The Tennis Podcast

Tennis is back. But there are still question marks about the sport’s short-term future.In the first half of this episode we discuss the return of the WTA Tour in Palermo and the mood surrounding the US Open before wrapping up the results from the various exhibition events. Then, we hear from former World No.4 and current Miami Open tournament director James Blake (starting 43:26).He takes us through what happened during the week in March when Miami was cancelled and explains why he’s struggling to envisage the US Open going well.He also praises the way in which Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff have used their platform for good during the last few months and declares why he thinks more unity between the WTA and ATP would benefit tennis.The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, and features Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments. It is crowdfunded by listeners each December.* PODCAST LINK *If you enjoy listening to The Tennis Podcast

The 2000 Sydney Olympics were a happier time. Steve Redgrave won his 5th gold for Great Britain and Cathy Freeman became a symbol of national reconciliation for Australia. In this episode, we look back on a tennis event which also delivered compelling storylines, including double gold for Venus Williams to cap an extraordinary summer and a 4th place finish for a young Roger Federer. We also hear from men’s singles gold medallist Yevgeny Kafelnikov (starting 23m 27s) about his epic final against Tommy Haas, his experiences in the village, why his gold medal has defined his legacy in Russia, and how he compares it to his Grand Slam titles.* PODCAST LINK *If you enjoy listening to The Tennis Podcast, please spread the word and share our link on your social media platforms - https://podfollow.com/the-tennis-podcast* NEWSLETTER *Sign up to get our news, offers and Matt’s Stat - http://eepurl.com/gbmzRX* EMAIL *We hope that the podcast helps to provide some form of escape during these challenging times. I

David was at university, Catherine was 10 and Matt was a baby.The 1996 Atlanta Olympics saw Michael Johnson dominate, Britain struggle, and some wonderful tennis stories unfold.In this edition of the podcast we talk to four medallists who had very different stories. From the bittersweet feelings of Gigi Fernandez, to the disbelief of Lindsay Davenport, and a life goal achieved for Leander Paes.Gigi Fernandez (gold in doubles) - 11m 38sLindsay Davenport (gold in singles) - 23m 17sSergi Bruguera (silver in singles) - 30m 55sLeander Paes (bronze in singles) - 37m 01s* PODCAST LINK *If you enjoy listening to The Tennis Podcast, please spread the word and share our link on your social media platforms - https://podfollow.com/the-tennis-podcast* NEWSLETTER *Sign up to get our news, offers and Matt’s Stat - http://eepurl.com/gbmzRX* EMAIL *We hope that the podcast helps to provide some form of escape during these challenging times. If you ever feel like writing to us, our e-mail is open – info@tennispodcast

This is the first of several podcasts telling the story of modern tennis at the Olympic Games.We start with 1988 Seoul and 1992 Barcelona, events that produced so many memorable moments. If you want to go straight to Barcelona, it begins at 50m.20s.We have spoken to five medallists for this podcast.1988 Seoul Zina Garrison (bronze in singles, gold in doubles) - 19m 55sTim Mayotte (silver in singles) - 38m 36s1992 BarcelonaMarc Rosset (gold in singles) - 1h 02m 04sMichael Stich (gold in doubles) - 1h 11m 28sGigi Fernandez (gold in doubles) - 1h 25m 50sNOTE - This episode is longer than we intended it to be, so we may split them up for the future!* PODCAST LINK *If you enjoy listening to The Tennis Podcast, please spread the word and share our link on your social media platforms - https://podfollow.com/the-tennis-podcast* NEWSLETTER *Sign up to get our news, offers and Matt’s Stat - http://eepurl.com/gbmzRX* EMAIL *We hope that the podcast helps to provide some form of escape during these challenging

