French Open Preview, Arthur’s agony and an extraordinary Oliynykova interview

18:33Catherine Whitaker:because I'd kind of been expecting him to have a lot of support at this year's Rodon Garros, you know. But, yeah, I don't think he'll be the crowd favourite in that one. So that will be fascinating. Those four qualifiers are four of 22 French players in the draw. So big, big contingent. Also got two Bolivians making it through qualifying. Pam Shriver, who we saw yesterday, said that she's been properly paying attention to qualifying for the first time in a while in her new role as a as a coach with Yonex a mindset coach and she's been out on all the practice courts in the in the cold at the start of the week in the heat at the end of the week it was interesting how the weather changed through qualifying and she's she's kept an eye on Juan Carlos Prado Angelo who is one of those Bolivians 20 year old beat Mackenzie McDonald beat Coleman Wong Wong has instantly got in as a lucky loser anyway but Prado Angelo now plays David's guy Landa Luthay in in round one so that is one to look out for and the other Bolivian who qualified is the at the other end of his career 32 year old Hugo Dele and a very experienced clay quarter we've also had a lot of Americans making it through Emilio Nava on the men's side and I I think probably most interestingly, is Sloane Stephens on the women's side, the 2018 runner-up here.

20:01Catherine Whitaker:I have not really been able to figure out Sloane's level over the past few months. She's had some very one-sided losses. I remember her losing two in love to Zara Zura in Charleston, and she's taken a couple of losses to Padres on the clay. But that's a really nice qualifying run she's put together here, and it's great to see her back in the main draw.

20:23Matt Roberts:What does it mean for her role at TNT? I was going to say, was she included in... She is. She's on their roster. Interesting.

20:30Catherine Whitaker:Well, even if she wins a round, she's likely got Igor Sviontek in round two.

20:35Matt Roberts:They'll pencil her in for punditry from Wednesday onwards.

20:39Catherine Whitaker:I'd have thought so. Mid-match interview. Catch her in. That's what I want to hear.

20:43Matt Roberts:That would be great. Right, yeah. Do I want to hear that from Sloan, actually? Maybe not.

20:53Catherine Whitaker:And then I think the sort of other name to touch on here is a 23-year-old Brit, Toby Samuel, whose story is pretty incredible, really. He went to the University of South Carolina, and this is his first time in the main draw of a slam. He missed much of the 2024 season because of bone bruising on his right arm and fell to almost 2 ,000 in the world. But since coming back from that injury has transformed his career, made huge strides last year in particular. And in the past year, he's actually won 67 of his last 80 matches. He's been on an incredible streak. He won back-to-back challenger titles earlier this year in March.

21:41Catherine Whitaker:And he's kind of on the cusp of the world's top 150. And yeah, as I said, his first time into the main draw of a slam. and he's beaten Martin Dam Jr. He's beaten David Goffin and he's beat Peru's Gonzalo Bueno to make it through. And he faces Alex Dimonor in his first round. So, yeah, incredible story.

22:04David Law:Won't have to do much running in that one.

22:06Catherine Whitaker:Right.

22:06Matt Roberts:Good news for the Brits, who we sit on the Brit row here in the media centre for the Brit print journalists. And it is slim pickings for them at this tournament.

22:17David Law:So I'm glad. They're still out in force talking to Jacob Fernley.

22:22Matt Roberts:Honestly, Jacob Fernley must have felt like a rock star, the crowd that he had around him yesterday. Really cool stories.

22:30Catherine Whitaker:And I probably also should have shouted out Claire Liu, the American who qualified. She only lost six games in three matches. She had three 6-1 sets and two 6-love sets. Wow. So she's in good form. I think she's got Uchijima. Good luck to her.

22:48Matt Roberts:Yeah, watch out for her. OK, good stuff. Thank you, Matt. Let's have a look at tomorrow's order of play. What have we got? What we've got, folks, is a pretty soft launch on Chatrier. We start on Chatrier. First matchup, Sinja Kraus, the Austrian qualifier, taking on Belinda Bencic. That is at midday. I'm sure they'll be packed in for that and definitely not all enjoying lunch while that match is happening. Second on Chateaille, Benjamin Bonzi against Alexander Zverev in the heat of the day. I think we saw Benjamin Bonzi practising yesterday in two different locations.

23:33David Law:Yes, yes, we did. And I don't exactly know what he looks like sometimes, but I'm reliably informed that that was him both times. But anyway, I'll have my eyes keenly on him tomorrow because we know he likes the big occasion, doesn't he?

23:52Matt Roberts:He does. Took a set off Yannick Sinner in Madrid. I mean, taking a set off Yannick Sinner on clay in 2026 is you get a little medal for that. That makes me nervous for that match now.

24:06Catherine Whitaker:And he took out Medvedev at two slams last year. Maybe he's ready.

24:12Matt Roberts:Maybe he's ready. Third on Chattier tomorrow. Romero Andreeva against Fiona Farrow. And then the night session. I think this was anticipated when Giovanni Pesci-Perrega had been spotted hitting at night quite a lot. I think, you know, word had trickled down that his opening match was likely to be a night session because it is against Novak Djokovic, who I'm sure saw the weather forecast and thought, night session, please, against that serve. I won't ask for a prediction because the answer is it depends whether Novak Djokovic is fit, right?

24:47David Law:Well, yeah, you would think so. What I do think is you could end up with some very close sets at the least because if he gets that serve rocking, I mean, I don't care how good you are as an opponent, it's really difficult to get a racket on that serve. Crowd behind him, you know, he might play out of his mind. Greg behind him. Greg behind him. Crowd plus Greg. Absolutely. But, I mean, he is against arguably the greatest returner the men's game has ever seen. So that could end up being some spectacular rallies if Djokovic can get hold of the serve. Just short ones. Just short ones, but spectacular.

25:26David Law:Explosive.

25:27Matt Roberts:Longlen tomorrow opens with a Frenchman, which is what you love to see, David, against Karina Hashinov is Arthur Gea. Arthur Gea. Gea.

