If you have more questions for the pod, send them to tennisunfiltered@gmail.com and we will try to get to them (along with all the others) next week. James Gray, George Bellshaw, Calvin Betton and you the listener vote on the 2023 Tennis Unfiltered Awards - and the winners are... Men's Player of the Year: Novak Djokovic Women's Player of the Year: Iga Swiatek Young Player of the Year: Carlos Alcaraz Most Improved Player of the Year: Jannik Sinner Doubles Team of the Year: Ram/Salisbury Match of ...
Dec 12, 2023•1 hr 32 min
It's awards season! As 2023 comes to a close, James Gray, Calvin Betton and George Bellshaw start to mull over who's hot and who is not after a dramatic 12 months. Maybe the more things change the more they stay the same? Below are the nominations for each award. Head over to our Twitter (@UnfilterTennis) to vote on each one over the week and make your opinion count! Who is your men’s player of the year? Djokovic Alcaraz Medvedev Sinner Who is your women’s player of the year? Swiatek Sabalenka G...
Dec 05, 2023•1 hr 23 min
George Bellshaw is still on holiday for one more week so former player turned now presenter, commentator and broadcaster Pippa Horn joins James Gray (inews.co.uk and i newspaper) and Calvin Betton (ATP coach) Italy win the Davis Cup final, powered by the brilliant Jannik Sinner How did he save three match points against Novak Djokovic? Will captains ever learn that singles players are *bad* at doubles? Is Sinner beating Djokovic his Andy Murray 2012 Olympics moment? Is the Davis Cup format final...
Nov 28, 2023•1 hr 24 min
Calvin Betton (coach of Henry Patten and Luke Johnson) and James Gray (inews.co.uk) are joined by Ben Lewis (Match Point Canada) subbing in for George Bellshaw to look back at the ATP World Tour Finals in Turin and ahead to the Davis Cup Finals. They talked about all this and more... How have Canada won all these team titles? Can they do it again in Malaga? Why is Milos Raonic back again?! Will Andy Murray's absence be so keenly felt by Britain? Can Novak Djokovic win as second Davis Cup title? ...
Nov 21, 2023•1 hr 21 min
George Bellshaw delays his holiday to join James Gray and Calvin Betton to look through another full week of tennis news Andy Murray and Ivan Lendl have split for a third time Novak Djokovic's win over Holger Rune seals year-end world No 1 *again* Week-old tennis news but Iga Swiatek has also claimed that title after thrashing Jessica Pegula, a disappointing finish to an awful WTA Finals Leylah Fernandez, Marina Stakusic and, surprisingly, Eugenie Bouchard lead Canada to Billie Jean King Cup vic...
Nov 14, 2023•1 hr 28 min
"He was like the Donald Trump of tennis!" Listen on to find out who Calvin Betton was talking about when he said this. Our resident tennis coach was in fine form with George Bellshaw (ex-Metro) and James Gray (inews.co.uk) watching on in awe. First, they answered your questions on... What are the best and worst Masters 1000 event on the ATP Tour and which 500 would you promote if you could? Did losing best-of-five-set finals at Masters change the course of tennis history? Why won't Calvin start ...
Nov 07, 2023•1 hr 41 min
It's another weekly tennis round-up featuring tennis coach Calvin Betton, fresh off a German carpet, broadcaster and columnist George Bellshaw, fresh off a practice court, and James Gray (inews.co.uk) is on dog duty. They discussed: Another defeat for a downbeat Andy Murray from match point up against Alex de Minaur Whether Toni Nadal has got a point when he says that tennis players have gone soft these days Why the WTA Finals is such a mess What the PTPA actually *do* Coaching scouting reports ...
Oct 31, 2023•1 hr 33 min
We have to start with an apology: James was hit by serious technical gremlins this week that mean his audio died just a few minutes into the podcast and we have had to rely on the emergency back-up. Hopefully it does not ruin your enjoyment and you can still listen to the musings of Calvin Betton and George Bellshaw in full HD! We discussed... Emma Raducanu's BBC interview in which she claimed that some coaches couldn't "keep up" with her questioning in training Boris Becker returns to tennis as...
Oct 24, 2023•1 hr 28 min
Calvin Betton tunes in from Stockholm to join George Bellshaw and James Gray for another look back at the week that was in tennis. What it's like inside the 250 in Stockholm Why was Leylah Fernandez wearing basketball shoes? Does Eva Lys have a point about the ever-changing balls on the WTA? Is Hubert Hurkacz underrated? (He now has more Masters titles than Dimitrov, Wawrinka, Cilic and Del Potro) Has Andrey Rublev turned his life around? Jessica Pegula reveals why her win in Korea was such an e...
