This week we welcome back to the show another one of our classic guests, it’s seven-time NCAA national champion winning coach with the team at UCLA, Valorie Kondos Field. Valorie initially appeared on Episode 62 of Control the Controllables, soon after her viral Ted Talk, ‘Why Winning Doesn’t Always Equal Success,’ and she shared her experience coaching in a sport that she didn't grow up playing or coaching in, and talked about her plans after she retired from UCLA in 2018. In this edition, Valo...
May 25, 2024•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 222
Tennis is being disrupted, whether we like it or not! As we prepare to debate this in our first ever Control the Controllables Live Show on April 19th, never has it been clearer that we need to sit up and listen. Today´s episode is a new extract from Dan´s chat with Jonathan Overend a few weeks ago. They trade opinions on the Saudi Arabian influence on tennis, the future of doubles, and the topic of our upcoming live show - The Great Tennis Shake-up: Is the new ‘Elite Tour’ good for tennis? The ...
Apr 08, 2024•36 min•Ep. 221
We´re excited to announce that Control the Controllables is coming to London! We´re hosting our first LIVE SHOW on Friday 19th April 2024. This is your chance to come and join CTC Host Dan Kiernan and our special guests as they debate one of the hottest topics in tennis right now: Is the new ‘Elite Tour’ good for tennis. You´ll also have the chance to ask your own questions to Dan and our guests, live at the event. The new tour being proposed is backed by the Grand Slams and would see only the t...
Mar 30, 2024•10 min•Ep. 220
In today´s episode we speak to top British tennis coach, Justin Sherring. Justin has had the distinction of bringing through some of the brightest young tennis players of British tennis’ current golden generation including Jack Draper, Johanna Konta, and former doubles World Number 1 Joe Salisbury. Justin is currently working with Salisbury on the ATP tour and took some time to chat to Dan about how he´s developed some of the best British Players of the past 15 years. Justin shares his coaching ...
Mar 19, 2024•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 219
To mark International Women´s Day, we have author, podcaster, presenter, campaigner, triathlete and all-round inspiration Sue Anstiss on the show. Sue has been campaigning for women in sport for over 20 years through her organisation Fearless Women, receiving an MBE for her service. More recently, Sue has released her book, Game On: The Unstoppable Rise of Women’s Sport in 2021. This was commissioned as a documentary by Netflix in 2023, which she directed and was susequently nominated for a Broa...
Mar 08, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 218
In this week’s episode we are speaking to British doubles player Olivia Nicholls. Olivia is a former Wimbledon mixed doubles semi-finalist and a role model for young players looking to make it on the tour. She took the non-traditional route of going to Loughborough University in the UK, as opposed to US college or going pro, and has built a remarkable career as a doubles player on the tour. Olivia has reached a career high ranking of 59 in the world, with appearances in the main draw of all four...
Mar 03, 2024•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 217
In today’s episode we welcome the voice of tennis for his second appearance on the show, it´s Jonathan Overend! Jonathan speaks to us in a week where Sky Sports are launching their own tennis channel in the UK and Ireland, Sky Sports Tennis. Jonathan is a major part of the team they have in place to deliver their promise of 24/7 coverage from all of the ATP & WTA events. Jonathan had some beautiful words for the late Mike Dickson, the tennis correspondent at the Daily Mail for the last 30 ye...
Feb 11, 2024•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 216
We´re reviewing all the action from the 2024 Australian Open in today´s episode. What a way to start the year of tennis, as Aryna Sabalenka didn’t drop a set on the way to her second consecutive Australian Open title. Jannik Sinner shocked the tennis world by defeating Novak Djokovic and performing a miraculous fightback against Daniil Medvedev to lift his first ever major title, and become the youngest winner since Djokovic himself in 2008! Here to round up the past two weeks in Melbourne along...
Jan 31, 2024•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 215
Today we welcome British doubles specialist and Grand Slam quarter-finalist turned coach and commentator, Colin Fleming. Colin reached a career high of 17 in the world in doubles, consistently reaching the main draws of Grand Slams. He represented GB in the Davis Cup and at the Olympics before turning his expertise to coaching, then commentating. He now covers some of the biggest tennis tournaments in the world for Eurosport, Sky Sports and the BBC. Colin has partnered some of the biggest names ...
Jan 22, 2024•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 214
The first Grand Slam of 2024 is finally underway! We´ve brought our panel back together to preview everything we can expect from the Australian Open. Control the Controllables host Dan Kiernan is in Melbourne this year, and is joined by:- US Open Doubles Champion and top 10 WTA doubles player, Gaby Dabrowski Denmark´s Davis Cup Captain and 2012 Wimbledon Mens Doubles Champion Freddie Nielsen . GB Coach Calvin Betton who is currently working with Henry Pattern. They discuss the "popcorn-ready" ma...