25:38David Law:I don't know too much about this Arthur.

25:41Matt Roberts:But you do need a new French Arthur. I do like French Arthurs.

25:45David Law:How convenient.

25:46Matt Roberts:I'll be there. There you go.

25:48David Law:I'll be there. Testing it out.

25:49Matt Roberts:Yeah, I mean, it would be unexpected for me, David, starting his tournament with Karen Hashinov, but that's what Susanne Longland does to a pan. That's the power of a Frenchman of Longland. Second on Longland tomorrow. This will get you going, David. Hayley Baptiste against Barbora Krajcikova. Oh, yeah. This is where the fun starts, I think. Yeah, that's my... Yeah. I'm going to be locked in on that one.

26:07David Law:Do you circle an order of play in terms of what you want to go? Highlighter, underline, and it has to be in a different color. But, yes, lots of circling and lots of letting my editor know what I've circled in advance. If you want to cover this, I'm up for it.

26:22Matt Roberts:So Baptiste, Krejcikova, very much circled. Any of the others I've mentioned so far had a circling? No, Vax, but I'm mostly just keeping an eye on how much energy is expended on every match because I do think it's going to be one where there's not really anybody who can, I think, unseat him, but I think he's going to be tired and beat up by, like, Sunday. Taylor Fritz, Nishesh Basavaredi. That could be a circling.

26:53Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, I'm kind of intrigued by what Fritz has got here, right? Because we've just not seen him that much. I know he played on clay last week and lost to Popperin, I think, didn't he? But, you know, like, I've kind of written Fritz off this tournament, and yet when he's at his best, he's a pretty reliable presence in a draw. So if he looks good, and he certainly thinks he looks good after those photos. Gave us his stats yesterday, didn't he? He did. The lifts are going up, the weight's coming down. Okay. You know, like, that changes the draw a little bit, I think, if Fritz is a serious prospect, because he's in that section with Hodder, he's in that section with Zverev, and he's got a good record against Zverev.

27:35Catherine Whitaker:But I don't know. So I'm keeping an eye on that one to try and learn something about where Taylor Fritz is at, I suppose.

27:42Matt Roberts:And seeing him scheduled on Longland did remind me that Roland Garros' Fritz is my favorite Fritz. Is it really? Because it's here that we saw the shushing. Oh, that's right. He gets sassy here. Against Rindiknesh. Much like yourself, he gets annoyed. He's playing another American, so he probably won't get that. But that was absolute peak Taylor Fritz for me. And then we had the follow-up at Wimbledon with have a safe flight home. Like, just... He can be fun. He can be really fun. I think intrigued is also how I feel. I just want to see where he's at and see, honestly, see how he, like, now that tennis players are talking about breakups and how that affects, like, focus and everything, I'm interested to see him back on court.

28:21The most single man in the world.

28:25Matt Roberts:last on long men tomorrow Xenia Efremova the French wild card very talented junior player she was against Sarana Kastea who's 18th seed on a heater yeah bit of a heater court Simone Mathieu tomorrow opens with Marta Kostiuk against a Russian player we have a few Russians against Ukrainians in the opening round Oksana Selekomatova the Russian opponent for 15th seed Marta Kostiuk in the opener. Then it's Katie Volinets against Clara Burel, the French wildcard second up. Titouin Troguet against Jakub Mensik, another French wildcard. Third on Mathieu tomorrow. And then Joel Fonseca against a French qualifier, Luka Pavlovich, one of those four French men's qualifiers.

29:18Catherine Whitaker:That could be a scene. Yeah. Remember last year, David, when we were on court seven, I think, watching Fonseca, and it was clear that court was just not big enough. And there was people standing on everything just to get a viewing point of that. And, yeah, playing a Frenchman, I think they've learned that Fonseca needs a slightly bigger court. So, yeah, that could be eventful, end of the day.

29:46Matt Roberts:Court 14 tomorrow, Alejandro Davidovic for Kina, 21st seed against Demir Jumher. Fran Jones against Beatriz Hadajmaier. Remember when Hadajmaier was in the semifinals here? I mean, she's just dropped off a cliff, hasn't she? I mean, you'd almost say that's potentially a good draw for Fran Jones, which is pretty crazy. Sophia Kennan against Peyton Stearns. That could be feisty. Sonogo against Pierre-Uguer Baer is last on 14. Court 7 has Teresa Valantova and Magda Lynette. The winner of that faces...

30:21Catherine Whitaker:Ostapenko, if she wins. Yes, I've kind of circled that one myself just because that section of the draw intrigues me so much. I'm so invested in it.

30:29Matt Roberts:Yeah, that suddenly feels like quite a consequential match because of the Ostapenko implications. Conta Alice and Mathieu Bellucci are over on court seven. What else have we got here? We have, I mean, there's French players everywhere, which is absolutely what you want from early rounds at Roland Garros. Kieran Jacquet against Marco Trunjaliti. That feels vibes-y. That's second on court six. Anything else, Ava, that you've circled? First on seven, Tim Ljanovic and Katie McNally, just because McNally's become all of a sudden very interesting to watch to me. She's a good watch, and I think she could maybe do some damage, get a couple of good matches under her belt but um yeah i always like watching her lily tagger is first on court nine she turned us down for tennis podcast meets but we we don't hold that against people we'll be there we're still tagger people i need i need to see the backhand in real

31:29Catherine Whitaker:life yes i need to make a in-life assessment of its potential list status and it was here last

31:35Matt Roberts:year she won the junior title wasn't it and we kind of first first became aware of her so yeah I'll be checking her out as well. Mahatch against Burgs, second on court 12. So I reckon you're going to go court nine for Tagga and then Mahatch-Burgs, second up.

31:51Catherine Whitaker:Yes, although I do also want to see Baptiste Kraychikova, but I think Burgs-Mahatch follow a men's match.

31:59Matt Roberts:They do. Yeah, so I'm hoping that goes five

32:01Catherine Whitaker:and then I can get my two women's matches in and then head over to Burgs-Mahatch. I've thought this through. You do surprise me.

