning win Dial-a-Dan - let’s talk about Nick Kyrgios The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, and features Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year...

Andy Murray is still playing tennis for moments like his five-set victory over Oscar Otte on Centre Court. How did he manage it? How did he make us feel? And what chance will he have against Denis Shapovalov in the next round? Those were the questions for Catherine, David and Matt at the end of a thrilling night. There's also chat about what Aryna Sabalenka proved in her three-set win over Katie B...

Tuesday at Wimbledon elicited so many emotions - excitement as Nick Kyrgios returned to tennis, tension as Roger Federer got a lucky escape, uplifting joy as Carla Suarez Navarro got the send off she deserved, and overwhelming sadness as Serena Williams was forced to retire after just a few games. Afterwards, Catherine, David and Matt convened at Tennis Podcast Towers to take it all in. The Tennis...

Wimbledon is back! After a rain-interrupted first few hours, the day and tournament suddenly sprung to life as Jack Draper won the opening set against Novak Djokovic, Sloane Stephens and Frances Tiafoe upset Petra Kvitova and Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Andy Murray eventually and agonisingly got the better of Nikoloz Basilashvili. On the podcast, Catherine, David and Matt discuss all of those matches,...

After two years, it’s back! Wimbledon and us, here with daily pods. We work our way through the draws, assess the prospects of Serena Williams, Ash Barty, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, and introduce our new feature - Dial-a-Dan Evans! We also react to the jarring news that Jo Konta is out after a close contact in her team tested positive for COVID-19. The Tennis Podcast is present...

From 1968, when Billie Jean King was paid less than half of what Rod Laver received for winning Wimbledon, to 2007 when the champions finally received the same prize money, this podcast charts a long, extraordinary journey. We hear from BJK herself about the moves she made to get to where we are, from former WTA CEO Larry Scott, who helped take the final steps in the quest for equality, and about...

In this Wimbledon edition of Tennis Re-Lived we tell the story of the 1973 boycott year, when more than 80 men withdrew from the tournament to protest the suspension of Yugoslavia’s number one player Nikola Pilic, opening the door for Jan Kodes to win the title. Journalist Richard Evans talks us through the political background which led to the boycott, Cliff Drysdale, who was ATP President at the...

Catherine, David and Matt convened in the media centre at Queen’s to discuss all the major storylines from the cinch Championships, including Matteo Berrettini’s title-winning week and prospects at Wimbledon, Cameron Norrie’s immense improvement in 2021, how Andy Murray looked in his first matches for several months, and Jack Draper’s breakthrough wins.  Elsewhere, there’s chat about Ugo Humb...

After 467 days apart, Catherine, David and Matt finally got to record a podcast together in person. In it, we talked about Novak Djokovic winning his 19th Grand Slam title and completing his second lap around the majors. How did Djokovic come back from two sets down? In what way has Djokovic taken a massive leap in the GOAT race?  What’s Djokovic’s most impressive statistic?  Can he win...

On a day of high emotions in Paris, Barbora Krejcikova entered the hearts of the tennis world by becoming a Grand Slam champion for the first time, while Pierre Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut won their second Roland Garros title in front of an adoring home crowd.  What makes Krejcikova such a likeable champion? How did she beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the final? And what can we expect f...

When Andy Roddick says it’s one of the greatest matches he’s ever seen, Andy Murray describes it as ‘perfect’, and Cher weighs in, you know a tennis match has been a bit special.  After Novak Djokovic did the impossible - again! - and beat Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros, Catherine, David and Matt tried to make sense of it all. How did he do it? What was up with Nadal? And was the third set the...

Women’s semi-finals day at Roland Garros 2021 will live long in the memory, with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova reaching a first Grand Slam final in her 52nd appearance and Barbora Krejcikova winning an absolute classic against Maria Sakkari.  We discuss Krejcikova’s composure and mental resilience, her moonballling tactics, the extraordinary closing stages as match points came and went for both pl...

How does Krejcikova summon the spirit of Novotna?  What will Gauff learn from her defeat? How much of a factor was Swiatek’s injury in her defeat?  Where has Sakkari’s run come from?  In what way did Schwartzman bring the best out of Nadal?  How did the presence of fans followed by the curfew impact the night session match?  What caused Djokovic’s angry roar at the end? Th...

Tuesday at Roland Garros was enthralling, beginning with new names doing battle in unfamiliar territory and ending with old enemies duking it out under the lights. Afterwards, Catherine, David and Matt talked it through.  Where was all the aggro between Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas? How did the clay help Tsitsipas? And how much of a chance will Zverev have against Tsitsipas in this...

Monday at Roland Garros saw the quarter-final line-up completed, impressive displays by title favourites Iga Swiatek and Rafael Nadal, a slew of straight-set matches, and one enthralling contest, which stood out above all the others, between Novak Djokovic and Lorenzo Musetti.  What did we learn about Musetti? How did he manage to win the first two sets against Djokovic? Why did it all change...

Could Roger Federer and Serena Williams have played their last ever matches at Roland Garros? That was the question on the Day 8 podcast after they both exited the tournament on Sunday, in drastically different circumstances.  Did Federer do the right thing by withdrawing ahead of his 4th round match? And how did Elena Rybakina beat Serena? Elsewhere, there’s much excitement as Stefanos Tsits...

There aren’t many new experiences for Roger Federer in tennis these days, but playing and winning in an empty stadium at past midnight is certainly one of them.  We discuss how on earth he managed to beat Dominik Koepfer, what the result said about his character, and how we ended up with this absurd night session scheduling.  Elsewhere, there’s a look at Sloane Stephens' silky tennis, Co...

If you watched any of Day 6 at Roland Garros, chances are you had a bona fide Grand Slam experience, because it really did have a bit of everything. Catherine, David and Matt feasted on it and then talked all about it. Why did watching Aryna Sabalenka lose to Anastastia Pavlyuchenkova feel oh-so-familiar?  How good did Serena Williams look in beating Danielle Collins?  What will Stefanos...

Catherine, David and Matt recorded tonight's podcast while watching Rafael Nadal beat Richard Gasquet for the 17th time in a row, on a day at Roland Garros which was rather marred by the exit through injury of Ash Barty. What happened to her? And how does her retirement affect the women's draw? Elsewhere, there's a look at how everyone's favourite Federer, grumpy Federer, beat Marin Cilic in four...

After finally making it through a tumultuous and protracted opening round, Day 4 at Roland Garros was all about the tennis, and it certainly delivered the goods. Catherine, David and Matt talked all about it. Vondrousova, Kasatkina, Badosa - will one of them reach the SFs?  Has Sabalenka figured out how to win when she’s not at her best?  How well is Serena playing?  Can Tsitsi...

After a difficult, distressing few days, attentions returned to happier matters on the Day 3 pod. Monfils makes us all feel better Carla Suarez Navarro’s French Open career is over, but she didn’t go quietly Rafa, Novak off and running Rublev & Auger-Aliassime out in a bad day for The Movement Barty's injury concerns Brady explains her split from coach Geserer Naomi Osaka - A final word, for n...