In short
Rome (final Claycourt 1000 before Roland-Garros) plus a major off-court dispute over Grand Slam prize money and “boycott” threats; then tournament fallout (withdrawals/injuries) and notable match results on both WTA and ATP sides.
Guests (backgrounds)
- David Law (tennis journalist; based in Solihull/Rome of the West Midlands; reports on tennis economics and player issues).
- Charlie Eccleshare (The Athletic; covers tennis; Arsenal fan; in press room for key moments).
Key claims
- Top WTA/ATP players criticized Roland Garros prize money: 2026 pot $72.3m, up 9.5% but only 15% of tournament revenue; players cite US leagues’ ~50% player share and want higher shares (often referencing a 22% target; ATP-only events around 30%).
- Boycott talk: Sabalenka said “at some point, we will boycott,” with others echoing; guests argue formal boycott discussions seem limited and collective action would be hard.
Notable examples
Sabalenka’s shock loss to Sarana Kastele (lower back/hip issue); Raducanu’s bizarre withdrawal after appearing fit; Anisimova wrist injury; Coco Gauff’s “winning ugly” amid personal strain; Svitolina dominant over Hayley Baptiste; Oleksandr Olienikova alleges WTA fines/disqualification threats for criticizing specific Russian/Belarusian players (including Sabalenka).
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOSetting the Stage for Rome
0:45 to 1:45
Hosts set the scene for the Rome claycourt event and discuss player excitement.
“Before we get into the tennis, and there is a lot of tennis to get into.”
Boycott Talk Emerges
1:45 to 3:00
Discussion of the big news regarding potential player boycotts over prize money issues.
“So despite an overall year-on-year prize money increase of 9.5 % for 2026 that Roland Garros announced a couple of weeks ago, that brings the total prize money pot to$72.3 million.”
Prize Money Comparisons
3:00 to 4:30
Analysis of prize money increases and comparisons to US sports leagues.
“And then lots of other players echoed those sentiments.”
Player Perspectives on Boycotts
4:30 to 6:00
Exploring players' views on boycotts and the complexities involved.
“that people aren't going to have sympathy towards, like, the top players, but also the Grand Slams are doing all right themselves too.”
The Historical Context of Boycotts
6:00 to 7:30
Discussion on past boycotts in tennis and their significance.
“It's about players further down the pyramid.”
The Role of Player Associations
7:30 to 9:00
Examination of player associations and their influence on negotiations.
“But certainly, you know, it's a big attention-grabbing thing to say, you know, that boycott word.”
Reactions to Boycott Threats
9:00 to 10:30
Analyzing the impact of player comments on the potential for boycotts.
“Obviously, the most prominent example is Billie Jean King, who sacrificed her own personal achievements in order to achieve something greater.”
Sabalenka's Role in the Discussion
10:30 to 12:00
Discussion on Aryna Sabalenka's comments regarding the boycott threat.
“I'm pleased that the idea seems to be to support the lower rank and file.”
Players' Union and Sabalenka's Comments
14:01 to 16:36
Discussion on the Players' Union dynamics and Sabalenka's candid remarks.
“There's a Players' Union there, a Players' Council there as well.”
Injuries and Withdrawals at the Tournament
16:40 to 17:44
Overview of significant player withdrawals and injuries impacting the tournament.
“Let's start with the WTA, where there have been quite a few injuries.”
Show all 37 chapters
Emma Raducanu's Bizarre Withdrawal
17:44 to 19:30
Detailed account of Emma Raducanu's unexpected withdrawal from the tournament.
“local time, a few of us who were there had a chat with Emma, really good spirits.”
Other Notable Withdrawals and Coaching Changes
19:30 to 22:41
Discussion on other players' withdrawals and a new coaching situation for Anisimova.
“But her physio and S &C person, Emma Stewart, was there.”
Sabalenka's Early Exit Analysis
22:41 to 23:21
Analysis of Irina Sabalenka's surprising early exit and its implications.
“is he a professional golfer David or is he a tennis podcaster?”
Injury Impact on Sabalenka's Performance
23:21 to 28:00
In-depth discussion on how Sabalenka's injury affected her match and future prospects.
“exit in 15 months for the world number one, Irina Sabalenka.”
Sabalenka's Recent Struggles
28:00 to 28:55
Explore Sabalenka's performance and injury concerns leading into the French Open.
“And now all of a sudden, only she had those losses as an injury concern.”
Paolini's Title Defense and Match Points
28:56 to 29:45
Discuss Jasmine Paolini's tough match and her struggles in the tournament.
Coco Gauff's Turbulent Opener
29:46 to 31:38
Analyze Coco Gauff's challenging match performance and her off-court struggles.
“This was, in lots of ways, textbook Coco Gough winning ugly, five, seven, six, love, six, four.”
Gauff's Emotional Struggles and Resilience
31:39 to 34:09
Delve into Coco Gauff's candid remarks about her personal challenges during matches.
“But it's a job like any other and they have to.”
Wacky Week in Rome: Upsets and Injuries
34:10 to 35:05
Recap notable events and unexpected occurrences from the tennis tournament in Rome.
“lots of upsets lots of intrigue lots of off-court stuff there was loads going on um and this this This was, you know, this felt like this might be kind of the story of that Saturday.”
Iga Swiatek's Matches Analysis
35:06 to 37:16
Evaluate Iga Swiatek's performance in her recent matches and her potential for the title.
“Yeah, on heavy pain medication, presumably.”
Rabakina and Svitolina's Strong Performances
37:17 to 41:47
Discuss Rabakina and Svitolina's capabilities and their chances in the tournament.
“And she totally believes in her own game.”
Potapova's Rising Confidence
41:48 to 43:33
Highlight Potapova's impressive form and self-belief after her recent matches.
“She's qualified, beating Nikola Bartonkova in qualifying, incidentally, who herself is through to, what is it, the round of 16 now?”
Olinikova's Controversial Statements
43:33 to 45:50
Exploring Oleksandr Olinikova's criticism of the WTA and its implications.
“Just finally, before we move on to the men, I wanted to touch upon the Oleksandr Olenikova story from this week that's got quite a lot of coverage.”
The Impact of War on Tennis
45:50 to 48:28
Examining how the Russia-Ukraine conflict affects tennis players and the sport.
“shaken because of drone strikes she's been left without water and all of this stuff she's got I think she's the only top Ukrainian player that still lives and trains in Ukraine, I believe.”
WTA's Rulebook and Player Criticism
48:28 to 49:58
Discussing the WTA's rules related to player criticism and its enforcement.
Transition to Men's Tennis
49:58 to 50:18
Preparing to shift the focus of the podcast to men's tennis.
The Rise of Dino Prismic
50:18 to 52:45
Analyzing Dino Prismic's breakthrough in men's tennis and future potential.
“In fact, the theme is, I don't know if this is a theme, but Matt has pointed out for us here in the agenda that the seeds three through six on the men's side all failed to win a match at this tournament.”
Djokovic's Health Concerns
52:45 to 56:00
Discussing Djokovic's recent performance and health issues ahead of Roland Garros.
“But I also think his game wasn't actually ready.”
Tournament Insights and Player Performances
56:00 to 1:02:39
Discussion on recent matches and player performances at the tournament.
“Because he lost, he just played Madrid and went out in the first round or his first match last year.”
Injury Concerns and Player Resilience
1:02:40 to 1:09:40
Examination of injury issues among key players and their impact on the tournament.
“I mean, that was shaping up to be a classic.”
Sinner's Game Evolution and Techniques
1:09:40 to 1:10:01
Analysis of Sinner's improvements and strategic changes in his gameplay.
Sinner's Evolution in Variety
1:10:01 to 1:10:16
Explore how Sinner has improved his game by adding variety and learning from others.
“I need to do more of what Carlos is doing.”
The Art of the Drop Shot
1:10:17 to 1:10:48
Discussion about the effectiveness of drop shots in tennis and Sinner's mastery of them.
“And Sinner tried to do something similar because it's such an obvious play.”
Dramatic Matches and Comebacks
1:10:49 to 1:11:48
Analysis of recent dramatic matches and the incredible comebacks in tennis.
“He seems to have learned the instincts of when to play them, which is always the thing that I think is least learnable.”
Fan Dynamics and Player Pressure
1:11:49 to 1:14:15
Exploring how fan support can impact players and the pressures of being the favorite.