32:10Matt Roberts:Emirati Karno against Solana Sierra probably worth pointing out that is third on court 13 tomorrow okay we will be doing predictions that'll be coming up in part three of the show just before we move on we should round up results from the tournaments that have been happening this week we've had a WTA 250 in Rabat won by Petra Marchinko disappointing scenes in the final there Angelina Kalinina had to retire at a set and three love down. So Marcinko, the titleist in Rabat in Strasbourg, which is a 500, huge win, huge title for Emma Navarro. He's had a tough time recently. A lot of health issues, struggling with form.

32:56Matt Roberts:And this is absolutely massive. 500 points, a lot of confidence in the bank and a win over a top 10 player in the final. She beat Victoria Mboko, six love, five seven, six two there. So congratulations to Emma Navarro. On the men's side of things, we've had Geneva going on this week. That's a 250. Won by Lerner Tien, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5. He beat Alexander Bublik in a very entertaining semifinal yesterday. I mean, it was only a year ago that Tien couldn't function on anything other than a hard court. I mean, winning a title a year on is pretty big. Very promising, yeah.

33:35David Law:Is he maybe the American that might go the furthest in the men's draw? It's a tough draw for Americans this time. I'm not sure. I haven't seen him enough on clay. I usually watch him on hard court. He's kind of one of those guys that I circle at the U.S. Open because he also gets crowds behind him and is kind of placed a fun atmosphere on hard court. But I don't know. The Americans, I was just looking at Tommy Paul's results today. It was down kind of bad, but what else is new?

34:08Matt Roberts:And he's got Medvedev in his section, David.

34:10Catherine Whitaker:Yeah.

34:11Matt Roberts:Although he wins those matches. Oh, that's the most random quarter of... Yeah.

34:16Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, I think Cabali's in there as well. Yeah, it's a fun little section. Yeah, it's a good question, the American, to go further. I mean, Shelton's been really reliable at slams recently, hasn't he? But he's just... His tall form in the last few months has been... So up and down. Yeah, so he's struggled. But I don't know, in these hot conditions, I think that serve could get jumping up and firing at people. He might actually like these conditions, I think.

34:43David Law:We were watching highlights of Tommy Paul last night, Catherine and me, against Alex Dimonor. Oh, wow. We were jumping out of our seats at midnight, weren't we? I saw on social just like, what was it, the tiniest shorts and the best runners on tour? I was like, oh, that's...

34:57Matt Roberts:He was a certain 3-1 down, Tommy Paul, and Alex Duminor playing out of his mind. And Tommy Paul turned into Carlos Alcaraz on steroids. He does that, though. It's crazy. Just, I mean, talk about afterburners. Like, just sort of went, oh, screw this. Sort of just, I don't know, like the injection of pace on his backhand in particular was sort of took us aback, didn't it? It felt like he was jumping out of the laptop screen.

35:29Catherine Whitaker:Didn't win the title, though.

35:30Matt Roberts:Didn't win the title. Lost out to Ignacio Boussaint. What was Boussaint like? Boussaint.

35:35Catherine Whitaker:Boussaint. Boussaint.

35:36Matt Roberts:Boussaint must have been unreal. He's a good player, Boussaint.

35:40David Law:Yeah.

35:40Matt Roberts:And he's got Andrei Rublev in the opening round here, which I had eyed as an upset when the draw came out. But it's tough to turn around, you know, obviously physically, but also that's a big deal for Boussaint, winning an ATP 500 title, I think.

35:58Catherine Whitaker:I think at this stage in his career, you probably want the title rather than a run to second or third round or maybe fourth round at the French. I think winning a title is really valuable and getting that win over a more experienced guy like Paul. Yeah, he's building, isn't he, from Peru, which is quite fun to see. I think we're seeing it more and more like players from countries which don't have quite so many players. And therefore, they're getting a lot of support themselves. There's a lot of them on the women's tour at the moment. and I feel like Busse is carrying the flag for Peru right now.

36:31Catherine Whitaker:And yeah, it's great to see. It's got a fun game.

36:35Matt Roberts:OK, that is it for part two. Join us in part three for predictions. Welcome back to part three of today's tennis podcast, our Roland Garros preview show, where we are going to get into some predictions shortly. Colours are going to be pinned to masts. But first, we wanted to share part of an interview that we did today with Ukrainian player Oleksandr Olynikova. We had asked for five minutes with her to form part of our tennis podcast meet show that we do before every Grand Slam for our subscribers. And she came back and said, I'll give you 10. And then when I actually sat down with her, she ended up speaking for more than 15 minutes.

37:16Matt Roberts:Friends of the pod can hear the full interview in the tennis podcast meet show that's going up later today and also features David's chats with Ethan Quinn, Martin Lander-Luthe, Stefano Sitsipas, Alexander Blocks. I had a lovely chat with Zeynep Sonmez yesterday. But we did want to share an excerpt from Olinikova's interview on this show today because it is so powerful and because the reason that she was so generous with her time is because she understands the value of her platform and is prepared to take risks in order to speak about what she thinks matters. So we thought her voice deserved as big a platform as we could give it.

37:57Matt Roberts:We talked about a lot of things, her unique playing style, her strong sense of self and individuality. But we also talked about her experience of being a Ukrainian player on tour with a war going on at home. I started on that topic by asking her about her decision to use her platform wherever she can to raise awareness about the war in Ukraine and how big a motivator that is for her in terms of success on the tennis court? Yeah, actually for me it's the reason I'm playing, because I live in Ukraine, my home is in Ukraine, my father is a soldier, he's volunteered to go to war in 2024 and he was always with me before he went to army on tour and of course to share our story is a huge motivation for me.

