The Tennis Podcast

On the eve of the last traditional Davis Cup by BNP Paribas final, David and Catherine are joined by Grad Matt in Lille to preview France vs. Croatia.  For the second year in a row, Yannick Noah sprung a surprise at the draw ceremony, this time selecting Jeremy Chardy ahead of Lucas Pouille. What does that decision say about both players? Can Noah sprinkle his magic dust on this French side t...

Alexander Zverev delivered on his gargantuan talent in London to add a straight sets win over Novak Djokovic to his one against Roger Federer the day before. It landed him the ATP Finals title, and Catherine Whitaker, David Law and Matt Roberts got together to discuss it on The Tennis Podcast. With The O2 Arena being disassembled around them, the trio talked about where the final was won and lost,...

In the immediate aftermath of Alexander Zverev’s victory over Roger Federer, David is joined by Simon Briggs and Grad Matt to discuss Zverev’s excellent performance, the moment of controversy that overshadowed the ending, and the crowd’s reaction.  Firstly, was the incident with the ball-boy handled correctly? Was Annabel Croft right to step in and tell the crowd off for their booing? Could Z...

As Alexander Zverev reached the last four of the ATP Finals for the first time, Leon Smith joined David and Grad Matt to talk all about him. What does Leon make of Zverev’s progress? When will he start breaking through at the Grand Slams? Are we expecting too much too soon, bearing in mind he’s still up against the likes of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer? What will Ivan Lendl bring him? And has...

The 1976 French Open champion Sue Barker is our special guest as we digest the launch of the ATP Cup and what it means for the Davis Cup finals in the future.  What did the power-brokers say in response to Novak Djokovic’s assertion that it could lead to two ‘average’ events? What does Sue, Catherine Whitaker, Simon Briggs and David Law make of it all? And should Davis Cup have changed in the...

Alexander Zverev has already won a trio of Masters 1000 titles, been ranked as high as No.3, and qualified for the ATP Finals for two straight seasons. He’s a major player in the sport, and promises to be for years to come. We know he isn’t afraid to complain about the length of the season and the content of interview questions, but do we really know what he’s like?  To find out more about hi...

Catherine is back! And there’s plenty to talk about… Does Roger Federer receive preferential treatment from tournament directors? That was the allegation made by Julien Benneteau on French radio last week.  On today’s podcast, Catherine Whitaker, David Law and Simon Briggs discuss the ins and outs of the story, including Federer’s relationship with CEO of Tennis Australia Craig Tiley, the con...

Former British doubles player Colin Fleming spent the day at the O2 arena as a fan, and afterwards he joined David and Charlie Eccleshare on The Tennis Podcast. Beers in hand, they start by discussing a masterclass from Novak Djokovic who dispatched John Isner in the evening session. How did he handle the Isner serve so easily? And can anyone realistically stop Djokovic this week?  The day’s...

London arrived in numbers to celebrate another year of Roger Federer, but his fans left disappointed as Kei Nishikori became the first man to beat him in straight sets in the round robin stages of the ATP Finals.  After a tumultuous, but error-strewn night, David Law was joined on The Tennis Podcast by Grad Matt Roberts to discuss what happened. What happened to Federer? Why did he lose his t...

With the ATP Finals just a couple of days away, Catherine and David get together on The Tennis Podcast to preview all the major storylines and make some predictions. After Rafael Nadal’s withdrawal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are heavily favoured to come through their groups, but who do Catherine and David think will join them in the semi-finals? Is Kevin Anderson the tournament’s dark horse...

As 2018 draws to a close, a new man has arrived on the scene, beaten the best players and won the biggest title of his life. His name is Karen Khachanov. In a Tennis Podcast to review Paris, the Tennis Podcast team analyse the performance of the big Russian, how he ended the winning run of Novak Djokovic in the final, and what he might do next. Will he win a Slam before Zverev or Tsitsipas? The re...

After a few weeks apart, Catherine and David are back together in London for this week’s show, with Elina Svitolina’s sensational title run in Singapore at the top of the agenda. Why did nobody see it coming? Can she now ‘do a Wozniacki’ and go on to win her first Grand Slam next year? The other major storylines from the WTA Finals are also discussed, including Wozniacki’s rheumatoid arthritis dia...

Catherine and David began a recent episode of The Tennis Podcast by delving deep into Kyle Edmund’s ongoing title drought. This time, a mere two weeks later, they start by lauding Edmund’s emotional maiden title victory in Antwerp. How significant is it that he’s got the monkey off his back? Edmund was one of three young titlists on the ATP Tour this week. Stefanos Tsitsipas and Karen Khachanov we...

