The Tennis Podcast

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 discussed, as she embarks upon the build-up to defending her own surprise Grand Slam title of 2017 on the clay in Paris. Meanwhile, in the men’s final Isner proved that being older than Catherine & taller than David is no barrier to winning an ATP Masters 1000 title. At 32 years of age and 6ft 10in tall, the American’s thrilling thee set victory over Alex Zverev anointed him the oldest ever debut Masters champion, and the tallest-ever, full-stop. Also covered is the breaking news that Andre Agassi has left hi

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 former world number ones.The pair also discuss the developing stand-off between Caroline Wozniacki and the Miami Open over abuse she alleges she and her family received from the crowd during her defeat last week to Monica Puig, and they throw in their two cents on the McEnroe/Navratilova pay gap story.The Tennis Podcast is produced weekly throughout the year and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments, in association with Telegraph Sport.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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??Also discussed is the ATP and ITF ‘arms race’ to stage the definitive tennis team competition. Is further division the last thing tennis needs? Plus Catherine gets a long-awaited chance to talk about her love affair with gin and tonic. The Tennis Podcast is produced weekly throughout the year and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments, in association with Telegraph Sport.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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 Amanda Anisimova and 17 year old Felix Auger-Aliassime recording ground-breaking victories in Indian Wells, Catherine & David put the spotlight on some of the outrageously young players taking the sport by storm.The Tennis Podcast is produced weekly throughout the year and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments, in association with Telegraph Sport.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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 their intention to play in The Queen’s Club Championships, 18th-24th June. Tickets are now available - po.st/QueensGeneralSaleThe Tennis Podcast is produced weekly throughout the year and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments, in association with Telegraph Sport and Eurosport.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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 from the tennis world this week, including a breakthrough title for Juan Martin Del Potro (could he win a Slam this year?), an injury-enforced lay-off for Rafael Nadal and a 'hefty' settlement for Genie Bouchard in her civil suit against the USTA.Plus there's chat about ferret couture, romantic billboard declarations and whether or not 1998 Australian Open Champion Petr Korda has ever received an invitation to the Oscars.The Tennis Podcast is produced weekly throughout the year and daily during the Grand Slam tournament

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.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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 (New York Times) for his early memories of Federer, where he believes the Swiss stands in the pantheon of all-time sporting greats, what he’s really like, and whether he thinks Federer has decided on a retirement plan. They also discuss the comeback of Serena Williams, the state of the WTA Tour, and the issues of ‘grunting’ raised by Caroline Wozniacki.The Tennis Podcast is produced weekly throughout the year and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments, in association with Telegraph Sport and Eurosport. &n

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. Should there be an ATP-1000 tournament on grass? Is it time to reassess the late-night scheduling of matches at Grand Slams, and if so, in what way? And who is C.Burel?All of those questions and more are addressed on the latest show.David also takes us through what has happened over the course of the last week in tennis, and what is to come. The Tennis Podcast is produced weekly throughout the year and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments, in association with Telegraph Sport.  See acast.com/privacy

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 way forward for aspiring young British players?His captain, Leon Smith, has been guiding the Great Britain team for the last eight years. We hear from him in conversation with presenter David Law about this latest tie in Marbella, and then the Telegraph’s Charlie Eccleshare joins to ponder just how impressive Smith’s reign has been. Smith’s time in charge is compared to that of Jim Courier, who took over the United States in 2010 and has yet to reach a Davis Cup final. After America’s comfortable win in Serbia, is

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 could have been played in before the decision was taken, on the eve of the final, to shut the roof. Did that play into Federer’s hands? Was it the right decision? Did Cilic ever look likely to win? And why was their such a muted reaction when the underdog started to mount a comeback? All questions answered on the latest show. As Federer, aged 36, contemplated another addition to his major title collection, Whitaker and Law discuss what it brings to his legacy, how much longer he might go on for, and how many more go