38:50I see my future in Ukraine and the war is actually define my life, how it will be. So tennis, it's a big platform. And I think for sport, it's very important, you know, also to speak about the values of humanity and to unite people for what is right. And yeah, otherwise, you know, I'm someone who is enjoying game, but I don't need a big stadium. So yeah, I always tell that I love tennis in any way. You know, I can just play in a small club in my country. I will be happy because of the game. I'm not that much focused on the results, but the motivation to be on the big tournaments, it's of course to do my best to help people in my country and to put the attention that we still need support.

39:47Matt Roberts:I think you are the only top player that still lives from Ukraine that still lives and trains there. On a practical level, can you share a little bit of what that's like, the challenges of it? I imagine there are difficulties with travel in and out of Ukraine and facilities, that kind of thing. Yes, for me this is very hard because this is my choice. I want to live at home and I want to build my future in Ukraine. This is very important for me because the people I love there and I love my country. The other players, they chose to live outside and this is their decision. their decision. I mean, it's normal, but yeah, I have my own way again, and it's hard to travel.

40:47Sometimes I'm not at home for a couple of months. If it's a short spot between the tournament, I just have no time to come back home, because it's not possible to fly there, and I live in Kyiv. It's over 700 kilometers from the border. So, you know, first you need to get to the border, then you need to drive 10 hours inside Ukraine. So, yeah, and I sometimes I'm not seeing my family. I'm not seeing my boyfriend for months. So, yeah, of course, it's very hard for me. It would be so much easier if I will just be able to come home between the tournaments like all the other players so yeah sometimes I'm just I just feel crazy on tour but yeah like I have so many supportive people so I just think I do the good thing for by playing tennis does that ever feel

41:46Matt Roberts:lonely that your experience on tour is so different to everybody everybody else all the other players I mean, of course, of course, it's it's difficult. Many players are supportive and they are saying lots of kind words and they, you know, they are really informed. so I can hear... How to explain? This is some small things, some small kind words, but this is something that means a lot today. And for me, in my situation, every time I hear something like this from another player, I appreciate it a lot and it helps me to feel better. In terms of sort of bigger gestures, I mean, we've had the players the last couple of days, I don't know if you know about this, but they've been protesting about prize money, kind of proving that when something matters to them, they can speak out and put themselves on the line.

42:52Matt Roberts:Do you find that frustrating that there is now a lot of silence around Ukraine? Yes, this is very frustrating. And this silence on tour, for me, this is something what's very problematic. This is something what's affecting my life directly, because if we will speak about tennis players, this is people with a lot of publicity, a lot of influence, a lot of money, and this is the people who can change a lot. I believe that sport, this is the part of culture which unites people for the right things. but now when we see this silently for me this is I think this is the very bad message especially when on the tour so many people so many tennis players from Belarus and from Russia who are supporting their regimes and there is a lot of effects of the media activity on the social media comments likes many activity like in the past by playing with pro-war sponsors by going to the Gazprom tournament I think you know that we are not allowed to participate in the tournaments which are organized by betting companies but there is no any reaction on players participating of the tournament, of the company which is financing war crimes and there is no reaction on this i don't understand how it's possible the players let's say top female player arena sabalenka world number one she signed in 2020 the document to support lukashenko she never pulled out there is multiplies video photos her with Belarusian dictator she is not commenting this nobody is commenting this we are protecting like nothing happened let's make a photo of new Gucci bag and me when I come back home I live in Kiev the attacks with massive drones and rockets will come from Belarus to my home and how should I feel I mean for me it's terrible when let's say this person Arina Sabalenka, we talk about her.

45:26She's the most famous Belarusian woman in the world. When she says that she don't have any influence on what is happening in her country, by being now the most, let's say, the most important person in the Western world from Belarus who can speak out, I mean, for me, it's the absurd. she can influence on so many minds and yeah we say we see same silence leave from russian tennis players from many of them we for me it's very big problem also because you know the wta this is the organization which was made with the idea that the woman that we are the serious athletes. So we also can speak about important things.

46:22The WTA was created by the Billie Jean King, and what's happening now when the women players were so many influence, pretending like the only thing they can think about is a Gucci bag, that's an absurd, and for me it's very triggering.

46:45Matt Roberts:I know in Strasbourg last week you said your dad was going to be able to come out to France. Is he here? Yes, yes, he's here. He actually came to Strasbourg, but because I stretched my leg during the first match with Eala, I was supposed to retire from my second round. But now I'm recovering, I'm having a bit of rest. Tomorrow I will start to practice, so I hope it will be fine. and for him to be here, this is his dream. So his emotions, I'm so happy. He's a bit even like a kid, you know. So he's inspired by everything. He's super happy to be here and I mean, this is an amazing tournament. When was he last able to watch you play a professional match?

47:36August 2024. and he watched this match and after this he went straight to the army I remember it was ITF 35 in Romania I remember it very good unfortunately it was the final but unfortunately I lost and I was so upset because I mean my opponent in that match you show great tennis but you know when you're playing not your best and I think it also was the part that it was so important for me so I was just shaking on the court and yeah, I'm so upset that this match was not my best but yeah, now he's here and he's also having this contrast with Futures and Grand Slam so yeah so many things changed so I think the most important thing and for him it's the most important thing that we made our dream real.

48:36Do you know your draw?

48:38Matt Roberts:Yeah, I know. So you know you play a Russian player? Yes, I know. Can you just tell me what that experience is like for you, facing a Russian opponent? You know, when I'm facing Russian opponents, I'm not thinking too much about them. I feel unfair that we are closing eyes on some facts. And it's also when I see Russian players in the draw playing against me, I always have this in my mind. But, you know, I don't, you know, when I play, I just try to play, to show my tennis. This is what's important for me when I'm on court. And what I'm knowing is that I'm speaking out the facts, I'm speaking out about what's happening in my country, about how sport is important and how the things we will do on tour can change the things to better or worse.

49:42You know, it depends. Right now, the silencing, it's a very big problem. But again, I'm speaking out and I'm not overthinking because it's just a match. But of course, I always, when I see this draw, I have on my mind the things which are behind. What's happening on court, you know, one day I can win, one day I can lose. It's again, match by match, tournament by tournament. You know, we play so many matches during the year, so it's not that important. But I believe I do the right thing. and that's what I'm trying to be focused on.

