The Tennis Podcast

Despite having scarcely recovered from the US Open, Catherine, David and Matt are back to reflect on the week in Rome, which created plenty of talking points ahead of Roland Garros. How did Djokovic look en route to the title in his first matches since his US Open default? Why did Diego Schwartzman and Denis Shapovalov both catch the eye? In what way is this year's French Open looking like a sligh...

Dominic Thiem is finally a Grand Slam champion, but he had to do it the hard way, becoming the first man in US Open history to mount a comeback from two sets to love down in the final, triumphing in a deciding set tiebreak against Alexander Zverev. On the podcast, we try to get our heads around what happened. Why did Thiem start so slowly? In what way did Zverev's gameplan impress early on? How di...

Naomi Osaka has won her third Grand Slam title and second US Open, defeating Victoria Azarenka 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the final. We discuss her growing significance in the sport, how she turned the match around, the perfection of her post-match celebration, the line which summed up her activism, and her future in the sport. Catherine also reveals why she missed yesterday's podcast (a story not to be mis...

The men’s US Open final is set: Alexander Zverev vs Dominic Thiem. In the first half of the pod we discuss how they both got there in two contrasting semi-final matches.  In part two, the great Mary Carillo, who was in the stadium for the women’s semi-finals, speaks to David about why it was one of the greatest nights of tennis she can remember. She also looks ahead to the final, gives an ins...

On the day when tennis celebrated the trailblazing Original 9, it felt right that Naomi Osaka, Jennifer Brady, Victoria Azarenka and Serena Williams produced one of the greatest semi-final nights of all time. We break down both matches and discuss the breathtaking quality of Osaka vs Brady, Osaka's final game nerves, Serena's blistering start, Azarenka's extraordinary comeback and how this de...

A new chapter will be written in one of tennis' most interesting rivalries when Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka face off in Thursday's semi-finals. In this episode we discuss Azarenka's demolition of Elise Mertens, the way we're having to consider her as a real force in the game once again, her different mindset, Serena's problem solving against Tsvetana Pironkova, and the way both players w...

On the first day of quarter-final matches at the US Open, we discuss Jennifer Brady's dominance so far this tournament, her transformation as a tennis player, how she might match up against Naomi Osaka in the semi-finals, and the way in which Osaka's development as a person is helping her tennis. On the men's side, we reflect on the ordeal that was Zverev vs. Coric, debate whether or not it was co...

Monday felt like the morning after the night before, with the shockwaves from Novak Djokovic's default still being felt at the 2020 US Open. We begin this episode with further reaction to that incident before moving on to the tennis. We discuss Serena Willams' fightback against Maria Sakkari, Dominic Thiem's statement performance, a reality check for Felix Auger-Aliassime, and the unexpected head-...

In one of the biggest stories in Grand Slam history, Novak Djokovic's unbeaten streak came to a dramatic end on Sunday as he was defaulted from the US Open for hitting a line judge with a ball. We discuss the incident, place it in the context of his career, react to his statement, consider his decision not to attend a post-match press conference, and debate who the new favourite is in the men's dr...

Our 100th episode of the year re-capping another eventful day at the US Open. Approximate episode time stamps: 0-22 minutes - Tsitsipas: What happened!? 22-34 minutes - Serena’s statement win 35 - 50 minutes - Felix takes flight 50-57 minutes - Women's mix chat 57 minutes to the end - Mladenovic/Babos withdrawn from doubles The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, and f...

We begin by discussing Felix Auger-Aliassime's victory over Andy Murray in yesterday's night session. How much was the one-sided result down to Auger-Aliassime's brilliance and how much was it because of Murray's depleted physical condition? Moving on to Friday's action, there's chat about disappointing defeats for Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans, Naomi Osaka's stressful victory over Marta Kostyuk, D...

Thursday at the US Open was a day of thrilling matches, significant upsets, and interesting storylines. In other words, it felt like a proper Grand Slam day. We discuss Tsvetana Pironkova’s return to tennis and victory against Garbine Muguruza, Sorana Cirstea’s stunning performance to knock out Jo Konta, Grigor Dimitrov’s concerning physical collapse against Marton Fucsovics, and the chaotic but e...

After 29 of the 32 seeds reached round two in the women's singles event, Wednesday saw many of them tumble, including Karolina Pliskova. We try to figure out, yet again, why her recent Grand Slam record is so poor. We also chat about Kiki Mladenovic's loss from 6-1 5-1 up, discuss her colourful comments about the restrictions placed upon her following her contact with Benoit Paire, and analyse Kyl...