“on that match point and then he goes and wins what's 11 of the last 12 points of the match after the kind of resetting, having been broken, trying to serve it out.”
Balancing Support and Expectations
1:14:16 to 1:15:08
Discussion on the fine line between fan support and the discomfort it can create for players.
“and all of that or like cues around the block for your matches when you're only, you know, obviously they're high ranked now, but when you're ranked barely inside the world's top 100.”
Predicting the Tournament Victors
1:15:09 to 1:15:57
Predictions for the upcoming matches and who might take the title.
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:10Well, hello and welcome to the tennis podcast here on this fine Sunday evening to talk all things Rome and the final Claycourt 1000 event before Roland Garros joining us from sunny Solly Hull, the Rome of the West Midlands, David Law. that's got to be the first time that that has ever happened that it has been called that but i'm going to go with that and see if i say it out loud to people whether they whether they're up for it they're welcome to quote me on that on the tourist posters if they like uh joining us from actual rome it is the athletics charlie eccleshare charlie how are you doing i already know the answer to this I know you're you're absolutely buzzing as an Arsenal fan I'm expecting peak Eccleshare this evening please I'm good I will do my best yeah don't ask me anything about happening in the tennis between the hours of 5 30 and 7 30 p.m local time today because for me and a few others I will say in the press room all eyes were on uh what was going on in East London um But yeah, I'm doing well.
1:16Thank you. And our eyes as well, quite frankly. All sports fans' eyes, I think. Before we get into the tennis, and there is a lot of tennis to get into. We always bitch about the slow starts that these two-week-long 1 ,000 events have. But it does feel like a lot has happened already. So we do have a lot to talk about. But just before we get into all of that, I feel like we should start with the big news story that broke on the eve of the tournament, fuelled by some pretty punchy quotes from a number of top players from the men's and the women's side, threatening, in a very non-specific way, a boycott if their complaints about Grand Slam prize money, a grumble that we've been hearing at various different volumes for a while now, if their complaints about prize money and player benefits at the slams are not listened to and acted upon.
2:10So despite an overall year-on-year prize money increase of 9.5 % for 2026 that Roland Garros announced a couple of weeks ago, that brings the total prize money pot to$72.3 million. the top tens of the WTA and the ATP expressed what they called collective disappointment because of the percentage of tournament revenue that that prize money total represents. The percentage of revenue that that 72.3 million represents is 15%, which is very often compared to US sports leagues, where the players' revenue shares is often close to, if not more than, certainly hovering around the 50 % mark. Irina Sabalenka was the punchiest of the lot.
2:57She said, at some point, we will boycott. And then lots of other players echoed those sentiments. Quite a lot of them said, well, if there's a boycott happening, I'll definitely join in. Rybacanis said, yeah, I mean, if there is one, then I'm up for it. Coco Goff said that. Novak Djokovic echoed those sentiments as well. Charlie, I know that The Athletic, you and Ava Wallace have done a lot of reporting on this over the last week. And they are anytime the B word comes up in tennis, even if it is an empty threat, who knows? It's a big deal. The question that I always want to know the answer to, and maybe it's impossible to answer.
3:41I don't know, is how fair that comparison to the US sports leagues is. Because on the face of it, you hear the complaints from the top players and you think, what are you on about? They're increasing prize money at most slams by a minimum-ish of 10 % every year. You're earning gazillions of pounds or dollars. What have you got to complain about? But on the other hand, when you hear that comparison, 15 % to 50%, you think, right, yeah, get marching in the street, get paid your dues. So I guess, yeah, how fair is that comparison? Like, are the financial structures of Grand Slams comparable to the financial structures of those US sports leagues that are held up as the benchmark?
4:28I mean, first of all, as well, like, you're right that people aren't going to have sympathy towards, like, the top players, but also the Grand Slams are doing all right themselves too. You know, they're not doing badly when it comes to how much they bring in. You know, they're doing very well. To the extent that, let's say, hypothetically, they all increased their prize money to 50 % of their revenue, would they all still remain in profit? I mean, I don't know exactly, but that would be a huge uplift. I mean, they talk as well about really, you know, the first step we should say that they want is to get to like 22%, which is what the mixed 1000s have.
5:09So they're not going straight for that like 50 % figure. I mean, it is different. Obviously, most of those sports have like a league and that sort of thing, whereas an obvious difference is this is four separate entities. And just on a practical level, I do think that does make things really difficult. And that's been something that has come up again and again in conversations with players this week, is that it's so fragmented. So it is very difficult to kind of get, the kind of straight answers even that these players want and yannick sinner said this in his press conference he was like if this was any other sport i feel like the top players would be listened to straight away um and you know i've asked a few players about that as well and i think they do agree with it and i think one of the reasons is that there is a sense that it's so hard because all four even all four of the different sams you know it's not like they they're all a kind of homogenous being we're at a point where one of them has taken a separate point of view in a lawsuit to three of the others like it's so it's so divided i mean we would be talking about a monumental increase to get towards like a 50 mark and i think the players like i say it is more about kind of at this point it's that 22 percent figure i think as well for atp only events it's around 30 percent it's a bit higher um so obviously you know the the amount of the proportion wise for the slams uh it is a fair bit off and should say as well and i think sometimes the players some are good at articulating this some less so it it it isn't about them or at least that's the argument that's that's given um by the group as a whole that it's not about making sure that Yannick Sinner and Irina Sabalenka get more money.
6:54It's about players further down the pyramid. To be fair to the FFT as well, most of their increases have been aimed at that level of player and there have been some really big increases at that level over the last few years. Negotiations are always about power, aren't they? And the threat of a boycott is really... It's emphasising player power, isn't it? It's sort of showing your hand and saying, this is how much power we have does the threat feel real enough to you for the slams to actually move on this i mean this is the thing like going into that tuesday i was really curious i wanted to ask these players asked sabalenka she was one of the first players i asked actually and she went straight for the jugular with it and it's obviously very impactful when they do that it's great for us you know it was like a great story straight away first day of the tournament um you know the tour yeah the tournament only started that day but it was really you know often those media days could be quite slow but this was like straight bang into it i think when you actually then drill into it a bit having spoken to other players and people involved with this group there haven't been like formal discussions about a boycott like we're quite a long way off that and you know it's not Again, talking about the slams not being homogenous, the sense I've been given is that there's a wide, there's a big spectrum of views from different players.
8:20But certainly, you know, it's a big attention-grabbing thing to say, you know, that boycott word. I still think there are enough players, you know, they really don't want to do it as well. That's the thing. They really don't want to do it. Because like, and I'm just skeptical the extent to which, you know, they would like, it would take so much, especially as they would, it would be an essentially selfless act. And how often do elite athletes act selflessly? Like everything about them is geared towards winning. And if they actually stopped and thought about it, like, do I want to like win fewer Grand Slams for the sake of the number 100 in the world?
9:08be an amazing thing to do if they did but but and then there's this separate thing which sinner talks about like where it's about it's a question of respect um which i totally get but again is yannick sinner going to sacrifice grand slams because he feels a bit disrespected like i'd be i'd be amazed quite frankly and then i mean yeah coca goth did make that quite funny point she was like yeah i probably wonder if i was on my own i'd be quite annoyed if like i put out and then turned around and realized no one else was doing it i mean it would have to be like a big bit of collective action and like how long have we been covering tennis like how hard is it to get anything organized collectively let alone something this significant and on this scale yeah i know they were really um understandable and relatable and quite funny all those quotes you know from rabacchner and goff saying like yeah if there's one happening then i'll that sounds great i'll join in but one is only gonna happen if there is a that it tends to take a a talisman, right, or a talisman, a figurehead that is prepared to make the sacrifices.
10:10Obviously, the most prominent example is Billie Jean King, who sacrificed her own personal achievements in order to achieve something greater. Like, this isn't, it's not an age of activists, is it, in this world? I mean, David, could you ever envisage in reality, not just threats, could you ever see, these players boycotting? I think it's important to say that it has happened before and we covered it on Tennis Relived when the players, a huge number, 80-odd players boycott Wimbledon in 1973 in order to stand up for Nicky Pillich, who was being banned from playing the Davis Cup. This is very, very different.
