The Tennis Podcast

For two sets, Carlos Alcaraz vs Novak Djokovic was the match we hoped it would be, but then Alcaraz started full body cramping and was unable to really move or compete in sets three and four. Catherine, David and Matt discuss the feeling of deflation, analyse how Djokovic stamped his authority in the first set before Alcaraz hit back, and describe what went wrong for Alcaraz at the start of the third. What did Alcaraz have to say about what happened? And in what way did the aura and presence of Djokovic himself cause Alcaraz to cramp? We also discuss Casper Ruud’s thrashing of Alexander Zverev. Just how impressive was Ruud? Why did we underestimate him yet again coming into this tournament? And what was up with Zverev? There’s also a preview of tomorrow’s schedule, including the women’s final between Iga Swiatek and Karolina Muchova. ON LOCATION:The Tennis Podcast throughout Roland Garros is brought to you in association with On Location, the premium hospitality and experience provider.On Locat

At the end of a special women's semi-finals day, the one and only Mary Carillo joined us on the pod. We talked about how much of a joy it is to watch Karolina Muchova play tennis, the way Aryna Sabalenka let it slip in the closing stages, how Iga Swiatek dug deep to see off the challenge of Beatriz Haddad Maia, and who we think will win out of Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz on Friday. WIN WITH WILSON!We have teamed up with Wilson, providers of the official ball at Roland Garros, to give away fantastic packs of Roland Garros limited edition products to two Tennis Podcast listeners!The prize packages will include:1 Roland Garros Bag for 9 racquets1 Roland Garros Edition racquet (either a Blade 98 or Clash 100)1 pack of Luxilon Roland Garros String 2 cans of Roland Garros Clay Court balls.To be in with a chance of winning this amazing pack of Wilson gear, ENTER https://forms.wilson.com/gb_thetennispodcast_rolandgarros_2023/?Enter before 5pm UK Time on Friday 9th June. We will announce the winners in our

The semi-final line-ups are set at Roland Garros. Catherine, David and Matt discuss how Beatriz Haddad Maia fought back against Ons Jabeur, why Jabeur should have regrets about the second set, Coco Gauff’s new tactic against Iga Swiatek, a completely bizarre match between Casper Ruud and Holger Rune, and how Alexander Zverev has made it back into the final four a year on from his horrific ankle injury. ON LOCATION:The Tennis Podcast throughout Roland Garros is brought to you in association with On Location, the premium hospitality and experience provider.On Location is the official Tour Operator for the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells in March, and we can tell you that their packages, via Steve Furgal’s International Tennis Tours, are now on sale for Indian Wells.If you would like to go to Indian Wells in style, and experience one of the most spectacular settings to watch professional tennis, staying in 4 or 5 star accommodation, get great tickets to watch the tennis and access to a hospitality suite to

Clear your schedules: Novak Djokovic vs Carlos Alcaraz is finally happening. They will meet in the French Open semi-finals on Friday and the hype begins now. Catherine, David and Matt discuss how they both got there with stellar performances on Tuesday, as Djokovic came back to beat Karen Khachanov before Alcaraz thrashed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the night session. On the women's side, we talk about Karolina Muchova and Aryna Sabalenka reaching the semi-finals as well as Sabalenka's return to the press conference room. ON LOCATION:The Tennis Podcast throughout Roland Garros is brought to you in association with On Location, the premium hospitality and experience provider.On Location is the official Tour Operator for the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells in March, and we can tell you that their packages, via Steve Furgal’s International Tennis Tours, are now on sale for Indian Wells.If you would like to go to Indian Wells in style, and experience one of the most spectacular settings to watch professional tennis, s

There's loads for Catherine, David and Matt to discuss: Alexander Zverev crushing Grigor Dimitrov and his chances of reaching the final, a fifth set tiebreak win for Holger Rune over Francisco Cerundolo and the opportunity to face Casper Ruud again, Beatriz Haddad Maia winning the longest match of the year, another Coco Gauff-Iga Swiatek match being set up, and a lovely press conference involving Miyu Kato and Tim Puetz. ON LOCATION:The Tennis Podcast throughout Roland Garros is brought to you in association with On Location, the premium hospitality and experience provider.On Location is the official Tour Operator for the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells in March, and we can tell you that their packages, via Steve Furgal’s International Tennis Tours, are now on sale for Indian Wells.If you would like to go to Indian Wells in style, and experience one of the most spectacular settings to watch professional tennis, staying in 4 or 5 star accommodation, get great tickets to watch the tennis and access to a hospit

