The Tennis Podcast

Tennis is back. But there are still question marks about the sport’s short-term future. In the first half of this episode we discuss the return of the WTA Tour in Palermo and the mood surrounding the US Open before wrapping up the results from the various exhibition events.  Then, we hear from former World No.4 and current Miami Open tournament director James Blake (starting 43:26). He takes...

The 2000 Sydney Olympics were a happier time. Steve Redgrave won his 5th gold for Great Britain and Cathy Freeman became a symbol of national reconciliation for Australia. In this episode, we look back on a tennis event which also delivered compelling storylines, including double gold for Venus Williams to cap an extraordinary summer and a 4th place finish for a young Roger Federer. We also hear f...

David was at university, Catherine was 10 and Matt was a baby. The 1996 Atlanta Olympics saw Michael Johnson dominate, Britain struggle, and some wonderful tennis stories unfold. In this edition of the podcast we talk to four medallists who had very different stories. From the bittersweet feelings of Gigi Fernandez, to the disbelief of Lindsay Davenport, and a life goal achieved for Leander Paes....

This is the first of several podcasts telling the story of modern tennis at the Olympic Games. We start with 1988 Seoul and 1992 Barcelona, events that produced so many memorable moments. If you want to go straight to Barcelona, it begins at 50m.20s. We have spoken to five medallists for this podcast. 1988 Seoul  Zina Garrison (bronze in singles, gold in doubles) - 19m 55s Tim Mayotte (silver...

We're back! And we're answering your questions, as selected by listeners Drew and David, who backed our crowdfunding Kickstarter so generously. Here are the questions: •Is it the players’ responsibility to do what’s safe for themselves, or is it the tournament’s responsibility to guarantee safety regarding covid-19? (4:30) •Is the Western & Southern Open too ‘intense’ for the first sanctioned...

The 1983 French Open champion, Yannick Noah, is our guest this week. In an exclusive and extensive interview with David Law, Noah tells stories in his inimitable style about the influence Arthur Ashe had on his career, the time they played doubles together, the dream he had before the Roland Garros final, the words he exchanged with his father after beating Mats Wilander to win the title, why he c...

The biggest scare Serena Williams faced en route to winning the Wimbledon title in 2015 came from an unlikely source, as Heather Watson pushed her right to the brink in a third-round match which encapsulated the idea of a plucky Brit. The occasion was also memorable for the raucous atmosphere, and we discuss the elements of that which we felt crossed the line, along with how Serena managed to figh...

In the penultimate episode of Wimbledon Re-Lived, we take ourselves back to July 7th 2013 when Andy Murray became the first British man to win Wimbledon since 1936 by beating Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-5, 6-4. In what way had the British public come to embrace Murray before the 2013 final? What impact had Ivan Lendl had on Murray’s game and his rivalry with Djokovic? How much of a factor was the weight...

Finding new words to do justice to the 2008 men’s final at Wimbledon between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer is not easy, but that’s our task on this episode as we look back on the match regarded by many as the greatest in tennis history. There’s talk about the sense before the match that it could finally be Nadal’s time, Federer’s missed opportunities in the first two sets, the way in which their...

Venus Williams’ 4-6, 7-6, 9-7 victory over Lindsay Davenport in 2005 is the longest women’s final in Wimbledon history, and possibly the greatest. We discuss the sustained excellence from both players, the joy of watching Venus in her prime, the way she fought for equal prize money the night before the final, and how her uninhibited and jubilant celebration revealed a side to her which we don’t us...

When Maria Sharapova beat Serena Williams in the 2004 Wimbledon final, few could have predicted the path their rivalry would take over the next fifteen years. In this episode, we discuss why Sharapova’s run aged 17 wasn’t completely out of the blue and the way in which Serena was slightly under prepared, and Mary Carillo explains what impressed her most about Sharapova’s performance on that day an...

The 2001 men’s Wimbledon final, which saw wildcard and three-time runner-up Goran Ivanisevic win his first title against Pat Rafter on People’s Monday, is one of the most famous matches in tennis history. So, for this episode, we wanted to get a range of perspectives on this much-told story. Ivan Ljubicic explains the significance of Ivanisevic’s victory for people in Croatia, Charlie Eccleshare t...

