As the sunshine swing draws to a close in Miami the latest Tennis Podcast reviews an extraordinary pair of titles for American players Sloane Stephens and John Isner. Stephens has endured a disappointing run of form since becoming a surprise US Open winner in September last year, but her exceptional performances in Miami lead the podcast team to speculate whether she may always be a player that experiences high peaks and low troughs. Stephens’ beaten final opponent Jelena Ostapenko is also discu...
Apr 01, 2018•51 min•Ep. 399
As Federer and Serena fall early in Miami, David & Catherine discuss the future for both; will we ever see Federer at the French Open again now he's announced he'll skip the clay once more, and how long is Serena's road back to full match fitness post pregnancy? And speaking of long roads back, Andy Murray has been spotted on the practice court for the first time since his hip surgery, but if Novak Djokovic's current form is anything to go by, returning from injury can be a bumpy ride for fo...
Mar 26, 2018•49 min•Ep. 398
With Juan Martin Del Potro and Naomi Osaka mixing up tennis’ natural order in Indian Wells, Catherine & David meet in the Putney Exchange to discuss what the pair’s respective victories mean for the future. Does Osaka have the desire and ruthlessness to propel her to World Number One? And how powerful a role model could she end up being? Can Del Potro continue his rise back up the rankings? And will Federer maintain his Number One status, and beard, in Miami? And how good was that final?? Al...
Mar 20, 2018•47 min•Ep. 397
With the Sunshine Swing well underway in the Californian Desert, Catherine and David address all the key talking points from week one of Indian Wells, including Serena Williams’ so-far impressive return to post-baby action, and Novak Djokovic’s inverse fortunes on the comeback trail. Other developments in the tennis world include Maria Sharapova’s split with long-time coach Sven Groenveld, and Goran Ivanisevic rejoining the coaching carousel alongside Canadian Milos Raonic. Plus with 16 year old...
Mar 12, 2018•55 min•Ep. 396
In a Tennis Podcast Extra, we have an exclusive interview with World No.3 Marin Cilic who has some strong views on the ITF’s proposals for the Davis Cup. David Law also asks him how long it took to recover from his heartbreaking final loss to Roger Federer at Wimbledon, how long he thinks it will take for Andy Murray to return to the top once fully fit, and his impressions of Britain’s Kyle Edmund. Cilic was speaking on the day that he, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Grigor Dimitrov all announced...
Mar 08, 2018•21 min•Ep. 396
After a four week podcast hiatus to cover doubles luge and the like (men lying on top of one another and flinging themselves down an icy hill), Catherine reunites with David just in time to discuss the newly proposed sweeping reforms to the Davis Cup that some are welcoming with open arms, and some are heralding as the 'death of the Davis Cup'. David & Catherine delve into the depth of strong opinion on the future of the competition as well as addressing some of the big results and stories f...
Mar 05, 2018•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 395
With Catherine Whitaker on her way back from the Winter Olympics in Korea, here's our second listener-questions show, guest edited by Grace Onions. Catherine and David Law answered the best of them, such as what tennis life will look like after Roger Federer, Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal retire, whether players should steer clear of off-court issues in press conferences, and their current favourite rumours. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Feb 26, 2018•39 min•Ep. 394
Roger Federer has spent more than half of his life as a professional tennis player, becoming in the eyes of most people, and according to most stats, the best male player ever to pick up a racquet. After becoming the oldest person to reach World No.1 since the rankings began, two men that have covered every one of Federer’s 20 years playing the sport got together on the latest Tennis Podcast to reminisce and assess his latest feat. Presenter David Law (BBC 5 Live) asks guest Christopher Clarey (...
Feb 19, 2018•27 min•Ep. 393
We have thrown the next two editions of The Tennis Podcast over to our listeners to fire their questions at hosts Catherine Whitaker and David Law. This week, with Guest Editor Jim Boyle in the chair to choose the questions and throw in a couple of his own, Catherine and David are put on the spot to reveal the players that are the most challenging to interview, which tournaments are the best to cover and why, and what they would give as advice to players about how best to handle social media. Sh...
Feb 12, 2018•48 min•Ep. 392
Great Britain might have gone out 3-1 in the first round of the Davis Cup to Spain, but the talk of The Tennis Podcast was the performance of Cameron Norrie, who beat Roberto Bautista Agut and pushed Albert Ramos Vinolas all the way. Just who is this 22 year-old who had never previously played a professional clay court match before he discomfited two players that had been brought up on the surface? Can he take this form into his ATP World Tour career? And has he shown that college tennis is the ...
