We’re joined by Anastasia Folorunso from the GroundPass pod to talk all things French Open 2024 in a jam-packed show. Lucy was actually in Paris and managed to get a ticket to watch our Italian-Ghanaian sister Jasmine Paolini take on world No 1 Iga Swiatek in the final – Paolini is now the world No 7 after her dream fortnight in Paris which also included a trip to the women’s doubles final with Sara Errani. Coco Gauff picked up her first Grand Slam doubles title with first-time partner Katerina ...
Jun 11, 2024•1 hr 23 min
Lucy and Eugene check in with Tennis Black List co-founders Anne-Marie Batson and Richard Sackey-Addo. We get to know Richard, who has an extensive background in tennis administration at international level; find out what the inspiration was behind Tennis Black List; get into highlights from the inaugural awards night at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton; and look ahead to this year’s event on Thursday 27 June. Follow Tennis Black List on X and on Instagram (tennisblacklist). Keep comment...
Jun 07, 2024•20 min
Lucy and Eugene give Jasmine Paolini her flowers after securing the doubles crown in Rome with Sara Errani. Naomi Osaka, or Clayomi (word to Shesaboutdone on X), picked up back-to-back wins against top-20 players, “world No 3” Coco Gauff reached the semis in singles and was runner-up in doubles with Erin Routliffe and Madison Keys backed up her Madrid last-four showing with a run to the quarters. Away from the main tour Arthur Fils picked up his second Challenger title in Bordeaux where he was t...
May 27, 2024•1 hr 9 min
Lucy and Eugene talk all things clay-court tennis, giving props to title winners Ben Shelton (Houston) and Sloane Stephens (Rouen). Madrid seemed to go on forever but it was good to see Felix Auger-Aliassime – no longer working with Toni Nadal – reach his first Masters 1000 final, Madison Keys make a run to the semis and wildcard Robin Montgomery give a good account of herself in three quality matches. We also look forward to Rome and Lucy states who she is siding with in this rap beef. Keep com...
May 10, 2024•1 hr 7 min
Lucy and Eugene talk Indian Wells and Miami, Q1 of the season and everything that has happened in between. Hear our take on Simona Halep 'bussin’ case' and her immediate return to action at WTA 1000 (all while the suspended Mikael Ymer is still retired). Angella Okutoyi of Kenya is Olympics-ready after winning the African Games – where she picked up her first-ever top 100 win – provided she cracks the top 400 in the WTA rankings by the cut-off period. Great Britain's Jay Clarke continues to buil...
Apr 05, 2024•53 min
Lucy and Eugene are joined by “best friend” of the pod Tumaini Carayol for this latest episode. We sing Jasmine Paolini’s praises after our Italian-Ghanaian sister’s dream week in Dubai – the WTA 1000 champion is now a top 20 player. Staying in Dubai, Coco Gauff handled herself with grace in a very teachable moment for umpire Pierre Bacchi. Naomi Osaka’s right where she needs to be in her comeback after a good showing in Qatar. Lime-bike-rider Heather Watson’s been grinding and checking off wins...
Mar 03, 2024•1 hr 4 min
Lucy and Eugene give winners Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner their props for securing the women's and men's titles respectively. Coco Gauff made it to the last four and looked good doing so in her amazing New Balance fits, Jasmine Paolini reached the second week at a Grand Slam for the first time, Alycia Parks and Sloane Stephens also had good runs. On the men's side, Ben Shelton and Felix Auger-Aliassime reached the third round and both played eventful five-setters down under, while Frances T...
Feb 04, 2024•1 hr 1 min
Happy New Year people! Lucy and Eugene get into the latest from down under on the eve of the Australian Open. Coco Gauff successfully defends her Auckland title, Taylor "Three-Peat" Townsend wins again in Adelaide with new partner Beatriz Haddad Maia and Naomi Osaka makes a winning return after 15 months away. Also, salute to the WTA and ATP for the new match-scheduling regulations announcement. AO draw (selected) – Jasmine Paolini is seeded for the first time at a major, two-time champ Osaka dr...
Jan 13, 2024•52 min
Lucy and Eugene close out 2023 with a player who had a milestone-filled season on the ATP Tour. Christopher Eubanks tells us how his thought process changed after cracking the top 100 during the Miami Open (where a certain Jamie Foxx flew in to watch him), his whirlwind grass-court campaign that included a first ATP title in Mallorca and that run to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon. Eubanks also gives us insight into his work with the Tennis Channel and the importance of having a current player’s...
Dec 26, 2023•1 hr 33 min
Lucy and Eugene – donning their “Call me Champion” tees – are finally joined by latest friend of the pod Uche to recap the 2023 season. We share our thoughts on the ATP Next Gen Finals (shouts out to runner-up Arthur Fils) and ask where the WTA’s equivalent is? Get excited about four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka’s imminent return as well as Rafael Nadal’s. Look back at memorable moments from all the majors (the WTA provided in a big way), as well as favourite matches, pay homage to the p...
