The Tennis Podcast

Catherine, David and Matt are together to discuss the start of the clay court season and a fascinating week of coaching changes on both tours.  Part one - Coaching carousel (00:00 - 33:55). With the news that Iga Swiatek has hired Francisco Roig, we talk about whether her training block in Mallorca with Rafael Nadal can help inspire her for the clay court season ahead. Could this be just the...

David, Catherine and the Athletic's Matt Futterman had plenty to talk about after Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka completed the rare Double Sunshine Double with their Miami Open titles.  Part one - ATP (00:00 - 37:45) We start with the extraordinary dominance of Jannik Sinner who has won the Indian Wells & Miami titles without dropping a set. With the points gap quickly closing on Carlo...

After a dramatic few days in Miami, there’s lots to discuss for Catherine and David, who are holding the fort while Matt gets stopped by fans at Gatwick airport.  Part one - (00:00 - 18:25) Shortly after discussing Iga Swiatek’s crisis of form and confidence on the last pod, news broke that Wim Fissette had been axed from the Swiatek team. Is it the right move? And who will the for the former...

It was a rainy first few days of Miami but things have picked up since then and a couple of big shocks - defeats for Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz - have left Catherine, David and Matt with plenty to discuss.  Part one - WTA (00:00 - 43:51) We start with Swiatek’s defeat to Magda Linette as she opened up about the tennis “nightmare” she’s experiencing on court. What’s going wrong for her? An...

Catherine, David and Matt are joined by The Athletic’s Charlie Eccleshare for a live show looking back on a dramatic finals weekend at Indian Wells.  Part one - WTA (00:00 - 34:39). We react to Aryana Sabalenka’s incredible match point-saving victory over Elena Rybakina, discuss where the match was won and lost, and consider what it means for their rivalry. Plus, a Backhand List update and an...

It’s only been a few days since the last pod but so much has happened at Indian Wells for Catherine, David and Matt to get stuck into.  Part one - ATP (00:00 - 40:17) It’s been a thrilling week on the ATP side with the return of Jack Draper and Arthur Fils helping to reinvigorate the tour. We discuss Draper’s epic win over Novak Djokovic and the technical tweaks which have helped Fils on his...

Catherine, David and Matt catch up on the biggest talking points so far at Indian Wells.  Part one (00:00 - 12:00). We start by picking up where we left off last week with an update on how tennis players escaped the United Arab Emirates as the conflict in the Middle East escalated. Part two (12:01 - 38:35). Men’s draw.  Joao Fonseca is having a big week and now faces Jannik Sinner, Carlo...

Catherine, David and Matt catch up on all the latest results and news in a week which saw the illusion of tennis existing outside of world events collapse again.  Part one - ATP (00:00 - 48:17). We cover the dystopian scene of the doubles final in Dubai taking place despite American and Israeli strikes on Tehran and Iran’s retaliatory attacks across the region. Plus, an update on the players...

Part one - WTA Dubai (00:00 - 44:40). J essica Pegula has capped a remarkable recent run with a big title. Is she playing the best tennis of her career? And what makes her so well set up to be a consistent force? We also cover an extraordinary semi-final won by Elina Svitolina against Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova finding some form, and the announcement of the new WTA Tour Architecture Council as t...

Catherine, David and Matt discuss an exhilarating week of action across events in Doha, Rotterdam, Dallas and Buenos Aires.  Part one - WTA Doha (00:00 - 34:36). The joy of seeing Karolina Muchova win another title at last, Victoria Mboko showing she belongs in the Top 10 after incredible wins over Mirra Andreeva and Elena Rybakina, varying degrees of concern for Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek and A...

Catherine, David and Matt are home from Melbourne and here to look back on another busy week of tennis as the tours moved onto the Middle East and indoors in Europe.  Part one (00:00 - 34:52) - Women’s results. We discuss the rise of another young Czech as Sara Bejlek won her first career title in Abu Dhabi, a title in her home country for Sorana Cirstea, an eventful week for Emma Raducanu as...

History was made at the Australian Open on Sunday as Carlos Alcaraz beat Novak Djokovic to become the youngest man to win the career Grand Slam. Catherine, David and Matt react to a special night in Melbourne.  Part one - Djokovic’s incredible start to the match, Alcaraz’s tactical adjustments and impressive mindset, a tense fourth set as Djokovic upped his intensity, and Alcaraz proving the...