Feb 04, 2018•40 min•Ep. 391
Roger Federer made it an extraordinary 20 Grand Slam singles titles with a 5-set win over Marin Cilic in the Australian Open final, and as he embarked on a celebration tour of television studio interviews, Catherine Whitaker and David Law try to make sense of his achievement on The Tennis Podcast. Federer was overcome with emotion in his on-court victory speech, and the team discuss why this one got to him so much. They also analyse the match and the claustrophobic and heat and humidity that it ...
Jan 28, 2018•29 min•Ep. 390
As Caroline Wozniacki walked by from television studio to television studio after claiming her long-awaited first Grand Slam title, Catherine Whitaker and David Law tried to do justice on The Tennis Podcast to an epic three-set tussle which had numerous storylines dripping with emotion. Where was the match won and lost? How did Wozniacki react after finally making her dream come true? And will Simona Halep ever get over the finish line in a Slam final herself? The asterisk of ‘never won a Grand ...
Jan 27, 2018•31 min•Ep. 389
Moments after Hyeon Chung pulled out of his Australian Open semifinal because of blisters, ensuring Roger Federer would reach a 30th Grand Slam singles final, Boris Becker joined Catherine Whitaker and David Law on the Tennis Podcast to look ahead to Sunday’s clash with Marin Cilic. The two-time champion also previews the women’s final between Caroline Wozniacki and Simona Halep, explains why he left the stadium immediately after match point in the 1991 final, and predicts how a peak Becker woul...
Jan 26, 2018•33 min•Ep. 388
Moment after Kyle Edmund’s Australian Open odyssey ended at the hands of Marin Cilic, Catherine Whitaker (Eurosport), David Law (BBC 5 Live) and Simon Briggs (Telegraph) got together in the media cafe to talk over where the match was won and lost. Could he have done anything differently? How big a factor was the injury he apparently sustained? And will Cilic be able to go all the way in the final? Earlier in the day, Simona Halep saved match points for a second time in a week to reach the final....
Jan 25, 2018•32 min•Ep. 387
All of the four quarterfinals played on Wednesday were won in straight sets, but each had its own story, and the resulting semifinals are mouth-watering, according to the Tennis Podcast team. Hyeon Chung is one of the stories of the tournament and he backed up his straight sets win over Novak Djokovic by overcoming a very difference challenge - being the favourite to win against the World No. 97, Tennys Sandgren. It made Chung the first Korean ever to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournam...
Jan 24, 2018•32 min•Ep. 386
In 2010, Andy Murray went through to the semifinals of the Australian Open for the first time when Rafael Nadal retired with injury. His opponent in the final four was Marin Cilic. He then met Roger Federer in the final. Eight years on, Nadal retired with injury from a Grand Slam match for only the second time in his career. It was also at the Australian Open, and the result is that a British player will once again be playing against Marin Cilic for a place in the final, and Roger Federer might ...
Jan 23, 2018•33 min•Ep. 385
Novak Djokovic found himself ‘playing in front of a mirror’ according to The Tennis Podcast team, as he was knocked out of the Australian Open by Hyeon Chung at the fourth round stage. Chung out-Djokovic’d Djokovic, pounding whiplash groundstrokes, hitting lines, reaching seemingly irretrievable balls in a blur of speed, and doing the splits when forced out wide. After winning 7-6, 7-5, 7-6 Chung was given a standing ovation inside the Rod Laver Arena. On the podcast, concern turned to the healt...
Jan 22, 2018•30 min•Ep. 384
Grigor Dimitrov vs. Nick Kyrgios was ‘instant classic’ material, and only made better from a British perspective in that the winner plays Kyle Edmund, who is into his first Grand Slam quarterfinal. On the Tennis Podcast afterwards, David Law said the match between Dimitrov and Kyrgios was a ‘win-win’ for tennis, but not everyone agrees. Did Kyrgios cross the line with his ranting in the direction of his support team? Or is it time to cut him some slack and celebrate a brilliant performance and a...
Jan 21, 2018•29 min•Ep. 383
Simona Halep produced an incredible feat of fitness and fire to save three match points and win 15-13 in the final set against Lauren Davis, and afterwards The Tennis Podcast team got together to marvel at it. They were joined by British No.3 Naomi Broady, and while chatting, Andy Murray began a jetlag fuelled Q & A session on Twitter. So, Broady told Catherine Whitaker and David Law about the Andy Murray she knows, and also gave a backstage insight into Nick Kyrgios. Later, Whitaker and Law...
