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Hi, this is Billie Jean King. This is Mary and Bartori. This is Bianca and Drasco. I'm Matt's Belander. This is Mary Carillo. This is Pam Shriver. This is Yannick Noah and you're listening to the tennis podcast. Hello and welcome to the tennis podcast our seconds tennis podcast of today Wednesday and our final tennis podcast from the Billie Jean King Cup finals in Malaga, a Billie Jean King Cup. That has been won by Italy Italy led by the extraordinary jazz.
The women Paulini are world champions, finalists last year, champions this year. What a tennis nation Italy are, by the way. Maybe that's a conversation we should postpone for a few days time when potentially the men have won the Davis Cup back up their Davis Cup win of last year. But as it stands at the moment, they are the holders of both the Billie Jean King and Davis Cups and they as a nation Matt are building a tennis dynasty.
They really are. There's just so many Italian players and I think actually the sort of success of this women's team has maybe snuck up on a few people. Like I think when we've talked about Italy becoming such a big powerhouse in tennis, we've probably mostly been talking about the men really in terms of like just the sheer number of like ATP challenger tour events that there that there are now.
The sheer number of players that there are now the fact that the CEO of the ATP is Italian like and the fact that the sort of the center of the ATP is in Italy now and you've got the ATP finals in Turin and the next gen finals in Milan like those have all been things on the men's side but this generation of Italian players.
For a while, they were good draws. For a while, they were those sorts of players. They were reliable and they were, I don't know, between about 30 and 50 in the world, that kind of thing. But you wouldn't have had them down necessarily as a winning Billie Jean King Cup group. Yet the improvement that Jasmine Paulini has made over the last 12 months has really sort of allowed them to become that.
I think that is the single biggest important factor in Italy becoming champions this year as opposed to last year when they were just finalists. But you know, she's got to be supported by her team as well. And last year it was Trevysen who did a pretty good job in that number two singles position. This year it's been Bronzetti and then Sari Arani. The returning Sari Arani playing Billie Jean King Cup for the first time in five years I think has now won her fourth Billie Jean King Cup title.
She's been through those generations of Italian players, you know, part of the sort of ski of only years and the Vincci and the Panetta years. And now she's part of the Paulini years as well. And yeah, it's all sort of knitted together by the brilliant cap-s-n-c of Tatiana Garbingen as well. And yeah, there were really big powerhouse in tennis and they're very, very worthy Billie Jean King Cup champions, what a vibe.
Maybe we all need to free-conomics this thing and go back 20 or 30 years and find out what was in the water in Italy at the time that these players came into being this set up in Italian tennis came into being like, what's the formula? And maybe other federations will be doing that quite frankly. Great Britain, the LTA, when they hired Michael Downey, that was a kind of looking over at Canada and going, hey, you seem to have had some success.
Could we lift that wholesale and bring that model here? I don't know, maybe people will be studying Italian tennis years, 1995 to 2015, I don't know, like, what have they been doing, David? Well, I do find that interesting that that contrast between having structurally put together a tennis culture of lots and lots of tournaments and this thriving feel to Italian tennis,
being different to having real styles who go and win stuff. And because I don't think very often you tend to win these competitions necessarily unless you've got a really, really top player. And that's what they lacked a year ago in Paulini was there, but she was nothing like the player we see now, whatever steps she's managed to make in the meantime are extraordinary.
Janic Cinerid already made those steps, but the general health of the sport in Italy has been astonishing for years now and the way they've put it together, I absolutely think it is a blueprint that countries should have been looking at if they, if they wanted to be the best because we were only talking about last night,
but we don't have that rough 100 dollars, an example for an individual or for, or for, or for Academy coaches to say, this is who you want to copy. Well, certainly infrastructure wise, Italy have been doing stuff right for a long while. And they've got, they have got their own admirable players, all of these players into having common this great work ethic and this determination and team spirit.
You know, if I don't Fabio Fennini was a bit of a loner and a one off, but the vast majority of them, they've all got in common that they get along, they pull together and they want the collective to be stronger than the individual when they're at these events and they are really worthy champions.