Novak Djokovic looks as if he has stepped in a time machine and taken us all back to 2015, such is the level of tennis he is producing in the second half of 2018. In the latest Tennis Podcast, Catherine Whitaker and David Law get together to look back on Djokovic's victory in Shanghai, where he didn't lose a set and never looked likely to. Who, when, where and how is anyone going to stop him? Or w...

Inspired by a certain Tennis Podcast presenter’s loss from match point up, David and Catherine begin this week’s show by discussing the phenomenon of ‘choking’ in sport. What causes it? And what’s the biggest choke in tennis history? In Beijing this week, Kyle Edmund didn’t choke, but he did miss a big opportunity to win his first ATP title. How important is it that he overcomes this hurdle sooner...

2018 has been a turbulent year for tennis, with warring factions and uncertainty over where the sport is heading. In this week’s podcast, Simon Briggs joins David and Catherine to discuss the political state of the sport. How optimistic can we be that the governing bodies will eventually find a solution that works best for tennis rather just their own agendas? Will the sport produce a Davis Cup th...

There’s a lot to cover on the new Tennis Podcast. For the second week in a row, David and Catherine begin by talking about the form of Naomi Osaka. The Japanese reached the final in Tokyo to back up her US Open title. Why was that so impressive? And just how well did Karolina Pliskova have to play to beat her? Elsewhere, Andy Murray has decided that he will shut down his 2018 season after Shenzhen...

The US Open may be over, but Naomi Osaka’s new life is just getting started. While her victory in New York was overshadowed, she’s capitalised brilliantly on the moment by signing an endorsement deal with Nissan and appearing on The Ellen Show. On The Tennis Podcast, Catherine and David wonder how Osaka will handle her newfound status as a Grand Slam champion. What are some of the challenges she w...

Enric Molina has umpired four Grand Slam singles finals, four Davis Cup finals and two Olympic finals. So what when through his mind when he saw the events of the weekend at the US Open, with former colleague Carlos Ramos warning Serena Williams three times, docking her a point and then a game, and the subsequent reactions from former players and governing bodies? Molina joins David Law on The Ten...

Novak Djokovic is the US Open champion for the third time, beating Juan Martin del Potro 6-3, 7-6, 6-3. On The Tennis Podcast, David and Catherine discuss his brilliant performance. Does the straight-sets scoreline do Del Potro a disservice? Was he a little too cautious early on? Did the slow conditions play a part? How crucial was that epic 20-minute game? Djokovic is now level with Pete Sampras...

At the end of a mind-blowing day, and one of the most controversy-filled Grand Slams finals in history, David and Catherine sit down to run through the events in full. With emotions running high, the theme of the discussion is the need for nuance. Can we accept Serena as a highly-inspirational role model who is also capable of quite unedifying behaviour? And were all three code violations justifie...

The US Open men’s semi-finals did not deliver the competitiveness they promised – partly due to Rafael Nadal’s knee, partly due to Novak Djokovic’s brilliance. On The Tennis Podcast, on his birthday, David is joined separately by Simon Briggs of Telegraph Sport and Catherine to talk about it all. Nadal’s knee meant he had to retire when trailing Juan Martin del Potro by two sets. Is it a coinciden...

The women’s final is set: Serena Williams will face Naomi Osaka on Saturday. On The Tennis Podcast, David and Catherine discuss how both players got there. Serena beat Anastasija Sevastova 6-3, 6-0. What made this such a formidable performance? David was struck by Serena's net game. Has she ever been forward more? And was it a pre-planned tactic or a mid-match adjustment? Is there a difference bet...

For the first time in the Open Era there will be a Japanese man and woman in the semi-finals of a Grand Slam after contrasting wins for Naomi Osaka and Kei Nishikori. Osaka was brilliant again, cruising past an out-of-sorts Lesia Tsurenko. Is she playing the best tennis of anyone in the draw? Nishikori then reeled in Marin Cilic to win in five sets. Was he inspired by Osaka’s victory? Not for the...

For the second night in a row, the end of The Tennis Podcast had to be recorded at past 2am in New York. That’s because Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem played a marathon match long into the night, with Nadal prevailing in a thrilling deciding set tiebreak. This was tennis at its absolute best, say David and Catherine, and also a brilliant advert for fifth set tiebreaks. Nadal will now face Del Potr...