The Tennis Podcast

With David away on holiday, Catherine and Matt are joined by The Athletic’s Charlie Eccleshare for reaction to the week’s results and some bigger picture reflections on the season.
Part one - WTA (00:00 - 44:55). We start by discussing Elena Rybakina’s first title as the World No.1 and her impressive performance to beat Leylah Fernandez in the Ningbo final. Charlie reflects on how Rybakina’s rise to the top has coincided with Aryna Sabalenka’s slump and we take a look at the WTA Finals line-up which got confirmed last week. How weird is it not to see Iga Swiatek there? And how might Elina Svitolina be affected by her split from Gael Monfils and, in particular, the horrible online abuse she’s suffered?
Part two - ATP (44:56 - 1:16:45). There’s reaction to Lorenzo Musetti’s stunning title run in Lyon, Daniil Medvedev’s resurgence continuing with a title in Almaty, and Tallon Griekspoor overcoming the change of venue in Brussels to triumph there. We also reflect on the careers of Stan Wawrinka and David Goffin as they come to an end while Matt faces the music after his disastrous performance in Wrexham.
Part three (1:16:46 - 1:35:12). A look ahead to this week’s action as the Race for Turin heats up with so many players in contention taking part in Vienna and Basel. Will Djokovic qualify? Finally, there’s reaction to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina getting the call-up for Spain’s Davis Cup Finals squad.
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Catherine, David and Matt review the final few days of action in Wuhan and Shanghai as Maja Chwalinska and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina won their first 1000 level titles.
Part one (00:00 - 29:40) We discuss the way Chwalinska has backed up her run to the Roland Garros final, how she came from a set down to defeat Sonay Kartal in an enjoyable final in Wuhan, and the tough task for Iga Swiatek to try to qualify for the WTA Finals.
Part two (29:41 - 56:52) We cover Davidovich Fokina’s brilliant title run, the way he’s changed the narrative of his career in the last few months, and his chances of getting called up to Spain’s Davis Cup Finals squad. Elsewhere, there’s more reflection on a dramatic week for Rafael Jodar and we look at the very tight ATP Race to Turin, headlined by Novak Djokovic signing up to play in Basel.
Part three (56:53 - 1:17:51) We react to Andre Gaudenzi’s proposals for the ATP Tour in 2028. Do the plans address any of the real issues?
Watch Matt in Wrexham’s version of the One Point Slam on Monday 19th October! The YouTube stream starts at 7:30pm UK time - https://www.youtube.com/live/ChUd9kB9_IA
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Catherine, David and Matt catch up on events in Shanghai and Wuhan with both tournaments reaching their climactic stages.
Part one - Shanghai (00:00 - 28:34). With lots of players on their last legs at the end of the season, how does Alexander Zverev keep on winning? We discuss his week in Shanghai so far, including a slight ankle concern and an incident where he turned up late to practice. Elsewhere, there’s condemnation of Rafael Jodar’s language and behaviour on court, analysis of Daniil Medvedev’s prospects after a win over Stefanos Tsitsipas, and yet more Davis Cup drama brewing for Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Part two - Wuhan (28:35 - 48:56). Another loss for Aryna Sabalenka, this time a thriller against Ann Li, but just how serious is her slump? We dig into that before discussing Iga Swiatek’s quest to qualify for the WTA Finals, the sudden form of Jelena Ostapenko, and a nice week so far for Maja Chwalinska and Sonay Kartal.
Part three - News (48:57 - 1:15:29). We react to Gael Monfils being listed as an inactive player, share some memories of his career, and discuss the postponement of the Six Kings Slam in Riyadh which felt inevitable after a series of strikes and attacks there.
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Catherine, David and Matt discuss Zheng Qinwen’s title at home in Beijing and a shock defeat for Carlos Alcaraz in Shanghai.
Part one (00:00 - 26:08) We cover Zheng’s brilliant performance in the final to beat Mirra Andreeva, her post-match karaoke, and what the potential ceiling of her game could be.
Part two (26:09 - 53:18) In Shanghai, we react to Zizou Bergs beating an irritable Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev securing the year-end world number one ranking, and a tough set of results for lots of the Americans, especially Taylor Fritz losing out to Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Part three (53:19 - 1:06:16) Preview and predictions as WTA Wuhan gets underway. Who needs a big week with the Race to the WTA Finals reaching its climax?
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Catherine, David and Matt catch up as WTA Beijing heads for an exciting finish and ATP Shanghai is just getting started.
Part one - We start with more discussion of the horrible racial abuse that Coco Gauff received, how it affected her on court, and the lack of response from the WTA. We then discuss a brilliant win for Elise Mertens over Iga Swiatek and her upcoming semi-final against home favourite Zheng Qinwen. Why do we often overlook Mertens? And how great is it to see Zheng backing up her US Open form?
Part two (23:24) - The other women’s semi-final is an intriguing clash between Mirra Andreeva and Nikola Bartunkova. We discuss how they got there, how that match might go, Bartunkova’s shocking tiebreak record, and whether we see her as a major champion in the future.
Part three (38:29) - We run through the main stories from Shanghai so far, including Novak Djokovic losing his opener to Hubert Hurkacz, Flavio Cobolli’s poor form continuing, a good effort from Arthur Fery against Karen Khachanov, and a shock defeat for Lorenzo Musetti against Chinese wildcard Yi Zhou.
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