Yeah, and they play Uno together, David, I know Matt's doing a really good job of pretending he wants to be here with us recording a podcast, but what he actually wants to be doing right now is playing Uno with Jasmine Paulini. I wouldn't mind doing that. Yeah, I came out of that press conference and said, I want to play Uno with Jasmine Paulini. She made it sound so far like the most fun you could possibly have. I suspect that she just makes things fun.
Like she's making the ironing phone. Well, their Matt doesn't do ironing. That's been established. No comment. Should we talk about the matches? I mean, it's taken me a while to get to them because honestly, it doesn't feel like the matches today massively. The story here, it was a pretty perfuntary straight forward final for Italy. They were the favourites. I think maybe some people thought it was going to be closer than it actually was.
Started with a 6264 victory for LeCirc bronzeetti who we did think we would get picked again for this match, but it wasn't absolutely nailed on necessarily. And Victoria and Chicova, she wasn't nailed on either as the selection. She's played a lot of tennis. But as you've said, Matt, she is somebody that the captain has great confidence in and she did get the nod. And it was competitive, David, but not that competitive. Two and four for bronzeetti.
And maybe I should have seen that coming a bit more after what happened with Radicano and Chicova as well, because that was all though she made the score respectable. That was pretty one-sided and obviously Radicano is a really high quality player and really a better player, certainly way higher ceiling than bronzeetti. But I had convinced myself that it was going to be a lot, lot closer than it ended up being.
And I think that's probably inevitable that you feel that because you've seen their journey to get there. We've seen these high points of the Slovakian team to produce these wins that have got them where they've got to. I thought watching bronzeetti against her and Chicova, I really thought that would be tight because they're so different. I mean, they just could not be more different in terms of their approach to the sports of tennis. Bronzeetti is a workhorse.
I've spent a lot of time avoiding her tennis matches over the years because not much seems to happen. She trades from the baseline and that's kind of it. But she was definitely a lot, lot better at this tie or this overall tournament than I think I've ever seen her before. There's a lot more to it than I realised. I wasn't giving her enough credit. It's a tally in tennis players living to prove David Lorde's run. Well, I deserve a bit of a run than I get.
Meanwhile, you've got Chicova who is a shopmaker. She is just a ball striking machine. When the ball is there and it's on the centre of her strings, fireworks are going off. And she's hidden lines, galore and rallies don't last very long. The truth is, I think at this stage of her career at least, those spells tend to be quite short-lived. And that's why she's ranked where she's ranked outside the world's top 200.
She's had some longer spells of it during this tournament that have won us some big matches and contributed to great doubles performances. And look, she was getting really heavily beaten in this match. She wasn't in it at all. And then suddenly she had one of those purple patches. And turned the second set around completely. She's a set in a breakdown. It looks like it's all very awkward.
And Bronzetti's just doing what she does and working away and grinding points down and getting more and more confident, more and more animated. But I do think she got a little tight. And the two things happen at the same time. She started to realise, oh my word, I'm about to win for Italy. And her and she co-vert suddenly started to just connect. And when she did, she's just really enough points galore.
And when is a fly enough a racket and you're starting to worry for Bronzetti because that's a big moment for her. She could so easily have just collapsed, you know, having been so heavily in front. And then suddenly finding herself a little bit down on the scoreboard, not breaks down, but a game down. And she just steadied herself and managed to weather it really. And that was the story of that match. And so she wins it. I absolutely expected.
And so I think it's a strong cover to be closer to Paulini on the scoreboard. And I think, you know, some of the weather rallies were going and the games were going. It kind of didn't feel as one sided as it looks on paper. But again, as well as she's played recently, this is this is new territory for her. And we saw the repeatable excellence of Jasmine Paulini. I heard her just turn up and play excellent tennis now. And so it ended up being a one sided match and a one sided tie.
You can just you just can't take anything away from it. I know that good. And I think just quickly going back to Bronzetti, like it was pretty impressive from her considering she'd never played a Billie Jean King Cup match in singles before this. And suddenly she's thrust into some pretty big matches by her captain and trusted to deliver. And look, she's beaten. What is it? Runchikov and Magdaleneck.
You know, like so it's not like she's suddenly gone up another level and beaten players of a caliber that she's like not previously been capable of beating. Like these are wins that are kind of within her capacity. But I think what you say there, David, was really notable to me as well in that she just seems to be a little bit more proactive on the court. Like certainly like to start the match. She came out with a little bit more intent than when I normally see her play.
