Black Spin Global: The Podcast

Black Spin Global, in collaboration with the Lawn Tennis Association, bring to you a conversation with Jermaine Jenkins, the former hitting partner for seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams and coach to former world No 1 Naomi Osaka.

Tumaini Carayol joins from the media canteen inside the Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre to talk about the first all-black Masters 1000 final at the Cincinnati Open between Arthur Fils and Frances Tiafoe. Tumaini was in Cincy covering it all and also saw Coco Gauff roll through the women's draw to secure her first title of the year.

We also get into the US Open draws where the men's seeds all have a shot in a wide open field and the world No 1 title is on the line in the WTA. The Williams sisters are also playing...

Ben Shelton defends his Canadian Open crown in style in Montréal. Coco Gauff (semis) and Naomi Osaka (quarters) also impress in Toronto. Frances Tiafoe's been playing with a cyst on his right hand. Cincinnati is under way and there have been some nice wins for the likes Félix Auger-Aliassime, Sloane Stephens and Arthur Fils. Venus and Serena will also be in doubles action.

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Before the North American hard-court swing, Alycia Parks reached the last eight in Athens and Noma Noha Akugue secured a career-high ranking. The action at the combined event in Washington was thrilling – the men's draw was stacked and Naomi Osaka's cookout had everybody talking. We also get into the Canadian Open where the action is already under way in Toronto (WTA) and Montreal (ATP).

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Coco Gauff gets stopped by Karolina Muchova after the pair go the distance in a brilliant semi-final. Gauff manages her presser afterwards with class and leaves Wimbledon trending upwards in the rankings and with the belief that she can win the title in the future.

In news away from SW19, Félix Auger-Aliassime parts ways with long-time coach Frédéric Fontang and Victoria Mboko withdraws from next month’s Canadian Open.

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Coco Gauff is through to her first Wimbledon semi-final. Félix Auger-Aliassime plays his part in a Centre Court epic. Naomi Osaka’s run comes to an end at the hands of Karolina Muchova and Jasmine Paolini gets stopped by in-form Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk.

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Félix Auger-Aliassime, Jasmine Paolini, Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka are all through to the quarter-finals at SW19 and all have a chance of going all the way.

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Uche Amako joins to go through the Wimbledon 2026 draw, where Serena Williams is competing in both singles and doubles. Naomi Osaka and Madison Keys are in grass-court finals days before action gets under way at SW19 (episode was recorded before both the Bad Homburg and Eastbourne finals). On the men’s side, top-10 seeds Félix Auger-Aliassime and Ben Shelton look well placed to make deep runs, as does Halle champion Frances Tiafoe.

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Friend of the pod Christopher Eubanks joins to talk about week one of grass-court season – Robin Montgomery enters the winner’s circle for the first time, Ben Shelton secures a third crown of the year and Serena Williams aka The GOAT fittingly makes a winning return on the doubles court at Queen’s (episode was recorded before Wimbledon wildcards were announced). We also look back at this year’s French Open including Moïse Kouame’s arrival, the last ride for Gaël Monfils and Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova winning another major.

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Before giving ATP 500 winners Ben Shelton (Munich) and Arthur Fils (Barcelona) their flowers, we look back at the Miami Open where Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova completed the Sunshine Double and Coco Gauff made the singles final for the first time. There is also Stuttgart chat following our visit to the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix and before we wrap we look at the Madrid Open draw, share some takes on Jasmine Paolini and Venus Williams and reveal our picks for this year’s men’s and women’s titles.

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February is over but we thank God for Melanin March and welcome in Indian Wells! Before that though, we shout out Austin doubles champion and singles runner-up Taylor Townsend, Acapulco finalist Frances Tiafoe and Mérida semi-finalist Jasmine Paolini. In the Californian desert, Coco Gauff, Paolini, Victoria Mboko, Madison Keys and Naomi Osaka are among the 32 seeds in the women's draw. While Ben Shelton, Félix Auger-Aliassime, Tiafoe and Arthur Fils are all seeded in the men’s event. We take a look at the draws and give our predictions. There’s also some off-script chat about tennis podcasts.

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Victoria Mboko (Doha runner-up), Ben Shelton (Dallas champion) and Félix Auger-Aliassime (Rotterdam finalist) contribute to a fruitful February! Arthur Fils reaches an ATP 500 final in his third tournament back. Coco Gauff plays herself into form in Dubai – we gotta stop the Mboko comparisons. Moïse Kouame continues to impress at Challenger level.

