How dominant is Ash Barty right now? Who left a lasting impression in Melbourne? What does it all mean for the remainder of the spring hard-court season? WTA Web Editor Alex Macpherson joins the podcast to break down the 2022 Australian Open.
Ashleigh Barty capped off a perfect fortnight in Melbourne by becoming the first homegrown singles champion at the Australian Open, capturing her third major title with a straight-set win over Danielle Collins in the final. The World No.1 joined the podcast after a whirlwind media tour in Melbourne to explain why her Melbourne run was different from her first two major wins and what's next after a dominant start to the year.
Paula Badosa finds her comfort on the clay. Which is why her victory at the Sydney Tennis Classic cemented the Spaniard as an all-court threat. Badosa joined the podcast after her hard-fought victory to reveal the adjustments she's made to her game to succeed on quick hard courts.
After a short hiatus, the WTA Insider Podcast is back! WTA Web Editor Alex Macpherson joins the podcast to ring in the new 2022 WTA season. We break down the key takeaways from the first two weeks of the season, dive deep into the draw for the Australian Open, and analyze the favorites, dark horses, and match-ups that matter.
Iga Swiatek captured her second title of the 2021 season and third overall with a stunning week at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, defeating Karolina Pliskova 6-0, 6-0 in the final to capture her first WTA 1000 title. The 19-year-old saved match points in the third round and went on to tally two Top 10 wins to book her own spot in the Top 10 for the first time in her career. Swiatek joined the podcast after her dominating final performance to reflect on a week of winning ugly that ended with pe...
Aryna Sabalenka won her 10th career title at the 2021 Mutua Madrid Open, defeating World No.1 Ashleigh Barty 6-0, 3-6, 6-4 to capture her first title on clay. As a result, the 23-year-old will rise to a career-high No.4 in the rankings and zoom up to the No.3 position on the Porsche Race to Shenzhen Leaderboard. Only Barty and Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka have earned more points this season. Sabalenka joined the podcast after her Madrid win to discuss her magical week, why she needed it,...
World No.1 Ashleigh Barty tallied her 11th career title and a tour-leading third of the season at the 2021 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, rallying from a set down in her last three matches to take the title in her tournament debut. Barty reflects on the success of her long overseas trip so far, which has seen her win titles in Miami and Stuttgart and race to No.1 on the Porsche Race to Shenzhen Leaderboard.
Petra Kvitova captured her 28th career title at the 2021 Qatar Total Open, defeating Garbine Muguruza 6-2, 6-1 in the final. With the win, Kvitova won her first title since 2019 Stuttgart and tallied her tour-leading 20th victory in Doha. Kvitova joins the podcast to break down the keys to her Doha title run. The Czech star also discusses her two Wimbledon titles and explains why her 2014 title run may have been career-defining.
Iga Swiatek captured her first hardcourt title and second career title, winning the 2021 Adelaide International with a 6-2, 6-2 win over No.2 seed Belinda Bencic in the final. Everything came together perfectly for Swiatek in Adelaide, where she steamrolled through the field to drop just 23 games over five matches, finishing her successful week by winning her final 18 service games. Swiatek joins the podcast from Adelaide to reflect on what went right in Adelaide and explain how her mind, which ...
Naomi Osaka captured her fourth major title at the Australian Open, defeating Jennifer Brady 6-4, 6-3 to win her 2nd title in Melbourne. Osaka has now pulled off the New York-Melbourne double twice in her young career, and she will leave Australia riding a 21-match winning streak. Osaka joined the podcast by phone from Melbourne to reflect on her win and look ahead to her prospects at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
Aryna Sabalenka can't lose. The 22-year-old Belarusian finished the 2020 season with back-to-back titles and she kicked off her 2021 season with another, defeating Veronika Kudermetova 6-2, 6-2 to win the Abu Dhabi WTA Women's Tennis Open. Her winning week extended her career-best winning streak to 15 matches, secured her third consecutive title and ninth of her career, and will propel her to a new career-high ranking on Monday at No.7. That's not a bad week of work. Sabalenka joined the WTA Ins...
Julia Goerges has announced her retirement, ending a 15-year career that that saw her break into the Top 10, make a Wimbledon semifinal, capture seven WTA singles titles, and stand shoulder-to-shoulder alongside Germany's Golden Generation of talent, with Angelique Kerber, Andrea Petkovic, and Sabine Lisicki. Goerges leaves behind a legacy of professionalism and respect that left an indelible mark on the WTA locker room, as evidenced by the outpouring of well-wishes from her colleagues and frien...
Aryna Sabalenka came back from the brink at the J&T Banka Ostrava Open to become the first player to sweep the singles and doubles titles at a Premier-level or higher since 2016. After being five points from losing in her first two rounds of the tournament, Sabalenka dominated down the stretch, defeating Victoria Azarenka to win her 7th WTA singles title, and then teaming up with Elise Mertens to capture the doubles title. Sabalenka joins the podcast after her successful week to reflect on w...
The youngest Roland Garros champion since Monica Seles. The most dominating Roland Garros title run since Stefanie Graf. The first Grand Slam singles champion from Poland. 19-year-old Iga Swiatek checked off quite a few boxes in Paris, where she lost just 28 games to capture her first major title. The thoughtful teenager joins the podcast to reflect on her triumphant fortnight, reveal the keys to her nerveless play, and what her future holds.
Simona Halep extended her winning streak to 14 matches by finally capturing the one big clay-court title that has eluded her. The World No.2 came through in her third final in Rome to win the Internazionali BNL d'Italia for her third title of 2020 and 22nd title overall. Halep joins the podcast to reflect on her seven-year journey in Rome, the site of her breakout tournament in 2013, and looks ahead to Roland Garros.