And when we're always talking about can a player transfer their Billie Jean King Cup form and results to the tour? I think it's just so hard to recapture that vibe on the tour where you've got your captain on the bench. She was sort of literally motivating you and telling you what to do. And you've got your, you've got Martina Trevysan on the sideline cheering your every move. And sort of, she was sort of Italy's own content creator. Wasn't she?
She was just so ready to sort of make content out of the whole day and just be a vibe and bring out a vibe. She's not going to have that on the tour. And I think that's going to be the test for Bronzetti, like trying to play with that kind of intent from the off on the tour. Because I did think she was a far better player this week. Even though her, as I say, her results weren't like absolutely well beating stuff that she's not capable of doing.
It was just slightly the way she went about it was a little bit different. But I'd be interested as to whether she can take anything from this, even if it's just confidence and belief. Those players, Bronzetti, Cochiorato, probably Bronzetti and Pecik had a bit all of them must be so inspired and eye-opened by what Jasmine Paulini has done this year. Because a year ago, Jasmine Paulini, she was number one for Italy. She was ahead of them, but she was the same bracket of player as them.
We thought of them in a similar way. We factored them in in terms of relevance for winning titles and at the top of the sport, the same amount, i.e. pretty much not at all. She is utterly transformed herself. What would you have said if I told you a year ago when you were sitting here having lost the final that 12 months later, you'd be back as a two-time Grand Slam finalist and would have just won the Billie Jean King Cup and she said impossible.
Then burst out laughing, just the mere concept of it. But if you're Leuchia Bronzetti, I happen not to think that she has what Paulini has in her. I just think Paulini is incredibly special and we were sleeping on it and we had no idea. I think to suggest that any middling tennis player is capable of what Paulini has done this year is an injustice to Paulini and what she has done this year. But they should all take belief from it that they could be next and think why not me?
Why can't I transform myself? One thing needs to another, right, Jasmine Paulini is playing better tennis because she's more confident and she got more confident because she started playing better tennis. She is, her weapons are bigger because she's playing more on the front foot, she's playing more proactively because she believes that that's possible for her now. She can win matches that way. These are baby steps for someone like Leuchia Bronzetti.
But I could see her having a leap. I could see her using this as a platform. I'm not saying she's going to reach back to back front rope and Wimbledon finals. But she should be thinking big. I still think there are those that might say she's a good draw. But Paulini, I watch her now and I've watched her all year long and thought, well, where has this tennis been? Because the truth is I just don't think Bronzetti has this capability at all.
I think she's a good player who can make a leap, but I don't think it's a massive one. I just don't think the raw materials are not there. What I was sleeping on with Paulini was the raw materials. I didn't realise she could hit the ball this hard on both sides and this relentlessly. I kind of watched her wonder what on earth were you thinking all this time? What were you doing? You're this good. And that's, again, unfair and confidence is a big part of that.
But you don't go from what she was to what she's become without having had that in the first place. You can't just develop that. I don't believe not that sort of skill and that. It's the weapons that that's the big thing. But absolutely, the replies out there that probably have got similar weapons and could be men and women who could be looking at Jasmine Paulini and thinking, Jesus, you know, she's showing what can be done.
And she's, why ahead of what I'm doing? I think what has really, really impressed me about Paulini this year is that as great as her year has been and as sort of upward trajectory as it has been all the way, she has suffered like setbacks. And she suffered like disappointment because she's put herself in really big matches and, you know, come up against great players and not one of them. And like, she seemed so unchanged by that.
You know, like the reaching the French open final didn't suddenly turn her into a player who had felt like had massive expectation on her and will she deliver on it? No, she went straight to Wimbledon and just was still Jasmine Paulini and then losing that pretty crushing Wimbledon final, you know, where she was in a position to win it. That could have set her back as well. That could have been like, oh, that was my chance. But no, she then goes to the Olympics and wins the gold medal.
And that might have been a moment that goes, oh, you know, I'm now gold medalist. Like, I never would have thought this. Let's just have a nice time now. So she then cracks on with the rest of the season and is determined to make it as good as it can possibly be. And she gets to this Billie Jean-Kinke Cup finals where she was kind of here last year.