Dec 15, 2023•1 hr 34 min
Lucy and Eugene look back at the weekend where we had involvement in four finals in one day. Shout out to Ben Shelton, Gael Monfils and Felix Auger-Aliassime for entering the 2023 winner’s circle. Antwerp runner-up Arthur Fils has the attention of a lot of people, not just new coach Sebastien Grosjean. We share our thoughts on the chaos in Cancun at the WTA Finals – Iga Swiatek storming the field, Coco Gauff getting her first wins at the “showpiece" event and Ons Jabeur making a brave statement....
Nov 11, 2023•58 min
Lucy and Eugene catch up on all the goings-on since the US Open. Shout out to the LTA ! Jasmine Paolini has been killing it and is at a career-high ranking (30), US Open champion Coco Gauff reached the semis in China but how many people knew that? And Ben Shelton’s phenomenal debut season continues as he makes deep runs in Asia. Also, Serena Williams received well-deserved fashion recognition, Naomi Osaka and Wim Fissette are back working together and Maria Sharapova made a good point about tenn...
Oct 22, 2023•58 min
On this special celebratory episode, we catch up with friend of the pod Jarmere Jenkins, who is part of the Coco Gauff coaching set-up. During our WhatsApp call, we spoke about going way back with the Gauff family, joining the team earlier in the season, Pere Riba’s incredible attention to detail, putting in work after Wimbledon, Gauff's milestone moments in Washington and Cincinnati – including that three-set victory over world No 1 at the time Iga Swiatek – and of course the amazing US Open tr...
Sep 14, 2023•22 min
Lucy and Eugene sit down with coach John Williams for a fascinating one-hour chat. A master of fitness, with over 20 years' experience, John’s impressive CV includes working with the likes of junior US Open champion Grace Min, former junior world No 1 Donald Young and now Cincinnati doubles champion Taylor Townsend. We find out how he got into the fitness space, tennis serendipitously calling upon his expertise, the importance of psychology in training, different approaches towards training fema...
Aug 23, 2023•1 hr 7 min
Lucy and Eugene share their thoughts on the hard-court season so far. Celebrate Coco Gauff securing her first WTA 500 crown in Washington, Germany’s Noma Noha Akugue [Naija girl] going all the way to the final on the clay in Hamburg on her WTA Tour debut, and Arthur Fils making a run to the semis, taking out Casper Ruud in the process. Among other things, we also get into Venus Williams wowing in the US, the Vanity Fair feature and difficulties of following tennis on television. Head over to bla...
Aug 20, 2023•51 min
Eugene and Lucy are joined by The Mentor aka That Guy Tumaini Carayol to talk all things Wimbledon or "Wimbly" [sic] 2023! Among a host of things, we get into Mikael Ymer’s harsh 18-month ban, Naomi Osaka giving birth, Clervie Ngounoue crushing it in the Girls’ event, Christopher Eubanks reaching the last eight and share our personal highlights from an amazing two weeks at SW19. Head over to blackspinglobal.com for show notes in full. Keep commenting, liking, sharing and subscribing – we appreci...
Jul 26, 2023•1 hr 10 min
Clervie Ngounoue is the Girls’ champion after seeing off Nikola Bartunkova in straight sets in Sunday's final out on Court 12! The 16-year-old American did not drop a set all tournament. Class act! During recording, top seed Carlos Alcaraz and second seed Novak Djokovic were scrapping it out on Centre Court in the men’s final. (Shouts out to Carlitos) In the women’s final, our North African sis Ons Jabeur was unable to get over the line against Marketa Vondrousova. Big congrats to the low-key Cz...
Jul 16, 2023•21 min
Madison Keys falls to second seed Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 4-6 in what was by far her toughest test on grass this year. Sabalenka is playing some good ball at the moment and it was an experience witnessing her ferocious power and incredibly audible grunting on No 1 Court. Keys was upbeat in press afterwards, which was very nice to see. Christopher Eubanks’ dream run is over after another five-set epic against third seed Daniil Medvedev – 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, (4)6-7, 1-6. Eubanks made a nervy start but boy...
Jul 12, 2023•24 min
Christopher Eubanks is a Wimbledon quarter-finalist after taking down fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in five entertaining sets. The American who had the Gauffs cheering him on from his box, spoke in press about the people who have influenced his career. Daniil Medvedev, the third seed, is his next opponent. Madison Keys is also into the last eight after coming back from a set and 1-4 down against 16-year-old Russian qualifier Mirra Andreeva. Keys is now a two-time Wimbledon quarter-finalist after...
Jul 10, 2023•38 min
Chrostopher Eubanks’ dream Wimbledon run continues after seeing off Christopher O’Connell in three tiebreak sets. The American spoke about his new-found affection for grass in his press conference while his fourth-round opponent, fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, revealed what he knows about Eubanks’ game. Madison Keys continues to cruise through the draw and upped her level against Marta Kostyuk in another straight-sets victory. Keys, who seems to be playing better than she did in Eastbourne, face...