Jan 20, 2018•31 min•Ep. 382
On a day when temperatures exceeded 40 degrees for a second day in a row, the last thing Kyle Edmund would have wanted was a 5-set, near 4-hour match, but that’s what he got, and he came through it. Catherine Whitaker was the first person to speak to him afterwards, for Eurosport, and Simon Briggs sat watching him for the full duration. They give the lowdown on what he went through to reach the last 16 of the Australian Open, and what they make of his chances against Andreas Seppi next. Later, t...
Jan 19, 2018•35 min•Ep. 381
As temperatures exceed 40 degrees celcius on day four of the Australian Open, Catherine & David question why on earth the heat policy wasn't invoked, and indeed whether there should even be a heat policy (some merciless people seem to think there shouldn't!). They also analyse those that survived the withering conditions - including a warrior-like Novak Djokovic, who 'out-bluffed' Gael Monfils in the heat of the day - and those that didn't, including third seed Garbina Muguruza, seventh seed...
Jan 18, 2018•27 min•Ep. 380
Recorded live from the Eurosport Green Room during Grigor Dimitrov's epic five setter with American Mackenzie McDonald, former World No 2 Alex Corretja shares his thoughts on all things Australian Open, including heat waves, big match pressure and who he thinks will win the men's and women's titles. He also joins David & Catherine in talking through the dramatic events of the day, including second seed Caroline Wozniacki snatching victory from the jaws of defeat and a 'highly stressful' thre...
Jan 17, 2018•29 min•Ep. 379
Aus Open Day 2 - Novak Djokovic Is Back With A Bang But What Did He Say About That Player Meeting? Novak Djokovic was front and centre on Tuesday, both on and off the court, as he played a competitive tennis match for the first time since Wimbledon and then addressed reports about his role in the Player Meeting on Friday. In the latest Tennis Podcast, we hear his post-match press conference in which he denied talking about a potential boycott, insisted he had been misrepresented in reports, and ...
Jan 16, 2018•28 min•Ep. 378
On an opening day when big names were beaten and all of them American, and Kyle Edmund scored arguably the most important victory of his career, the main topic of conversation at the Australian Open was about Novak Djokovic’s player meeting intervention. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jan 15, 2018•30 min•Ep. 377
Catherine Whitaker and David Law are here to tell you all the tales from the interview room ahead of the Australian Open. From Roger Federer's mind games to Stan Wawrinka's tough times, to Billie Jean King's stand against the Margaret Court Arena. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jan 14, 2018•41 min•Ep. 376
With the first Grand Slam tournament of 2018 upon us, Catherine Whitaker and David Law are in Melbourne, and were joined by Telegraph Tennis Correspondent to dissect the draws of the Australian Open. Who has the best road to the final? What are the outstanding first round matches? And who is likely to clash in the last 16 and onwards? The team talk it through. The fitness of Novak Djokovic is discussed, as his difficult draw. Aside from the potential match-ups, one of the main tournament talking...
Jan 12, 2018•58 min•Ep. 375
Andy Murray has taken the plunge and gone under the knife after his frustrated attempts to come back from a hip injury. David Law, deserted by an ill Catherine Whitaker, gives his verdict on whether Murray has made the right call, and what happens next. He is also joined by Telegraph Tennis Correspondent Simon Briggs to talk about Murray and other main stories ahead of the Australian, and leading coach Nigel Sears to run through the long list of players on the WTA Tour competing for major honour...
Jan 08, 2018•41 min•Ep. 374
Andy Murray's Agony; As the 2018 tennis season kicks off in earnest, there are still some notable absences, probably most notable the man who was World No 1 this time last year, Andy Murray, who has made a gut-wrenching statement declaring that he may require surgery on his injured hip. That is discussed, along with the continued injury absence of Murray's rival, Novak Djokovic, and the persistent speculation surrounding Serena Williams' return to Tour action. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priv...
Jan 02, 2018•46 min•Ep. 373
The 1973 Battle of the Sexes between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs was a landmark event in so many ways, and this cinematic telling of the story has been reviewed extensively in recent months. But not by Catherine Whitaker of The Tennis Podcast. Not until now. In this special edition podcast, Catherine gives her verdict on the film as a piece of entertainment, including her views on the performances of Emma Stone as Billie Jean King and Steve Carrell as Bobby Riggs. Catherine and David Law al...
Dec 25, 2017•25 min•Ep. 372
With the whopping four weeks of tennis' off-season well underway, Catherine & David are missing the sport so much they've decided to record a special '2017 Awards' edition of `The Tennis Podcast, which includes hotly disputed categories such as 'player of the year', 'meltdown of the year' and 'comeback of the year'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Dec 19, 2017•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 370