She's this new caliber of player now and she's able to propel Italy to this title. I just think it's absolutely extraordinary. And you know, just when you just go through her list of achievements this year, I just compiled a little list. The Dubai title. Like, I didn't even mention that earlier.
We forget about that. That was really impressive as well on a hard court. Roland Garros final on clay, Wimbledon final on grass, Olympic gold in doubles, world number four, over five million in prize money.
Billie Jean-Kinke Cup champion. And then I've added selfie with Nadal as well onto that list because she made it pretty clear that that was a big goal of hers. Like, what a year for Jasmine Paulini. Like, it is just absolutely remarkable. And I was so pleased as I said, yes, that whenever it was days of. I've stopped having meaning to be honest, but I just wanted a nice moment for Paulini, like to be at the center winning it, you know, just.
I know it's a team event, but kind of on her own. I kind of. I kind of did want want her to get it done in the singles in that way, like for her to. And I would be the star and and and have this kind of stage to herself in that little moment because I just felt her year deserved it. And I just feel like that performance today where I thought she was a little bit tight in the first. 10 or 15 minutes. I didn't think.
Tight and maybe tired. Yeah. Like some combination of of the two. She wasn't that convincing in the opening stages. But once she got going, she was absolutely flying. She ran covers game kind of deserted her and broke down in that second set. But Paulini was awesome at times. And yeah, I just have such a greater appreciation for her as a tennis player.
Watching the way she moves her feet to get round the ball and she's got this forehand take back which she which she takes back well in an advance of of needing to and yet she slings it through with so much whip and generate so much power on it.
And you know, she gets depth on her shot. She gets whipped on her shot. She's she she doesn't often win points with just one shot. She's often thinking shots ahead. She'll get an angle and then crack it down the line with the with a flat one on the next one. It's really smart tennis as well as vibes like I think we mostly talk about her vibes. But like it's really, really intelligent tennis that she's playing. And yeah, she is.
She's been one of my favorite players to watch all year as as I'm sure she has been for many people and like bring on 2025. I just want to keep seeing what what she can do next because you know, even in the match like maybe the most significant match that she played at these Billie Jean King Cup finals was the one that she lost.
Which was the fact that she actually pushed Eagish Viontech and showed that like she can live with with that level in a way that she's never done before like even when she wasn't winning. She was she was proving that she's better and better all the time. And yeah, I think I've spoken for about five minutes now about Jasmine Paulini without stopping. So I probably should. But like just just love that story so much this year.
It's funny when you when you said when you said just then about the shonte max the one she lost my instinctive reaction was I shouldn't lose that she won't like. I think because she then played the doubles against Eagish Viontech and they ended up winning the tie and she pushed shonte so close, which is overall in terms of the trajectory of Jasmine Paulini a win. I don't know. I think she'll process that as process that night as so positive.
And that's and that goes back to what I was saying. I think like she's suffered these big sort of heartbreaking defeats this year. And yet she's always she's been able to come away from every tournament. It's like it's a massive positive because it was in the big picture. It's all been a massive positive even like losing a tough match like the Wimble and Final like obviously in the moment that's that's crushingly disappointing.
But like for Jasmine Paulini to even be in the Wimble and Final is an amazing thing. And she knows that I think and I think that's just that's a really special sort of processing of the year that she's had. And and and sort of been able to do just a quick word on Rebecca. Shramkova it was a it was a tough defeat for her to and once Paulini is you said David maybe felt it a bit closer than that certainly in certainly in the earlier stages of the match by the end.
And Shramkova did fall apart a little bit her forehand just completely deserted her and she was just utterly crestfallen I think she probably still is utterly crestfallen and David in I mean you could you can see her there by the side of the court while literally we're having these just joyous celebrations.
And my favorite revelations about these finals in Malaga is that the DJ has a regional song ready to play for the winners of each country last night there was a Dutch song playing as Rafa on the doll was sort of taking his final bow on the tennis court. And there was some sort of traditional Dutch tune playing that that all of the Dutch fans knew the words to and Paul House was jinging along to and tonight they played an iconic Italian song.