10:58And this is about money. And yes, it is. I'm pleased that the idea seems to be to support the lower rank and file. And there is absolutely a fair principle, I think, that the sport is doing incredibly well. How come we're only getting this percentage of it? It's just that that percentage of it is an enormous amount as well. So it's a pretty difficult one to win in the eyes of the public, I think. yes you'll certainly get fan bases and and people who understand tennis and and people in the business i think would be more sympathetic but i think if you were to stop the random in the street that they're not going to have a huge amount of sympathy for this position compared to say you know what what might have been the case with nikki pillage back in the day i i wasn't around at that time to to know but you know that was an incredible stance all those people all those men prepared to stop.
11:57I remember Billie Jean King telling us we were happy, we would have been happy to join them in that as well. But they didn't ask. They didn't care about us. So they created their own association instead at the same time. I would be amazed, to quote Charlie, I'd be feeling the same about that. I mean, Andy Roddick did put huge pressure on them many years ago as he tried to drive some change and argue this point and had some success. I mean, put pressure on, but trying to actually get the players to come with you is another matter. And then I actually think that this group, because they've made it quite a small group with the most power, it feels like it is actually one that you could wield something and make something happen because you don't have to try and get 60 people to do it.
12:50You're trying to get 20 people to do it and they happen to be the biggest names in the sport um you can get them in the room and have a conversation say you can put your name to a letter on behalf of all of them they've had larry scott involved who's just the most incredible administrator and understanding of of the business you know and he he he was able to help along with billaging king and venus williams and and one or two others drive the equal prize money back in 2007 at wimbledon you know So this is a guy who knows about this stuff. We've covered him on Tennis Free Lived as well. So I feel like they've already made significant strides quietly and almost, correct me if I'm wrong, Charlie, almost namelessly because they have a name, but they're not really doing the public thing in quite the same way.
13:41They're talking about being a group of 20 players, the top 10 men and women, and letters on behalf of them. but meanwhile you've got the Professional Tennis Players Association. Well, what are they now? I can't quite remember. You know, you're trying to remember what they are, and oh, there's also an Association of Tennis Professionals tour. There's a Players' Union there, a Players' Council there as well. So considering all that, I think they've actually done quite well. But I don't know whether Sabalenka was sent in to try to drop that grenade and get Tong's wagon. I suspect she probably just said it.
14:18and okay they're words but i i don't believe that that's going to suddenly happen yeah i mean the interesting thing with sabalenka as well is she's not from my understanding been one of the people you know really driving it and engaged behind the scenes you know she hasn't been like a jessica begula uh type character but she is very forthright um she is someone who will kind of say it as she sees it which you know also has a has a value as well but I don't think she was coming at it from a point of view of like this is based on lots of conversations I've been having with other players and kind of negotiations I've been having I think it was more this is how I feel I'm annoyed at this situation and I'm just going to say that which does carry a lot of weight my favorite little wrinkle of the story is that they've stuck in terms of the signatories to this letter they've stuck with the same uh 20 players from when the original letters were signed last year presumably to prevent having to have awkward sort of you're not in the top 10 anymore we don't require your signature please get the tip x out um conversations well i think they did i think for the second letter in july they did add a few so it is a bit more um because yeah The only ad they never subtract.
15:43There isn't the awkward, your form has dropped off a cliff. Yeah, because I think Sitsapass was on the original list or was certainly close by because it was March 2025. And so I think when the letter was sent, so I think the group was formulated before then. And then, yeah, they did it. The second letter went late July and a few got added, like Jack Draper, because he was outside of the top 10 in February or whatever it was of 2025 and then was in. So, I mean, yeah, that's another thing. Like there will or there kind of has to be a fluidity because the rankings don't pause in time. Once you're in, you're in.
16:20It's like the last eight club. OK, if you want to read more on all of that, a lot of detail in Charlie and all the athletics reporting on the matter. So do check all of that out and we'll keep you posted as things develop. That's it for part one. We'll get into the tennis in part two. Welcome back to part two of today's tennis podcast. Let's start with the WTA, where there have been quite a few injuries. I feel like injuries and illness have been quite a big feature, sometimes in quite dramatic ways over the opening few days of this tournament. Before we get into the injuries, really starting with the good stuff here, let's start with the withdrawals, because there were some significant ones and some slightly bizarre ones.
17:08We had Marta Kostiuk withdraw prior to the tournament, following on from her Madrid title. I don't think that was any great shock to anybody. Probably quite a cautious, sensible decision. The news took a while to reach Sam Querrey on the tennis channel, whose social media team have totally thrown him under the bus. We had the very, very bizarre withdrawal, Charlie, of Emma Raducanu. Talk us through what happened there because you were in the room, you were present for all of it. Yeah, it was so weird. So at between 6.27 and 6.32 p.m. local time, a few of us who were there had a chat with Emma, really good spirits.
17:55She was talking about feeling like she turned a corner and felt a lot better. I mean, you know, she said I wasn't feeling 100%. And I even said to her, because we were asked afterwards, it was like, did she explicitly say she was playing? And like, it would have felt absurd to ask that question outright because of the way she was talking. I did ask her though, I said like, were you tempted to skip this and Ron and Garros, you know, if you're not quite there, just to be like, I'm just going to completely try and refresh for the grass. And she said, no, you know, clay's really good for my game long term.
18:32You know, the usual stuff you hear from players about constructing points, et cetera, et cetera. but zero indication she was gonna pull out like honestly she seemed um yeah she seemed so much better and then at 7 p.m the email went out uh saying she'd pulled out and it was just it was so like because i first saw it a tweet went out uh just saying like red economy's put from one of those like entry update um the entry update feed um and it was like a genuine moment of like disbelief like me and the reporters around me most of whom had you know started writing their piece on kind of emma adekarno says she's turned a corner as she you know plays her first event in a couple of months um and yeah it was a real like double take moment and then obviously do your checks is this genuine and then yeah i was informed at 7 p.m so half an hour after talking to us the email went out and obviously that doesn't just happen straight away or nothing would have happened in that intervening half an hour um so you so yeah all very strange you think the decision was made before her speaking to you because i don't know the statement i just don't know i mean like not there's not really any outcome that makes a lot of sense i mean i guess it's possible she i mean maybe when she spoke to us she was like 99 sure she was going to pull out even and was like but i i don't want to say it i'm definitely sure and we like boris johnson prepared prepare me two statements and yeah exactly yeah posts yeah somewhere out there is a statement from her saying how much she's raring to go and looking forward to it.
20:19But her physio and S &C person, Emma Stewart, was there. Or sort of like as we walked off, she was kind of there waiting. So I don't know. Maybe they had a conversation and at that point like fully decided. But it was just, yeah, it was all very strange because, you know, I think it would have been far more productive to have a conversation with us, even to just be like, look, just to give you a heads up, I am going to pull out. This is why I'm doing it. I feel a lot better, but I'm just not quite there. And that just wouldn't have been a story, really. I mean, maybe it would have been, well, I'm sure, you know, bad faith people would have said, oh, you know, she's missing another tournament, et cetera, et cetera.
21:00But, I mean, if you're missing the tournament, you're missing the tournament, at least kind of get in front of it and explain what's going on. Now, I think everyone was just left being like, well, what's going on here? Because this is such an odd situation. yeah I've never quite heard of anything anything like that sequence events in on that timeline to be honest she's been posting training training photos and so on on her Instagram she seems to be still training on clay indicating she doesn't tend to play Roland Garros maybe even a tournament next week ahead of yeah we knows yeah we were told that that is definitely in play if she can you know if she can get into one um and she'll need that you know having not played any clay um if she's able i mean i think um brigsy said that there was in there was a comparable situation a few years ago at the madrid open but on that occasion it had been a very terse kind of media briefing and there was definitely a sense that something was up whereas yeah this time that it was nothing like that it was all all really positive and an upbeat seeming weird very weird um other withdrawals probably the big one is amanda anisimova she withdrew before her opening match against elaine osterpenko with an ongoing wrist injury which sounds a bit of a worry quite frankly um we just got the news that she's she's working with the coach sebastian sax on a on a trial basis so Sebastian Sachs seems to got himself into a Greg Ruzedski type situation signed up to coach an injured player when will they get off the starting line who can say Matt has had some input in the agenda here Matt who is on another golfing holiday is he a professional golfer David or is he a tennis podcaster?