50:22Matt Roberts:Well, I wish you the very best of luck. It's been wonderful to speak to you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. And actually, I stopped the recorder, but my next words to Alexandra Olenikova were that Billie Jean King, I felt sure that Billie Jean King would like her and that they would have a lot to talk to one another about and she was really taken aback by those words and actually the WTA communications manager that was there for the interview was sort of nodding and she said, yeah, we need to make that happen. Billie Jean King meeting Olinikova and you could see what the prospect of that meant to her.

51:01Matt Roberts:And just before I get your reaction to that interview, David, I should just say that for her own part, Sabalenka has been asked about similar comments that Olinikova has made like you just heard there earlier this year. And she said at the time, I want peace. And if I could change anything, I would definitely do that. Other than that, I have nothing else to say. David, I know you were very struck by what you heard from Olinikova there and her reaction to the prospect of meeting Billie Jean King.

51:34David Law:Well, whenever we spend any time with Billie Jean King, she always talks about wanting to have a player like Olinikova, who's prepared to speak out on things that they're passionate about, not just pay lip service, not hide away and just regard themselves as tennis players because there are too many important subjects out there that the platform can be used for. And, I mean, I have not really come across an interviewee in tennis quite like Olin Akova in that interview and in many others. I know Charlie Eccleshire spoke to her for The Athletic, But, I mean, it is, I don't know how you find it, Ava.

52:17David Law:I mean, you speak to a lot of athletes and you've come across a lot of people, but that is quite something. It's nice. And I'm glad you brought up Billie Jean King. And it was, that seems like it was a lovely reaction from her, too. But it does remind you that that's really such a crucial foundation of the WTA, is that they were women who were so involved in activism and they had to be at that point in time. But it's just an interesting time. And I'm glad you guys kind of got into also what players are willing to speak out about and what they're maybe not as willing or not as impassioned to speak out about.

52:50Because as we can see, it's not as if we don't have players who are willing to put things on the line these days. So it's interesting and it must be so aggravating for her to see that, but not for the thing that she's trying to fight for. So it's an interesting dynamic.

53:07Matt Roberts:It was, you know, she had the WTA communications manager sat behind her for the whole interview and she didn't intrude at all. She was just doing her job. She was she was great and let it go long because she could see that Olenakova was totally happy. But, you know, the WTA will have heard that interview. And, you know, this is somebody that's been threatened with fines by the WTA for saying things exactly like she's just said in that interview. she is not afraid to cost herself something by speaking out. She's not just doing this because it's easy and she can and she might as well. She's prepared to suffer consequences and cost because it matters.

53:53Matt Roberts:I totally understand why, but there's not an awful lot of that around and it's pretty incredible when you hear it And it was pretty incredible for me sort of sitting in front of her. And she made eye contact the whole time. And she was a very impressive person. So I'm glad we were able to give her that platform. And I'm very grateful to her for being so generous with her time. And speaking like that in a second language. Oh, I know. I always think about that. Articulate and impassioned. When you're emotional also. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. I'm afraid the time has come. Ava, I'm sorry. I'm so happy to be making a fool of myself in my debut, probably.

54:38Matt Roberts:We are happy to have company in making a fool of ourselves. It is predictions time. I'm going to ask for finalists and winners on both sides, but feel free to throw in any other random predictions you might have about things that you just have a feeling might happen over the course for the next two weeks. David, you look like you might want to go first.

54:59David Law:Well, I made a change of my mind today and decided that Rafael Hodder was not actually going to lose in the quarterfinals to Alexander Zverev. He was going to beat him and play against Kasper Rude. He would eventually fall at that point. Rude will be in the final, beaten by Mr. Yannick Sinner. Would you like my women's draw?

55:27Matt Roberts:Yes, please.

55:28David Law:Okay, well, it's going to be the top four seeds, as I picked from third round onwards. It's going to see Elena Rybakina overcome Iga Sviantek this time, face Serena Sabalenka in the final, who will beat Coco Gough, and Sabalenka will win the whole thing.

55:48Matt Roberts:So you're going for the world number ones. Yes. I like that, and that was just for the listeners at home. no notes on that just off the top there that was impressive david thank you it doesn't need to be right that's right who would like to follow that matt you're up matt okay wow uh i will shock no

56:11Catherine Whitaker:one and pick yannick sinner to to win the title on the men's side um yeah we were kind of talking earlier what's our what's our mix to get out of the of the other side of the draw who wouldn't surprise us to get to the final i i think three names jump out to me and one of them is caspar rude i had the chance to speak to rude in the press conference today and ask ask him why he played geneva basically which was kind of what we were debating at breakfast this morning ava these are the kind of conversations we have um jealous i'm not invited and uh he said you know because I was like you got to the final of Rome like surely you had everything you needed and he was like well when you're when you're playing well sometimes you've got to be greedy he said and when you're feeling good you've got to take advantage of those moments keep playing uh he talked about it in terms of having he's going to have three weeks off after the French Open he's

57:04Matt Roberts:playing nothing on grass before Wimbledon that is you shock me his way of scheduling getting some

57:08Catherine Whitaker:rest in and he actually talked about wanting some long matches because he didn't feel like he got them in rome every match he played was quick winning them and then kind of losing it in the final there to sinos i think he wanted a bit more court time the thing is though to me that didn't sound like sort of it sounded like capitalizing on the form he's in and making getting as most points as he can get right now it didn't sound like necessarily that was preparing himself for the best for the french open in the best way he possibly could i i just don't really I'm not sure I trust Rude to reach the final here.

57:47Catherine Whitaker:Like, I think he's going to have a good tournament.

57:49David Law:Done it twice before.

57:50Catherine Whitaker:I know, but I'm not sure he's quite as... I just don't think he's quite as consistent as he was back then. I think he's a little bit more vulnerable and might throw in a worse performance. Put it this way.