At the end of a great night session match between Aryna Sabalenka and Sloane Stephens, Catherine, David and Matt discuss whether this was Sabalenka demonstrating how much of a title contender she is, debate how well Stephens played, explain why it mattered that this match was good, and react to the fact that Sabalenka once again did not do a press conference. Elsewhere, there's excitement about how close we now are to Novak Djokovic vs Carlos Alcaraz, an assessment of how they looked and the performance of Lorenzo Musetti, and much joy at the unexpected quarter-final runs of Elina Svitolina and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. ON LOCATION:The Tennis Podcast throughout Roland Garros is brought to you in association with On Location, the premium hospitality and experience provider.On Location is the official Tour Operator for the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells in March, and we can tell you that their packages, via Steve Furgal’s International Tennis Tours, are now on sale for Indian Wells.If you would like to go to

It wasn't a vintage day at Roland Garros - Elena Rybakina's sad withdrawal rather set the tone for a day filled with defeats for lots of fun players and plenty of one-sided matches. But Catherine, David and Matt still had lots to discuss, including Iga Swiatek's form after her 6-0 6-0 victory, how Coco Gauff showed her maturity to beat Mirra Andreeva, breakthrough wins for Beatriz Haddad Maia and Nicolas Jarry, Taylor Fritz being booed onto court, Ons Jabeur finishing in style against Olga Danilovic, missed opportunities for Frances Tiafoe, and much more. ON LOCATION:This edition of The Tennis Podcast is brought to you in association with On Location, the premium hospitality and experience provider. On Location took us to Indian Wells in March so we can vouch for the brilliant experiences they provide at tennis tournaments. They provide packages via Steve Furgal’s International Tennis Tours to all of the four Grand Slam tournaments, including the US Open, which is on sale now, with fantastic seats, hospitalit

At the end of Day 6 at Roland Garros, Catherine, David and Matt cover the longest straight sets match of Novak Djokovic's career against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Carlos Alcaraz's thrashing of Denis Shapovalov in the night session, a tantalising last 16 match between Aryna Sabalenka and Sloane Stephens, Sabalenka's decision to skip her press conference and how it was handled by the tournament, defeats for Andrey Rublev and Jessica Pegula, and the joy of having Elina Svitolina, Karolina Muchova and Daria Kasatkina still in the draw.WIN WITH WILSON!We have teamed up with Wilson, providers of the official ball at Roland Garros, to give away fantastic packs of Roland Garros limited edition products to two Tennis Podcast listeners!The prize packages will include:1 Roland Garros Bag for 9 racquets 1 Roland Garros Edition racquet (either a Blade 98 or Clash 100) 1 pack of Luxilon Roland Garros String 2 cans of Roland Garros Clay Court balls.To be in with a chance of winning this amazing pack of Wilson gear, ENTER

The drama just keeps coming at Roland Garros. On the Day 5 pod, Catherine, David and Matt discuss Daniel Altmaier’s incredible win over Jannik Sinner, Mirra Andreeva and Coco Gauff setting up a tantalising R3 encounter, the form of Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina, Taylor Fritz making himself public enemy number one, and much more.ON LOCATION:This edition of The Tennis Podcast is brought to you in association with On Location, the premium hospitality and experience provider. On Location took us to Indian Wells in March so we can vouch for the brilliant experiences they provide at tennis tournaments. They provide packages via Steve Furgal’s International Tennis Tours to all of the four Grand Slam tournaments, including the US Open, which is on sale now, with fantastic seats, hospitality and hotel packages available for the year’s final major event at Flushing Meadows in New York. Go to OnLocationEXP.com/TTP to see what they have to offer. DisclaimerThe coupon code "FINALSLAM" works when you purcha

There was a ‘morning after the night before’ feeling to Wednesday at Roland Garros, with the reverberations from Gael Monfils’ epic late night win still being felt around the grounds. But such is the pace of these Grand Slam tournaments, new stories quickly formed on Day 4. Catherine, David and Matt discuss Novak Djokovic's victory over Marton Fucsovics which included an epic first set, defeat for Caroline Garcia as she got tight against Anna Blinkova, a five set victory for Thanasi Kokkinakis against Stan Wawrinka, a delightful match between Daria Kasatkina and Marketa Vondrousova, more tension in an Aryna Sabalenka press conference, a mid-match lapse from Carlos Alcaraz, Gael Monfils' withdrawal, and a big upset in the women's doubles as Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova lost their first match at a slam since 2021. ON LOCATION:This edition of The Tennis Podcast is brought to you in association with On Location, the premium hospitality and experience provider. On Location took us to Indian Wells in M