22:51Well we'll find out in the months to come, won't we? I mean, you know, maybe this is his journey so we may lose him. Charlie may be getting the call up more often. Matt points out that Sebastian Sachs was formerly with both Emirado Karnou and Belinda Bencic so he obviously loves the backhand list. Knows a good backhand. Right, let's talk about actual tennis that has happened. I feel like we should start with the earliest tournament exit in 15 months for the world number one, Irina Sabalenka. She was beaten 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 by Sarana Castella, who is surely having the greatest retirement season of all time.
23:37She was brilliant. Notable assists from Belinda Bencic, who was bizarrely sitting in Sarana Castella's box throughout, despite having a match of her own a couple of hours later, which she promptly went and lost. and she was sort of contributing to the coaching. She's good friends with Sarana Castella. Not often you see that, particularly when the player has a match later that day. She was into it. And a very heavy assist by the looks of things, certainly in the latter stages, from a worrying-looking lower back injury for Rina Sabalenka. She says it's her lower back slash hip and she said it was limiting rotation and David, you sounded pretty worried by what you were seeing in the latter stages of that match.
24:27Well, it was the sudden manner in which her movement started to be impeded. You know, she's always somebody who chases every ball, Sabalink, you know, is my sense. You know, she's such a fighter and she didn't give up. I mean, she was still battling away, trying to win the match, but I was really struck by a couple of winners that went by that she just didn't run to. And she had some attention to her back there on the court. She just looked uncomfortable. And look, you can injure your back or you can get a twinge like that and it may be a while, a few days of rest and so forth and then you back up and at it.
25:12And I suspect that's probably what this will end up being. but equally this is not the three-week spell I was expecting to see from Marina Sabalenka you know I think we had a podcast a couple of weeks ago and I said I'd be quite surprised if it's not a Sabalenka or a back in a final and then they both lost you know and and I was saying at that time that I felt maybe Rebecca is over playing well she looks okay at the moment it's Sabalenka who's the one who's had all the time off who's who looks physically impeded but I would have thought that it really matters for Sabalenka to have a win to win one of these two tournaments and to be flying when she goes into Rolingarras, not to say she can't do it, I mean I think you could end up getting an extra week's rest and end up benefiting from it at Rolingarras but given this is not the one she's won before I don't have as much confidence that she's just going to come in and be fine.
26:17That's kind of it, isn't it, Charlie? Like, OK, the injury is a worry. And it's weird, isn't it? Because I'm just never on injury alert with Sabah. It took quite a long while to process that that's what we were seeing because she's so robust physically. But take the injury out of it. Let's say it's nothing. She's over it in a couple of days. It doesn't affect her at Roland Garros. This is still really suboptimal preparation for Roland Garros. This is a problem, really, for Rina Sabalenka going into a grand slam. She obviously wants to win and will probably still be favourite four. Maybe not if Shontek goes on to win Rome this week, I don't know.
27:00Yeah, I think if it's not much of an injury, she still would be. But yeah, four wins, two losses on the clay going into Roland Garros. I mean, as David said, you've got long odds on anything like that. Yeah, it was so strange because she has so many matches like this in some ways, early rounds of tournaments where it's a bit scratchy, but she just always finds a way to win. So it was just really, it's quite unnerving when you see players who are so reliable then on the very rare occasion when they don't do it. I guess it is quite a hard match to evaluate because we don't know how much was down to how physically impaired she was.
27:38I mean, she did reference that after. She said, yeah, it was an issue. Kosteo played amazingly well and I think is quite a good person to kind of exploit an opponent's weakness and she's not going to be intimidated, a rollover. An incredible win for her and she did play extremely well. It's a sign as well, though, of Sabalenka's unbelievable fighting spirit that even after that medical timeout, she still broke back on the first occasion when, and she was like wincing in pain and it was just through sort of force of will and maybe because they are getting a little bit nervous, but it is really interesting because in the space of, you know, she's lost two out of her last three matches now, Savalenka.
28:19And in the space of that time, you know, going into that Baptiste match, and even when she was a set up or when she had those match points, you were still thinking of her as like, you know, dominant world number one, big favourite for French Open with Rabakina, maybe Sviontek. And now all of a sudden, only she had those losses as an injury concern. And I don't think there's any certainty around her now. Yeah. Fascinating situation for Sabalenka to be in and one that we wouldn't have contemplated a few months ago when she was, well, weeks ago when she was doing the Sunshine Double. Hope she's fit.
28:55And it does, you know, makes things interesting, doesn't it? Nozkova next for Kistea incidentally defending champion Jasmine Paolini is out of the tournament and out of the top 10 feels like that's been in the mail for a while, it was a tough watch her defeat to Aliza Mertens I mean a great contest but she had three match points Paolini, this one was within her grasp couldn't convert and it was tough it felt inevitable even though she had those match points somehow and maybe now she's got that Rome title defence out of the way and having this top 10 tag around her neck out the way I don't know maybe it'll free her up maybe the problems run deeper than that time will tell it is Mira Andreva next for Elisa Mertens let's talk about Coco Gough she survived her opener against the Sierra.
29:52Yeah. This was, in lots of ways, textbook Coco Gough winning ugly, five, seven, six, love, six, four. And the whole way through I'm hearing Matt Roberts ringing in my ears. Coco Gough is never as high as you think and never as low as you think. And then a text drops from Matt Roberts saying, I've never seen Gough lose her composure. like this. Like, yeah, we, we've seen her do all sorts of ugly things on a tennis court and win. Anyway, she's the master at it. It's, it's an absolute sight to behold, but she was sort of self harming at points during this match yesterday, Charlie. And she, she gave some very frank comments after the match saying, um, thing she's had things off the court that she's been trying to get through.
30:43She said it's been going on for a few months. and she has good days and bad days, but it's a tough watch for Coco Gauff right now, which means she'll probably go on and win the tournament. Yeah. Yeah, it was. I mean, it was like watching Andrei Rublev on a bad day, quite frankly. Like there was a lot of smashing her head with her racket, smashing her head with her hand. Like it was really uncomfortable, sort of frequent acts of self-flagellation. And yeah, we spoke to her afterwards. I mean, because I found it quite reminiscent of that period towards the end of Brad Gilbert in 2024, of her working with Brad Gilbert in 2024, those defeats to Emma Navarro at Wimbledon, the US Open, where, you know, she was kind of despairing to her box and it was quite an uncomfortable watch.
31:29And then she talked about how she didn't want to play like that anymore. So I wondered if it was something to do with that. But yeah, she spoke after about how, yeah, it was stuff happening, you know, kind of personal stuff, which, yeah, I mean, you know, players go through things and, you know, have days where they just don't really want to be out there. But it's a job like any other and they have to. And she talked about the fact as well that she didn't say this. She said just that, you know, there are lots of people in her team and things like that as well. And she wanted to go out for them.
32:01And that's, I guess, different from most of us, because if most people don't show up for work, whatever, there aren't, you know, people as directly affected, maybe or maybe for some people they are. But yeah, that was that was not showing up for work. That is true. Yeah. And I hope he knows that and feels guilty if ever he doesn't show up. But yeah, it was it was very uncomfortable and like good on her for fronting up. and you know it can't have been easy having to then talk I'm sure she really didn't want to talk about it and she said she was like it's hard because she was like I always want to be candid and honest but that's about my tennis I can't go into personal stuff which is obviously completely understandable and as well you just hope that there isn't you know a ton of speculation and that kind of thing which I guess is is inevitable to some extent Charlie I think exactly well Honestly, it was one of those ones where it's like, you don't like, and I don't think any of us who were there really did.
33:00There weren't many of us. There was only, I think, a few of us. But you're like, if you do report this, it is, I mean, and obviously those quotes get out anyway. But it just, you know, it sets off this like stream of endless speculation. And yeah, I think it's tough for her. I just hope she can start to enjoy it a bit more. You know, because sometimes players find it a bit of a sanctuary being on court. you know, kind of, and they're able to switch off and go into a different mindset. But yeah, she was just hating it. I mean, it was the weirdest thing. She won the second set six love and she looked like she was hating every minute of it.
