The Tennis Podcast

Justine Henin won the first of her four Roland Garros titles in 2003, beating Serena Williams in a controversial semi-final and Kim Clijsters in a one-sided final. With the help of Mary Carillo, we look back on those rivalries which shaped Henin’s career as well as her very strong record at the French Open during the mid-2000s. What made Henin such a threat to Serena? Did Henin and Clijsters like each other? What caused their rivalry to be a bit weird? How did it evolve? And why did Henin have such a special connection with Roland Garros?Finally, we hear from Henin herself who talks about the importance of rivalries and the way in which they made her a better player. The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, featuring Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments. It is crowdfunded by listeners each December. * NEWSLETTER *Sign up to get our news, isolation diaries and Matt’s Stat - http://eepurl.com/gbmzRX* ROLAND GARROS

The 2002 French Open final is etched into tennis history as the only meeting between Serena and Venus Williams at Roland Garros and the start of their run of four consecutive Grand Slam finals against each other which ended with Serena winning her first Serena Slam.How did the sisters take the sport to new heights during this period? What did Venus’ reaction to defeat reveal about her character and her relationship with Serena? And how have their careers shined a light on race issues in tennis?We also hear from Mary Carillo and Christopher Clarey who talk more about how their sibling rivalry played out on court, the way in which Serena embraced clay more than Venus, and whether or not they enjoyed watching the Williams sisters face off.The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, featuring Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments. It is crowdfunded by listeners each December.* NEWSLETTER *Sign up to get our news, isolation diaries and

The 2001 French Open saw Jennifer Capriati beat Kim Clijsters 12-10 in the final set to win her second Grand Slam title, but this was just a small part of Capriati’s story, one we tell in full on this podcast with the help of Tom Gullikson (her former coach), Lindsay Davenport (her compatriot) and Mary Carillo (someone who tracked her career closely).We cover Capriati’s prodigious talent and breakthrough results, her downward spiral and the events which turned her into a cautionary tale, her resurgence and Grand Slam wins, and the way in which she is still troubled today.Reflecting on her run to the Roland Garros title, we discuss the symbolism of Capriati’s semi-final victory over Martina Hingis and the dramatic but error-ridden nature of the final against Clijsters.The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, featuring Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments. It is crowdfunded by listeners each December.* NEWSLETTER *Sign up to get

Not many people expected Andre Agassi to win the French Open, especially not in 1999, and certainly not when he fell two sets down in the final against Andrei Medvedev. But then he produced one of the greatest comebacks of all time, recovering to beat Medvedev and complete the coveted career Grand Slam. In this episode we talk through the events which led Agassi to that point. What had happened in his previous two French Open finals? Why did he used to skip Wimbledon and the Australian Open? And how did he get his career back on track after dropping to No.141 in the world? We hear from Brad Gilbert, Agassi’s coach at Roland Garros in 1999, who explains why Agassi’s participation at that year’s French Open was in doubt, how he came through a tough draw, and what he said to him during the rain delay. Andrei Medvedev, meanwhile, gives his version of events, and Chris Clarey of the New York Times tells us how Agassi’s Roland Garros title set in motion the most dominant spell of his career. The Tennis Podcast

Martina Hingis never won the French Open, but the 1999 final was definitely the one that got away as she let slip a comfortable lead against Steffi Graf in a classic match filled with aggro.How did Hingis stir things up before the match with her comments about Graf? What incidents turned the crowd against Hingis and caused her to get a point penalty? And in what way were the scenes at the end of the match - as Hingis returned to the court in tears comforted by her mother - so pathos heavy?We hear from Mary Carillo about why she loved watching Hingis play and why she always assumed that the Swiss would win Roland Garros one day.As for Graf, this turned out to be her last Grand Slam title, and she retired shortly afterwards. Her coach, Heinz Günthardt, talks candidly about the match and reveals the exact moment Graf knew her time in the sport was up.The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, featuring Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily during the Grand Slam tourn