And I think the movement's are seriously still victory is great really added to the vibe just you know the Italian team doing a lap of honor with with the flag hopping up and down just great great scenes all the while your eye can't help but be drawn to the other on the Slovakian bench being sort of one by one consoled by her teammates and well they were trying to console her and frankly I don't think they were conceding succeeding because she was she it's absolutely broken and she still seemed
absolutely broken in the press conference afterwards quite frankly and she was asked she asked a question by Charlie Eccleshire of the athletic about you know her incredible season in this incredible week in what kind of a springboard she thinks it might be and she's basically just unable to look into the future at all she was like I am so sad right now I can't the future doesn't exist to me in this moment she was like maybe in a few days I might be able to contemplate that but
right now I am too sad it was it was really tough. Yeah yeah brutal brutal I think you know I think she'd have been a bit shocked actually by by the one sided nature of that school and you know David mentioned it at the start that kind of we were a bit shocked by maybe how one sided the the tie was overall we'd kind of convinced ourselves that Slovakia could could maybe push it to Lee and and I think Slovakia had convinced themselves as well and probably genuinely thought that they could and
Shremmkova's been on such an incredible run and and she's beaten Daniel Collins at this tournament and she's you know beaten the very informed Katie Bolto at this tournament and you know she had been feeling really really good about her tennis but kind of two things happened she she didn't play anywhere close to as well as she can and and she came up against just Paulini who you know even compared to those very good players that
are listed is in a different category altogether right now in terms of her level and those two things combining I think it just became very one sided and and probably quite quite shocking for Shremmkova who is so steely and and tough to put away that's been a really defining feature of her and yet
she wasn't sort of built in her image in in that way so yeah I think she'd have been very disappointed by that and it's it's kind of one of those ones where you do hope that with with some time and in a few days she is able to see those positives but at the same time it's one of those where you know like you want to you want players to care that much you know and I think that that that sort of shows how important the competition is and I you know it's it's kind of
it's a harsh thing to say but it's good when players feel those sorts of emotions because it really means that it matters and that's that's what we want yeah that's how I felt you're always saying it David aren't you that when when tennis first shrug off a victory at a big tournament and kind of say that's the beauty of tennis is always next week you kind of like yeah next week isn't the Billie Jean King Cup it's not a slam then not the same
yeah and and we saw it a couple of nights ago with Shremmkova as well you know she's put heart and soul and she's managed to get the win in the singles but then she's not won the doubles and they've not won the tie and she sat there on her bench just like Shremmkova is inconsolable and that's that's how it should be in team competition
when you play for your nation when it's this and not with all respect play the cup this is the difference you play for your country in a in a in a thing that has lasted a hell of a long time you've got Billie Jean King Cup Billie Jean King up there and and you've got all your supporters with their flags and and it still matters that and and I still I mean there's this this event these events could still be loads better in the future if if tennis decided that they were sufficiently important
that everything else needed to kind of shift about in order to make them the priority but even in their challenged state as they are now they're still amazing they're still you know we've got all these stories out of it and all these people who've had their moments that that will go around the circuit and just see them play a match and you'll go remember when they weren't doing that in the Billie Jean King Cup that was amazing
and and and for some of them it might be the the kind of the telegram kids moment of their entire careers and and and and I love that it meant so much to some of the top ones as well and absolutely congratulations to Italy very very worthy Billie Jean King Cup champions enjoy the enjoying whatever they do tonight maybe just a big old game of you know good luck to them whatever it is we'll be back in part to just with a few reflections on the tournament as a whole
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speeds lower about 40 gigabyte ct tail welcome back to part two I think before we say goodbye to the billy jing king cop 2024 we should probably reflect on it kind of zoom out a bit and that I feel like we should come to you on this because you're kind of our billy jing king cop correspondent you've seen obviously not every iteration of the billy jing king cop because you're disgusting the young but you know you have seen you've seen its evolution over the last few
years since it's become the billy jing king cop and look it's been a it's been a challenging evolution over those years this is a this is a work in progress tournament I wish that I wish that weren't the case but it is how how do you see how the finals have gone this year and at this venue yeah there's a line that
gives that you know sort of history can seem to happen very quickly when you look back on it but when you're experiencing it it's happening very slowly and that that's kind of how I feel with this event like I do I think every year it gets a little bit better I think if I go back to Prague in in in 2021 which was kind of the first iteration of the billy jing king cop finals in this finals format
