The Tennis Podcast

David Law and Matt Roberts are on site at the US Open to react to a quite extraordinary day of action which finished with Ben Shelton defeating Carlos Alcaraz in a deciding set tiebreak at 3:33am, guaranteeing an American’s men’s finalist on Sunday. 

Part one - We discuss the story of Shelton’s crazy win over Alcaraz, the reasons why Alcaraz for once came up short in one of these epic matches, and why it was the best tennis we’ve ever seen Shelton play. Shelton will face fellow American Frances Tiafoe in the semi-finals after he...

Catherine Whitaker, David Law and Matt Roberts recap another day of US Open which was headlined by Zheng Qinwen once again coming back to win a set from 0-5 down, this time en route to knocking out Iga Swiatek. 

Part one - We discuss the extraordinary Zheng comeback, why it’s so special to see her back in the latter stages of a Grand Slam, and her prospects in the next round against Elena Rybakina. The Kazakh is now just win one away from becoming World No.1 after a flawless display to defeat Naomi Osaka. How did Osa...

It was a strong day for the American men at Flushing Meadows as Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton and Alex Michelsen all booked their spots in the quarter-finals, but the performance of the day came from Carlos Alcaraz. Catherine Whitaker, David Law and Matt Roberts discuss it all.

Part one - We start by analysing Alcaraz’s win over Tommy Paul which saw him produce a phenomenal level. Does Alzaraz’s form mean that David has changed his mind about what will happen when Alcaraz faces Shelton? We preview that match and discuss what, if anything, Shelton will have...

Catherine Whitaker, David Law and Matt Roberts react to a dramatic day at the US Open which was headlined by tough results for some American players. 

Part one - Day session. Labour Day weekend began in difficult fashion for the hosts as Amanda Anisimova lost to Anastasia Potapova, Taylor Fritz let a two set lead slip, and Madison Keys lost from 5-0 up in the decider against the magnificent Zheng Qinwen. We cover all the matches and the emotional press conferences that followed. Plus there’s chat about Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff both winning in straight set...

Catherine Whitaker, David Law and Matt Roberts are together at Flushing Meadows on the night that Serena and Venus Williams returned to the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Part one - We discuss the Williams sisters’ loss to Maya Joint and Chan Hao Ching, the incredible sense of occasion, and what could be next for Serena. In the singles, there’s chat about Taylor Townsend setting up at a tantalising clash with Aryna Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula overcoming a sluggish start to beat Leylah Fernandez, and a couple of surprising losses for Elina Svitolina and Karolina Muchova.

Part two...

Catherine Whitaker, David Law and Matt Roberts are together at Flushing Meadows on a day which saw some upsets in the men’s draw while the top women continued their smooth progress. 

Part one - We start with Coco Gauff’s night session win over Paula Badosa. How good did she have to be to win? Elsewhere, are Naomi Osaka and Amanda Anisimova In The Mix to win this title? We discuss their three set wins as well as Madison Keys’ dramatic comeback, Alexandra Eala showcasing how she’s a quick learner, and Zheng Qinwen finding her identity...

Catherine Whitaker, David Law and Matt Roberts gather at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre at the end of the fourth day of action at the US Open, which saw Carlos Alcaraz produce the best tennis of the men’s tournament so far, and Aryna Sabalenka show signs of tension off the court, while winning serenely on it. 

Part One - We discuss Carlos Alcaraz’s four set win over Jaime Faria. How is it possible that he’s playing this well after 5 months on the sidelines with a wrist injury? Will he be able to keep it...

Catherine Whitaker, David Law and Matt Roberts convene to discuss a rain-affected day at the US Open which ended with top seed Alexander Zverev coming within two points of defeat before eventually winning at 1:55am.

Part one - Men. We react to Zverev’s win over Lorenzo Sonego, including the dazzling tennis played at times by the Italian, the lateness of it all, and whether Zverev has played himself into form or not. Elsewhere, we cover Flavio Cobolli’s first ever comeback from two sets down and a win for the incomparable Gael Monfils on his 40th birth...