Tuesday at Roland Garros was a lot: Gael Monfils somehow came back from 0-4 down in the final set while cramping, Rome champion Daniil Medvedev was beaten by Thiago Seyboth Wild in five dramatic sets, and Bianca Andreescu came surging back to defeat Victoria Azarenka in a thriller. Catherine, David and Matt cover all of that, as well as the domestic violence charge facing Seyboth Wild, wins for Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff and Ons Jabeur, and a first round loss for Barbora Krejcikova. ON LOCATION:This edition of The Tennis Podcast is brought to you in association with On Location, the premium hospitality and experience provider. On Location took us to Indian Wells in March so we can vouch for the brilliant experiences they provide at tennis tournaments. They provide packages via Steve Furgal’s International Tennis Tours to all of the four Grand Slam tournaments, including the US Open, which is on sale now, with fantastic seats, hospitality and hotel packages available for the year’s final major event at Flushing M

Novak Djokovic won his opening round match at Roland Garros on Monday without too much fuss, but he sparked a potential political row after writing the phrase ‘Kosovo is the heart of Serbia’ in the customary post-match camera signing. We discuss what he was referring to, why it's a controversial statement, and the rest of what he had to say in the Serbian part of his press conference. Elsewhere, Catherine, David and Matt discuss throwback wins for Sloane Stephens, Stan Wawrinka and Elina Svitolina, as well as sad times for Felix Auger-Aliassime, Jack Draper and Dominic Thiem. There’s also exhilaration at Carlos Alcaraz’s performance and exasperation (again) at the night session scheduling. WIN WITH WILSON!We have teamed up with Wilson, providers of the official ball at Roland Garros, to give away fantastic packs of Roland Garros limited edition products to two Tennis Podcast listeners!The prize packages will include:1 Roland Garros Bag for 9 racquets 1 Roland Garros Edition racquet (either a Blade 98 or

There's no longer such as thing as a slow Sunday start at Roland Garros. Catherine, David and Matt discuss Lucas Pouille's comeback continuing, the tension on court and in the press conference room between Aryna Sabalenka and Marta Kostyuk, Karolina Muchova's "upset" win over Maria Sakkari, a survival act by Stefanos Tsitsipas against Jiri Vesely, lots of fun from Constant Lestienne, and meeting Arthur Fils in the interview room. ON LOCATION:This edition of The Tennis Podcast is brought to you in association with On Location, the premium hospitality and experience provider. On Location took us to Indian Wells in March so we can vouch for the brilliant experiences they provide at tennis tournaments. They provide packages via Steve Furgal’s International Tennis Tours to all of the four Grand Slam tournaments, including the US Open, which is on sale now, with fantastic seats, hospitality and hotel packages available for the year’s final major event at Flushing Meadows in New York. Go to OnLocationEXP.com/TT

Shortly after attending media day at Roland Garros, Catherine, David and Matt react to what the players had to say. There's chat about Stefanos Tsitsipas' coaching set up, Coco Gauff's forehand, Iga Swiatek's health, Aryna Sabalenka and Daniil Medvedev's developing relationships with clay, the way Carlos Alcaraz is taking everything in his stride, and much more. ON LOCATION:This edition of The Tennis Podcast is brought to you in association with On Location, the premium hospitality and experience provider. On Location took us to Indian Wells in March so we can vouch for the brilliant experiences they provide at tennis tournaments. They provide packages via Steve Furgal’s International Tennis Tours to all of the four Grand Slam tournaments, including the US Open, which is on sale now, with fantastic seats, hospitality and hotel packages available for the year’s final major event at Flushing Meadows in New York. Go to OnLocationEXP.com/TTP to see what they have to offer. DisclaimerThe coupon code

Catherine, David and Matt have arrived in Paris and attended the Roland Garros draw ceremony! What do we make of Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic being in the same half? Has David changed his mind about Daniil Medvedev not being in The Mix? What are the most eye-catching round matches of the women's draw? Is this a good draw or a bad draw for Aryna Sabalenka? And much more. ON LOCATION:This edition of The Tennis Podcast is brought to you in association with On Location, the premium hospitality and experience provider. On Location took us to Indian Wells in March so we can vouch for the brilliant experiences they provide at tennis tournaments. They provide packages via Steve Furgal’s International Tennis Tours to all of the four Grand Slam tournaments, including the US Open, which is on sale now, with fantastic seats, hospitality and hotel packages available for the year’s final major event at Flushing Meadows in New York. Go to OnLocationEXP.com/TTP to see what they have to offer. DisclaimerTh