Naomi Osaka became the youngest woman to capture her third major title since 2008, rallying from a set and a break down to defeat Victoria Azarenka in the final of the 2020 US Open. Osaka joins the podcast to reflect on her 11-match win-streak in the New York bubble, the keys to her title run, and how she hopes her concurrent activism will impact the sport and the world at large.
On this episode we continue our series on the 50th anniversary of the Original 9, who came together on September 23rd in 1970 to sign a one dollar contract with promoter and World Tennis Magazine founder Gladys Heldman to form the first women's professional tour, a precursor to the WTA which would be formed three years later in 1973. Today, thanks to our friends at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, we are excited to share a wonderful radio interview with Gladys Held...
Victoria Azarenka ended a 12-month winless drought in style at the 2020 Western & Southern Open, not only capturing her first main draw match win since the summer of 2019, but her first title since 2016 and her first title since returning to the tour as a mother. Azarenka joins the podcast to reflect on her resurgent week in New York, why she came close to retirement in January, and why, no matter whether she's winning or losing, we just can't stop talking about her.
Simona Halep and and Jennifer Brady join the WTA Insider Podcast to reflect on their successful season restarts, which were punctuated by title runs at the Prague Open and Top Seed Open in Lexington, respectively. World No.2 Halep extended her winning streak to nine matches after coming through a pair of early scares in Prague to win her 21st career title. American Jennifer Brady captured her 1st WTA Title in dominant fashion, rolling through the Lexington field to win the title without losing a...
Billie Jean King will never stop fighting. As part of the WTA's month-long celebration of LGBTQ Pride Month, the WTA Legend and founder joins the podcast to reflect on how far the tennis LGBTQ community has come and where it still needs to make further inroads. King also discusses her recent conversation with Roger Federer on the topic of tennis unity, what it was like to juggle her tennis career with her advocacy, and what she hopes today's generation of WTA players understands about the tour's...
Aryna Sabalenka rediscovered her game en route to the 2020 Qatar Total Open title, defeating tricky opponents, and mind-numbing wind, and Petra Kvitova in the final, 6-3, 6-3, to capture her first title of the season. The 21-year-old joins the WTA Insider Podcast to reflect on what went right during her Doha debut, what could have gone terribly wrong, and why her reunion with coach Dmitry Tursunov yielded immediate results.
Top seeds Hsieh Su-Wei and Barbora Strycova dominated the tour's swing through the Middle East, becoming just the second doubles team to ever sweep the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and Qatar Total Open. Hsieh and Strycova rebounded from their quick Dubai turnaround to power through to their third title of the season at in Doha, defeating No.6 seeds Gabriela Dabrowski and Jelena Ostapenko, 6-2, 5-7, 10-2 in the final. Hsieh and Strycova join the WTA Insider Podcast to discuss their scinti...
The WTA Insider Podcast is excited to kick off our Original 9 podcast series, which celebrates the 50th anniversary of the iconic One Dollar Photo and the formation of the Virginia Slims Tour in 1970, which led to the foundation of the WTA three years later. To kick off the series, we head down to Melbourne to sit in conversation with former World No.7 Judy Dalton, one of the two Australians to break away to join ranks with the Original 9. Dalton reflects on her decision to risk it all to join t...
Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic picked up right where they left off in 2019. Having capped off the season by winning the Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen, the duo became the first team since 2004 to win the Australian Open title without dropping a set, extending their win streak to 11 matches. The pair catch up with WTA Insider after their title run in Melbourne, to go deep on how their true friendship was formed and why, without it, Team Babos/Mladenovic would not exist.
Sofia Kenin became the youngest Australian Open champion since one of her idols Maria Sharapova and is set to become the youngest American to make her Top 10 debut since her other idol, Serena Williams. Now she's ready for her close-up after winning her maiden Slam by defeating Garbiñe Muguruza 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.
Karolina Pliskova became the winningest player in Brisbane International history after becoming the first woman to win the title three times, defeating Madison Keys to capture the first Premier title of the season. Pliskova joins the podcast to discuss what made her 2020 title run her toughest (she also won in 2017 and 2019) and looks ahead to how she'll prepare for the Australian Open with a new team in her box.
World No.1 Ashleigh Barty sealed her outstanding WTA season by winning the 2019 Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen, defeating defending champion Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-3 to tally her tour-leading 56th win of the season and fourth title of the year. For her efforts, the Queenslander took home over $4.4 million, the biggest prize money check in the history of professional tennis. The 23-year-old reflects on her evolution into one of the most clutch players in the game and looks ahead to 2020, which will...
The season-long Porsche Race to Shenzhen is over and it's Australia's 23-year-old phenom Ashleigh Barty who takes the checkered flag. The World No.1 joins the WTA Insider Podcast to reflect on her standout season, which saw her win three titles on three different surfaces, including her maiden major at Roland Garros and Premier Mandatory at the Miami Open, and finish the regular season as the tour leader in match wins.
Naomi Osaka extended her win-streak to 10 consecutive matches since the US Open, defeating World No.1 Ashleigh Barty 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 to win the China Open. The title is Osaka's third of the season and fifth of her career, paving the way for a resurgent fall as the reigning Australian Open champion eyes her final event at the Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen in three weeks. Osaka joins the podcast to reflect on the key to winning her second Premier Mandatory title, which included tough wins over Barty ...
Aryna Sabalenka successfully defended her Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open title, defeating Alison Riske 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 to win her second title of the season and move her undefeated record in Wuhan to 12-0. Sabalenka joins the podcast to discuss the lessons learned from her rocky sophomore season, what she wished she knew on January 1st of this season, and how a change in mindset triggered her dominant run to the title.