Jan 14, 2024•1 hr 42 min•Ep. 213
In today´s CTC Short we bring you a true stalwart of the tennis tour and someone who is calling time on his career after this year’s Australian Open- it´s former US Open quarter finalist and Episode 25 guest John Millman. Over the span of a 15 year professional tennis career, John Millman has established himself as one of the most consistent and hard-working players on the tour, being a constant in the top 100 ATP Rankings. In 2018 he reached a career high of 33 after a remarkable run to the qua...
Jan 10, 2024•22 min•Ep. 212
As 2023 draws to a close, we´ve sat down to look back at some of our most memorable moments of the Control the Controllables Podcast this year. From Sir Andy Murray agreeing to be our Special Guest for our 200th episode, to winning Best Tennis Podcast at the Sports Podcast Awards, and having 6 Grand Slam Champions in one episode, we´ve had some very special moments this year. Listen to CTC Host Dan Kiernan and producer Vicki Kiernan chat through their favourite clips and biggest learnings of 202...
Dec 30, 2023•58 min•Ep. 211
In our third CTC Short we have a clip from our 200th Episode with Sir Andy Murray. CTC Host Dan Kiernan spoke to Andy back in August 2023, and unsurprisingly, it is our most listened to episode to date. Andy gave us lots of takeaways, including how important he feels it is for aspiring players to watch full matches, and not just the highlights reel. In this clip, Andy explains how watching tennis helped him and how he wished he´d had time to do it more during his career. It´s one of many great l...
Dec 23, 2023•16 min•Ep. 210
In today´s episode we welcome someone who´s been at the heart of tennis as the BBC’s Tennis Correspondent for over ten years, Russell Fuller. Russell has worked his way up through the ranks of tennis media, working for the BBC World Service presenting Sportsworld, before earning his big break commentating on his first Wimbledon Final in 2013, when Andy Murray defeated Novak Djokovic to become Champion for the first time. Russell has gone on to be the voice of British tennis’ greatest moments, in...
Dec 18, 2023•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 209
Welcome to the 2nd of our CTC Podcast Shorts. In this clip, we have former top-5 doubles and top-40 singles player turned US Davis Cup captain and coach Tom Gullikson. Tom appeared on Episode 110 of Control the Controllables in April 2021, and talked about playing in the Golden era of US tennis in the 70´s and 80´s. His twin brother Tim Gullikson was Pete Sampras´ coach before he passed away in 1996 to brain cancer. In this clip, Tom speaks about the influence Tim had on Sampras´ career and how ...
Dec 09, 2023•27 min•Ep. 208
In today´s episode we welcome 2002 Australian Open Champion and former world number 7 Thomas Johansson! Thomas began his career in the heyday of Swedish tennis, preceded and surrounded by legends such as Bjorn Borg, Mats Wilander and Stefan Edberg. As a result, he went under the radar until his career defining run at the Australian Open in 2002. He beat 9th seed Marat Safin to become the first male player seeded 16th to win a major in the Open Era. He is one of only 7 players to win the Men´s ti...
Dec 03, 2023•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 207
Welcome to an all new feature here at Control the Controllables, our Podcast Shorts. With these we’re bringing out all of the most entertaining, informative, heart-warming and hilarious moments from all of your favourite CTC episodes in bitesized chunks for you to enjoy. Whether you’ve been listening to CTC for years or if this is your first sample, Shorts are perfect for you to submerse yourself in the world of tennis and elite sport in short, manageable chunks, or whetting your appetite for mo...
Nov 24, 2023•24 min•Ep. 206
In today’s episode we speak to former Canadian pro tennis player Patricia Hy. Patricia was a top 30 WTA player and a Grand Slam quarter finalist, who has since become a successful mental skills coach, using her perspective as a former player, coach and tennis parent to help nurture relationships between the three. As a child, she faced hardship like no other tennis player at that time. Born in Cambodia, Hy and her mother were forced to flee the country on foot, escaping to Thailand and then Hong...
Nov 21, 2023•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 205
A month on from the US Open, and we´re delighted to say we´ve been able to bring the 3 winning doubles pairs together, to tell us about their incredible fortnight in New York. First we chat to Rajeev Ram & Joe Salisbury who made history by becoming the first pair in the Open Era to win the US Open Men´s doubles 3 years in a row! We then catch up with Women´s Doubles Champions Gaby Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe, who reflect on their amazing run at Flushing Meadows in just their 4th tournament ...
Oct 09, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 204
The 2023 US Open didn´t disappoint as we saw Coco Gauff win her first Grand Slam title, and Novak Djokovic collect his record-equalling 24th! It was also an incredible fortnight for our very own CTC Host Dan Kiernan who guided his players to not one, but two doubles titles! CTC regular Gaby Dabrowski and her partner Erin Routliffe won the Women´s doubles title, while Harri Heliövaara and Anna Danilina won the Mixed Doubles after only meeting at the sign-in desk the week before. Gaby reunites wit...