to now I think it's it's got better in terms of the fact that crowds really were not showing up three years ago in Prague they weren't really showing up in Glasgow either with the exception of when the home countries were playing I think the fact that we've just had knockout here has been a big improvement on the on the round robin formats that we've had in in previous years and we've had egos fiontech playing it you know one of one of the biggest stars in the sport
definitely has elevated and boosted the event and I think tennis wise it's been really good I think one of the kind of sight disappointing things about the final is that it didn't really do justice to the tournament as a whole which had so many great matches and competitive matches and tie in come back you know ties one from one they'll down and in the deciding doubles it was it was a brilliant tournament in terms of drama and competition
there was still like just big picture tennis challenges that that it faces with with this spot in the calendar it's I don't think it's ever really going to get all of the top players they could just all unlikely to to be here right at the end of the season I think especially after the WTA finals maybe if it could find a slot in the calendar a little bit earlier that that might be better for it
does the fact that it still doesn't really have very good TV rights deals and it's it's just quite hard to watch it I think that's genuinely a pretty big problem for the event and then of course there's this whole element of the fact that it was in in Malaga this year when it was supposed to be in Seville and the clash that ended up happening with the with the Davis Cup
I think at the start of the week I thought it was going to be a real positive for the Billie Jean King Cup when I got here and I saw the I saw the combined branding of the two I thought okay this is this is definitely like a vision that I could see working in the future it feels elevated compared to previous years you know
literally in the city there's there's posters for the event and you've got the female players right there alongside the male players absolutely as it should be that that all felt great to me I think as it's gone on there has been this sense of the Billie Jean King Cup kind of being the the poor relation to the Davis Cup with the current setup that you've got and I realize it is a it is a one-off setup and it's it it was done because it kind of had to be done
but like just literally seeing the difference the huge difference between the the really nice stadium for the Davis Cup and the far less nice one for the Billie Jean King Cup that's been a bit tough I think just just sort of it sort of made it very stark where these two events are and one is a lot further along in its development than the other I would say
and actually in the last couple of days since the Davis Cup has started the Billie Jean King Cup has you know has felt a little bit secondary and and part of that is because of Raffa and the Dal and I realized that that's a sort of exceptional thing as well
but part of it is because the final of the Billie Jean King Cup has taken place on a you know on a Wednesday and that's not really when great tennis finals have played normally and it just it doesn't quite feel like you know at the time when the Billie Jean King Cup should be at its biggest and maximum like all eyes haven't been on it you know eyes have been drawn to the Davis Cup and it has just has maybe just taken the egg off the Billie Jean King Cup a little bit
it's not been the sole star of the show in the way that maybe it could have been if it just if it was either on its own or if it was like properly integrated with the Davis Cup this slight sort of mishmash of the two is is not ideal but I realized that's that is a this year only problem
I think it needs a home doesn't it I look I think there are issues with keeping the finals in the same venue all the time in terms of what David to spoke about the other day in terms of is always going to be on like the same surface it's always going to be in the same country these things feel a little bit unfair and not perfect but I think we have seen how it's helped the Davis Cup to have a permanent venue a proper stadium to have a home to build some momentum around it
and the Davis Cup has grown year on year as well and I think that would really help the Billie Jean King Cup and I know it's desperately what the organizers want they're searching for a home that maybe they can stay for a few years and I think that would help
but I try and look at the positives and see the progress over the four years and I do think this has been probably the best probably the best one that I've been to of this iteration of of the Billie Jean King Cup finals and you know so I do take some some solace from that well I'm that's very heartening to hear because you know I have found it tough to take the the the the very stock contrast between the men's event and the women's events side by side and how differently they are treated
and I understand the commercial realities and understand the reasons for those commercial realities and I understand exactly as you say the organizers don't want it to be that way they'd love to be in the big stadium
but yeah commercial realities and that even though I knew that going in just makes me sad it makes me sad for women and women's sport and deserves better these competitors deserve equal treatment they deserve to be on the same stage that the men are playing on this is not an issue with the product
is sensational this is an issue with how the world values women relative to men and women sport relative to men sport and it just it just emphasise the importance to me of if you like women's sport I had a I had a t-shirt with these very words on there was my favourite t-shirt I've managed to lose it I bought it I bought it on our shopping day in Palm Springs Matt