58:02Matt Roberts:I was wavering on whether to put Kasper Rude in the final, and what I've just heard there has made me stop wavering at all. and decide not to.

58:13Catherine Whitaker:Okay.

58:14Matt Roberts:I just don't think that's... You don't trust him. ...of a serious contender.

58:21Catherine Whitaker:I think my... Look, I know I said the other day that I think my pick at this stage is Djokovic. I think I'm going to go Zverev, and I think it might be a kind of pick-up-the-pieces route to the final. I think he might play Hodder, and Hodder's legs might have gone by that point, and I think he might play Djokovic and Djokovic, kind of to Eva's point earlier, that might be the point where his physicality comes into question. So even less bold than David, I've got 1v2 in the final. I've got Sinov Zverev at this point on the men's side.

58:59Matt Roberts:Yeah, I think I've got the same. I think I thought I was going to put Djokovic in the final But I was slightly, I did read slightly more into his press conference yesterday than you did, Matt. And I totally understand why you weren't. I was mugged off by his Australian Open pre-tournament press conference as well, which turned out to be worse than meaningless, sort of actively misleading. But I don't think he's fit for seven best of five set matches. So I'm going to go with Zverev as well, because Kaspar Reid is talking like... He was very relaxed today. It was not when you're feeling well. There's one reading of that quote when you're playing well, you have to be greedy.

59:49It's like, yeah, you've got to go for things, and I'm taking my opportunities. And that's not what it sounded like. You're right. It sounded like, I've got to get points where I can. And yeah, he was a little bit just...

59:58Matt Roberts:He's not champion speak, is it? or maybe I mean maybe and maybe that's the speed that feels best for him when he feels like he's in his own but it it um I wanted a little bit more oomph from Casper this morning I quite often want quite a lot more oomph from Casper isn't that the story I think he's great I respect him I think he's really nice you've you've Ava summed up my position perfectly there I just always want a bit more room from him. He said he was playing what, taking three weeks off, and I knew, I was like, there's a bad Bunny concert the Saturday before Wimbledon, and I was like, and Caspar Rude will be there.

1:00:35That's exactly what I thought. He's not your

1:00:37David Law:oomph guy, though, is he?

1:00:38Matt Roberts:Well, exactly, that's why he's just not for me, and that's fine, people make different things. I have nothing against him, he's not an oomph guy. I like oomph.

1:00:48Catherine Whitaker:And David, do you like him in that matchup against Vero?

1:00:50David Law:Yeah, I think he, if they face If they face each other, and they're both fit, I'd be back in Roode. I think Roode was going to beat the guy two or three years ago when they played each other, and Roode got on well with a parasite. I mean, that was awful. That was horrible. Terrible luck last year. 6-2, and then he was in a terrible state. I know that might be taken away from Zverev a little bit because he turned that around and won the match and really pushed Alcaraz in the final. But I do, I think, match-up-wise, if somebody's going to hurt Zverev, they need to have something to hurt him with, a weapon.

1:01:29David Law:You can't just rally with this guy. You've got to hurt him. And Rude can do that with his forehand. That's why I've gone for Hodder, because I totally accept that he's a novice at best-of-five set match length and Grand Slam platform. But he's also got no mental baggage. He's going to come out and swing. whether he gets there is another matter but I feel like he would have to play Fritz if they both got through and that's a big question Fritz can make you run a lot but I think if he could get by Fritz I'd be backing him to play Zverev and then I'd be backing him to beat Zverev

1:02:06Matt Roberts:Ava, your men's prediction It's time Okay, so my actual prediction I think is Sinner over Rude but I want to make the argument for Novak Djokovic Please I just, I think that you don't, I think if you're Novak Djokovic, you don't waste this opportunity. And I understand that we're kind of past the point of him wheeling himself past whatever his body is breaking down for. But I think that guy is taking, what did Nadal have at the French Open? The 14 cortisol shots or whatever. And I think he is doing absolutely everything medically, spiritually, like nutritionally. We already know he's doing that.

1:02:44But I think that he's not wasting this opportunity and Wimbledon. And I just...

1:02:53Catherine Whitaker:Without Alcaraz. Without Alcaraz, yes, being in the draw. And I both don't believe his body is going to hold up through this draw and still think he can do something with that and make the final. So I think that there's no guy who can really hurt him deeply. Like, yes, you can ding him up and dent him and everything, but I don't know that anyone has anything to actually close out a match against him. So I want to believe in Djokovic.

1:03:20Matt Roberts:So you didn't quite buy his answer yesterday when asked about Alcaraz not being here? No, no. Oh my gosh, no, not at all. No, but it was a good poker face from him, yeah. He sees, yeah, yeah. So I do want to see Djokovic in the final here, for sure. I think Sinner's going to win it all anyways, but I want to see.

1:03:38David Law:But you think Rude's physicality will get Djokovic in the end? I think the way the physicality of every match is going to add up and compound. I think he's going to be in fairly bad shape if he does reach the final. It's just those are a bunch of guys. Again, it's like they can bend him, but they can't break him, basically. And he will. Yeah, it's just going to be. I hope it's not rough to watch. How about that? Right. Yeah. Your women's prediction. Oh, women's prediction. much more succinct group to choose from here. I think I was thinking, I think I'm going to go Rybakina again.

1:04:17Matt Roberts:Wow. I think I'm going to go Rybakina there. For the title. For the title, yeah. To beat. I want to see her against Sabalenka. Yeah. Yeah, I'm feeling good about her. I think she's kind of sneaking in under the radar. She had kind of a weird roam, kind of a just like meh roam, but I feel like she's going to come here and do it. I don't think Sabalenka's... I don't know why I'm feeling off about her. I don't know if it's the weird scheduling that's kind of been this way that I actually appreciate from her of saying, I'm just going to take the fine. It's OK. I'm going to play fewer tournaments. But I don't trust Sabalenka on clay yet.

1:04:54How about that? And I think it's just going to be a good time for Rybakina, especially if it stays hot like this.