Sep 16, 2023•1 hr 50 min•Ep. 203
In today´s episode we speak to British pro wheelchair tennis player Alfie Hewett. Alfie is 25 and already a 25-time Grand Slam Champion, winning 7 singles and 18 doubles titles with fellow Brit Gordon Reid. Born with the congenital heart defect Tetralogy of Fallot, Alfie was diagnosed with Perthes Disease at the age of six. He chats to CTC Host Dan Kiernan about his journey from being told he was wheelchair-bound at just 7-years-old , to becoming the youngest men´s singles world number 1, aged 2...
Sep 08, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 202
As the final Grand Slam of 2023 gets underway today, we´ve brought our amazing panelists together to discuss all things US Open. Joining CTC Host Dan Kiernan is 2012 Wimbledon Men´s Doubles Champion and Denmark´s Davis Cup Captain, Freddie Nielsen , WTA doubles player Gaby Dabrowski , and S&C Coach to Liam Broady, Kieron Vorster . They share personal stories, insights into pro life at Flushing Meadows and their predictions for this years Champions, as well as players to watch out for. Will w...
Aug 28, 2023•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 201
To celebrate our 200th episode of the Control the Controllables podcast we speak to none other than British sporting legend, Sir Andy Murray. Andy is the most successful British tennis player in history, winning 3 Grand Slams and two Olympic Gold medals. In 2015 he led Great Britain to their first Davis Cup title since 1936. He backed that up in 2016, winning his 2nd Wimbledon title, and finishing the year as World number 1. Since 2016, Andy has had to deal with adversity as his career came to a...
Aug 25, 2023•1 hr 36 min•Ep. 200
Czech tennis has quietly been leading the way in tennis player development for the past 10-15 years, particularly on the women’s side of the game. What seems like a conveyor belt of world class players have been arriving into the worlds top 100 players and beyond, including Petra Kvitova and Karolina Pliskova. Marketa Vondrousova became the latest Czech player to rock the tennis world when she won Wimbledon in July. Czech players also lifted the ladies doubles, the girls and the boys doubles tro...
Aug 21, 2023•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 199
In today´s episode we talk to Dave O´Hare who coaches one of the best doubles teams on the ATP Tour. Dave is a former pro player and still represents Ireland in the Davis Cup. He´s been working with Joe Salisbury & Rajeev Ram for almost 3 years, helping them to World number 1 doubles pair and the 2022 US Open mens doubles title. Dave and Joe were college roommates and doubles partners at the University of Memphis. They also played together on the tour before Dave started coaching Joe & R...
Aug 11, 2023•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 198
In today´s episode we speak to British tennis coach Nigel Sears who has worked at the top of the women´s game for the past 35 years. During that time, Nigel has worked with 8 players who have reached the top 10 in the world, including Daniela Hantuchova, Ana Ivanovic and GB´s Emma Raducanu. His success as a player and a WTA Tour coach has taken him to various roles including Head of Womens Tennis at the LTA, GB Fed Cup Captain and a commentator. He´s also Father-in-Law to a certain Sir Andy Murr...
Aug 01, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 197
The 2023 Wimbledon Championships gave us some amazing moments, and a new King and Queen of Centre Court. Carlos Alcaraz became the first man outside of the Big 4 to win the Wimbledon men´s singles title since 2002. Meanwhile the Czech Republic´s Marketa Vondrousova was the first unseeded player to win the women´s title in the Open era. It was a great year for GB tennis too, with 3 British Wimbledon titles, and in today´s episode we speak to two of the Champions! World men´s doubles number 1 Neal...
Jul 21, 2023•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 196
Dominic Iannotti is a current world No. 3 tennis player. His career has taken him from his home in Prestwick, Scotland to Australia, Ecuador and around Europe representing the Great Britain Learning Disability National Squad. Dominic was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome at 4 years old and has been playing elite level tennis since he was 14. Now 25, Dominic has recently been both training and coaching at SotoTennis Academy in Spain. In June he competed at the 2023 Virtus Global Games in France,...
Jul 17, 2023•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 195
We´re just a few hours away from the beautiful green grass of Wimbledon being on our screens. It´s our favourite Grand Slam here at Control the Controllables, and we´ve brought back our awesome panellists to chat through what we can expect at SW19 this year! Will Djokovic make it 24 Grand Slam titles? Can Iga win back to back Slams despite not getting past the last 16 here before? Who are the in-form challengers and who should we be looking out for? Our panel also give their inside knowledge of ...
Jul 02, 2023•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 194
David Hodgetts´ tennis story is one that many players can relate to. From a talented junior who dedicated his life to becoming a pro tennis player, the rigours of tennis took their toll, and by 19 he´d fallen out of love with the sport and made the decision to stop playing. To help him overcome the feelings of failure and losing his identity, David found a new focus: to build an international coffee shop brand. Fast forward a few years and David sold his Triple Two Coffee business to Cooks Globa...
Jun 29, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 193