33:35There was like, if you were watching that and you were asked like, what, what's the score of this seven? If you were told that that player had just won the set six love, not like, you know, we all get in those moods that even when you're, when you're in such a mood that even like good things, you're annoyed, they kind of annoy you in some way as well you're just like oh well yeah of course i've hit this good shot now why couldn't i've done that you know when it was tight in the first set that i lost and uh yeah but um yeah at least she won i mean that's the overall though i mean i've written about this it's been a we talk endlessly about how these you know first week of these two-week masters are so slow and so boring and nothing happens i feel like this was a pretty action-packed first week like lots of upsets lots of intrigue lots of off-court stuff there was loads going on um and this this This was, you know, this felt like this might be kind of the story of that Saturday.
34:23And then obviously Sabalenka goes and loses and there's Fonseca, Medvedevich. Like there was loads happening. And Ogeli Asim, you know, he did an underarm serve because he was cramping so badly down match point and saved it and then lost the next match point. Like it was a pretty wacky day and a wacky week overall. Yeah. You know, things are happening when Felix Ogeli Asim is being described as wacky. not just the players getting injured francisco roy has yes exactly in practice promotional uh activity at a roman piazza that so eager likes this game where you sort of play in the service boxes and volley to each other and he's apparently a really good volleyer so she was like oh he'll love this game let's play against each other put 100 euros on it make it a bit of fun she's up match point at which point he stretches for a shot i mean he's like 58 by the way so like and i'm sure he's going at you know he's a competitive person i'm sure he's like absolutely going at it stretches tears his achilles but apparently is like and in front this is like in front of the watching public apparently like really holds it together it like barely shows any emotion and then has to be like yeah i think i've done something quite bad goes to poland and back to have surgery and talking about it he missed one day's work apparently he missed one training session uh to have this operation and then yeah you see him kind of hoisting himself around on crutches he's watching with big bandage on his leg I mean he looks seriously uncomfortable and then it's like well how is he going to coach I mean obviously you know this is like a nine-month recovery period and he's going to be there just sort of on the side watching and encouraging I I guess.
36:10Yeah, on heavy pain medication, presumably. Wacky tactics incoming from Igor Shontek. It was a bit of a nail-biter, wasn't it, David? Her opener against Katie McNally. He's having a, you know, putting a season together is Katie McNally now that she's fit. Failed to serve the match out twice. It got very tense. Did this match for Igor Shontek. had a lot of the hallmarks of one of those matches that we've seen a lot of recently that Shiontek seemed in total control of and then suddenly it's slipping away and it's like she's in quicksand. But she got it together and boy did she get it together in her second match that we've just watched against Elisabetta Cotciareto.
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36:59It just absolutely blew her away. Yeah, and if the history's anything to go by, she'll now go and win the tournament because when she lost the set to Katie McNally at Wimbledon she was the only one to do so she went and won the tournament and yeah, as you say, sure enough she's gone and just ripped through Cotillareta today who I think wasn't 100 % fit herself and that is a repeat of last year's same scoreline against Cotillareta yeah, I think McNally is a player who is just so different, she can ask questions that the vast majority just don't. And she totally believes in her own game. I think she gets a kick out of the fact that her game is A, different, and B, affects people.
37:48And I think the biggest thing is she's just so happy to be back because she's just had such a terrible time with injury. And there was quite a warmth at the net because Svantec knew. She knew she'd been pushed and it had been hard work and it had been stressful and tiring and McNally knew that she'd done that to her as well and kind of almost got the win. And I think that they both enjoyed that match in some strange sort of way. But I don't know. I think ultimately this is all part of the building of Esfjante back into the player she wants to be on clay. Can I just say on McNally as well, I was really intrigued to watch her after hearing David, you kind of sum up her game and her comeback a bit.
38:34And she, watching live on the court, she has incredible anticipation. Like she, that was the thing that stood out. She kept, and it's not guessing, it's like educated guesswork. She kept reading where Svante was going to go. And there was one point where Svante was right up at the net. Let's the ball bounce. It was basically just, you know, put away an easy shot. McNally rushes forward herself to meet it on the volley. It was incredible. And she got it back. She ended up losing the point, but it was like an extraordinarily kind of kamikaze tactic but worked and that was what won her the tie break she got some shots that were kind of somehow landing in but it did feel like a consequence of the fact that she kept reading where Svantec was going because Svantec got dragged into that third set because she was putting herself in winning positions but just couldn't quite finish the point but I think it would be good practice that kind of more patient point construction it wasn't the Svantec we've seen for much of the last year where she's kind of got a bit ragged and gone for too much.
39:34This was more patient and more sustainable. Favourite for the title from here? Shontek or Rabakina? Rabakina is... She's beaten Zachary and Ayala today very comfortably. I think she's got Pliskova now who's just beaten Laura Siegmund in a match that somehow escapes from my schedule. Rebekah does look good. She is in that kind of, I mean, business kind of mode. Just so efficient. Taking the ball early. Some of her returns today against Ayala were devastating. And I know Ayala's not exactly the biggest server. But I guess there's always that slight question mark with Rebekah is, you know, does she have the durability for a two-week event?
40:20I know that's something Matt's often picked up, Matt Roberts often picked up on. But she, yeah, at this point, she's looking pretty good as well. David, your favourite from here. Does Alina Svitolina deserve a shout? Absolutely. I mean, she's played the best tennis that I've seen in the tournament so far today against Hayley Baptiste. She was absolutely stunning from start to finish. She just won comfortably. I think Baptiste had a bit of a rocky day. I think to get a scoreline of, I think it was 6-2, 6-1 or 6-2, 1-6-2, to get something like that, you're going to have to have them both at the opposite extremes of their talent in a way because Baptiste is too good to be losing like that, really, most of the time.
41:07But, yeah, everything's Vissalina hit was coming off. She's been really good at this tournament before. Wouldn't be surprised. To me, like, to use the mix analogy, I wouldn't be at all surprised if she ended up winning this tournament. But as a favourite, yeah, I think I'd still go with one of the two you've mentioned, especially as Gough doesn't look happy at the moment. I mean, you know, she's the reigning French Open champion so I think you've always got to put her in that conversation as well but Rabakina looks serene and Chiantet looks like she's building. So it's a really interesting tournament.
41:42It doesn't feel categoric to me. Potapova picking up where she left off from Madrid. She's qualified, beating Nikola Bartonkova in qualifying, incidentally, who herself is through to, what is it, the round of 16 now? Because Bartonkova beat Madison Keyes today. So she qualified, beating Bartonkova on the way, and she's beaten Ludmilla Samsonova and Karolina Mukova. Potapova. I mean, this is serious stuff from her now. She's got Jessica Pagula next, which, I don't know, maybe Potapova's a favourite for that. I don't know. Yeah, I did ask Potspove right now. I was like, the way you're playing, do you fear anyone?
42:26Because I feel like she's the kind of player who no one is going to want to play right now. And she didn't want to, she said, she was like, I don't want to be cocky about it. But clearly the self-belief is just like... That sounds like a yes. Yeah, a little bit, exactly. Like, absolutely. But she should be really confident. And like, how impressive after that Madrid Open run, as you say to go and qualify like you know that's that's a pretty tricky turnaround and pretty you know it's kind of a rankings quirk that she had to do that um and yeah that Barton Kover win has aged pretty well incidentally asked Potopova Potopova was asked about Barton Kover and how impressed she was and she was like yeah I would just she was kind of blown away by how good she was and she's been a really fun story this last week here Barton Kover holding my fantasy team together is Barton Cova at the moment.
43:18Barton Cova and Kabali leading the line for me. Wow. I don't know. I feel like top of the table stuff. I used the word sustainable before and I'm not sure I'd use that here. Yeah, my safe bet is Irina Sabalenka. What on earth is going on? Just finally, before we move on to the men, I wanted to touch upon the Oleksandr Olenikova story from this week that's got quite a lot of coverage. Charlie, I know you've covered it and talked to her as well this week. So, Olinikova, who's been making herself more and more relevant this year, career-high ranking of 68 in the world right now. You know, she's getting into the main draws consistently.