(Apologies for Lucy's internet messing up the listening experience!)

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Congratulations are in order for Elena Rybakina and Carlos Alcaraz, the respective women’s and men’s Australian Open singles champions. We also shout out Coco Gauff and Ben Shelton for reaching the quarter-finals, Thea Frodin for reaching the semis in juniors and Ntungamili Raguin for making Grand Slam history for Botswana.

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Lucy and Eugene go through the happenings from an action-packed first week where Naomi Osaka shook the table, Alycia Parks showed heart, debutant Victoria Mboko amazed and top-10 seeds Ben Shelton and Coco Gauff won the matches they were supposed to.

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The first Grand Slam of 2026 is here, and so are we with our preview pod! Defending Australian Open champion Madison Keys, Coco Gauff and debutant Victoria Mboko are in contention in the women’s draw, while Féllix Auger-Aliassime, Ben Shelton and the retiring Gaël Monfils will be looking to disrupt the order on the men’s side.

P.S.: We mistakenly forgot to mention Gabriel Diallo, who's facing Zverev in R1...

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Week one of the 2026 season is in the books but before we get into the action on the court – including Coco Gauff taking down Iga Swiatek in straight sets – we talk coaching news, player YouTube channels, generational beef and Australian Open wildcard recipient Venus Williams.

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Our 2025 season wrap-up episode is here. Friend of the pod Tumaini Carayol joins us to go through some of the news that broke since we were last on – Christopher Eubanks announcing his retirement and Jannik Sinner winning in Turin again.

We look back at the Grand Slams and share our highlights from each one. There were some memorable matches as well as moments at all of them, but it feels like the French Open topped the lot.

Madison Keys, Coco Gauff, Jasmine Paolini, Taylor Townsend, Naomi Osaka, Ben Shelton, Gabriel Diallo and Arthur Fils (before injury) al...

WTA Finals delivered some entertaining matches – especially Amanda Anisimova vs Iga Swiatek – but it was Elena Rybakina who went unbeaten in Riyadh, seeing off world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the final and collecting a $5.2m cheque. 

The final unfortunately made the news for the wrong reasons after Rybakina refused to take a picture with WTA CEO Portia Archer during the trophy ceremony. We discuss.

On the men’s side, the ATP Finals field was confirmed in the 25th hour after Novak Djokovic made everybody wait. The 24-time Grand Slam champion announced his withdrawal shortly after beating Lorenzo...

Victoria Mboko, the Queen of Canadian Tennis, closed out 2025 in style winning her second title of the year in Hong Kong. The 19-year-old Canadian saw off Filipina Alexandra Eala and countrywoman Leylah Fernandez en route. Mboko, who started the year ranked 333 in the world, is now at a career high 18.

The WTA Finals are well under way in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Defending champion Coco Gauff fell to Jessica Pegula in her opening match in the Stefanie Graf group. As did Jasmine Paolini, against Aryna Sabalenka. Gauff versus Paolini is now a must-win match for both.

Madison...

This is another celebratory episode in response to Coco Gauff’s incredible run to the Wuhan title.

“Big Coco, never the little one” won all of her matches in straight sets at the WTA 1000. It’s the American’s second crown of the year following her French Open triumph earlier this season. The 21-year-old world No 3 now has 11 singles titles to her name, including two majors and three WTA 1000s (and don’t forget the year-end Finals title last year).

Jasmine Paolini also did herself proud in Wuhan with a 6-1, 6-2 statement-victory over Iga Swiatek – a player she h...

We are back after a post US Open break! 

Italy go back-to-back at Billie Jean King Cup with Jasmine Paolini leading the charge. Félix Auger-Aliassime ties the knot in Morocco, Gaël Monfils shares his retirement plans, Team World win Laver Cup. Plus, Beijing chat and the latest from Shanghai.

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Naomi Osaka fell short to an impressive and in-form Amanda Anisimova in a very entertaining semi-final which followed a three-set thriller between defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula. Osaka made a bright start but was pipped by the eighth seed who was able to hold her nerve and maintain her level in the deciding set.

Take nothing away from Osaka, who has had a superb fortnight and has a top-20 ranking to show for the brilliant work she has put in during this North American hard-court swing.

In the women’s doubles final, Taylor Townsend an...

Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova are through to the women’s doubles final after dominant performances in the last eight against Venus Williams and Leylah Fernandez and then another straight-sets victory against Elise Mertens and Veronika Kudermetova in the semi-finals. They will play third seeds Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe in the final after the Canadian-New Zealand duo took out second seeds Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani.