Oct 17, 2023•1 hr 14 min
James Gray, Calvin Betton and George Bellshaw talk about all the biggest issues from tennis last week including... Jannik Sinner beats Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev in consecutive matches to win the Beijing title and move to a career-high No 4 in the world Coco Gauff is beaten, nay thrashed, by Iga Swiatek as the Pole restores her supremacy over the new US Open champion Dan Evans loses a highly entertaining match to Alcaraz in Shanghai Stefanos Tsitsipas sacks Mark Philippoussis and brings ...
Oct 09, 2023•1 hr 17 min
Calvin Betton (@calvbetton), George Bellshaw (@BellshawGeorge) and James Gray (@JamesGraySport) discuss all the latest issues in tennis this week. Including... - How does a tennis coach work from home? - What can video analysis do for you? - Is Wim Fissette wrong to dump Zheng Qinwen for Naomi Osaka? - Was there anything wrong with Jannik Sinner? - Should we ban medical time-outs? - Why doesn't tennis sell any tickets in China? And so much more! How good are these tennis impressions? https://www...
Oct 02, 2023•1 hr 19 min
George Bellshaw and Calvin Betton join James Gray to answer the big questions in the world of tennis this week, including: What is the point of the Laver Cup? Can it survive without Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and co? Wouldn't it be better as a mixed tournament? How did Brit Liam Broady finally crack the top 100 a few months before his 30th birthday? Is a title in Guadalajara a turning point for Maria Sakkari? Has Elena Rybakina got a point about performance byes? Plus your questions answered and m...
Sep 25, 2023•1 hr 13 min
James Gray, Calvin Betton and George Bellshaw discuss all the latest news from the tennis world over the last seven days, including... - What Sky Sports said about YOUR feedback on their coverage of the US Open - The WTA make their return to China after a four-year absence and no real political stand - Great Britain edge France to reach the Davis Cup Finals in dramatic fashion - Spain missed out though which means they will host but not play, which could hit ticket sales - An awful 1000-level dr...
Sep 19, 2023•1 hr 20 min
Calvin Betton joins James Gray and (very briefly) George Bellshaw to look back at the US Open and answer as many of your questions as possible in an hour Why did Daniil Medvedev not change his return position? Is Novak Djokovic just cashing in on a weak era? Was the men's final actually interesting? Why isn't Iga Swiatek more marketable? Will Coco Gauff find her own period of dominance? When is Naomi Osaka coming back? And much, much more Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.co...
Sep 11, 2023•1 hr 4 min
George Bellshaw joins James Gray (inews.co.uk/i newspaper) to look back at Coco Gauff's maiden grand slam title and one last preview of the men's final Should we bother interviewing players after finals or just give them the microphone? What next for Coco Gauff? Does Aryna Sabalenka need to learn to handle the crowd? Can Daniil Medvedev use a mental edge to win a second US Open title? Will Novak Djokovic suffer from the pressure like he did two years ago? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ...
Sep 10, 2023•36 min
It's US Open finals weekend! James Gray and George Bellshaw discuss... Two pantomime villains, one more willing than the other, in Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev How Carlos Alcaraz was unpicked by the 2021 US Open champion Whether Coco Gauff can handle the occasion What Aryna Sabalenka can do to overcome the crowd Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sep 09, 2023•30 min
Calvin Betton and James Gray look back at the women's semi-finals and ahead to the men's on Friday night... What has Coco Gauff *actually* done with her forehand to add racket head speed? How Aryna Sabalenka became world No 1 The gameplan Ben Shelton needs to overcome Novak Djokovic What Daniil Medvedev could do to upset Carlos Alcaraz's rhythm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sep 08, 2023•30 min
James Gray and George Bellshaw look back at the US Open quarter-finals and make their predictions for the semis Can anything, or anyone, stop Novak Djokovic or Carlos Alcaraz from reaching the final? What does Ben Shelton have to do to stop his first ever grand slam semi-final into a procession? Is Alexander Zverev BACK? What does Coco Gauff have left in the tank? Did anyone predict Madison Keys to make it this far? (Yes, Martina did.) And much, much more Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ...
Sep 07, 2023•36 min
James Gray is joined by former player, now broadcaster and commentator Pippa Horn to talk about the latest US Open news including... Coco Gauff thrashes Jelena Ostapenko in just 67 minutes to cement her place as favourite for the title Karoline Muchova reaches her second grand slam semi-final of the year Novak Djokovic screams at his own fans en route to a straight-sets win over Taylor Fritz and a 47th grand slam semi Ben Shelton announces himself as a superstar by beating Frances Tiafoe in four...
Sep 06, 2023•49 min
James finally tracks down Calvin Betton, who is still recovering from third-round defeat for Henry Patten and Julian Cash to Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden. We talked about... Whether sushi is the root of all the illness at the US Open What it's like to hit on Arthur Ashe How Ben Shelton hits 149 mph serves for fun and why we should never change that (Read James's interview with him here: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/ben-shelton-tennis-nba-star-us-open-2573842) Iga Swiatek is starting to lo...