Catherine Whitaker, David Law and Matt Roberts react to Carlos Alcaraz’s round one victory as he made his highly-anticipated return from injury.

Part one - Day session. We discuss Alcaraz’s strong performance to beat Roman Safiullin, how it felt to be watching him play tennis again, and his prospects for the rest of the tournament. Elsewhere, there’s chat about what Arthur Fils needs to do to improve his Grand Slam record after a shock defeat, honesty from Amanda Anisimova about her coaching situation, and a big win for Zheng Qinwen.

Part t...

Catherine Whitaker, David Law and Matt Roberts react to Novak Djokovic’s first ever opening round defeat at the US Open as he vomited, winced and cried during a gruelling loss to Mariano Navone.

Part one - We discuss all the talking points from Djokovic’s exit, including the way Djokovic suffered physically throughout the match, his tears as he was unable to pull through, and why it leaves him facing an uncertain future in the sport.

Part two (20:24) - A round up of the day’s other results and stories including comfortable wins for Jessic...

Catherine, David and Matt catch up after an incredible day spent watching Mary Carillo and Roger Federer get inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Part one - We discuss our amazing experience in Newport, why Mary Carillo means so much to us, the moment Mirka introduced Roger, and how the Hall of Fame totally won us over.

Part two (30:29) - We cover some more pre tournament press conferences as the likes of Novak Djokovic, Arthur Fils, Elena Rybakina, Amanda Anisimova and Iga Swiatek spoke to the media. Plus, new USTA boss Craig Tiley...

After spending the day in the US Open press conference room, Catherine Whitaker, David Law and Matt Roberts react to what the top players had to say as they prepare for the tournament. 

Part one - We discuss the way Carlos Alcaraz left us feeling positive about his return from injury, detailing that his wrist has felt fine in practice, that he’s using his experience of being injured in 2024 to help him, and that he plans to play his usual game style. So what can we expect from him this tournament? There’s also chat about how t...

Catherine Whitaker, David Law and Matt Roberts are together inside the Arthur Ashe Stadium to react to the US Open singles draws. 

Part one - Women’s draw. We all picked Coco Gauff as our favourite to win the title, so has the draw changed things? We discuss Gauff’s potential route, analyse whether we think Aryna Sabalenka can rediscover her best form, and consider if Naomi Osaka could be in for another deep run. 

Part two - Men’s draw (28:47). In the absence of Jannik Sinner, who will benefit? We react to the hand Carlos Alc...

Catherine, David and Matt are all together in New York to react to the second edition of the revamped mixed doubles competition which was won by Karolina Muchova and Jakub Mensik, and also saw the return to action of Carlos Alcaraz. 

Part one (00:00 - 29:51) We discuss the different feel to this year’s mixed doubles event, the way the doubles specialists all lost early, why Muchova and Mensik were worthy winners, and the notable chemistry in the Mirra Andreeva/Andrey Rublev and Flavio Cobollo/Belinda Bencic partnerships. Plus, we analyse how Alcaraz performed on his return alongside Ser...

Catherine, David and Matt catch up as Cincinnati concludes with two exciting champions putting themselves in a great position ahead of the year’s final Grand Slam tournament of the year.

Part one - ATP (00:00 - 28.13). Arthur Fils has been arriving for a while, but this was his biggest destination yet. A first Masters 1000 title with a victory over Frances Tiafoe on home soil in the process takes some doing. Where does that put him in the Mix for the US Open?

Part two - ATP (28.14 - 49:48). Coco Gauff has been here before - finding fo...

Catherine, David and Matt assembled live on YouTube to react to the dual news from the last 24 hours that Carlos Alcaraz will be making his long-awaited comeback at the US Open, while Jannik Sinner has withdrawn due to his ongoing knee injury. 

