This was supposed to be a week for us on positivity, and some of the things that make this sport so memorable and positive for us. That changed with the positive Covid test for Frances Tiafoe in Atlanta. So, this week, Mike takes the reigns to rant against the idea that so many exhibitions are having as much influence on the sport as they are. Noah brings us home with the positivity, Don't forget, support the podcast at patreon.com/BehindtheRacquetPod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit mega...
Jul 06, 2020•35 min•Ep. 93
Lots to discuss with longtime coach Brad Stine, including how he's kept Tommy Paul focused during the pandemic, his coaching progression, and more importantly, how and whether tennis should resume. Stine takes issue with some of the boys' points on ways to improve and improvise the sport during the pandemic, and gives insight on how the rankings might play out during the rest of the year and in to 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Jun 29, 2020•47 min•Ep. 92
We introduce you today to Dr. Jonathan Katz, a member of the BTR team who will take us on a journey of exploring mental health in athletics. Today, we talk about the impacts of social media on us all in the midst of the pandemic, as well as the challenges facing athletes, specifically tennis players, when they return to the field of competition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 26, 2020•31 min•Ep. 91
Important to note, we had to record BEFORE Grigor Dimitrov tested positive for Covid-19. Which is too bad, as we have some damned thoughts. But, hear Noah's surprising take on whether the Open should go on or not, and how he's combatted the Novak fans he argued with through the last week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 22, 2020•34 min•Ep. 90
Noah Rubin likes to take us Behind the Racquet, today he's taking us behind the scenes of the ATP's phone call to discuss the US Open with 400 pros. Hear details of what was discussed, and Noah's opinions on the options. Noah's also received criticism from Novak's fam, hear why, and see if you agree. And Mike explores regional slams just a little bit more in depth. As always, thanks to our fantastic patreon sponsors. You can help support the pod and our future endeavours at patreon.com/Behindthe...
Jun 15, 2020•39 min•Ep. 89
A difficult topic parsed by Noah and his longtime friend Phillip Simmonds, taking a look at race in the sport of tennis, and how it affects the players and fans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 08, 2020•32 min•Ep. 88
Lots to catch up on for Noah and Mike, and so they hit the Muzza/Nick instagram live, Reilly Opelka's momentous and page turning interview in Racquet mag, and whether Noah will be hitting at any exos. We also thank our incredibly kind and generous patreon donors, who have helped sustain us, literally and figuratively, the last couple months. You can donate at patreon.com/behindtheracquetpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
May 18, 2020•33 min•Ep. 87
Quick tech note: Mike's recorder went wayward the first few minutes. It restarted a few minutes, the audio is clean about 7 minutes in. Now. This is Mental Health Week for the Behind the Racquet. Join Noah as he explores mental health from a variety of perspectives, with special guests on the Behind the Racquet Instagram live: All times Eastern: Monday 2PM Dr. Jonathan Katz Tuesday 2PM: Sven Groeneveld Wednesday 2PM: Marcos Baghdatis Thursday 5PM: Reilly Opelka Friday 2PM: Marco Trungelliti Any ...
May 04, 2020•42 min•Ep. 86
Lots to unpack with Evan King (Career High #181, All-American at the University of Michigan, from Chicago, Illinois) 1) His (editor's note: HORRIBLE) decision to attend Michigan instead of the home state school of Illinois. 2) His willingness to travel the globe in his professional career. 3) What it's been like playing in Florida exhibitions the last two weeks in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Apr 29, 2020•37 min•Ep. 85
Three topics to hit today: 1) the whirlwind over the Coco Gauff BTR and Noah's learning moment 2) The odd exhibition tennis down in Florida last weekend 3) The 6 million dollar payments for lower ranked players, and how it's just a bandaid. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 22, 2020•38 min•Ep. 84
Limits are getting pushed indeed. For Mike, it's the all too familiar feel of depression that's hit pretty hard. For Noah, it's a level of frustration with the leaders of tennis. Listen, react, and reach out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 15, 2020•34 min•Ep. 83
Wide ranging chat with the pride of Carmel, Indiana Rajeev Ram this week. Mike gets to chat all things University of Illinois with one of the legends from the undefeated National Championship team of 2003, and Noah looks ahead with the Australian Open champion about how the sport might be changing due to the pandemic delay. Huge thank you to our patreon supporters this week. We're so thankful for the support in this difficult time, and if you're able, we'd appreciate your support too. Go to patr...
Apr 08, 2020•36 min•Ep. 82
Our weekly check in today is essentially therapy time for Mike, while Noah is taking his discussions to a large group of players. Hear what he's discussing with them, and how the guys are handling their time sidelined, and without an income source. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 30, 2020•22 min•Ep. 81
Two caveats here: 1) As we always want to point out, nothing is more important than the health and well-being of our society. This discussion is meant to look at some of the tennis issues surrounding how the sport is affected by Coronavirus. 2) Noah and Mike had some technical issues that we couldn't quite solve, so we had to record this one over skype, so the audio quality is not what we'd like to have. Gaby Dabrowski was a delight. She takes us inside some of the WTA Player Council discussions...