44:01She's making herself increasingly a factor. She lost to Linda Nozkova in round two in Rome, but she had posted while she was still in the tournament to to Instagram some criticism of the WTA for what she considers attempts to effectively silence her. She said in the Instagram post that she's been threatened with fines of tens of thousands of dollars and with disqualification by the WTA over her criticism of specific Russian and Belarusian tennis players, including Belarusian world number one, Irina Sabalenka. I mean, that's quite a story. yeah yeah it is and obviously it's especially awkward because i was talking to asking her questions about this you know asking her to i guess elaborate or whether she stands by it and obviously a wta press officer an employee is right there um not that that made her hold back at all you know she's like the mo salla um yeah exactly the mix zone familiar with the awkward with the press officer with his phone out in the background exactly um yeah i mean she and she is absolutely um resolute in her stance you know she and and because then as well she was calling out um karen hatchinov and veronika kudomatova for she alleges wearing um the saint george symbol which is like this Russian military insignia yeah I mean it's such a I mean listen as well because obviously when she was talking she's very emotional it's such an emotive subject I mean like her dad is fighting for the Ukrainian army um her uh her flat back in Kiev has there been you know it's shaken because of drone strikes she's been left without water and all of this stuff she's got I think she's the only top Ukrainian player that still lives and trains in Ukraine, I believe.
46:05Yeah, I think that's right. And obviously, like all these players, has lots of family and friends there. So, yeah, she is not holding back. And obviously, yeah, in January, she came to our attention both with her, you know, she played so brilliantly and so unusually, you know, with the Moonballs against Madison Keys. but then talked about how, you know, naming as well, because that's the thing as well, that often players will kind of talk in generality. She didn't. She talked about Sabalenka and she made some allegations about Sabalenka as well in respect of Lukashenko, the better Russian president.
46:40So this is not a story I don't think that's going to go away because, you know, I asked her about, you know, are you going to keep talking about this? Are you, you know, are you going to refuse to be silenced because she alleges that attempts have been made to do that. And she basically says, yeah, I've decided, you know, I can't do anything else. I have to do this. Does the WTA actually have those powers? I mean, what grounds do they have to fine her or disqualification? Like, what clause of rules would that be? I don't quite understand what jurisdiction is there. in their rule book there are rules about sort of calling out people specifically i mean there's actually if you read their rule book there's this quite like orwellian line which would obviously never be enforced because this is a rule that must be broken every tournament but it says a player shall not address criticism of a tournament sponsor player official the wta or the wta tour to the media or public all such complaints should be forwarded to the supervisor of player relations or WTA operations.
47:51I mean, isn't that extraordinary? Imagine if that was actually adhered to. Players would be getting, will be breaching that every tournament. I mean, we're here discussing a potential boycott, but I guess, you know, more pertinently or more actually enforceable, there is a bit also in the rulebook talking about, yeah, disparaging or being you know things that be harmful or prejudicial to against any person group or people tournament sponsored player official the wta the wta tour so i think it's you know it's trying to stop people from singling other people out and because if done in bad faith obviously that would be pretty irresponsible if you had like a leading player calling out a lesser ranked player and inciting a pile on or worse um but yes it is i mean they because obviously we put this to the wta because they're such serious allegations and they didn't address the allegations specifically but they do talk about how it is like an extremely delicate situation which it is let's not pretend it's easy when but you know no sport is effect is as affected by the russia ukraine war is tennis I don't think even close the fact that it's there are so many especially on the WTA side there are so many top women's players from Russia and from Ukraine and it's an individual sport and you have this moment at the end of each match where there's a handshake and so there's this kind of ready-made crucible for all these tensions to be exposed and you know this is coming off the back of the Kostya Kandreva final so it is extremely pertinent and actually Svitolina was asked about uh olinakova earlier today and whether she'd had much contact with her um and she said she hasn't really been able to fully engage with this story but wants to um and kind of understand more of what's going on yeah i was pretty shocked to to read that those believers that the wta were able to pull in circumstances like this honestly um but there we go um yeah heck of a story uh that's it for part two we'll be back in part three to talk about the men welcome back to part three of today's tennis podcast quite a lot of uh illness and injury in this section of the show as well so i hope you've enjoyed uh what we've had so far in illness and injury because that that is the theme.
50:24In fact, the theme is, I don't know if this is a theme, but Matt has pointed out for us here in the agenda that the seeds three through six on the men's side all failed to win a match at this tournament. I mean, yeah, dropping like flies, apart from Yannick Sinner and Alexander Zverev, who seem on a collision course to meet in another thoroughly underwhelming final. Let's start, shall we, David, with the breaking news that a group chat has been renamed. Yes, this is a group chat that comprises Catherine, Matt, myself and Catherine's brother math and used to be called Alcarazmataz. And will be again in the future, I believe.
51:19Yeah, it's now been renamed Dino Soaring because of the exploits. Which math has had lined up for a long time. Yeah, it happened about three hours ago and it came off the back of Dino Prismic getting a backup win following his breakthrough result against Novak Djokovic. I mean, Dino Prismic has been on our radar for two and a half years, ever since he played Djokovic at the Australian Open and really pushed him and kind of just looked like a clone. He looked like one of Djokovic's first clones, you know, one of the sort of people that has just very clearly admired him growing up. And he has indeed.
51:59He's idolized him. He's actually Croatian as opposed to Serbian. but he's got a similar build. He's got a similar kind of way of moving on the baseline, doing the sort of front-on, leg-splayed defensive strokes. He's certainly developed a whiplash forehand. We've learned that over the last few days. And, I mean, after that incredible result or performance against Djokovic, which he ended up losing, I think it was very easy to get carried away and assume that this guy is already here and arrived. He was 18 at the time. And he's not been able to break through into the full ATB tour. I mean, a lot of that is injury-based.
52:44He's had terrible injuries, I think. He's been very badly inhibited. But I also think his game wasn't actually ready. I think it looked ready on the night. but when you actually have seen it since it didn't really stand up and obviously not helped by the fact that his body was breaking down all the time suddenly he started qualifying for a lot of big tournaments he's been in that sort of ranking zone and if you look at his results throughout the year a lot of it is qualified, qualified, qualified might not have won many matches but was getting into the draws suddenly he's made some progress in draws over the last month and now he's beaten Djokovic Djokovic's first match in a long time and frankly looked in really ill health himself, he was actually sick on court wasn't he, he was in a bad way after a very good first set for him but he just got ground down and then Prismic has gone and backed it up again today with a good win so you know who knows what his future holds but it's look, I'm a bit biased to the Croatians having a Croatian wife and been waiting for a male player to come along who could do something from Croatia.
53:59And he certainly looks promising. I'm biased just because of the way he plays tennis. I freaking love watching the guy in spite of his head and facial hair. That is how much I love his tennis. Why don't you like his facial hair? I'm prepared to overlook all of his poor style choices. But, I mean, the backup win, and look, Ugo Umber on clay is, I mean, Ugo Umber on anything recently is no great shakes, but definitely on clay, no great shakes. But still, the backup win is not a bigger deal than the Djokovic win, but certainly tells me something significant beyond the Djokovic win, because Djokovic was, I mean, was not okay in that match, was he?
54:49There were lots of rumours circulating that he wasn't even going to take to the court. He had one of those kind of power outages that, I mean, was definitely circumstantial. I mean, he was clearly suffering with something. But we have also seen these from Novak Djokovic, haven't we? We saw a bit of one in the Australian Open final where he just suddenly... Yeah. Yeah, it's like someone's unplugged him. and it does seem like that happens quite dramatically to him these days. I mean, he is about to turn 39, right? He's about to turn 39. We've got absolutely no data to go on, really, have we, on where he's at ahead of Roland Garros and nor does he.
55:32No, and he's not going to play, he's not going to do a Geneva like last year. It was quite weird because I asked him that. I said like, do you think you will do another Geneva or equivalent? Half expecting him to be like, well, I've just come off the court. I don't know. And he was like, no. So I said like, why? Because obviously that worked pretty well last year. And he just said like, the decision's been made. It's quite strange. I mean, given he's played this year even less or no, I guess the same, wasn't it? Because he lost, he just played Madrid and went out in the first round or his first match last year.
56:03And that did work pretty well for him last year. I mean, okay, he lost to Cine, but he played well. Yeah, he was really good. I mean, he was brilliant against Zverev in the quarters. And it was a straight sets win for Sinner, but it was a lot closer than that. Like, it was a really good contest. Yeah, I mean, it's just, like, how do you try and draw conclusions from this? Like, yes, obviously, all logic says he's, by then he'll be 39. He's got no matches. That's not ideal. But he's still going to be my second favourite, I think. Yeah, exactly. But like, it still wouldn't be a huge surprise if he got it together.