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 Slam’ has been removed forever from Wozniacki’s bio, so is Halep now the best player never to have won a major title? It’s all discussed in the latest daily podcast from the Australian Open.Looking ahead to the men’s singles final on Sunday, what did Goran Ivanisevic tell the pod team he had said to Marin Cilic before his compatriot won his 2014 US Open clash with Roger Federer? And what does Goran think will happen this time?The experiences of Wayne Ferreira describing how he beat Federer many moons ago are recoun

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 would have done against Federer.As well as Becker, Catherine Whitaker and David Law are joined by Mary Carillo, who was voted by listeners as the podcast’s favourite guest of 2017. A former player and feted broadcaster in the United States for her work on tennis, documentaries and coverage of the winter and summer Olympics for NBC, Carillo talks about her reaction to Chung’s decision to retire mid-match, her expectations for the men’s and women’s finals, and the documentary she has produced about Margaret Court.&

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. She will face another player that saved match points along the way - Caroline Wozniacki. Halep’s match with Angelique Kerber went from damp squib to instant classic in a sensational 9-7 third set, and meant that Catherine Whitaker did not have to follow through with her threat to ‘sue the tennis gods’ if another match didn’t live up to expectations.Where does the Halep vs. Kerber third set rank among the all-time greats? What did the players say afterwards that so uplifted the podcast team? And how surprising was i

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 tournament and put him into a semifinal against Roger Federer. Sandgren continued to create headlines of his own because of his social media activity, and responded with a statement in his post-match press conference. What sort of challenge do the Tennis Podcast team think Chung can pose to Federer? Catherine Whitaker and David Law weigh up whether the similarities of his strengths to those of Djokovic might be a factor.Federer saved set points against Tomas Berdych and has yet to drop a set, but how well is he actu

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 again be waiting. This time though, Murray is at home recovering from hip surgery, and the name on everyone’s lips is Kyle Edmund.After a tumultuous day of tennis, presenters Catherine Whitaker and David Law, who are in Melbourne for Eurosport and BBC Radio 5 Live respectively, sat down with Telegraph tennis correspondent Simon Briggs to try to make sense of what they had seen.Will Edmund go another step and reach the final? What do the team think will happen between Madison Keys and Angelique Kerber, and Simona Halep a

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 health of Djokovic, who admitted he was in a bad way with his elbow, and that he was back to the drawing board.Elsewhere, World No.96 Tennys Sandgren defeated Dominic Thiem in 5 sets, and will now meet Chung in the quarters. Is that clash, between the World No’s 97 and 54 one of the most unlikely last eight clashes ever? In the other quarterfinal in the bottom half of the draw, Roger Federer will take on Tomas Berdych for a 26th time. Federer leads the head-to-head 19-6, winning their last eight clashes. Can Berdych to

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 an even better one from his opponent? Regarding Dimitrov, is he finally ready to fully deliver on his enormous talent?Edmund’s four-set win over Seppi again saw him fight back from behind to prevail, becoming the first British man not named Andy Murray to reach an Australian Open quarterfinal in 33 years. What do the Tennis Podcast team think of his chances against Dimitrov?There’s also discussion of Rafael Nadal and Marin Cilic’s tricky tussles as they set up a quarterfinal clash, and the ever-improving Caroline Wozniac

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 reflected on Angelique Kerber's comfortable win over Maria Sharapova. Is she now the favourite for the title?Meanwhile, what happened to Alexander Zverev, the fourth seeded German that everyone's been talking about? Beaten in a fifth set by Hyeon Chung, how much should be read into another disappointing Grand Slam loss? And what did Roger Federer say to Zverev in a quiet locker room moment afterwards?The podcast team also discuss the progress of the wonderfully named Tennys Sandgren, and Lleyton Hewitt'

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, the win scored by Nick Kyrgios over Jo Wilfried Tsonga is dissected by Whitaker and David Law, and they assess how the Australian public is taking to the man who sampled victory on Rod Laver Arena for the first time. Whitaker reports what Kyrgios’ fourth round opponent Grigor Dimitrov was doing before taking to the court against Andrey Rublev, there’s discussion about Roger Federer’s quotes about the potential for a player union and a greater piece of Grand Slam revenues, and the WTA Finals moving to Shenzhen for te