Almost nobody had heard of Gustavo Kuerten when he entered Roland Garros in 1997, but everyone knew who he was when he walked away as the champion. So, how did he do it? Kuerten tells us about the moment he first felt the love of the French fans, his difficult matches against Thomas Muster and Yevgeny Kafelnikov en route to the final, and just how much tennis still means to him. We also hear from Sergi Bruguera, the runner-up that year, about what it was like to play against Kuerten and his memories of the final. Then, New York Times journalist Christopher Clarey explains the buzz around Kuerten’s story that fortnight and why the 1997 French Open is one of his all-time favourites as a reporter. Finally, we celebrate Kuerten’s career and his lasting impact on the sport. The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, featuring Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments. It is crowdfunded by listeners each December.* NEWSLETTER *Sign up to ge

Monica Seles’ 6-2, 3-6, 10-8 victory over Steffi Graf in 1992 is widely considered to be the best Roland Garros final of all time.Catherine, David and Matt explain how they felt while watching it and discuss some of the reasons why it was so special.We also hear from Graf’s coach at the time, Heinz Günthardt, who offers insight into why Seles caused Graf so many problems, especially on clay.New York Times journalist Christopher Clarey explains where the match ranks among the best he’s ever witnessed, and discusses the tragic interruption to their rivalry when Seles was stabbed in 1993.How did that incident change Seles as a person forever? In what way did it bind Graf and Seles together in a unique way? And how did it alter the course of tennis history?The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, featuring Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments. It is crowdfunded by listeners each December.* NEWSLETTER *Sign up to get our news, isola

When Michael Chang beat Stefan Edberg in the 1989 French Open final, he became the youngest man ever to win a Grand Slam title, but it’s his fourth-round match against Ivan Lendl which is most famous.Chang was trailing by two sets to love, but several moonballs, numerous bouts of cramp, and even an underarm serve later, he’d won the match and turned it into the stuff of legend. In an exclusive interview, Chang discusses his tactics to turn the match around, the way he got booed during the tournament after mentioning his faith, his relationship with Lendl, and how he coped during the tournament despite hearing news of the Tiananmen Square Massacre.We also analyse Chang’s performance in the final, hear from Edberg about how he let that match slip and how gutted he was to lose it, and look at Chang’s place in tennis history.The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, featuring Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments. It is crowdfun

Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova met 80 times in total, and their 1985 French Open final, won 7-5 in the third set by Evert, was one of their best ever matches.In an exclusive interview, Evert explains why she will be inextricably bound in history with Navratilova, the way they were portrayed as opposites, the reasons Navratilova was the favourite ahead of their 1985 Roland Garros final, why this victory stands out as her greatest, and the way it lengthened her career.The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, featuring Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments. It is crowdfunded by listeners each December.* NEWSLETTER *Sign up to get our news, isolation diaries and Matt’s Stat - http://eepurl.com/gbmzRX* ROLAND GARROS RE-LIVED *We are producing daily shows throughout the original Roland Garros dates, looking back on 15 classic matches and stories from the tournament’s history. You can watch extensive highlights of Evert

John McEnroe never won the French Open. But he should have done in 1984. Instead, he lost a two-set lead in the final against Ivan Lendl. So, what happened?Having re-watched the whole match, Catherine, David and Matt give their analysis. In what way did McEnroe allow himself to get distracted? Did he choke? How did Lendl mount his comeback? And what did this match do for both of their careers?We also hear from Mary Carillo who recounts why it hurt McEnroe so much to lose specifically to Lendl, the way he’s still affected by the missed opportunity whenever he arrives at Roland Garros, and the poignant conversation that took place between the McEnroe brothers after the match.The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, featuring Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments. It is crowdfunded by listeners each December.* NEWSLETTER *Sign up to get our news, isolation diaries and Matt’s Stat - http://eepurl.com/gbmzRX* ROLAND GARROS