I'm quite devastated about that I know I've actually been googling see if I can find a replacement because I loved it so much but if you if you like women's sports and you want the best for it then tell people about it tweet about it no don't tweet about it to blue sky about it Instagram about it
barge about it about it spend money on it you know write to your TV network and say why did you show that men's match when that women's matches on you know if you work for a commercial brand and have any say at all in where you put sponsorship money you know fight for it to go towards women's sport
because it is not an issue with the product the product is sensational this tournament has a rich and illustrious history it is named after the one of the most iconic figures in sport that have that has ever been not just named after she's she's here every day Billie Jean King she stays to the end of play every single day she's the spirit of the tournament and it it deserves better
and I'm very encouraged that you think it is moving towards better and that that excites me but I just I want it now I'm I'm impatient and I want people to be upset about the disparity
and you know wasn't I wasn't polling people I wasn't stopping a vox popping people on the way in but I just this too much acceptance of oh we're going over here for the women are we not into that big nice shiny stadium like I want people to be questioning that and going that doesn't seem right what am I going to tell my daughter about that
and and maybe they all are but I I fear there is just too much acceptance and and I I will just quickly say that the you know the people running this also want people to be questioning that you know I had
the chance to sit down with Billie Jean King and Alana cloths the other day and that was just after he goes fiontech are given those comments you know saying a lot of positive things about the event but also saying you know why aren't we in the big stadium and you know there's some issues with the practice
facilities and all that kind of thing like making some important points and Alana said like great like I really want players to be speaking out about it personally Alana is like I would love to be able to explain to you like the business and the economics and the commercial realities as you say behind it and and and speak to you as fiontech about how hard we're working to try and level the playing field is not a lack of trying and desire as you say on the part of
the organizers and and yeah like I they they do take that criticism pretty well I think like they want to hear it because they also know that it can be better and they know that it takes that criticism for it to get better for people to notice so yeah like I don't think we're going to be sitting here in a years time and the and the two events are going to be the same like I think that is going to be a frustration for us for many many years but I
I just hope that little by little it gets better and better and you know equally like I hope the Davis Cup keeps getting better as well I just hope like that the religion can get gets better at a faster rate because it's got further to go you know yeah those are kind of my thoughts on it David yeah my 14 year old daughter is always my reality check on these things because she does like tennis and she she plays it and she she walks in and when I've got it on
she's like who's playing you know and I'll and and then she will notice stuff that I haven't noticed about inequalities you know just things that I have kind of just accepted because I'm just used to it and brainwashed and and that's the word being conditioned I guess because of just that's the day to day experience that we all live but she'll walk in and she if I told her that they're in two different stadiums and wants twice the size of the other one or more she
be she be outraged and and and that and that then makes me remember oh yeah actually we do still need to keep talking about this and and not just not just get bored of it or tired of it because to someone like her it just makes no sense it
it makes too much sense to to the world when you talk to people because they're and they've always got a reason for it or an excuse for it or something to explain it so yes we can all do that but to her it's just straight up sexism and it's not fair and who can argue with that quite honestly so yeah I mean I couldn't respect the organizers this event more really and I know they want it more than anybody that I know but it is a work in progress and that's that's that's the reality
but I but that's why I'm really glad you both are there and I mean it's it's great that matters got this this seam of experience through the last few years to have seen the iterations and now for you to come in not for the first time but to work for the podcast several days again we just you don't see this stuff on TV you can't you're getting this polished product and you've got to be there so good on you.
It's been great to be here and we're staying here but probably because it's apparently minus two degrees at home. Yes I've got water bottle is it really minus two yeah I'm minus four now minus four you know which I know in certain parts of the world where you're listening to this you'll be like nothing. The remember in the UK that's pretty serious. It's pretty cold here.
Actually just going to get on my app and put my central heating on at home because slightly concerned about some pipes bursting. But let's say hello to our mask got first. Good idea. Hello Phoebe Phoebe sticking with us right the way through to the end of our Davis Cup pod so still have any more days of that four more days. Four more days. Say it will be back tomorrow don't worry folks just just just one pod days from here on in. What will we do with all our free time.