Mar 24, 2020•37 min•Ep. 80
The caveats are important here. Nothing, in terms of discussing the what ifs of tennis, matters as much as the health of humans, and how we move forward as a society. That being said, Mike and Noah talk a bit this week about how they're personally being impacted, and how the decision making processes by the various entities in the sport are drastically underrepresenting its players. Personal note from Mike: Apologies for not properly thanking all of our incredible patreon supporters in this week...
Mar 19, 2020•34 min•Ep. 79
Noah jumps about 25 spots in the rankings after a GREAT week in Indian Wells. Naturally, he's headed to Hawaii. And yes, the coronavirus is weighing heavily on our minds. First, both of us are quite aware that the human toll, in casualties, illnesses, and the like are far more important. But the impact that tennis players outside the top 50 feel, are similar to the impacts that many of our listeners feel. So we riff on it for a bit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Mar 09, 2020•22 min•Ep. 78
A couple of things to hit on this week's edition of 15-all: Noah's in to the third round (at the time of recording) at the Indian Wells Challenger He's still seeing some unhappiness amongst is peers. Is he happy? HUGE thank yous to our new patreon sponsors!!! And Mike is starting to panic a bit about the coronavirus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 05, 2020•21 min•Ep. 77
Lots to discuss with Thai-Son Kwiatkowski on the eve of the stacked Indian Wells Challenger. He won Newport Beach earlier this year after a difficult 2019 mentally. How did he turn it around. Also, he immediately went to Japan after winning that tile, and not for an individual event. Find out why. Thanks for all the support of the podcast since the launch of our new name and patreon last week. We're extremely appreciative, more than we can express. If you want to support the cast, visit www.patr...
Mar 02, 2020•28 min•Ep. 76
Things are changing for us. We've rebranded as the Behind the Racquet Pod. And what better guest to get to mark the occasion than Ernesto Escobedo, the first person ever to be featured on Behind the Racquet. We talk about his decision to be the first on BTR, what it's meant to be a Mexican-American star, and his unique ability with a football. And don't forget to check out our new patreon page, at patreon.com/BehindtheRacquetPod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Feb 27, 2020•31 min•Ep. 75
After a good week at the DBO, Noah is off this week to rest his body, but at a VERY costly price. Plus, Noah and Mike offer their takes on clay court specialists, after Nick Kyrgios' controversial clay court take last weekend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 25, 2020•20 min•Ep. 74
Just hours before Noah's 2020 tour level debut in Delray Beach, we chat about his big weekend qualifying, and why saying "focus" to your player might be the worst thing possible! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 18, 2020•19 min•Ep. 73
Noah got a win, his first after a stress reaction in his elbow last year. How does he feel? And can you ACTUALLY silence the haters? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 12, 2020•20 min•Ep. 72
Mitchell Krueger's road has not always been easy. But a return home, a strong relationship, and a commitment to himself have allowed him to persevere. Hear from DFW's finest in this week's Pod. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 04, 2020•29 min•Ep. 71
Third volume, and it's got a name. 15 minutes with Noah from the RBC Tennis Championships ahead of his matchup with Aleks Vukic Topics: Agents, and the value of friendships out here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 03, 2020•19 min•Ep. 70
Two years after thinking about ending his career, Luke Bambridge now has multiple ATP doubles titles. What are the secrets, and what are the challenges facing him at the higher levels of doubles? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 28, 2020•39 min•Ep. 69
Recorded before the draw, and finding out that she could end the career of Caroline Wozniacki, Kristie Ahn joined the boys to talk about her long history with Noah, how she's coping with the air quality issue in Melbourne, how life has changed since the Open, and her "two things." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 19, 2020•31 min•Ep. 68
Outspoken as always, Noah Rubin takes you through his thoughts on the smoke from the bushfires in Australia. As a reminder, you can donate to several fantastic organizations here, including the Australian Red Cross. Their site is at: https://www.redcross.org.au/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 17, 2020•18 min•Ep. 67
NEW SEGMENT ALERT! We need help with a name. Each week this season, we'll do 10-15 minutes with Noah, assessing his season, his brain, his body, and see how it changes, morphs, cracks, strengthens...behind the racquet indeed. Give us your name suggestion, and you could win an autographed ball! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 14, 2020•15 min•Ep. 66
Jon Wertheim doesn't get to go in the weeds too often, but we dragged him in for an extensive interview about media coverage and how it relates to players outside the top 50. We also get a little more in depth in to the idea of improving marketing for players, as well as payments for those outside "the big 4." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 07, 2020•36 min•Ep. 65
Despite a few technical issues at the outset, this is a full ranging interview with Madison Keys, ranging from her love of Christmas, to shortening the tennis season, to leadership issues for the ATP/WTA, to dealing with the pressures of the tour at a young age. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 17, 2019•32 min•Ep. 64