Who better to tell the story of Yannick Noah’s historic victory at the French Open in 1983 than the man himself?In an enthralling, exclusive interview, Noah takes us through it all, including the extra work he put in during the build-up to Roland Garros that year, his nerve-wracking victory over Ivan Lendl, the relief he felt when Jimmy Connors lost, the dream he had before the final, the words he exchanged with his father after beating Mats Wilander to win the title, and why he could never replicate those feelings elsewhere.Afterwards, we discuss our own Yannick Noah memories, his game style on clay, and his enduring cultural importance in France.The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, featuring Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments. It is crowdfunded by listeners each December.* NEWSLETTER *Sign up to get our news, isolation diaries and Matt’s Stat - http://eepurl.com/gbmzRX* ROLAND GARROS RE-LIVED *We are producing

We begin this week’s Tennis Re-Lived in 1992 when Gabriela Sabatini won her fourth title in Rome, beating Monica Seles in her prime in the final.How come Sabatini had such a special connection with Rome? In what way did she manage to make Seles’ game seem a bit limited in that match? And why have Sabatini’s achievements faded from tennis conversation?Then, we go back to 2006 to cover Rafael Nadal’s epic five set win over Roger Federer. In what way was Nadal kryptonite for Federer in this period? How has he developed his game since then? And might victory for Federer have changed the course of his rivalry with Nadal on clay?The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, featuring Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments. It is crowdfunded by listeners each December.* NEWSLETTER *Sign up to get our weekly news, isolation diaries and Matt’s Stat - http://eepurl.com/gbmzRX* TENNIS RE-LIVED *Our Tennis Re-Lived series will return on

We take listener questions on a range of topics, including what can be done to make tennis behind closed doors more enjoyable, Innes Ibbou’s rebuttal to Dominic Thiem’s comments about lower ranked players, results from the past that we’d like to change, the best and worst coaching appointments, and whether doubles should be made more prominent.The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, featuring Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments. It is crowdfunded by listeners each December.* NEWSLETTER *Sign up to get our news, isolation diaries and Matt’s Stat. Daily at the Grand Slams and weekly throughout the rest of the year - http://eepurl.com/gbmzRX* TENNIS RE-LIVED *Our Tennis Re-Lived series will return on May 18th when we look back on past editions of Rome. We will be watching Federer and Nadal’s classic from 2006 on Tennis TV and talking about Gabriela Sabatini’s dominant run there, highlighted by her 1992 final against Mo

Catherine, David and Matt return with another episode of Tennis Re-Lived, this time looking back on a couple of classic finals and storylines from Madrid.In 2012, the clay turned blue, and Janko Tipsarevic explains what it was really like to play on, who it favoured, how it affected Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, why it was ditched, and the reason it was slippery.Plus, in what way was the final a microcosm of Tomas Berdych’s career? And how did Federer find his feet when others struggled?The 2014 women’s final between Maria Sharapova and Simona Halep turned out to be a prelude of the Roland Garros final that year, serving as an indication of Sharapova’s progress on clay. What was behind her mid-career transformation on the surface? Sven Groeneveld, her coach at the time, tells us.The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, featuring Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments. It is crowdfunded by listeners every December.* NEWSLETTER

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are the three best male players of all time, but they haven’t always been so great...In the final episode of our ‘worst of’ series (for now), we reflect on those rare moments when they struggled on court, including their respective slumps in 2013, 2015 and 2017.Plus, what happened to Federer at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics? How did he lose to Guillermo Cañas in back-to-back tournaments in 2007? Why did Nadal’s Wimbledon results go downhill from 2012 onwards? How much does it matter that he’s never won the ATP Finals? Why did Djokovic retire from so many matches early in his career? And what on earth was going on with his serve under Todd Martin?The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, featuring Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments. It is crowdfunded by listeners every December.* NEWSLETTER *Sign up to get our news, isolation diaries and Matt’s Stat. Daily at the Grand Slams and