We're back! And we're answering your questions, as selected by listeners Drew and David, who backed our crowdfunding Kickstarter so generously. Here are the questions:• Is it the players’ responsibility to do what’s safe for themselves, or is it the tournament’s responsibility to guarantee safety regarding covid-19? (4:30)• Is the Western & Southern Open too ‘intense’ for the first sanctioned event of the restarted ATP Tour? (10:30)• If we were players, would we be happy to travel to New York for the US Open? (15:30)• How fundamental is tennis’ scoring system to the DNA of the game? (27:00) • What do we think about the use of artificial crowd noise for behind-closed-doors matches? (32:28)• Will covid-19 hasten the progress of all electronic line calling, or will there be an emotional appeal to return to the norm when restrictions ease? (37:40)• Should Thiem prioritise the US Open or Roland Garros? (39:10)• Was talk of more ATP-WTA unity just a flash in the pan? (42:54)• Who should be the commissioner

The 1983 French Open champion, Yannick Noah, is our guest this week.In an exclusive and extensive interview with David Law, Noah tells stories in his inimitable style about the influence Arthur Ashe had on his career, the time they played doubles together, the dream he had before the Roland Garros final, the words he exchanged with his father after beating Mats Wilander to win the title, why he could never crack Wimbledon, what it was like playing in the same era as legends like John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl, and the emotions evoked by winning the Davis Cup.The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, and features Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments. It is crowdfunded by listeners each December.* PODCAST LINK *If you enjoy listening to The Tennis Podcast, please spread the word and share our link on your social media platforms - https://podfollow.com/the-tennis-podcast* NEWSLETTER *Sign up to get our news, isolation d

The biggest scare Serena Williams faced en route to winning the Wimbledon title in 2015 came from an unlikely source, as Heather Watson pushed her right to the brink in a third-round match which encapsulated the idea of a plucky Brit.The occasion was also memorable for the raucous atmosphere, and we discuss the elements of that which we felt crossed the line, along with how Serena managed to fight through and why Watson has not gone on to back up that performance at the Grand Slams.  There’s also a big tangent about Henmania and a rundown of the latest news, including Wimbledon’s decision to pay players and officials, the announcements from the ATP and the WTA about ranking points, and the ever-changing likelihood of the US Open going ahead. So, come for all of that, and stay right until the end for some unmissable cameos and naughty behaviour from Magnus…The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, and features Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily d

In the penultimate episode of Wimbledon Re-Lived, we take ourselves back to July 7th 2013 when Andy Murray became the first British man to win Wimbledon since 1936 by beating Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-5, 6-4.In what way had the British public come to embrace Murray before the 2013 final? What impact had Ivan Lendl had on Murray’s game and his rivalry with Djokovic? How much of a factor was the weight of Britain’s 77-year drought for Murray? Why did Djokovic put in a flat performance? And what was everyone feeling during that final game?We also speak at length to Judy Murray about the journey that led to the 2013 Wimbledon final and her experiences of that day. Judy talks about how the 2012 Olympics helped Murray to get over his Wimbledon final defeat to Federer, the stress of sitting in the player box at Wimbledon, the scrutiny she faced for her role in Murray’s career, the champion’s dinner, and how Murray’s victory in 2016 compared.The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, and feature

Finding new words to do justice to the 2008 men’s final at Wimbledon between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer is not easy, but that’s our task on this episode as we look back on the match regarded by many as the greatest in tennis history.There’s talk about the sense before the match that it could finally be Nadal’s time, Federer’s missed opportunities in the first two sets, the way in which their match-up favoured Nadal, Federer’s fitful forehand, why the epic fourth set tiebreak echoed Borg-McEnroe, Nadal’s ability to recover in the fifth set as darkness fell, and the graciousness between the two camps.We also hear from Mary Carillo who explains why the match lives up to the hype, Larry Stefanki about how Nadal had adapted his game to help him thrive on grass in 2008, Nadal’s PR manager, Benito Perez-Barbadillo, on how Nadal was feeling during the fifth set rain delay, and Chris Clarey to sum up the rivalry and relationship between Nadal and Federer.The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and Da

Venus Williams’ 4-6, 7-6, 9-7 victory over Lindsay Davenport in 2005 is the longest women’s final in Wimbledon history, and possibly the greatest. We discuss the sustained excellence from both players, the joy of watching Venus in her prime, the way she fought for equal prize money the night before the final, and how her uninhibited and jubilant celebration revealed a side to her which we don’t usually see. Davenport also describes the particular challenge of facing Venus on grass, the point the match slipped away from her in the deciding set, and how she was able to appreciate how good the match was even while playing it. The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, and features Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments. It is crowdfunded by listeners each December. * TENNIS RE-LIVED *We will be doing daily shows throughout the original Wimbledon dates, looking back on some of the tournament’s best matches and most important stori