In singles, Felix Auger-Aliassime came through a four-set scrap against eighth seed Alex de Minaur to book his place in his second US Open semi-final. The 25-year-old Canadian had to be pa...

Taylor Townsend pushed two-time Grand Slam champion Barbora Krejickova close in an epic three-set battle on Louis Armstrong. The American had eight match points but was unable to convert. The doubles world No 1 still has unfinished business in New York with doubles partner Katerina Siniakova.

Felix Auger-Aliassime is looking more and more like the top 10 player he was back in 2022. The 25th seed took out 15th seed Andrey Rublev in straight sets on Arthur Ashe in the opening match on Labor Day. FAA, through to the last eight in New York for the first time since 2019, is playing...

Coco Gauff beat Magdelena Frech 6-2, 6-3 in the first match on Arthur Ashe. The third seed, who said she “felt a lot lighter going on court”, put up some good numbers against Frech. Stat sheet made for nice reading for the 2023 champion, too. Was nearly perfect at the net 10/11, won 71% of points on first serve and only hit four double faults (one in the first and three in the second).

Naomi Osaka handled (15)Daria Kasatkina in three sets – 6-0, 4-6, 6-2 on Louis Armstrong. The two-time champ was near flawless in the first set, had a wobble in the...

Taylor Townsend picked up from where she left off against Jelena Ostapenko, this time seeing off world No 5 Mirra Andreeva inside a busy Arthur Ashe stadium. Townsend was an example of staying in the moment, recovering from an early break down in the first set and seemingly going on to cruise in set two. The doubles world No 1’s stardom continues to rise.

Now to the defeats, Jasmine Paolini fell to Marketa Vondrousova on Grandstand. The Italian seventh seed was the better player in the first set and had two looks at a break point but was unable to...

In a match that had three sets written all over it coming in, Naomi Osaka beat Hailey Baptiste in straights – 6-3, 6-1. The American made a nervy start and was unable to force her way into the match as a result of Osaka’s level which was ultimately too good. We asked about her tactics.

Gabriel Diallo lost out in three close sets to Jaume Munar. The Canadian 31st seed was unable to take control like he has done in previous meetings against the Spaniard.

Felix Auger-Aliassime beat Roman Safiullin 6-1, 7-6, 7-6. FAA seems to be f...

Ahead of Hailey Baptiste vs. Naomi Osaka, the match of the day at the US Open, we sat down with Coach Franklin Tiafoe.

He shares his story, how he got into coaching, his work with Eric Hechtman, what it’s like being a young Black coach, what makes Hailey such a great player, and more.

Make sure to tune in for the match today, second on Louis Armstrong!

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Only one place to start, Court 11 that was packed for Taylor Townsend’s upset-victory over (25)Jelena Ostapenko. The Latvian took the L badly and resorted to some pretty derogatory insults, accusing Townsend of having “no class” and “no education”. Townsend handled the situation superbly, both on court and in press afterwards.

To think all that happened on HBCU Live Day, that was brilliantly acknowledged with a great discussion in the morning on the legacy of Althea Gibson. Leslie Allen, Sloane Stephens, Kamau Murray and Boris Kodjoe were on the panel that was excellently moderated by Monica McNutt.

Frances...

Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard fell to 10th seed Lorenzo Musetti in four sets. GMP entered the US Open following a run to the semi-finals in Winston-Salem so the game is in a good place.

Felix Auger-Aliassime saw off lucky loser Billy Harris in straight sets but the match had plenty of momentum swings. The 25th seed spoke about the tricky conditions and the role of the crowd.

FAA will play Roman Safiullin next after the Russian beat fan favourite Gael Monfils in five epic sets on a packed Court 5.

The night session was all about...

In the biggest upset of the tournament so far, sixth seed Madison Keys lost to Mexican Renata Zarazua in three sets. Regardless of this result, however, 2025 will go down as a career-season for the 30-year-old American.


Taylor Townsend beat Antonia Ruzic in straight sets on a busy Court 11, in a display packed  variety and court craft. Townsend will face fellow doubles specialist Jelena Ostapenko in round two.


Clervie Ngounoue showed incredible heart to recover from a bagel first set before falling in three to 29th seed Anna Kalinskaya. The 19-year-old American has an exciting future ahead.

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Lucy and Eugene recap Day 1 at the US Open, which fell on a Sunday for the first time.