He was down two sets to love. He was down a break in the third. He was down match point. And he was down a break in the decider. But Andy Murray still managed to beat Yoshito Nishioka on Tuesday at the US Open in his first Grand Slam singles match since the 2019 Australian Open. We discuss how he did it, the reason for his slow start, and how he's holding up physically. We also cover Jo Konta's mo...

A two-part podcast covering the main talking points from Day 1 of this weird and wonderful US Open.  Timecodes : 3.00 - 8.40 Cameron Norrie vs. Diego Schwartzman 8.40 - 10.30 Alexander Zverev 10.30 - 12.40 Stefanos Tsitsipas and towels 13.00 - Coco Gauff vs. Anastasia Sevastova 17.00 - Other results 22.00 - Benoit Paire and tests 30.00 - Kyle Edmund 32.00 - Novak Djokovic 39.00 - Andy Murray...

No shortage of talking points as we discuss the formation of the Professional Tennis Players’ Association with Simon Briggs, Naomi Osaka’s stand against racism, titles for Novak Djokovic and Victoria Azarenka at the Western and Southern Open, a wide-open women’s draw at the US Open, the Bryan Brothers’ retirement, and the sad news that legendary commentator David Mercer has died. What do the...

Following on from our most recent edition of Tennis Re-Lived on the life of Althea Gibson, in this episode we turn our attention to Arthur Ashe. We cover his formative years growing up in Virginia under the Jim Crow laws, his development as an amateur tennis player while at college, his Grand Slam titles, his fights for civil rights and social justice, his passing from AIDS, and his enduring legac...

In this special edition of Tennis Re-Lived, we examine the life, career and legacy of Althea Gibson, the first black player to compete in and win Grand Slam titles. We cover her early life growing up in Harlem, her development as a tennis player under the guidance of Dr Eaton and Dr Johnson, Alice Marble’s influential letter challenging the USLTA’s whites-only culture, Gibson’s dramatic first appe...

ATP Tour tennis is back with the first big, combined women's and men's tournament since the pandemic struck down Indian Wells in March. With the 'Cincinnati' draw made, Catherine, David and Matt assembled once more to discuss the highlights, catch up on latest news, and also release our big interview with Lindsay Davenport (from 38.00). Is the WTA draw now more star-studded than the men's draw, de...

Tennis’ return went up a notch last week with many of the biggest names competing in Lexington and Prague. We discuss the way in which champions Jennifer Brady and Simona Halep picked up where they left off six months ago, describe how it felt seeing top level tennis at a small club in Kentucky, assess Serena Williams’ form, marvel at Venus Williams’ remodelled service motion, and analyse yet anot...

On this week’s episode, with actual tennis from Palermo to look back on and the Kentucky-Prague double-header to preview, we find ourselves in unfamiliar, but very welcome, territory. We react live to Fiona Ferro’s victory in Palermo, and discuss what the players have been saying in their pre-tournament press conferences, including Serena Williams on her caution over the virus, Coco Gauff on how s...

Rio 2016 was a particularly emotional and memorable Olympics for tennis, with Andy Murray defending his gold medal, Juan Martin del Potro entering people’s hearts, and shock defeats for Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic. But it was Monica Puig’s run which best encapsulated the spirit of the Games. Catherine talks to her about how it felt to win Puerto Rico’s first ever gold medal. As our journey...

The London Olympics will never be forgotten by our Tennis Podcast team, for the opening ceremony, the incredible athletic feats, all of it happening on their doorsteps, and David's inability to watch any of it. Andy Murray and Serena Williams were the champions, their gold medal winning runs are discussed, and David talks to Laura Robson, who won a medal alongside Murray. The Tennis Podcast is pre...

The Beijing Olympics are perhaps best remembered for the world-beating achievements of Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps, but it was also an unforgettable Games for tennis. We discuss Russia’s clean sweep of the women’s singles medals, how much a gold meant to Elena Dementieva, the way China embraced tennis, the lasting influence of the Beijing Games on the sport, how much Roger Federer values his dou...

We begin this episode by discussing the news that Rafael Nadal has opted not to defend his US Open title due to health risks before moving on to re-live the 2004 Olympics in Athens. It was a Games which saw Justine Henin-Hardenne win gold, Roger Federer stunned by Tomas Berdych, and double gold for Chile as Nicolas Massu won singles and doubles, alongside Fernando Gonzalez. We hear from both men a...