Saturday was the quietest day of this Australian Open so far, in all senses of the word. The fans were sorely missed and there wasn’t quite the same amount of drama or fun as previous days. But it was still a Grand Slam day, meaning there was still plenty for us to discuss, including: Silent stadia - pros and cons Nadal makes progress; Will Fognini stop him? Berrettini wins, but bigger battles await Tsitsipas enjoys a quiet life What happened to Daniil Medvedev? Just how good is Casper Ruud? Bar...
Feb 13, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 802
Well that was one of the most surreal nights of tennis we’ve ever seen. The announcement of a Victoria state lockdown from midnight in Melbourne put the attendance of fans at the Australian Open on a ticking clock and led to one of the most electric atmospheres imaginable for all five mesmerising sets of Nick Kyrgios vs. Dominic Thiem and then to a mass exodus of fans mid-way through Novak Djokovic’s match against Taylor Fritz. The rest of it, as Djokovic struggled on through injury to win in a ...
Feb 12, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 801
After the joy of Wednesday’s atmosphere at Melbourne Park, Day 4 at the Australian Open had a tough act to follow, but it certainly delivered drama. Why was it not surprising that defending champion Sofia Kenin lost? How did Stefanos Tsitsipas find himself in a five set battle with Thanasi Kokkinakis? Should we be talking about Karolina Pliskova as a title contender? Is Jennifer Brady in the mix now? How did Rafael Nadal react to being given the middle finger by a fan? And what on earth was the ...
Feb 11, 2021•59 min•Ep. 800
Days of tennis don’t come much better than that. In a packed podcast, we cover: The joy of tennis with crowds Kyrgios sending Melbourne Park into a frenzy Inspirational Venus carrying on despite injury, but losing to Errani Hsieh bamboozling Andreescu Tiafoe testing Djokovic on a hot and quick Rod Laver Arena Fucsovics beating Wawrinka in fifth set tiebreak Halep coming back from the brink against Tomljanovic Osaka, Swiatek and Serena easing through Cirstea upsetting Kvitova Tank tops and tennis...
Feb 10, 2021•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 799
Even on a relatively quiet day at the Australian Open, there were still significant results and storylines which altered the feel of the tournament. We discuss Sofia Kenin’s nerves, the ongoing talking point about how much hard quarantine is affecting players and impacting results, defeats for Maria Sakkari and Victoria Azarenka which have opened up their quarter, a 6-0 6-0 victory for Ash Barty, an injury for Jo Konta, how Rafael Nadal’s back held up in his straight-sets victory, Dan Evans’ dis...
Feb 09, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 798
After an exhilarating opening day at the Australian Open - featuring dominant performance from the leading women’s contenders and culminating in a five-set epic under the lights - Catherine, David and Matt had plenty to discuss on the pod. In what ways did both Shapovalov and Sinner impress in their late night epic? How did Kyrgios respond to Djokovic’s comment that he doesn’t “respect” him off court? Who sent the biggest statement - Halep, Serena or Osaka? What did Kerber have to say about the ...
Feb 08, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 797
There have been moments over the last few days, weeks and months when the chances of there even being an Australian Open in 2021 have felt slim. But one of the great feats of organisation has been pulled off, some bullets have been dodged, our fingers remain crossed, and play is set to get underway in a few hours. In this episode we wrap up the results from the six lead-in tournaments. What is Dan Evans’ ranking ceiling after he won his first ATP title? Why has Felix Auger-Aliassime not even won...
Feb 07, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 796
After a 24-hour stoppage with everyone holding their breath, tennis returned again in Melbourne with all six Australian Open warm up tournaments now hurtling towards the finish line. In the first half of the show we discuss the possible motivation behind the large number of retirements and walkovers, assess how concerned we are about Simona Halep and Rafael Nadal’s physical state, marvel at Garbine Muguruza’s form, and cover Dan Evans’ run to the semi-final of the Murray River Open. Then, it’s t...
Feb 05, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 795
A positive covid test from someone who had worked at the Australian Open quarantine hotel appeared to leave the tournament teetering on a cliff edge last night, with hundreds of players and staff forced to isolate again. After 24 hours of mass testing, however, Craig Tiley says the tournament will go ahead as planned. For now. It’s a situation which has served as a reminder of the precariousness of Tennis Australia’s operation to stage the event and in this episode we talk all about it. We also ...
Feb 04, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 794
With six tournaments all taking place at Melbourne Park this week, we try to get our heads around it all and discuss what we’ve seen so far. How did Serena Williams look in her first match? What about Katie Boulter? What do we expect from Bianca Andreescu in her first tournament for 15 months? Why have the crowds not shown up yet? And will the ATP Cup provide good preparation for the Australian Open? We also reveal our plans to refer to the second stadium at Melbourne Park as the Evonne Goolagon...