At the end of women’s final night, Catherine, David and Matt discuss Elena Rybakina’s 6-4 4-6 6-4 win over Aryna Sabalenka as she became a two-time major champion.  Part one - All the talking points from the women’s final including Rybakina’s incredible start and finish, how Sabalenka lost her 3-0 lead in the decider, whether or not Sabalenka has a Grand Slam finals problem, the optics of Ste...

The Dud Slam is no more! Catherine, David and Matt react to an extraordinary day as Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic both reached the final in impossibly dramatic fashion.  Part one - We start with Djokovic’s late night comeback victory over Jannik Sinner. How did he do it? What was new from him and what was vintage? And what more could Sinner have done on his many unconverted break points?&...

Catherine, David and Matt are in Garden Square to talk about Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina reaching the women’s final.  Part one - Women’s semi-finals. Some actual drama as Jessica Pegula tried to mount a dramatic comeback in the second set against Rybakina, a dominant display from Sabalenka versus Elina Svitolina which was propelled by a controversial hindrance call, and some early thou...

The semi-finals are set as Catherine, David and Matt wrap up another day of straight sets matches at this most unusual Australian Open.  Part one - Men’s Results. We cover the devastation of Lorenzo Musetti when forced to retire two sets up, another lucky break for Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner’s continued dominance over Ben Shelton, and whether Djokovic can rediscover any kind of form before...

Catherine, David and Matt discuss another day of matches without much jeopardy, but one that saw Aryna Sabalenka, Elina Svitolina, Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz all reach the semi-finals. Part one - Men’s results. We cover the total brilliance of Carlos Alcaraz in the night session, a new Alcaraz theory that David’s developed, the devastation of Alex de Minaur, and the remarkable serving per...

It was another day at the Australian Open without the matches we were hoping for, but with a record-breaking quarter-final line up in terms of top seeds, surely they’re coming. Catherine, David and Matt discuss it all. Part one - Women’s results. We cover Madison Keys going out of the tournament and look ahead to Amanda Anisimova vs Jessica Pegula and Iga Swiatek vs Elena Rybakina in the quarter-f...

Catherine, David and Matt review a day which promised much only to deliver little in the way of drama, but did feature several incredible performances from some of the sport’s biggest names and rising stars.  Part one - Men’s results. We start with the news of Jakub Mensik’s withdrawal and how much it could help Novak Djokovic, before moving on to the day’s matches which saw standout performa...

Catherine, David and Matt catch up at the end of a day of scorching heat in Melbourne as Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic both survived very different scares. Part one - Men’s results. We cover all the drama of Sinner’s victory against Eliot Spizzirri as the Italian cramped badly before the closing of the roof came to his rescue. What can Sinner do to avoid these situations? As for Djokovic, just...

Catherine, David and Matt discuss a day which saw almost all of the big names win through to set up a series of enticing Last 16 matches.  Part one - Women’s results. We discuss Coco Gauff’s comeback against Hailey Baptiste, Aryna Sabalenka needing her tiebreak record to come through, a breakout performance from Iva Jovic to beat Jasmine Paolini, and some incredible Yulia Putintseva celebrati...

Catherine, David and Matt are together to look back on Stan Wawrinka’s epic victory and a day with some aggro as well as the first big upset in the women’s draw.  Part one - Men’s results. We discuss Wawrinka stealing the show by winning a fifth set tiebreak against Arthur Gea, another comfortable day for Novak Djokovic, a somewhat surprising loss for Hubert Hurkacz, a sad Stefanos Tsitsipas...

Part one - Men’s results. We discuss Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev withstanding good performances from Yannick Hanfmann and Quentin Halys, Alex de Minaur weathering a bit of a storm on Laver, Alexander Zverev finding his best form, and the distinct lack of upsets so far.  Part two (30:21) - Women’s Results. We cover a dispiriting performance from Emma Raducanu and concerns over the direc...

Catherine, David and Matt gathered on an outside court towards the end of day three as round one came to a close.  Part one - We focus on the day’s fun matches including Madison Keys coming through the unique test of Oleksandra Oliynykova, Janic Tjen impressing against Leylah Fernandez, and Dane Sweeney outlasting Gael Monfils.  Part two (25:27) - Unfortunately there were some tougher sc...

Part one - Women’s results. We cover Iga Swiatek passing a pretty tough test against Yuan Yue, Mirra Andreeva’s Mix credentials after her comeback win over Donna Vekic, victories for Coco Gauff and Amanda Anisimova, more injury concern for Barbora Krejcikova, and the extraordinary scenes around Melbourne Park for Alexandra Eala’s match.  Part two (49:32) - Men’s results. We discuss Novak Djok...