Our countdown of the Top 10 worst Grand Slam finals of all time, including a weekend of double disappointment in 1983, the only 6-0 6-0 in Open Era history, a couple of Wimbledon finals which prompted change, and a controversial mid-match retirement.‘Worst of’ fortnight will conclude on Thursday when we discuss the low points in the careers of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, featuring Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments. It is crowdfunded by listeners every December.* NEWSLETTER *Sign up to get our news, isolation diaries and Matt’s Stat. Daily at the Grand Slams and weekly throughout the rest of the year - http://eepurl.com/gbmzRX* TENNIS RE-LIVED *Our Tennis Re-Lived series will return on May 11th when we look back on two classic finals from Madrid. We will also be doing daily editions during the original Roland Garros and Wimbledon dates.* EMAIL *We hop

If you enjoyed part one of our worst ever predictions podcast, then you’re going to love part two.Our self-imposed humiliation intensifies as we re-play a couple of clips to make Catherine cringe, go deep on David’s wildly changeable views on Nick Kyrgios, and laugh at Matt picking Victoria Kuzmova to do big things.Plus, in a segment on our wildly inaccurate ranking projections, find out which player, who has never been ranked inside the Top 100, David thought would be Top 20 by 2020.‘Worst of’ fortnight will continue on Monday when we rank the worst Grand Slam finals of all time. The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, featuring Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments. It is crowdfunded by listeners every December.* NEWSLETTER *Sign up to get our news, isolation diaries and Matt’s Stat. Daily at the Grand Slams and weekly throughout the rest of the year - http://eepurl.com/gbmzRX* TENNIS RE-LIVED *Our Tennis Re-Li

This week we are venturing nervously into the archives to dissect and discuss our worst ever predictions.Part one includes a couple of clangers involving Serena Williams, examples of our overly optimistic outlook on Grigor Dimitrov, and jinxing the big Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal match that everyone wanted to see at the US Open.The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, featuring Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments. It is crowdfunded by listeners every December.* NEWSLETTER *Sign up to get our news, isolation diaries and Matt’s Stat. Daily at the Grand Slams and weekly throughout the rest of the year - http://eepurl.com/gbmzRX* TENNIS RE-LIVED *Our Tennis Re-Lived series will return in May when we look back on classic finals from Madrid and Rome. We will also be doing daily editions during the original Roland Garros and Wimbledon dates.* EMAIL *We hope that the podcast helps to provide some form of escape during the

Catherine speaks to former world No.3 and 22-time Grand Slam doubles champion Pam Shriver, covering the start of her partnership with Martina Navratilova and their many successes together, her memories of the historic 1986 Fed Cup Final, her gold medal winning run with Zina Garrison in Seoul, what it was like to reach the US Open final as a 16-year-old, and her thoughts on when tennis might return.The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, featuring Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments. It is crowdfunded by listeners every December.* NEWSLETTER *Sign up to get our news, isolation diaries and Matt’s Stat. Daily at the Grand Slams and weekly throughout the rest of the year - http://eepurl.com/gbmzRX* TENNIS RE-LIVED *Our Tennis Re-Lived series will return in May when we look back on classic finals from Madrid and Rome. We will also be doing daily editions during the original Roland Garros and Wimbledon dates.* EMAIL *We h

We hadn’t planned to record a podcast today, but then Roger Federer tweeted about merging the ATP and WTA, and we were suddenly in emergency podcast territory.Why has it taken until now, during a global pandemic and 50 years after Billie Jean King first proposed the idea, for some of the top men to get behind it? How likely is it to actually happen? And what are the potential stumbling blocks?In the second half of the show, David speaks to John Millman about his life without tennis, the need to support lower-ranked players financially during the coronavirus pandemic, his career-defining matches against Roger Federer, and, of course, his credentials to make it onto The Tennis Podcast boat.The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, featuring Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments. It is crowdfunded by listeners every December.* NEWSLETTER *Sign up to get our news, isolation diaries and Matt’s Stat. Daily at the Grand Slams and weekly