Yeah hello Phoebe thanks for sticking with us hope you're okay today and hello Priyanka as well Phoebe's human hello to of course our mask got the Daily Departed Darwin David's Francis and Matt's Hider and Soma and by the way points for Hider and Soma yeah Italy to win the Billie Jean King Cup those of those have come in. You don't need to comment on that I just wanted to say it. Well done Matt and Hider and Soma.
So yeah I didn't underestimate Jasmine. Hello to Billie Jean's everywhere K nine King one sponsors the other can't remember which way around it is King sponsors K nine they're both excellent I'm biased but I think they're both excellent and hello hello to a Lana class as well hello to our top folks and executive produces Greg Greg I'm doing it off book that's why it's all gone wrong Greg Chris Jamie and Jeff we salute you and Matt we have shout outs.
We have Louise Strecker in San Diego California hello Louise I have a feeling we've had Louise before I think we know Louise not personally. It feels like we do yeah. Maybe we sometimes struggle with tennis Louise is no Louise broth. I don't know who that is. Come on Matt. Very good player of the past. Is Louise helped us out with her shout out? Louise says I'm a retired college lecturer in English and American literature. That's what my brother studied.
Louise Broth was an American tennis player in her career between 1939 and 1959. That is what time in the Wimbledon Library does for you. Yeah and was an Australian open champion and won four Wimbledons and the US open. Louise pleming. Absolutely. We've all got Louise's and San Diego of course home of Taylor Fritz. Yes. I've driven to San Diego not from home from LA. I tried once. I got a bit anxious on the drive and turned back. Went home. Just abandoned the plans altogether.
I think I missed a turn off and then I was like I don't know how to get back there now. It's going out. It's quite a dramatic reaction to missing a turn. Cancelling a holiday because you missed a turn. Thank you Louise for opening the David Law story vaults there. We've also got Carolyn in Nashville. Hello Carolyn. She's very keen to find out not Caroline. Do you know what I think that's her I reckon it must be a nightmare for Carolyn's being mistaken for Caroline's and we've got LYN at the end.
Okay. So I can't have. Oh there was a there was a chair and park called Carolyn Kramer. Good knowledge though. I remember her but I do feel like given the specificity of Carolyn's notes I feel like we should stick with with Caroline's only. And Bucca ideas up. Well Carolyn tells us that she used to have an autograph book exclusively for tennis people and ones that she can remember having are Bud Collins and Stan Smith. Oh Carolyn. That's kind of lovely she got Bud Collins autographs.
That's great. There is a Carolyn Companor or Compania who is on the WTA website and it's 586 in the world from the native. Yes. That's a good effort David. My Google is exclusively come up with Caroline Mousniaki. See this is the life of a Caroline isn't it? You Google Caroline and you get Caroline Mousniaki. Not what I'm telling you. That's pretty much as much as I can tell you. Nashville don't know any tennis players from Nashville but Taylor Swift.
Well not from but anyway don't you get lost with that. Thank you Caroline. And finally we have Robert Cretth who says rhymes with death. Thanks Robert. It's helpful. It's been helpful. It's been helpful and a total downer. What do we know about Robert? Robert is in San Jose California. Ah I've been there as well. Didn't drive there. Did you get there David? No. No. But didn't try either. No. I remember the San Jose tennis tournaments that they had for many years.
And I think Pete San presplayed on Dragassie there once or twice. So I was always across that in the 90s. Do you know anything about Robert? No only that is surname rhymes with death. And his first name is like Robert Nickle from the Google and Life. Oh very good. And like Matt Roberts. He's just singular. Uh Robert, Caroline and Louise. Thank you ever so much. Thank you all for listening to our Billie Jean King Cup daily podcast. We have loved it.
It's been it's been a real pleasure to cover this competition. And the fun continues in Malaga. We'll be back tomorrow with our next Davis Cup podcast. Thanks for listening folks. We'll speak to you tomorrow. As I have care professional treating adult patients with BCG unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer carcinoma and situ or NMIBCCIS. I consider it an important treatment option.
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