Ben Shelton opened proceedings on Arthur Ashe, seeing off Peruvian qualifier Ignacio Buse in straight sets – 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. The American sixth seed was untroubled and looked locked in from the first ball and handled business the way a top-10 seed should in the opening round of a Grand Slam.

Afterwards, in a nod to the celebrations taking place to celebrate trailblazer Althea Gibson at this year’s US Open, Shelton was asked whether his father and coach, Brya...

Lucy and Eugene, from the grounds of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre, bring you the 2025 US Open draw show.

The likes of (3)Coco Gauff, (6)Madison Keys and (7)Jasmine Paolini are among the top 10 seeds in the women’s draw. While 18-year-old US Open debutant Victoria Mboko is seeded 22nd in just her third ever Grand Slam. Two-time champ Naomi Osaka, who looked back to her best in Montreal, is the 23rd seed.

Gauff starts against Ajla Tomljanovic, Keys faces Renata Zarazua, Paolini takes on Destanee Aiava, Mboko faces two-time Grand Slam champion Barbora Krejcikova an...

In another celebratory pod, Lucy and Eugene bask in the glory that went down at the Canadian Open where there was success on both the singles and doubles courts.

Victoria Mboko, the 18-year-old Canadian wildcard, completed a fairytale run at her home WTA 1000 going all the way to the final in Montreal and winning the title. The new world No 24 took out Sofia Kenin, Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina before beating four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka in the final.

Osaka also played some good ball during her run to the final. The former world No 1...

Lucy and Eugene are back after a little rest post-Wimbledon.

Before recapping the brilliant Washington Open, we share our thoughts on Naomi Osaka parting ways with Patrick Mouratoglou. Osaka will be working with Iga Swiatek’s former coach Tomasz Wiktorowski for a trial period starting in Montreal.

Venus Williams was the story at the Citi Open. The 45-year-old brought the crowd and excitement to DC and made more history in the process.

Taylor Townsend is the new doubles world No 1 following another title in Washington. Townsend is the first mother to be crowned world No...

Shout out to Iga Swiatek, double-bagelling Amanda Anisimova in the ladies’ final in 57mins. The Pole is now 6-0 in Grand Slam finals which is quite bossy. Also, shout out to the  men’s champion Jannik Sinner who came back from a set down to see off defending champ Carlos Alcaraz in four – these two are playing a different sport.

Lucy was spot on with her men’s take (she knows ball), while Eugene had Anisimova as his second pick.

From a BSG perspective, Ben Shelton reaching the quarter-finals, where he lost to the eventual champ was very...

Ben Shelton fell to world No 1 Jannik Sinner in straight sets – 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-4 – on a busy No 1 Court.

The American 10th seed, who admitted he felt under pressure on serve throughout the contest, was up a mini-break in the first-set tiebreak before Sinner rattled off six points in a row to win it.

In set two, Sinner, who was rocking a sleeve on his right arm, was in the zone. Serving at 4-5, Shelton got broken which handed the second set to the Italian.

The third set was on serve until 4-5, with Shel...

Before we get into the action, massive big up to everyone who showed up and showed out for us at Boxpark Croydon on Sunday (Day 7). We had a blast and it was a pleasure meeting you all.

Ben “10” Shelton is through to his first Wimbledon quarter–final after a 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(1), 7-5 victory over Lorenzo Sonego. The head-to-head now reads 4-1 to the American.

The 10th seed made a sluggish start and dropped his first set of the tournament to the Italian who he was facing for the third Grand Slam in a row.

She...

Friend of the pod Tumaini Carayol joins in Lucy’s absence to go through the day’s action.

Hailey Baptiste versus Mirra Andreeva did not feel like a 6-1, 6-3 match. The American, playing on No 1 Court for the first time in her career, made a nervy start but tightened things up in the second set. Baptiste though can be proud of her third-round run at Wimbledon on debut. The 23-year-old American is trending in the right direction in the rankings and has “a game made for the natural surfaces”, according to Tumaini.

The Guardian man also sha...

Ben Shelton needed just 71 seconds to get the job done against Rinky Hijikata – 6-2, 7-5, 6-4. The American 10th seed served out the match to love, and with an ace on match point, to book his place in the third round. Lucy asked Shelton to talk about the technical changes he has made this season and how they have impacted his grass-court game.

The 10th-seeded American’s next opponent will be Marton Fucsovics after the Hungarian lucky loser won the one-set shootout against Gael Monfils final score was 6-4, 1-6, 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4. This match was also carried over...