Part one (00:00 - 48:10) - We discuss how we’re feeling about another slam without both Sinner and Alcaraz there, the strange season that Sinner has had, our expectations of Alcaraz in New York, and what this all means for the rest of the draw. Who will benefit most from Sinner’s absence? Is it mad for A...

Catherine, David and Matt catch up as Cincinnati reaches the quarter-finals stage after a Last 16 bonanza which saw both top seeds lose. 

Part one - WTA (00:00 - 26:35). We react to yet another early exit for Aryna Sabalenka, this time to the impressive Sara Beljek. We discuss what Bejlek did well but also what is going on with Sabalenka. How much trouble is she in heading into New York? There’s also chat about Elena Rybakina’s chance to seize the World No.1 Ranking, and whether Amanda Anisimova can finally get a win over Jessica Pegula after finding her b...

Catherine, David and Matt catch up on the first few days of action in Cincinnati with the tournament in full swing.

Part one (00:00 - 32:24) - We start with some of the main headlines from the men’s event so far - Novak Djokovic’s struggle in the heat in his defeat to Thiago Augustin Tirante, a loss for Canada champion Ben Shelton against Jaime Faria, and Rafael Jodar’s “shoenanigans” in his comeback win over Denis Shapovalov. 

Part two (32:35 - 42:51) - A few other stories from the men’s event including Arthur Fery’s winning return, Taylor F...

Catherine, David and Matt were live on Friday night to look back on the the last few days in Canada, with Iga Swiatek winning her first title in almost a year and Ben Shelton defending his crown. 

Part one - WTA Toronto (00:00 - 36:02). Is Swiatek back? We discuss how she finally played the brand of tennis she’s been working towards with Francisco Roig, the reason she called out the haters in her victory speech, and how a crucial win over Elina Svitolina in the semi-finals set her on the way to the title. There’s also analy...

Catherine, David and Matt catch up on the weekend’s action in Canada with Toronto and Montreal both at the quarter-finals stage. 

Part one (00:00 - 15:07) Before we get to Canada, we start with the disappointing news that Jannik Sinner has withdrawn from Cincinnati due to a knee injury. How concerning is this? And what could it mean for the US Open? 

Part two (15:08 - 49:22) WTA Toronto. There’s chat about Aryna Sabalenka’s slump continuing, the challenge facing Ekaterina Alexandrova as she attempts to back up that win against Elina Svitolina, an unconvincing display from Elena Ry...

Catherine, David and Matt react to the first few days of action across Canada as the men’s top seeds fall by the wayside. 

Part one (00:00 - 44:35) Unfortunately we start with an update on the abundance of injury news on the ATP Tour, including Carlos Alcaraz delaying his comeback and withdrawing from Cincinnati, as well as reports in Italy that Jannik Sinner is dealing with a knee issue. What do we make of all that? 

The tournament in Montreal hasn’t been immune to injury woe either and we discuss the sad withdrawal of Felix Auger...

Catherine, David and Matt are back to discuss the delayed finals from Washington which saw Alexandra Eala and Taylor Fritz win the titles. 

Part one (00:00 - 29:00) We discuss the way Eala, backed by vociferous Filipino support, turned the final around against Jessica Pegula, the awkwardness and effectiveness of her game against top players, and why her rise is such a big deal for tennis. 

Part two (29:01 - 51:06) We cover Fritz winning his biggest title for almost four years and the latest on his ongoing knee injury, before taking stock of Rafael Jodar’s development this seas...

This show was supposed to be focusing on events at the Washington 500 tournament, but with the finals delayed due to rain, Catherine, David and Matt take the time to catch up on other results and news from the last fortnight. 

Part one (00:00 - 38:35) We cover 16-year-old Kristina Liutova winning Memphis in her first WTA main draw appearance, Lilli Tagger’s triumph in Prague, Arthur Gea’s first career title, and a wild week for Bernard Tomic in Los Cabos. 

Part two (38:36 - 1:20:35) We discuss an assortment of tennis news, including Carlos Alcaraz’s return to the prac...