Another week in tennis, another tournament where the women were treated as second class citizens. This time, the singles final didn’t start until 11pm and the doubles final took place on a non-televised court. There were some reasons for this - rain being the obvious one - but Catherine, David and Matt discuss why this shouldn’t be acceptable.  There’s also chat about Anhelina Kalinina’s great week before her unfortunate retirement in the final through injury, debate about whether Rome champions Elena Rybakina and Daniil Medvedev are in The Mix for Roland Garros, and much enjoyment from Medvedev’s dance/twist/whatever that was after he beat Stefanos Tsitsipas. Elsewhere, we discuss the fact that Simona Halep has been charged with a second and separate doping offence, and we look ahead to the French Open as qualifying gets underway. ON LOCATION:This edition of The Tennis Podcast is brought to you in association with On Location, the premium hospitality and experience provider. On Location took u

It's been quite a day in tennis as Rafael Nadal held a press conference to announce that he will be missing Roland Garros while he takes an extended break from the sport in an attempt to recover from the injury he sustained at the Australian Open. He also said that he plans to retire after the 2024 season. In this show we react to that news, discuss the reasons behind his decisions, ponder what his farewell tour may be like, and offer some reflections on one of the greatest players this sport has ever seen.We also go through the main talking points from the last few days in Rome - Carlos Alcaraz's shock defeat to Fabian Marozsan, aggro unexpectedly involving Cameron Norrie, Holger Rune's brilliance to beat Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek's injury, and a thrilling run of form from Jelena Ostapenko. What does it all mean for Roland Garros?Finally, David speaks to Christopher Clarey, who, after 30 years, is leaving The New York Times to become a full-time author.ON LOCATION:This edition of The Tennis Podcast is brou

While Rome has been underway for a few days now, we pick off this episode where we left off, by discussing the fallout from the women’s doubles final ceremony in Madrid where the players were not allowed to speak. Four days after the event, the tournament finally apologised, but not before Jessica Pegula had had more to say and a piece by Matt Futterman in the New York Times had drawn attention to the large scale inequalities faced by women in tennis. Catherine, David and Matt discuss all of that before getting on to the main headlines from Rome so far, including the wonder of Court Pietrangeli, total dominance from Iga Swiatek, a surprise defeat for Aryna Sabalenka against Sofia Kenin, impressive performances by Marketa Vondrousova which have left us wondering if she’s happening again, better signs from Novak Djokovic, and a defiant victory by Holger Rune against Fabio Fognini and the Italian crowd. ON LOCATION:This edition of The Tennis Podcast is brought to you in association with On Locatio

It was a thrilling finals weekend in Madrid with Aryna Sabalenka getting revenge on Iga Swiatek before Carlos Alcaraz survived a great performance by Jan-Lennard Struff to defend his title. Catherine is back home and she joins David and Matt to review it all. Is Sabalenka-Swiatek now a legitimate rivalry? Will Sabalenka be able to take this form to Rome and Roland Garros? And did Struff provide a blueprint for facing Alcaraz?Sadly, the great tennis was somewhat overshadowed by the fact that the women's doubles finalists - Victoria Azarenka, Beatriz Haddad Maia, Jessica Pegula & Coco Gauff - were not allowed to give speeches on court. What happened? Why did it happen? What might it have to do with #cakegate? Why have the tournament not put out an official explanation? And in what way did this incident feed into the idea that the WTA players don't receive equal treatment in Madrid? Elsewhere, we cover Andy Murray winning a Challenger title in Aix-en-Provence, Rafael Nadal withdrawing from Rome, and Veronika

Iga Swiatek will face Aryna Sabalenka's in Saturday's Madrid final which means the rivalry we've all wanted is officially happening. David, Catherine (in Madrid) and Matt talk through how both players have got there, Swiatek's intensity and focus this week, and the way in which Sabalenka is embracing the prospect of a rematch with the world number one. On the men's side, we look ahead to the Carlos Alcaraz vs Borna Coric and Aslan Karatsev vs Jan-Lennard Struff semi-finals. Yes, you read that correctly, Karatsev and Struff have made it all the way to the last four. We chat about how this run has come out of nowhere for Karatsev, the way in which Struff went toe-to-toe with a jaded-looking Stefanos Tsitsipas, and how much their qualifying match will affect Friday's semi. Elsewhere, we react to the news that Emma Raducanu will be out of action for several months while she recovers from hand and ankle surgery, and we discuss why it's time for Madrid to stop having model ball girls. ON LOCATION:This edition of T