Feb 01, 2021•56 min•Ep. 793
In this episode we travel back four years to bask in the wonder that was the 2017 Australian Open. There was so much to cover (hence the length of this show) from shock defeats for Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, exciting runs from Dan Evans and Jo Konta, the re-emergence of Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, controversy surrounding Nick Kyrgios, and ultimately a throwback finals weekend which saw Serena defeat Venus and Roger defeat Rafa. We react to clips from the daily pods, get Mary Carillo's take, and c...
Jan 30, 2021•2 hr 3 min•Ep. 792
In 1995, Pete Sampras was the world No.1, a five-time major winner, and the defending Australian Open champion. He was also a dominant and stoic figure, labelled by many as boring and representative of a sport in decline. All that changed early in the fifth set of Sampras’ quarter-final match against Jim Courier when, overcome with emotion as he thought of his friend and coach Tim Gullikson, who had flown home from Melbourne with serious health problems, Sampras began to weep uncontrollably. He ...
Jan 28, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 791
These days the Australian Open sits alongside the other Grand Slam tournaments as one of the best and most prestigious tennis events in the world, but it wasn’t always that way. In this episode, we tell the story of its transformative move from Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club to Flinders Park in 1988. Pat Cash, who lost back-to-back five-set finals in 1987 and 1988 talks us through it all, including what Kooyong was like as a venue, why his 1987 defeat to Stefan Edberg feels like the one that got away ...
Jan 26, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 790
With contributions from Billie Jean King, Mary Carillo, Pam Shriver and Pat Cash, we tell Evonne Goolagong’s story, including her upbringing in New South Wales and the discrimination she faced, her early discovery of tennis, her poetic style of play, her Grand Slam successes throughout the 1970s, her crowning achievement by winning Wimbledon as a mother, her charity work for indigenous Australians, and her influence on Ash Barty. The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David La...
Jan 25, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 789
Catherine is joined by David and Matt to react to her big interview with Billie Jean King. Picking up on some of the points raised by Billie Jean, we discuss the way she makes us feel when she talks about tennis, the way she forces us to challenge our preconceptions, the emphasis she puts on the importance of knowing your history, the lessons she can teach us about not alienating your audience, the place of team events in tennis, and the majors vs. slams debate. We also share our plans for Austr...
Jan 21, 2021•55 min•Ep. 788
This episode is a conversation between Catherine Whitaker and Billie Jean King. Through stories about the Battle of the Sexes, the Original 9, the awarding of equal prize money at the US Open in 1973, her time spent with Bud Collins, and knowing Althea Gibson, Billie Jean connects the past with the present, explaining why it’s so important to know your tennis history and how it impacts the modern game. Now 77-years-old, Billie Jean’s love for tennis and her desire for it to be as good as it poss...
Jan 18, 2021•1 hr 46 min•Ep. 787
Positive covid cases, more than 70 players facing two weeks stuck inside without any practice, and mice in hotel rooms…it all calls for an emergency pod. Catherine and David convene to discuss the situation in Melbourne. How has it all got out of control so quickly? What is Tennis Australia’s role now? How much sympathy do we feel for the players in all of this? And does it change who should be considered the Australian Open favourite? We also speak to Pam Shriver about how she thinks she would ...
Jan 17, 2021•58 min•Ep. 786
The first titles of the 2021 season have been won and players are now flocking to Australia for two weeks of quarantine. But not everything is going according to plan, with Andy Murray isolating at home after testing positive for covid-19 and Tennys Sandgren boarding his flight to Melbourne despite returning a positive test. We react to those two bits of news and discuss where it leaves the Australian Open. Wrapping up this week’s results, we ask whether Aryna Sabalenka can translate her dominan...
Jan 14, 2021•58 min•Ep. 785
We’re only halfway through the first week of the new season but there’s already plenty for us to cover, including the fine form shown by Maria Sakkari and Aryna Sabalenka in Abu Dhabi, a curious collapse from Sofia Kenin, news of a separate Australian Open quarantine in Adelaide for top players, David Ferrer and Alexander Zverev’s split, Dayana Yastremska's provisional suspension after a positive doping test, our apologies to Gippslanders, and Matt’s 2021 player to watch. Plus, David speaks to O...
Jan 11, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 784
In this episode we navigate Billie Jean’s mischief to cover the matches we’ve seen and the storylines that have arisen in Abu Dhabi so far, more news about the Melbourne swing prior to the Australian Open, and confirmation of some WTA quarantine practice pairings. We also pay tribute to Bob Brett and Tom Perrotta, who the tennis world sadly lost this week. The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, and features Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily d...