For this episode, Catherine, David and Matt are joined in the Wimbledon library by Matt Futterman to talk about his new book, ⁠The Cruelest Game⁠. 

The book is an in-depth and up-close look at the sport’s modern era, its stars, and what it takes to succeed in professional tennis. 

Using his incredible access, Matt speaks to players and team members on his quest to empathetically figure out why the sport seems to take such a toll on everyone and whether there are any secret codes that will allow players to thrive at the summit of this...

It’s wedding season, it’s holiday season and it’s moving house season, but tennis never stops so Catherine, David and Matt are here to react to the latest results and news since Wimbledon.

Part one - We cover a big week for Stefanos Tsitsipas who won the title in Gstaad. Could this help to revitalise him? And will it be validation for ending his coaching relationship with his father? Elsewhere, there’s chat about Andrey Rublev winning in Bastad and Daniel Merida continuing his rise with a title in Umag.

Part two (32:27) - We discu...

For one last time at Wimbledon in 2026, Catherine, David and Matt were live on YouTube to react to Jannik Sinner beating Alexander Zverev 6-7 7-6 6-3 6-4 to defend his title at SW19. 

We discuss the way Zverev hit his forehand better than ever to take a one set lead, how Sinner stayed calm to raise his game and level up, and the final two sets which saw the Italian take charge. 

Should Zverev take the positives from pushing Sinner more than he has done in a while? Or will the fact he still fell sh...

Catherine, David and Matt are joined by The Athletic’s Ava Wallace to look ahead to the men’s singles final between Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev. 

We discuss the way Sinner has dominated their recent matches, analyse what Zverev might be able to do differently, compare them as tennis players more generally, and give our predictions for the match.  

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Catherine, David and Matt were live moments after Linda Noskova became Wimbledon champion, defeating her Czech compatriot Karolina Muchova 6-2 5-7 6-3 in what became a dramatic final. 

We start by discussing the important moments in the match; Noskova’s sublime performance at the start to build a 6-2 5-2 lead, the choke which saw her lose five match points across three games and be taken to a third set, and her remarkable reset to then win that deciding set. 

How did Noskova pull it all off? How surprising was Muchova’s slow start? And what m...

Catherine, David and Matt are joined by The Athletic’s Matt Futterman to look ahead to this afternoon’s women’s final between Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova. 

We discuss both players, analyse the match up, and give our predictions. 

Matt F also talks us through his articles on how Wimbledon plays an important role in the history of Czech tennis and Gabriela Dabrowski’s cancer journey. 

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Catherine, David and Matt react to men’s semi-finals day as Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev set up a meeting in Sunday’s final.

We start with Sinner’s comprehensive win over Novak Djokovic and discuss the way that Sinner upped his level enormously compared to the rest of the tournament, and where this result leaves Djokovic moving forward. 

In part two, we cover Zverev’s straight sets victory over Arthur Fery. How did Fery cause some issues in the opening set? In what way is Zverev playing better on grass than ever before? And what migh...

Catherine, David and Matt react live to women’s semi-finals day as Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova ensured there will be a Czech winner on Saturday. 

We start with Muchova’s extraordinary win over Coco Gauff in a final set tiebreak. How did Muchova manage to beat Gauff over the distance? What was Gauff thinking with that drop shot on her match point? And do we have any concerns about Muchova when it comes to physicality and nerves in the final? 

As for the second semi-final (26:15), we talk about Noskova’s remarkable poise and temperament which sa...

Catherine, David and Matt react to British wildcard Arthur Fery reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals. 

There’s chat about the way he completely outplayed a disappointing Flavio Cobolli, his remarkable self-assuredness and confidence in press, and how his game might stack up against Alexander Zverev, who emphatically ended his recent streak of losses to Taylor Fritz, in the semi-finals. 

We also run through a long list of possible Fery-related puns for the British media as this story takes over the back pages. 

On the women’s side, we discuss a couple of excellent performances from Ma...