Jul 09, 2023•36 min
Madison Keys books her spot in the third round with a businesslike performance, while Christopher Eubanks scores the “biggest win” of his career to secure his place in the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time. Meanwhile, Mikael Ymer gets into another five-set tussle for the second day in a row but falls short after cooking Eugene in the opening set. Interview snippets from Keys’ and Eubanks’ pressers included.
Jul 07, 2023•31 min
Mikael Ymer and Frances Tiafoe book their spots in the third round in different fashion. While Arthur Fils, Alycia Parks, Michael Mmoh, Sloane Stephens and Ben Shelton all suffer second-round defeats. Interview snippets from Ymer and Tiafoe pressers included.
Jul 06, 2023•39 min
Sloane Stephens, Frances Tiafoe, Madison Keys, Ben Shelton and Christopher Eubanks all bagged impressive wins to book second-round spots. While George Loffhagen, Jasmine Paolini and Heather Watson put in decent efforts before falling at the first hurdle. Interview snippets from Stephens, Shelton and Eubanks pressers included.
Jul 06, 2023•38 min
Alycia Parks v Anna-Lena Friedsam American looked impressive – first serve was firing and net-play was super clean which frustrated Friedsam who was visibly rattled towards the closing stages of the match. Parks has Ana Bogdan next who upset 15th seed Liudmila Samsonova. Michael Mmoh v (11) Felix Auger-Aliassime Massive win for lucky loser Mmoh who played an incredible match against a hampered but solid FAA who actually hit more winners during the tight four-set contest. Mmoh plays German qualif...
Jul 03, 2023•34 min
Lucy and Eugene – with accreditations around necks (allow us) – dissect the draws and recap events on the grass these past few weeks at Queen’s, Birmingham and Eastbourne. Venus Williams , the five-time champion, starts against fellow wildcard Elina Svitolina in one of the standout first-round matchups. Coco Gauff , seeded seventh, faces fellow American Sofia Kenin in another opening-round belter. Madison Keys , the 25th seed who had a brilliant week in Eastbourne, starts against British wildcar...
Jul 02, 2023•51 min
Friend of the pod Tumaini Carayol joins us in the studio for another fun episode. We share our Wimbledon accreditation news – yes, Black Spin Global will be at The Championships this year as media! Roland Garros men's "demi-finals" day was a lot of fun (courtesy of Rodney Rapson aka The Plug). Find out how we got on in Paris (and why Lucy calls it "The Ghetto") where Novak Djokovic made history after winning his 23rd Grand Slam. Tumaini also brilliantly articulates why Djokovic and Serena Willia...
Jun 22, 2023•1 hr 37 min
Lucy and Eugene – in full 4K-colour-glory, for the very first time (head over to our YouTube channel)– talk all things clay-court season so far and much more. We get into Frances Tiafoe bagging his second ATP Tour title after an epic weekend in Houston. Alycia Parks reaching the third round in Madrid under the guidance of her father and coach Michael Parks . We shine a light on Elias Ymer , the first Swede to be invited to Harvard Business School, who had a good week in Marrakech after coming th...
May 14, 2023•1 hr 10 min
Lucy and Eugene talk about what they’ve been up to, including applying for Wimbledon 2023 accreditation, interviewing Erick Mathelier ( Furi Sports co-founder) and also touch on Wimbledon’s decision to lift the ban on Russian and Belarusian players. Alycia Parks’ stunned in Lyon beat top seed Caroline Garcia in the final to claim her biggest title to date (WTA 250). Since then she’s been experimenting with her set-up – was working with Jarmere Jenkins during the Sunshine Double as well as streng...
Apr 06, 2023•1 hr 17 min
Lucy and Eugene say good riddance to the 2023 Australian Open but not before giving props to maiden Grand Slam winner Aryna Sabalenka and 10-time AO champion Novak Djokovic. We discuss Ben Shelton's dream debut – the 20-year-old reached the quarter-finals and showed his match-toughness coming through a couple of five-setters. Shelton is now a top 50 player – No 44 in the current rankings. Michael Mmoh, who was hours away from leaving the country, reached the third round and recorded the biggest ...
Feb 05, 2023•1 hr 12 min
Lucy and Eugene, joined by Myles David, get to know the Tuned Into Tennis founder a bit better as he shares his early memories of the sport and tells us why he started the platform. We share our thoughts on Naomi Osaka's amazing pregnancy news (Lucy suspected it). The four-time Grand Slam champion says she plans to return to action in 2024 and we cannot wait to see her back. Dive into all the action of 2023 so far and talk Australian Open draws.... Coco Gauff secured the ASB Classic title in Auc...
Jan 20, 2023•1 hr 34 min