1:05:02Matt Roberts:That's an interesting shout because I feel like everybody's putting Rybakina in the mix, but I've not heard anybody actually pick her yet, even though that doesn't feel like a huge... As I said, I'm here to make a fool of myself. We appreciate that. Well, David's put her in the final, and I do think I do like Rabakina in that matchup with Shontek. I really do, even on clay. And at the Indian Wells, when Sabalinka and Rabakina played that incredible final in Indian Wells, and Sabalinka said afterwards, I was watching that final serve in Australia, and she did the exact same thing. If I'm Rybakina, I hear that, and I'm like, great.

1:05:42Going back to the tape, back to the drawing board, like, let's go. You think you know my game? So that's, yeah, I'm liking that rivalry we got. Matt.

1:05:54Catherine Whitaker:Deep sigh. I kind of think it's Coco weather. Ooh. Like, I don't know. Like, I just think he says that, and then he thinks, actually, I think it's also Sabalenka weather. You know, a hot, fast French Open, I think, is better than a cold one where she has to try and, you know, get through the court. I think it's going to accentuate her weapons and her power, this kind of weather, as it is for Rebecca, I think, as well. I think Rebecca's serve is just going to be a nightmare to get back in this kind of weather. if Rebecca doesn't overheat. She is also one who, yeah. Yeah. So, look, I've got Rebecca going through to the final, like maybe all of us, I think, which, you know, kind of feels bold when you've got Svantec down there as well.

1:06:46Catherine Whitaker:But just what we talked about yesterday with Svantec's path, and there's just so many names in there. I'm going to go Rebecca in the final. And then I've got that dilemma of Sabalenka-Goff in the semis, which I do think we'll see.

1:07:05Catherine Whitaker:I think, OK, I'm going to go Sabalenka. I'm going to go Sabalenka, and then I'm going to go for her to get revenge and win the final as well. I know that what we've got in terms of data of her on clay this year is not all that promising for her with those early losses, but I'm trying to look at the year as a whole, and I just think I've been so impressed with her. The way she turned that final around and stepped up in the big moments against Rebecca at Indian Wells, that felt really meaningful for me. I think she's so determined to right, in her mind, the wrong of last year. I think she thinks she should have won this tournament last year.

1:07:46Catherine Whitaker:I'm going to go Sabalenka to win the title.

1:07:52Matt Roberts:I think I might go for Goff in the final against Rebecca. I still, I believe Sabalenka, when she said her back is fine right now, but I do wonder if it will remain fine. Like nothing, you know, all she's done is kind of, all that's happened is time. She's not had any treatment or anything, I don't think. So I do, you know, that is quite a question mark for me. And I agree, the golf, it feels like golf weather. um so yeah i'm gonna go goff rabatkinner in the final and they haven't played for a long time let's see that yeah what does that look like what does that look like here that's i i would have gone with um goff who is by the way if you run your google through a translate like if you know if your google pops up and it says like translate this page from french or whatever um her name is coconut waffles in french google translate i'm not joking she's like on the draw if you leave of your Google Translate thing on coconut waffles.

1:08:54So that's in my head. I'm like, ah, coconut waffles today, round one. What stopped me was, ah, back-to-back Grand Slams. That's tough. That, for some reason, feels like a bigger hump than just saying Coco Gauff is gonna win the French Open. Like, if you go back-to-back, that's something.

1:09:14Catherine Whitaker:I think that's what's stopping me saying we're back-to-back from the start of the season.

1:09:17Matt Roberts:Whereas me, I'm like, well, that was a different Grand Slam. That's fine. All of these scenarios are great, though. Right? I mean, I know they're not necessarily happening, but, like, all of these potential match-ups, all of these scenarios, like, the men's, we're just hoping for something that sets it alight, right? And makes it feel less like a foregone conclusion. I didn't say it was. I said feel, and I said a little bit less, and I said like. It wasn't.

1:09:45David Law:I mean, I think the thing is, it'd be a real surprise if the women's tournament wasn't brilliant and full of good matches. Obviously, the Australian Open waves its hand and says, no, no, it can be crap, even with all these great players. But no, I think the expectation is it's going to be brilliant and that a lot of top names are going to be left at the end. In the men's draw, really, it feels like it's going to be Yannick Sinner and someone, and then Yannick Sinner will win. Yeah.

1:10:16Matt Roberts:The wild card's the weather, isn't it? But the questions in the women's draw are interesting questions, right? It's like, where is Iga Sviantek at with her game? Is Coco Goff going to feed off all the momentum like she always does? Like, they're answers that I'm interested in learning, whereas, like, even the answers to the questions in the men's draw, I'm like, okay, well, come U.S. Open time, am I still going to be interested in whoever is stepping up at the moment? I don't know. Time will tell. Ava, I feel confident you have not humiliated yourself at all. That's all I want at the end of a podcast appearance.

1:10:47I feel confident you haven't totally blown up your career.

1:10:51Matt Roberts:Frankly, me too. It's not quite over. Are you an animal person? Oh, yeah. Can I introduce you to Bashir? Is that or is that not the most beautiful cat you've ever seen? That's like an animated Disney cat with just looking up at you with the eyes. Bashir could be AI generated. That was a great reveal also, Matt. Just a slow turn of the laptop. Yeah. To find this cat staring at me. He is so beautiful. And Elise, his owner, tells us that he is very excited to return as the French Open mascot. For listeners who may not be familiar with him, he first held the prestigious role two years ago with great pride but minimal effort.

1:11:34Matt Roberts:Which is absolutely the cat vibe, isn't it? He's an eight-year-old rescue cat who lives in Abu Dhabi with his humans, Elise and Vincent. We're not entirely sure about his breed, says Elise, although some people have suggested he might be part Egyptian Mao. But whatever he is, he's definitely the sweetest and most handsome cat there is. He has brought so much happiness into our lives. His presence is incredibly calming and comforting, especially his loud purring and his signature nose kisses. Bashir loves treats, stretching out dramatically and sleeping belly up in the sunshine like a king. The very best moments are when he pads softly onto the bed at night to sleep between us or when he climbs onto my lap while I'm watching tennis on TV.