Jan 07, 2021•59 min•Ep. 783
We’re starting the new year with a bumper edition of the pod to conclude our countdown of the best ever moments of tennis aggro. The Top 5 looks like this: 5 - Andy Murray, “Shut up!” & “Everyone hates you” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo_E_azZOoc & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-XiZF08DY8 4 - Jeff Tarango defaults himself at Wimbledon - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzQ2-EwgdXQ 3 - Broady/Ostapenko Auckland 2016 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPhiBazkhMU 2 - Mirka & Waw...
Jan 04, 2021•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 782
The moment has arrived. After 780 episodes, the time has finally come to dedicate a couple of pods to some of the best ever moments of tennis aggro. In part one of our countdown: 10 - Serena/Jankovic, Dubai 2014: http://youtu.be/rZCOCPbIPKc 9 - Errani/Cornet, “Why you say vamos?”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLRV7QCs5L0&ab_channel=nobodycares 8 - Kim Sears, Parental Advisory Explicit Content: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qivF3oIZJUo&ab_channel=AustralianOpenTV 7 - Roddick/Djokovic...
Dec 31, 2020•59 min•Ep. 781
Our third and final instalment of Sliding Doors tennis sees us talk about a medley of moments which have shaped Roger Federer’s career, the period Serena Williams missed after stepping on glass in 2010, and a world in which Billie Jean King didn’t win the Battle of the Sexes. We also discuss the news that Federer will miss the Australian Open and that Andy Murray will start his 2021 season in Delray Beach. The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, and features Matt Rob...
Dec 28, 2020•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 780
We’re back with a Christmas Eve special to discuss more Sliding Doors moments from tennis history. Would Tim Henman have won Wimbledon in 2001 if it hadn’t rained during his semi-final against Goran Ivanisevic? Could Juan Martin del Potro have turned the Big 4 into a Big 5 if his career hadn’t been interrupted by injuries? And how would tennis have been different if the conditions - especially at Wimbledon - hadn’t been slowed down in the early 2000s? We also say hello to Billie Jean and discuss...
Dec 24, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 779
This week we’re taking an in-depth look at some Sliding Doors moments in tennis history. In part one, how would Rafael Nadal’s rivalry with Roger Federer have been different if Nadal had been a natural right-hander? Would Martina Hingis have won the calendar Grand Slam if she hadn’t fallen off a horse prior to Roland Garros in 1997? And how might Monica Seles’ career have unfolded if she hadn’t been stabbed by a deranged Steffi Graf fan in 1993? More to come on Thursday. We also discuss the rele...
Dec 21, 2020•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 778
In the second half of our ‘Lost in Time’ series, we focus on the opportunism and sudden decline of Juan Carlos Ferrero, the way in which Hana Mandlikova’s achievements were swallowed up by the era defined by Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, the gold-medal winner Miloslav Mecir who bamboozled other top players, and how the tennis media did Dinara Safina - and the women’s game - a disservice by making light of her near misses in Grand Slams. There’s also reaction to the release of the ATP cale...
Dec 17, 2020•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 777
This week we’re celebrating former players who have been, in one way or another, ‘lost in time’ or under-appreciated. In part one, we discuss Manuel Orantes’ clay court dominance in the 1970s, Mark Edmondson’s Australian Open victory while ranked 212th, how Mary Pierce’s abusive father overshadowed her three peaks, the way in which Arantxa Sanchez Vicario did a lot more than finish in second place all the time, and Wendy Turnbull’s decade of consistency. The Tennis Podcast is presented by Cather...
Dec 14, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 776
In this episode, we speak to Chris Kermode to look back on his time as ATP CEO, discuss what he did and still hoped to achieve in the job, reflect on the reasons for his departure, and consider the issues tennis is facing during the covid-19 pandemic. Approx Time Stamps: Start to 7:45 - Catherine, David and Matt catch up 7:45 to 38:10 - Chris Kermode interview 38:10 to end - Reaction *SUPPORT THE TENNIS PODCAST* Our Kickstarter campaign to crowdfund 2021 went live on December 1st and we reached ...
Dec 10, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 775
The time has come for our final look back on 2020 as we hand out our annual awards. Categories include player, match, uplifting moment, peak weird moment, pandemic faux pas, most missed, shock, and podcast moment. You can expect tributes to Naomi Osaka, Sofia Kenin, Dominic Thiem, Coco Gauff, Rafael Nadal and women’s semi-final night at the US Open, as well as takedowns of the Adria Tour, Night Train and the ‘Ultimate’ ‘Tennis’ ‘Showdown’. The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker an...
Dec 07, 2020•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 774
Part two of our 2020 review begins with a reflection on our Tennis Re-Lived episodes covering the Olympics, Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe. What stood out? And what did we learn? We then move on to the return of tour tennis in August by looking back on how we felt at the time and how it would end up differing from our expectations. Next, we go over the main storylines from the US Open - including the way in which Naomi Osaka combined on court winning with activism, an uplifting night of women’s s...
Dec 03, 2020•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 773