The only ever meeting between Pete Sampras and Roger Federer came at Wimbledon in 2001, when Sampras was a 7-time champion in the twilight of his career, and Federer was an emerging talent who hadn’t yet fulfilled his potential. Looking back now, it can be seen as a changing of the guard moment, with Federer prevailing in five sets. Is that how it was covered at the time? In what way did Federer g...

In 1997, Martina Hingis beat Jana Novotna to become the youngest Wimbledon winner in the Open Era, aged 16. She also put together one of the best seasons in tennis history, winning all but one of her Grand Slam matches. Are her achievements from that year underrated? How were her sassy comments and confidence received at the time? In what way did she sometimes get herself in trouble with remarks a...

Nobody has ever had a connection with Wimbledon like Jana Novotna. In this episode, with the help of the storytelling of Mary Carillo and Chris Clarey, and the insights of Hana Mandlikova, the long-time coach and friend of Novotna, we cover the full emotional arc of her career and life. There’s discussion of Novotna’s choke in the 1993 final against Steffi Graf, the iconic image of her crying on t...

Nobody expected Andre Agassi’s first Grand Slam title to come on grass at Wimbledon, a tournament he’d boycotted for a few years. But Agassi always did things his own way, and when he won the tournament in 1992, he did it from the baseline, beating former champions Boris Becker and John McEnroe en route to the final, before overcoming the massive serve of Goran Ivanisevic in five sets. Why was Aga...

Going into Wimbledon in 1991, Steffi Graf’s supremacy was under threat. She hadn’t won a Grand Slam title for 18 months, she’d lost her No.1 ranking to Monica Seles, her father’s scandalous private life meant she was being hounded by the tabloids, and Gabriela Sabatini had emerged as a real rival. But Graf rose above everything, dominating the draw before winning a classic final 8-6 in the third s...

In 1985, a strawberry-blonde, unseeded, 17-year-old German named Boris Becker won Wimbledon, beating Kevin Curren in the final, and suddenly tennis had a new star. In what way did Becker bring levels of power and athleticism which hadn’t been seen before on a tennis court? And how did people react to his arrival on the world stage? We hear from Johan Kriek, the man who predicted Becker’s victory a...

The 1980 Wimbledon men’s final between Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe is one of the most famous tennis matches of all time, and it lived up to expectations as we re-watched it ahead of our second Wimbledon Re-Lived show. How was McEnroe viewed by British tennis fans at the time? How did his behaviour change when he played Borg? And in what way does this match carry a cultural influence which transcen...

With nine singles titles to her name, Martina Navratilova is the most successful player in Wimbledon history. In this episode, we focus on the first of her wins – in 1978 against Chris Evert – and the last of them – in 1990 against Zina Garrison. In between analysing those matches, there’s discussion about the leaner years at the start of Navratilova’s career, her rivalry with Evert, the way she d...

The fallout from the Adria Tour continued on Tuesday as world number one and event organiser Novak Djokovic tested positive for covid-19. The Telegraph’s Simon Briggs joins Catherine Whitaker and David Law to talk through the situation. Djokovic’s second statement of the day was better than his first, but which questions remain unanswered? Is Djokovic’s position as president of the ATP player coun...

With Grigor Dimitrov, Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki all testing positive for covid-19 after playing the Adria Tour, we discuss the inevitability and seriousness of the situation, Novak Djokovic’s role and responsibility in all this, and the possible implications for the sport. There’s also a preview of this week’s Battle of the Brits event and we hear from Andy Murray about last year’s run to the...

Tennis is on its way back, but not as we know it.  The US Open, the French Open and many other big events in-between have been scheduled, and not everyone is happy about it. Catherine, David and Matt review the announcement, discuss the various issues it raises, and speculate about how many of the world’s leading players will opt out of competing in any of the events.  Last weekend’s exh...

Following Catherine’s interview with Chris Evert, we take the chance to tell the story of the 18-time Grand Slam champion in full. We discuss her most extraordinary records and achievements, consider her influence and legacy in the sport, ponder the reasons why she might be under-appreciated, reflect on her comments about the struggle of developing as a person while playing professional tennis, an...

Catherine speaks to 18-time Grand Slam singles champion Chris Evert about her extraordinary tennis career. Evert reflects on how her childhood shaped the rest of her life, the early years of the WTA Tour, the challenge of being a well-adjusted human being as well as a great champion, her rivalry with Martina Navratilova and the way they were each portrayed by the media, the achievements she's most...