1:12:13Matt Roberts:Admittedly, he mostly sleeps, but I guarantee that when Rafa was playing, he was watching. And finally, hi Catherine, David and Matt. I was so happy to see you in Australia. We were happy to see you, Elise. Matt loves dates. It was a treat for all involved. Elise says, I'm halfway through the tennis podcast. I didn't go on a date with Elise in Melbourne.

1:12:40I turned to look at you like You were looking at me like Bashir

1:12:46Matt Roberts:I'm halfway through the tennis podcast fan slam says Elise now I just need to meet you at the French Open and the US Open maybe next year that would be wonderful Elise Matt we haven't got you any dates this either type either type what a miss Bashir I'm distracted by your beautiful eyes. And codes. That's a luxurious code. Well done to his humans. I mean, I think he's living a good life, Ava. Yeah, I think Bashir's got things figured out. He will be going in our newsletter, on our Instagram. He will be everywhere. I'll spam you with Bashir because he is a handsome boy. So welcome back, Bashir.

1:13:30Matt Roberts:And thank you, Elise, for bringing him back on board. Hello to our mascots. Hello, Bodhi. Hello, Maisie. Hello, Roger. Hello to our top folks and executive producers, Greg, Chris and Jeff. And it's over to Matt for some Grand Slam preview show shout outs.

1:13:46Catherine Whitaker:We have Yao Ji Hong from Seattle.

1:13:50David Law:Hey, Seattle, home of the Seahawks. Do you have an NFL team over? Yeah, it's my team.

1:13:56Matt Roberts:Oh, OK. Sorry, no, I don't have an NFL team. It's OK, Dave is enthusiastic enough about the Seahawks to go around. What do we know about Yao?

1:14:10Catherine Whitaker:Started listening to the pod at the 2017 Australian Open.

1:14:15Matt Roberts:What a time.

1:14:16Catherine Whitaker:Yao says, I have a daughter and a son and their names happen to be the same as the two 2018 Australian Open champions. So that's Roger and Caroline.

1:14:27Matt Roberts:Oh, pretty good. Named after? No.

1:14:33Catherine Whitaker:Unclear. Yes, actually, both born at the time.

1:14:37Matt Roberts:Oh, wow. Now that's a tennis fan.

1:14:41David Law:I'll say. It'd be pretty cool to just have people naming their kids after you, wouldn't it? Yeah.

1:14:47Matt Roberts:Well, Martina Hingis is named after Martina Novatova, isn't she? I believe. Yeah. I don't think we have any other tennis namesakes, do we? Like players named after other players, active players? That's the only one that springs to mind.

1:15:06Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, because Rafa Hodder is not named after Rafa Nadal. It's just the name in the family. Yao, thank you very much. Go Mariners. That's the Seattle team I'll shout out. Yes. Big Mariners fan, that's true. Is that baseball? Yes.

1:15:23David Law:I see. Huge for you, David.

1:15:26Matt Roberts:Matt Sutton was talking a lot about baseball last night. Oh, yeah, he does that, huh? I glazed over a bit. We'll stop it there then.

1:15:35Catherine Whitaker:We've also got Pierre from Montreal.

1:15:38Matt Roberts:Hello, Pierre.

1:15:39Catherine Whitaker:Hi, Pierre. Who says he's also known as Pete by his friends, which might give at least one more shout-out option. Yes, Pete Sampras and Pierre Ugebert, who's in the main draw. Very good.

1:15:50Matt Roberts:Perfect name for a pre-French Open shout-out.

1:15:53Catherine Whitaker:And Pierre is a long-time listener, introduced to the show by my sister Isabel, and PS's met David at the US Open a while back while waiting for coffee. Cool.

1:16:05Matt Roberts:We do that a lot.

1:16:06David Law:Introduce yourself again.

1:16:10Matt Roberts:Pierre, thank you.

1:16:12Catherine Whitaker:And finally, we have Greg from Austin for his wife, Lauren.

1:16:18Matt Roberts:Greg, like Greg Rzetsky, coach of Giovanni Pesci Pericard that you'll be seeing on your tellies on Sunday night. A lot of tennis Gregs. there's only one Ava yeah I mean Greg Allensworth Greg he's my guy yeah I feel like everyone's mean to him oh I guess I was just mean to him by forgetting him apologies Greg Greg and Lauren got married

1:16:48Catherine Whitaker:in March this year after 11 years together Greg says she's a devoted listener who introduced me to the show she has a wicked flat forehand. We first met on a tennis court in our hometown when we were kids. I didn't know then that she would become the love of my life, but that became obvious not long after. For our honeymoon, we'll head to Paris for Roland Garros, kicking off the first leg of our career fan grand slam together. Superb. Okay, cute story, Greg. What a legend.

1:17:23Matt Roberts:Oh, that's so lovely. Congratulations. Greg, if you see us, do say hello. Absolutely. Yeah, it'd be great to see you. That is absolutely lovely. Greg, Lauren, Yao, and... Pierre. Pierre. Slash Pete. Pierre slash Pete. Thank you very much for being friends of the Tennis Podcast. If you want to become a friend and listen to our episode of the Tennis Podcast Meets, which is going up later on today, probably be up by the time that you're listening to this, then the link to do that is in our show notes. We are part of the Athletic Podcast Network. Ava, it has been a joy to have you on today's show.

1:18:02Matt Roberts:Thank you very much indeed. And we hope to speak to you again. Thank you so much for turning me from listener to participant. I'm just absolutely delighted. Until the next time, Ava, and until tomorrow, when we'll be back with our first daily Roll on Garros 2026 podcast from the tournament. It all begins in earnest at 11am tomorrow morning when Matt will be out watching...

1:18:27Catherine Whitaker:Lily Tagger. Lily Tagger. See you there.

1:18:30Matt Roberts:See you there, folks.