56:44Yeah. I mean, I guess though, the worry is that he just gets one of these power outages earlier in the tournament and it's not something he can find a way through. And maybe if this had been at a major, somehow he would have, you know, taken sufficient painkillers or whatever to find a way through. but yeah he wasn't able to do it I mean it was it was actually Sabalenka was then quite reminiscent because even though clearly yes Prismich was playing an ailing opponent it's still bloody hard to put away someone who's so bloody minded and so good and so used to winning and Prismich did really well especially as like the atmosphere on court was it was like Davis Cup style I mean it was so pro Novak and he talked about that afterwards you know obviously he's still he just he really appreciates that kind of love wherever he goes um so Prismich still did pretty well to to keep his composure and as you say Catherine backing it up how many times you've seen a player not doing it that that was really impressive again he you know he he feels pretty serious like he's he's not messing around well yeah I mean like I think it's it's hard not to feel things watching him play like he's got a lot about him he's got a lot of power I mean I know Novak said that it was like playing in mirror when they played at the Australian Open that time I don't really see that so much like I can see yes there are elements but I feel like he's more explosive certainly than Novak was at that age he's suddenly got that thing and I need to go back and watch the highlights of their Australian Open match to see if he had it then or generally to see how much he's developed in that time.
58:22But he's got the Alcaraz thing now of doing a different grunt for his really big forehands just to let you know. That one was one of the really big ones, guys. Yeah. That was from the special draw. And Djokovic did pick up on that. He said to him, apparently, Djokovic said he said to Prismic at the net, like, wow, your forehand has got a lot better from when we last played. And it does look that way. Yeah. Yeah, he's exciting, I think. David, Art of Feast, on our injury list, I'm afraid. Retired hurt against Andrea Pellegrino, another Italian.
59:06Apparently really good because they all are. This was a real worry, though, for Art of Feast. It was instantly, you know, just so instantly looked like a problem. went off court for a medical timeout, came back on, tried to continue playing, so obviously needed to stop. Mercifully did stop, didn't try and play through it. He has given a statement afterwards saying it was pain in the hip, needs to do some tests, doesn't want to take any risks ahead of Roland Garros. It is a worry. Yeah, I mean this is far from a medical analysis but I did not like the look of the look in his eye after the third game when he got broken again and he just stood there hands on hips looking at his support team his dad and his coach Ivan Sinkush Goran Ivanovic was not there this week and he just looked in a bit of shock and fear.
1:00:17He looked scared to me. What have I done? Because it's been too good to be true almost, his comeback and the results he's had and the manner in which his body has seemingly just stood up to it all without any problems whatsoever. I mean, I just wasn't expecting that. and look, this may just be, maybe he's felt a twinge and he's scared and he's sensibly just pulled out. That's the best case scenario. But he's having an MRI tomorrow. We'll find out then, I guess. And I remember that happening. What concerns me is that's what happened after he'd managed to beat Jaume Munar at Roland Garros in that incredible match and somehow got through it.
1:01:07David went back and found our podcast title from that night, which was Artifice lights up Longland, but is he fucked? That's what it was, yeah. He didn't light up anything this time, but he might still be fucked. But the truth is that we can't know, but that's when we found out the severity of his injury, and we saw him once in eight months for two rounds of a tournament that he shouldn't have played in Canada later that year. And I just hope against hope. And I would for anybody. Obviously, Art of Feast is my favourite player. I definitely want him to be able to show what he can do at Rylan Garras, you know, fully fit.
1:01:52But it's scary to think that he might have another problem of that ilk. So let's just keep the fingers crossed that he hasn't. Men's tennis needs him. It really does, yeah. Thread bear is a tough scene if he's gone.
1:02:11Hips and backs, stress fractures in lower backs, hips. It's a really common twin set of injuries. This really worries me. Yeah, I mean, you look without him, with him now gone, obviously, from this tournament. And yeah, it's tough to find, you know, much intrigue or subplots really on the men's side with Sinner just feeling in a different league from everyone. You've given us one key Felix Orgelia scene, Charlie. Yeah, there was that. I mean, that was shaping up to be a classic. In all seriousness, I mean, that match had already been, they'd been like three hours to get through two sets. I always think, God, if this goes to a decided, this could be one of the longest three set matches basically ever played.
1:02:56it's the second time he's cramped this year Felix really seems weird isn't it I mean there's no question mark over him fitness wise and I'm always very keen to bang the drum of cramp very much not always being or very often not being a fitness related thing but for somebody who's got no sort of particular history of cramping to suddenly be a cramper in these long physical matches is pretty bizarre just the weird and wacky world of Felix always Always. It's just the rollercoaster ride of following the life and times of Felix. Lorenzo Muzzetti lit it up on the Foro Italico, but is he fucked? It was a hell of a match against Francisco de Sorundolo.
1:03:42Two straight sets, drama, crowds, like it was so much fun. but you had the sort of imposing presence of the Lorenzo Mazzetti heavily strapped thigh the whole time and his clearly worsening physical condition in this feeling that if he doesn't get it done in two I don't think he's got a third set in him and I rather worry that he doesn't have a third match in him against Kasper Rude. I think he's on the mega worry list I'm afraid. yeah and he was so he was really emotional at the end of the match and you know he said it was just the obviously being at home and and that kind of thing but you wonder how much that was a factor in it too but again just like killing any potential subplots because Mazzetti in Italy is a fun subplot they love him here he him on clay is just such a joy to watch but yeah how much longer does that story have to run here um and and then you worry for the french and i mean last year he you know it's easy to forget he led alcaraz by a set in the semi-final um and then his body gave out then just like it's in australia way yeah where he was two sets up against Novak.
1:05:00So, yeah, another play you just wish could stay healthy, but you do worry about the durability. And, I mean, I do think the clay court season as it is now, and Sinner maybe is making a mockery of this, but you just can't really play, go deep in all of the, or even play more than a few matches in any, if you want to play all of the 1 ,000s on the men's side. And look, Mazzetti did last year. He went deep in all of them and then his body just gave out. Like, it's basically impossible now. Yeah, and I mean, Yannick Sinnott is the exception. I mean, this is a guy that described, he said he, how did he phrase it?
1:05:45I put it in the group yesterday, David. He recovered during Madrid. That's how he put it. He said, yeah, I was really tired after, you know, he was asked about putting together the sequence of Masters 1000 wins and the change of surfaces and everything. And he said, yeah, I was really tired after the Sunshine Double and winning Monte Carlo, but I recovered during Madrid. So that, I think, tells you everything you need to know about men's tennis at the moment. Let's talk about Yannick Siddur, the one match of his we've seen so far. Three and four against Sebastian Ofna, incredibly efficient. She's got Alexi Popperin next, who is totally randomly beaten Matteo Berrettini and Jakub Menchik back to back.
1:06:33I don't understand Alexi Popperin at all. Darth Sinner is my absolute favourite Sinner. Why doesn't he wear black always? He should be the Johnny Cash of the tennis world. What are Nike playing at? Yeah, it looked great last night, I have to say. him on the main court, the Foro Italico evening match. It was a really cool vibe. I mean, his match would have, like, a big proportion of that match was taken up for stoppages because people in the crowd, I think that one of them was unwell and then there was another one. Like, that honestly added about, must have been like 10 to 15 minutes to that match length.
1:07:16It was unbelievably comfortable. I mean it's not a whole lot to say is there he's probably going to win this title and use the week to recover further when you look at the top half the whole half not even like a section the half it's so hard to make a case for anyone to win a set let alone beat him or even nearly win a set I mean, I'm not making a case for Hadar beating Sin. No, he's not. He's in the bottom half. But I'm looking for B plots, Charlie. Yeah, no, there's no, nothing like that. Nothing. Okay. Daniel Medvedev is in his half. He hasn't even said a match yet. So I was thinking like, yes, Medvedev, given they had that good match fairly recently.
