WTA Insider Podcast

Belinda Bencic captured her first clay title at the 2022 Credit One Charleston Open, holding off Ons Jabeur in three sets in the final. The win comes eight years after the Swiss star marched her way to her first WTA semifinal as a teenage qualifier ranked No.140 in the world. 

World No.13 Jessica Pegula joins the podcast from the Credit One Charleston Open to dish about the highs and lows of her hard court season, marvel at Iga Swiatek's rise to No.1, and laugh about being a rookie on the WTA Player Council.

New World No.1 Iga Swiatek and her sports psychologist Daria Abramowicz join the podcast to reflect on the 'Swiatek Sweep', after Swiatek dominated the Miami Open to become the youngest player to win the Sunshine Double and first to ever win the first three WTA 1000 events of the season. On Monday, the 20-year-old will become Poland's first-ever World No.1.

Undefeated on the season and firmly entrenched as the World No.1 Ashleigh Barty stunned the world after announcing her retirement from the Hologic WTA Tour. Barty joins the podcast to discuss her decision to hang up her racquets. 

WTA Web Editor Alex Macpherson returns to discuss Iga Swiatek, Maria Sakkari, and the biggest storylines from the BNP Paribas Open and look ahead to the Miami Open presented by Itaú.

Iga Swiatek captured her second straight WTA 1000 title on Sunday, defeating Maria Sakkari 6-4, 6-1 to win the BNP Paribas Open. The 20-year-old Pole is now on a career-best 11-match win streak and will rise to a career-high No.2 on Monday.  Swiatek joins the WTA Insider Podcast to try and process what's she's accomplished so early in the season. Doubles champions Yang Zhaoxuan and Xu Yifan also s...

WTA Web Editor Alex Macpherson joins the podcast to reflect on the lessons learned from the Middle East and Mexican swings and preview the BNP Paribas Open, a WTA 1000 event in Indian Wells, California. Note: This episode was recorded before top seed Barbora Krejcikova withdrew due to elbow injury. 

In their fourth tournament together, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula captured their first team title and it was a big one. The American duo came from a set down to win the Qatar TotalEnergies Open, a WTA 1000 event, defeating No.3 seeds Elise Mertens and Veronika Kudermetova in the final.  Gauff and Pegula join the podcast to discuss their team chemistry, how they handle pressure in both doubles and...

Iga Swiatek captured her second WTA 1000 title at the 2022 Qatar TotalEnergies Open, defeating Anett Kontaveit, 6-2, 6-0. Playing a more aggressive game style, the 20-year-old Polish star defeated three Top 10 opponents at a single event for the first time in her career. Swiatek joined the podcast by phone from Doha to explain the changes she's made to her game under new coach Tomasz Witkorowski. 

Anett Kontaveit has no idea how she's doing it, but she's doing it. The Estonian extended her indoor winning streak to 20 matches after a resilient comeback to defeat Maria Sakkari in the final to win the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy. It's the longest indoor winning streak in over a decade and it earned Kontaveit her sixth career title.  Kontaveit joined the podcast from St. Petersburg to reflect...

How dominant is Ash Barty right now? Who left a lasting impression in Melbourne? What does it all mean for the remainder of the spring hard-court season? WTA Web Editor Alex Macpherson joins the podcast to break down the 2022 Australian Open. 

Ashleigh Barty capped off a perfect fortnight in Melbourne by becoming the first homegrown singles champion at the Australian Open, capturing her third major title with a straight-set win over Danielle Collins in the final.  The World No.1 joined the podcast after a whirlwind media tour in Melbourne to explain why her Melbourne run was different from her first two major wins and what's next after...

Paula Badosa finds her comfort on the clay. Which is why her victory at the Sydney Tennis Classic cemented the Spaniard as an all-court threat.  Badosa joined the podcast after her hard-fought victory to reveal the adjustments she's made to her game to succeed on quick hard courts. 

After a short hiatus, the WTA Insider Podcast is back! WTA Web Editor Alex Macpherson joins the podcast to ring in the new 2022 WTA season. We break down the key takeaways from the first two weeks of the season, dive deep into the draw for the Australian Open, and analyze the favorites, dark horses, and match-ups that matter.