When Maria Sharapova beat Serena Williams in the 2004 Wimbledon final, few could have predicted the path their rivalry would take over the next fifteen years.In this episode, we discuss why Sharapova’s run aged 17 wasn’t completely out of the blue and the way in which Serena was slightly under prepared, and Mary Carillo explains what impressed her most about Sharapova’s performance on that day and why she felt Serena was surprised by Sharapova’s level.Then, we look more closely at the development of the Serena-Sharapova “unrivalry”, including an analysis of the language Sharapova used to frame herself against Serena in her autobiography.Finally, Sharapova’s coach of seven years, Michael Joyce, gives an insight into the Maria he knows, the pressure she was under after winning Wimbledon aged 17, and why he thinks Serena came to dominate their matches.The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, and features Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily during the Grand Slam t

The 2001 men’s Wimbledon final, which saw wildcard and three-time runner-up Goran Ivanisevic win his first title against Pat Rafter on People’s Monday, is one of the most famous matches in tennis history.So, for this episode, we wanted to get a range of perspectives on this much-told story.Ivan Ljubicic explains the significance of Ivanisevic’s victory for people in Croatia, Charlie Eccleshare talks about the experience of being in the crowd, Ivanisevic tells us (colourfully) why he thinks the final game is the worst in Grand Slam history, and Rafter opens up about the match from his point of view, including how much the loss hurt him and the relationship he now has with Goran.The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, and features Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments. It is crowdfunded by listeners each December. * TENNIS RE-LIVED *We will be doing daily shows throughout the original Wimbledon dates, looking back on some of

The only ever meeting between Pete Sampras and Roger Federer came at Wimbledon in 2001, when Sampras was a 7-time champion in the twilight of his career, and Federer was an emerging talent who hadn’t yet fulfilled his potential.Looking back now, it can be seen as a changing of the guard moment, with Federer prevailing in five sets. Is that how it was covered at the time? In what way did Federer grow as a tennis player on that day? And why did it take him another two years to win his first Grand Slam title?We speak to Paul Annacone, who was on Sampras’ team at the time and would go on to coach Federer a decade later, about how aware he and Pete were of the challenge a young Federer might pose on that day, and how they felt during the match. Annacone also tells a story about when he took Federer and Sampras out for dinner together many years later.Finally, David recalls his trip to Switzerland towards the end of 2001 to profile Federer. The article he wrote is up now on our website – https://www.thetennispodcas

In 1997, Martina Hingis beat Jana Novotna to become the youngest Wimbledon winner in the Open Era, aged 16. She also put together one of the best seasons in tennis history, winning all but one of her Grand Slam matches.Are her achievements from that year underrated? How were her sassy comments and confidence received at the time? In what way did she sometimes get herself in trouble with remarks about fellow players? What made her such a joy to watch? And why did she not go on to dominate for years despite a couple of comebacks?Mary Carillo and Lindsay Davenport give perspective on how the power revolution in women’s tennis caught up with Hingis, and Martina herself explains why she thinks players are no longer having the success she had as a teenager.The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, and features Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments. It is crowdfunded by listeners each December.  * TENNIS RE-LIVED *We will be d

Nobody has ever had a connection with Wimbledon like Jana Novotna. In this episode, with the help of the storytelling of Mary Carillo and Chris Clarey, and the insights of Hana Mandlikova, the long-time coach and friend of Novotna, we cover the full emotional arc of her career and life. There’s discussion of Novotna’s choke in the 1993 final against Steffi Graf, the iconic image of her crying on the shoulder of the Duchess of Kent afterwards, her second Wimbledon final loss to Martina Hingis in 1997, her long-awaited moment of triumph against Nathalie Tauziat a year later, and the legacy she left after her death in 2017.The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, and features Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments. It is crowdfunded by listeners each December. * TENNIS RE-LIVED *We will be doing daily shows throughout the original Wimbledon dates, looking back on some of the tournament’s best matches and most important stories.