On another late night at Wimbledon, Catherine, David and Matt react to Novak Djokovic’s remarkable final set tiebreak win over Felix Auger-Aliassime. 

How did Djokovic pull this off? What was it like to be in the stadium? And how much will those five hours on court take out of Djokovic ahead of his semi-final showdown against Jannik Sinner? 

Speaking of Sinner, we discuss his win over Jan-Lennard Struff and how much of a surprise is it that he still hasn’t found his best form this tournament. 

There’s also chat about Alexander...

Catherine, David and Matt are live on the day that Arthur Fery became the sixth British man in the Open Era to reach a Wimbledon quarter-final, beating Grigor Dimitrov on Centre Court. 

Where was the match won and lost? How far can Fery’s game take him? And why was it tough to see Dimitrov cast as the villain as Fery Fever swept SW19? 

Fery will face Flavio Cobolli who played some seriously good tennis to beat a crestfallen Alex de Minaur. We discuss both press conferences and give a nod to Taylor Fritz who look...

On yet another dramatic day, Catherine and David were joined by Charlie Eccleshare of The Athletic straight after Coco Gauff’s victory over Belinda Bencic, just in the nick of time before the 11pm curfew. 

Charlie explains why Gauff is his pick for the title, but will she even be the favourite in the next round against Jessica Pegula? 

The main talking point is Naomi Osaka’s incredible victory over Aryna Sabalenka. How did Osaka turn their rivalry around to win? Where has this tennis been from her on grass? Can she now go on to win...

Catherine, David and Matt were live after a couple of late night five-setters as Grigor Dimitrov’s feel good run went on and Alexander Bublik ended Frances Tiafoe’s hopes. How much regret will Tiafoe have after failing to take any of his nine set points in the third? And just how far can Dimitrov go? 

It was also a huge day in the women’s draw as former champions Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina were both beaten. We discuss Alexandra Eala’s extraordinary performance to beat Swiatek and the impact of her win in The Philippines, as well a...

Catherine, David and Matt were live at the end of Day 5 as a series of brilliant Last 16 women’s matches were set up. 

We discuss the good mental place Naomi Osaka is in this tournament and whether she can finally trouble Aryna Sabalenka, whether Barbora Krejickova’s closing problem will be an issue for her against Karolina Muchova, how Iva Jovic doesn’t feel out of place in the line-up despite her age, and who the favourite is between Coco Gauff and Belinda Bencic. 

In part two (32:41) we discuss Novak Djokovic’s entertaining win over Arthur Rin...

Catherine, David and Matt were live moments after Grigor Dimitrov beat Jakub Mensik in a match which began outdoors and finished under the roof, exorcising the demons of twelve months ago. 

Dimitrov now faces Matteo Berrettini who impressed again by beating Arthur Fils. Could one of them..reach the final? The bottom half of the men’s draw remains open and we discuss Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Alexander Zverev and Flavio Cobolli all winning through. 

In part two (32:56) we break down the women’s results, and most notably the setting up of Iga Swiatek vs Alexan...

We start by reacting to Deadline Djokovic and his rapid victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas. How much will that efficiency help him later on in the tournament? 

We then move on to the two standout matches of the day - Barbora Krejcikova’s thrilling win over French Open champion Mirra Andreeva, and Coco Gauff winning the last six points to survive a final set tiebreak against Solana Sierra. 

We discuss what makes Krejcikova’s forehand so great, the return of Andreeva’s on court petulance, and how Gauff’s improved serve helped her in some key moments. <...

Catherine, David and Matt react to Serena Williams’ singles return as she lost in three sets on Centre Court to Maya Joint. 

In what way did this match and occasion actually exceed our expectations? How did Joint manage to overcome her nerves to play so well and win? Would playing a warm-up tournament have helped Serena? And what might the rest of her summer look like? 

We then wrap up the other women’s results including an emotional Iga Swiatek passing a difficult test as defending champion against Taylor Townsend, Madison Keys and Elena Rybakina both s...