Sep 04, 2023•1 hr 3 min
James Gray and George Bellshaw look back at round two of the US Open Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sep 01, 2023•29 min
James Gray and George Bellshaw look back on the second round of the US Open on Wednesday where... - Zhang Zhizhen became the first Chinese man to beat a top-five opponent in ATP rankings history, stunning last year's runner-up Casper Ruud - No 7 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was knocked out by Dominic Stricker, world No 128 and a qualifier, in five exhausting sets - A Brit finally lost as Lily Miyazaki was beaten 6-3, 6-3 by Belinda Bencic, a dark horse for the title (James insists) - Venus Williams w...
Aug 31, 2023•37 min
James Gray looks back at the second day of action at the US Open where more seeds fell to make it a total of 17 out, more than a quarter, after only the first round. Six British players picked up wins, all in straight sets, to make it 18-0 in the first round Andy Murray saw the first ever use of VAR in a grand slam go awry Grigor Dimitrov came from two sets down to win a 4:40 thriller Caroline Garcia and Donna Vekic crashed out And more! LINKS Laura Siegmund defends herself: https://twitter.com/...
Aug 31, 2023•25 min
What happened at the US Open on Day 1? Well... In the men’s draw… Holger Rune loses to Roberto Carballes Baena and then complains about the court scheduling (while also claiming he wasn’t) Dominic Thiem wins against Alexander Bublik! His first grand slam victory in 2 years and lost three of last four against top 20 players. Bublik also embarrassed himself rather and overstepped the line with a rant. As predicted, Felix Auger-Aliassime slumps to defeat against Makenzie McDonald Sebastian Korda an...
Aug 29, 2023•52 min
James Gray and George Bellshaw assess every player's chances at the US Open, going through the men's and women's draw line by line. How easy is Djokovic's draw and is Alcaraz's even easier? Could Andy Murray go deep or will Alexander Zverev stop him in his tracks? What was Iga Swiatek worried about? Who is the WTA dark horse? LINKS Interview with Ben Shelton: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/ben-shelton-tennis-nba-star-us-open-2573842 Interview with Milos Raonic: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis...
Aug 29, 2023•1 hr 16 min
This week's featured listener emails are From Heather: "I found your discussion on the transgender issues in tennis really interesting but wonder why this is being treated as something new when in fact, the same issues occurred in the 1970s when Renee Richards tried to enter the US Open. I think that after various court cases, she did eventually win the right to compete there but I don’t remember anything else about her career other than she coached Martina Navratilova at some stage. It would be...
Aug 22, 2023•1 hr 18 min
Tennis coach Calvin Betton joins James Gray (inews.co.uk and the i newspaper) from Poland in part one before George Bellshaw replaces him in part two from the less glamorous Birmingham. They answer questions on Tommy Paul's serve, string tension for amateurs, tournament scheduling, Alcaraz-Rune-Sinner and the race for No 1 between Iga Swiatek. We also discuss... Is Jannik Sinner triumphing in Toronto a watershed moment for his career? Can Alex De Minaur keep going up after reaching the final? Wh...
Aug 15, 2023•1 hr 30 min
James Gray of inews.co.uk and the i newspaper talks to George Bellshaw (@bellshawgeorge) and Calvin Betton (@calvbetton) about music, Pokemon, walking and occasionally tennis. This week we talk about... A first ATP 500 win for Dan Evans after poor run of form where he’d not won a match since April Similarly in poor form, Coco Gauff gets her season back on track with a title in Washington Nick Kyrgios replied to himself on Twitter presumably (he or others close to him) trying to send praise from ...
Aug 08, 2023•1 hr 17 min
James Gray of inews.co.uk and the i newspaper talks to George Bellshaw (@bellshawgeorge) and Calvin Betton (@calvbetton) about music, Pokemon, walking and occasionally tennis. This week we ask... Is Alexander Zverev establishing himself as a US Open threat after winning the title in Hamburg? Wasn't Marketa Vondrousova vs Ons Jabeur at Wimbledon actually just a refreshing change from the usual power battles on the WTA? What is Max Eisenbud, agent to Sharapova, Li Na and Raducanu, trying to sell u...
Aug 01, 2023•1 hr 26 min
Tennis coach Calvin Betton, journalist James Gray and writer and broadcaster George Bellshaw look back at a busy week of news in tennis as well as take a broader look at what happened at Wimbledon having had a week to reflect on the tournament. We pick our awards including best moment, worst moment, biggest surprise and biggest disappointment. We also ask: Is Carlos Alcaraz working too hard? Are the Brits working at all? What on *earth* happened in that Toth-Zhang match? Learn more about your ad...
Jul 24, 2023•1 hr 15 min