Iga Swiatek captured her second title of the 2021 season and third overall with a stunning week at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, defeating Karolina Pliskova 6-0, 6-0 in the final to capture her first WTA 1000 title. The 19-year-old saved match points in the third round and went on to tally two Top 10 wins to book her own spot in the Top 10 for the first time in her career. Swiatek joined the po...

Aryna Sabalenka won her 10th career title at the 2021 Mutua Madrid Open, defeating World No.1 Ashleigh Barty 6-0, 3-6, 6-4 to capture her first title on clay. As a result, the 23-year-old will rise to a career-high No.4 in the rankings and zoom up to the No.3 position on the Porsche Race to Shenzhen Leaderboard. Only Barty and Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka have earned more points this seaso...

World No.1 Ashleigh Barty tallied her 11th career title and a tour-leading third of the season at the 2021 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, rallying from a set down in her last three matches to take the title in her tournament debut.  Barty reflects on the success of her long overseas trip so far, which has seen her win titles in Miami and Stuttgart and race to No.1 on the Porsche Race to Shenzhen Leade...

Petra Kvitova captured her 28th career title at the 2021 Qatar Total Open, defeating Garbine Muguruza 6-2, 6-1 in the final. With the win, Kvitova won her first title since 2019 Stuttgart and tallied her tour-leading 20th victory in Doha.  Kvitova joins the podcast to break down the keys to her Doha title run. The Czech star also discusses her two Wimbledon titles and explains why her 2014 title r...

Iga Swiatek captured her first hardcourt title and second career title, winning the 2021 Adelaide International with a 6-2, 6-2 win over No.2 seed Belinda Bencic in the final.  Everything came together perfectly for Swiatek in Adelaide, where she steamrolled through the field to drop just 23 games over five matches, finishing her successful week by winning her final 18 service games.  Swiatek join...

Naomi Osaka captured her fourth major title at the Australian Open, defeating Jennifer Brady 6-4, 6-3 to win her 2nd title in Melbourne. Osaka has now pulled off the New York-Melbourne double twice in her young career, and she will leave Australia riding a 21-match winning streak.  Osaka joined the podcast by phone from Melbourne to reflect on her win and look ahead to her prospects at Roland Garr...

Aryna Sabalenka can't lose. The 22-year-old Belarusian finished the 2020 season with back-to-back titles and she kicked off her 2021 season with another, defeating Veronika Kudermetova 6-2, 6-2 to win the Abu Dhabi WTA Women's Tennis Open. Her winning week extended her career-best winning streak to 15 matches, secured her third consecutive title and ninth of her career, and will propel her to a ne...

Julia Goerges has announced her retirement, ending a 15-year career that that saw her break into the Top 10, make a Wimbledon semifinal, capture seven WTA singles titles, and stand shoulder-to-shoulder alongside Germany's Golden Generation of talent, with Angelique Kerber, Andrea Petkovic, and Sabine Lisicki. Goerges leaves behind a legacy of professionalism and respect that left an indelible mark...

Aryna Sabalenka came back from the brink at the J&T Banka Ostrava Open to become the first player to sweep the singles and doubles titles at a Premier-level or higher since 2016. After being five points from losing in her first two rounds of the tournament, Sabalenka dominated down the stretch, defeating Victoria Azarenka to win her 7th WTA singles title, and then teaming up with Elise Mertens to...

The youngest Roland Garros champion since Monica Seles. The most dominating Roland Garros title run since Stefanie Graf. The first Grand Slam singles champion from Poland.  19-year-old Iga Swiatek checked off quite a few boxes in Paris, where she lost just 28 games to capture her first major title.  The thoughtful teenager joins the podcast to reflect on her triumphant fortnight, reveal the keys t...

Simona Halep extended her winning streak to 14 matches by finally capturing the one big clay-court title that has eluded her. The World No.2 came through in her third final in Rome to win the Internazionali BNL d'Italia for her third title of 2020 and 22nd title overall. Halep joins the podcast to reflect on her seven-year journey in Rome, the site of her breakout tournament in 2013, and looks ahe...