Nobody expected Andre Agassi’s first Grand Slam title to come on grass at Wimbledon, a tournament he’d boycotted for a few years.But Agassi always did things his own way, and when he won the tournament in 1992, he did it from the baseline, beating former champions Boris Becker and John McEnroe en route to the final, before overcoming the massive serve of Goran Ivanisevic in five sets.Why was Agassi’s story such a big deal? What had happened in his first three Grand Slam finals for him to have developed a reputation for style over substance? And in what way was his return his biggest weapon against Ivanisevic in the final?Larry Stefanki, who was coaching McEnroe at the time, contextualises Agassi’s feat and explains how he managed to beat so many classic grass courters. Chris Clarey of the New York Times, meanwhile, talks about what it was like to cover Agassi in the early 90s. The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, and features Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round,

Going into Wimbledon in 1991, Steffi Graf’s supremacy was under threat. She hadn’t won a Grand Slam title for 18 months, she’d lost her No.1 ranking to Monica Seles, her father’s scandalous private life meant she was being hounded by the tabloids, and Gabriela Sabatini had emerged as a real rival.But Graf rose above everything, dominating the draw before winning a classic final 8-6 in the third set against Sabatini. How did Seles’ withdrawal pave the way for Graf? In what way did Sabatini revolutionise her game during her run to the 1990 US Open title to try to combat Graf? What made Graf such a formidable player? And does her career get the credit it deserves? Finally, we hear from Christopher Clarey and Mary Carillo about why they loved watching Sabatini play and the reasons why they think she only won one Grand Slam title. The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, and features Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments. It is crowd

In 1985, a strawberry-blonde, unseeded, 17-year-old German named Boris Becker won Wimbledon, beating Kevin Curren in the final, and suddenly tennis had a new star. In what way did Becker bring levels of power and athleticism which hadn’t been seen before on a tennis court? And how did people react to his arrival on the world stage?We hear from Johan Kriek, the man who predicted Becker’s victory at Wimbledon after losing to him at Queen’s two weeks earlier, and Curren discusses his own run which saw him beat John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors without losing a set, before underestimating Becker’s big-match mentality in the final. Becker went on to have a lot more success at Wimbledon, including a hat-trick of finals against Stefan Edberg. The Swede tells us about their rivalry. Finally, we look at how fame changed Becker’s life forever, and not always for the better.  The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, and features Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily duri

The 1980 Wimbledon men’s final between Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe is one of the most famous tennis matches of all time, and it lived up to expectations as we re-watched it ahead of our second Wimbledon Re-Lived show.How was McEnroe viewed by British tennis fans at the time? How did his behaviour change when he played Borg? And in what way does this match carry a cultural influence which transcends tennis?The apex of the match was the epic fourth set tiebreak, won by McEnroe 18-16 as the level of tennis reached dizzying heights and the momentum swung back-and-forth. What was it like to play? Did McEnroe feel afterwards like he would go on to win the match? And how on earth did Borg recover for the deciding set? We hear from both men.Finally, Mary Carillo explains why it’s the best match she’s ever watched, reveals the extraordinary scene she witnessed as she flew home on the same plane as the McEnroe family, and sets up a discussion about the reasons why the Borg-McEnroe rivalry continues to shine such a

With nine singles titles to her name, Martina Navratilova is the most successful player in Wimbledon history. In this episode, we focus on the first of her wins – in 1978 against Chris Evert – and the last of them – in 1990 against Zina Garrison.In between analysing those matches, there’s discussion about the leaner years at the start of Navratilova’s career, her rivalry with Evert, the way she developed athletically into the sport’s most dominant figure, her special connection with Wimbledon, and the longevity of her career.We also get Evert’s view on the 1978 final and hear Navratilova’s own reflections on her career. The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, and features Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments. It is crowdfunded by listeners each December. * TENNIS RE-LIVED * We will be doing daily shows throughout the original Wimbledon dates, looking back on some of the tournament’s best matches and most important st