1:08:08But on clay, I mean, Medvedev could play Kabali in the fourth round, which is a standalone thing, would be quite fun. I would quite enjoy that. which is probably where you know you've got to get your kicks somehow on the men's side you know just enjoy that just enjoy the matches even if they feel pretty inconsequential where are you getting your kicks david in the bottom half um no it's it's it's extraordinary the level he's he's able to just produce and reproduce and because it's so efficient it doesn't get the headlines really it just doesn't but my god he deserves all the credit in the world for for the way he's gone from what he was say four years ago to what he is now i mean he was a good player then you know he's a good really good player good prospect but the way he's turned himself from very good player to absolute champion and overwhelming favorite all the time it's just something to behold the only thing is though there is no reason why he might not get injured I mean I don't wish that on him of course obviously I don't wish that on him at all but he's not immune to injury he can cancel men's tennis if he gets injured well I mean if we end up having a boycott we're going to be looking for different storylines isn't it I mean one thing I would say about him is I was marveling last night some of his drop shots which have become a real feature of his game especially on the clay and you've got to set and that's what defined all the greats or has defined all the greats think of on the men's side more recently Djokovic Federer and Nadal they all made really big changes to their game for Sinner to have done that already and the fact that he literally went away after losing that US Open final was like I I need to build more variety.
1:10:06I need to do more of what Carlos is doing. And here we are, and he is doing it, and he's doing really effectively. He's just done it. He got on his goals, and he became better. Yeah. How much talent have you got to have to do that? I so clearly remember that Miami final against Daniel Medvedev a few years ago, where he'd just watched Al Coraz beat Medvedev in the Indy, or I assume he'd watched it in the Indy-Miles final, where he just pulled his pants down with drop shots, exploiting his court position. It was a masterclass. And Sinner tried to do something similar because it's such an obvious play.
1:10:41And he just wasn't very good at it. He was OK. He wasn't embarrassingly bad at it, but he just obviously wasn't a drop shot guy. He's a drop shot guy now. They're really good. It's amazing. He seems to have learned the instincts of when to play them, which is always the thing that I think is least learnable. those instincts yeah he's unreal should we end on some kicks I reckon you've both got some kicks from Hamad Majedovic against Joel Fonseca were kicks had? yeah that's a classic middle of a tournament weekend evening barnstormer two sets of fans going at it yeah that's brilliant but that's kind of what i mean like you can you can still find those stories those things are great it's just when it gets to the latter stages that you're like oh this is a real bummer because we know where this is going but earlier on in the tournament yeah you can get them i mean unbelievable that he was able to come back and win that after like how narrowly he missed on that match point and then he goes and wins what's 11 of the last 12 points of the match after the kind of resetting, having been broken, trying to serve it out.
1:12:03Pretty amazing. Steph Curry night-night celebration. You into that, David? Oh, yeah. No, I like the fact that he just looks at the crowd and just says, come on then, I'll take you all on. And he doesn't hide the fact that he's pissed off with things that are being said. He's fine. Have you seen the comments from Fonseca? after the match in Brazilian, but they've been translated. And I've checked and they just seem to be a reliable translation. He's, I mean, criticised is probably a step too far, but kind of criticised certainly the fans that were at that match last night. You know, he was asked about the vociferous support he gets that we love, And I don't think I've ever seen Brazilian supporters do anything that I would consider kind of crossing the line.
1:13:02I don't know. I didn't see every point of that match last night. But Fonseca said that they're not just hurting my opponent, they hurt me too. That's pretty bold comments. These were mentioned to me earlier, actually, because I thought of this in relation to Ayala, and I actually asked her about this earlier in the week, that sometimes, is it almost, and she didn't sort of agree necessarily, and it's a hard thing because you don't want to be like criticising your own supporters. With her, I was saying, you know, can it sometimes kind of add a pressure and there almost be a discomfort when it's so partisan and you know that it's giving your opponent something to rail against.
1:13:45I often wonder if there's a bit of a locker room thing as well, like, oh, you with all your fans. Exactly, exactly. You haven't done anything. but you've got all your fans out there for you, have you? Totally. You know what tennis locker rooms are like, right? Yeah. Particularly ATP ones. Definitely. I can imagine it's a bit of that. Well, I can imagine feeling a bit awkward about it because you know you have been elevated to a place where you haven't yet fully justified and you didn't ask for that hype or attention and adulation and all of that or like cues around the block for your matches when you're only, you know, obviously they're high ranked now, but when you're ranked barely inside the world's top 100.
1:14:28Like that is just a bit of an uncomfortable dynamic. So I did think that was interesting that Fonseca said that. But then it's also something that most players would kill for, right? Of course, of course. If there is that energy towards them in the locker room, it probably partly comes out of jealousy. Massively. So to criticise it is, yeah, it's a tricky one, I think. It's a net positive, definitely. And I think this from Fonseca was a quite specific thing. you know i don't think he's saying i don't want loads of support i think it's saying i don't want i don't think it's great when it oversteps the mark and there are probably times when it does i don't know i i i wasn't close enough to it to really be able to say um and it's always quite a fine line but i think when it goes into the thing of like really getting at the opponent um i think that's when people start to feel a bit uncomfortable yeah especially if your opponent ends up playing better as a result then it is hurting you isn't it well I hope the Brazilian fans aren't put off because we have got to get our kicks where we can that is the learning from today's pod Charlie who are your picks for the title from here I feared you might ask me that I mean obviously centre on the men's and on the women's I'll go eager that would be fun wouldn't it going into a resurgent narrative wise David you have the right to pass because I'll be able to ask you on Thursday I think we're recording maybe Friday morning midweek pod anyway but you're welcome to give unsolicited predictions right now if you like fine I'll just leave Charlie out to dry I'll pass yeah you'll pass okay i mean you could you can take yannick sinner if you want and just you know you can put standing order in for yannick sinner in okay yeah weeks yeah okay uh folks that is it for today's podcast charlie thank you so much for joining us from a hotel lobby in rome absolute pleasure might be getting a bit rowdy it's now yeah just as we finish recording yeah people are coming in.
1:16:43It's going to be a big, big Sunday night in Rome. They're all Arsenal fans. Hello to our mascots, Bodhi, Maisie and Roger, to our top folks and executive producers, Greg, Chris and Jeff. We are part of the Athletic Podcast Network and you definitely should check out Charlie's reporting from Rome in The Athletic and all the other brilliant stuff that they're writing about. No shout outs because what is a shout out without Matt Roberts? Those will be back next episode, which is, David, we're recording Thursday, Friday? Friday morning, UK time, I believe. Friday morning. It is in my diary, I promise.
1:17:22I just haven't got my diary open because I'm devoting my attention to these two faces in front of me. Charlie, once again, thank you. We'll speak to you soon. Enjoy the rest of your time in Rome, which I think is limited. Travelling back tomorrow? Yes, I go back. I fly home tomorrow. okay so it's a one week trip thank you uh we will see you in paris for chocolate yes very much looking forward to that i had uh i had um a family member get in touch asking for details of uh the chocolate mousse purveyors in paris i hope you told them that i told them to drop matt futterman's name yeah genuinely which i think probably will is currency at Lutillu.
1:18:09I think so. The only risk would be they don't know him by name. They just know him by face. I said say American Matt. American tennis man. American tennis Matt. Yeah. I think he's been in touch to tell them not to sell any in the interim because... Well, I was going to say that they do sometimes run out. That is really important to manage expectations because that is a crushing blow at the end of the long day. We have it hard. Last day of the Premier League season and a Champions League final aftermath to negotiate while in Paris? Don't. It's too much to deal with. See you there, Charlie. Can't wait.
1:18:47Thanks again. Thank you all for listening. We'll speak to you on Friday.
From the publisher
Catherine, David and the Athletic’s Charlie Eccleshare look back on a dramatic opening week at Rome’s Foro Italico.
Part one - WTA (00:00 - 16:41). Charlie brings us up to speed on the latest stand off between the top players and the Grand Slams over prize money, and Aryna Sabalenka’s bold claim that the players are prepared to boycott in order to achieve the revenue share they think they deserve. Is it all hot air? Do the players have a point or are they being greedy?
Part two - WTA (16:41 - 50:08). After Charlie explains the bizarre circumstances around Emma Raducanu’s pre tournament withdrawal, we get into the nitty gritty of the women’s results so far, including a shock early defeat and injury scare for the World Number One Sabalenka.
Part three - ATP (50:08). Injury and illness drama also dominated the early stages of the men’s event, with Djokovic compromised by stomach issues and Dino Prizmic capitalising in spectacular fashion. Is Dino finally happening? And is there anyone left standing between Darth Sinner and a maiden title in Rome?
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