In short
US Open Media Day coverage and immediate tournament outlook, focused on Carlos Alcaraz’s wrist comeback and the “opportunity” created by Yannick Sinner’s absence; plus women’s press conferences and key qualifying results.
Guests (interviewed on Media Day)
Carlos Alcaraz (defending champion; practicing with Ben Shelton; returning from a wrist injury he says feels fine; no technical changes; expects early ups/downs); Ben Shelton (American; discussed best-of-five vs best-of-three and readiness); Alexander Zverev (said he feels like “one of 128” favorites); Taylor Fritz (commented on why Alcaraz plays when ready); Daniil Medvedev (said wrist issues would show in best-of-five too; match fitness/legs/glutes are the bigger concern); Francis Tiafoe (hip concern in Cincinnati final; expects to be fine by Monday); Jessica Pegula (said her issue is resolved and she’s ready); Coco Gauff (serve-focused, confident, “enjoy it” mindset); Aryna Sabalenka (defensive/sassy vibe; clipped “always confident”; results off); Alexandra Eala (composed; proud of her serve, calls it “my little brother”; perspective on tennis history and impact).
Key claims/examples
Alcaraz’s wrist is “feeling fine,” no technical changes, and he’ll play with “no fear”/normal identity; early rounds may be rocky, with a fun first match vs Roman Safiullin. Fritz and Medvedev argue readiness matters more than format or wrist risk. Sabalenka’s “pissed off” frustration contrasts with Gauff’s upbeat, serve-weapon confidence. Qualifying highlights: Bianca Andreescu collapsed after losing to Tamara Zidansek; Kei Nishikori’s career ended in qualifying; notable qualifiers include Jun Jun Wen and Christina “Lutova” (Memphis champion), plus a strong run by Neshesh Basavaradi.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOBehind the Practice Courts
0:46 to 2:09
The hosts discuss the atmosphere at the US Open and their proximity to Carlos Alcaraz's practice session.
“having a sort of twilight hitting session at six o 'clock in the evening right now.”
Alcaraz's Press Conference Insights
2:10 to 4:22
Analysis of Carlos Alcaraz's remarks during his media day press conference, focusing on his injury and comeback.
“I think they're actually now playing points.”
Expectations and Nerves
4:23 to 6:34
Discussion on Alcaraz's potential nerves and expectations for his first matches back in action.
“which big picture was very reassuring, I think.”
The Competition Landscape
6:35 to 10:40
Hosts discuss the opportunity presented to other players in the draw, given Alcaraz's return and Sinner's absence.
“he he was reassuring to me and I I actually really enjoyed the way he spoke about referencing that previous layoff and comeback and using phrases such as I need to play with no fear.”
Reactions from Fellow Players
10:41 to 14:01
Reflections on how other players perceive their chances with Alcaraz's return and the absence of Sinner.
“It was so, you've talked about that, Matt.”
Evaluating Player Mindsets and Opportunities
14:01 to 17:44
Explore the psychological aspects players face when top competitors are absent.
“And he said, I think it's disrespectful to all the guys in the draw to think there's no Yannick Sinner.”
Taylor Fritz on His Final Experience
17:44 to 23:01
Taylor Fritz reflects on his memorable moments from a past final.
“He said he was asked about that day and his memories of it.”
Transition to Women's Media Day
23:01 to 23:20
Discussion shifts to the women players' insights from media day.
Irina Sabalenka's Press Conference Analysis
23:35 to 28:00
Analyzing Irina Sabalenka's mindset and form ahead of the tournament.
“We spoke to Coco Goff, Jessica Begula, Alexandra Iyala in the main room for the first time.”
Analyzing Sabalenka's Press Conference Attitude
28:00 to 29:00
Discusses Sabalenka's press conference demeanor and its implications for her performance.
“You know, it's a very thin line that she always treads.”
Show all 25 chapters
Coco Gauff's Confidence and Press Conference Highlights
29:00 to 31:40
Highlights from Coco Gauff's press conference showcasing her growth and confidence.
“To take away the weakness, she's also taking away her strength, certainly at the moment anyway.”
Gauff on Her Journey and Mentality
31:40 to 34:20
Gauff discusses her journey, the pressure of competition, and finding joy in playing.
“I expected it to be upbeat, but she just underlined that.”
Bagula's Health and Tournament Readiness
34:20 to 36:30
Jessica Bagula reassures fans about her health ahead of the tournament.
“I mean, I heard Coco Goff's account of it, but what was the gist of what her mum actually posted?”
Mixed Doubles Insights and Player Dynamics
36:30 to 37:50
Discussion on Taylor Fritz’s performance in mixed doubles and Bagula's comments.
“I did feel something, but within a game or two, the pain of whatever I'd felt there was gone, and I didn't feel it for the rest of the tournament.”
Alexandra Iala's Promising Press Conference
37:50 to 40:50
Iala impresses in her press conference with confidence and thoughtful insights.
“He was like, I will be back next year trying to win it.”
Iala's Perspective on Impact and History
40:50 to 42:01
Iala shares her awareness of her impact on tennis and the history behind it.
“And yes, that's a sign of the times to some extent, but it's also irresponsible at best, I think, and quite dehumanising to her just to use her as a lightning rod for clicks in that way.”
Reflections on History and Learning from Legends
42:01 to 44:02
Discussing the importance of tennis legends and the lessons learned from them.
“It was an incredible sense of perspective.”
Upcoming Interviews and Insights
44:03 to 45:06
Preview of upcoming episodes featuring interviews with various players.
“You know, it's just so fascinating to get these insights into people that are so different in terms of their stage of life and yet playing the same sport in the same draw at the same tournament.”
Qualifying Tournament Highlights
45:07 to 48:26
Overview of the qualifying tournament and key players' performances.
“where we will talk now about the qualifying tournament, which finally concluded today.”
Kei Nishikori's Career Reflection
48:27 to 52:46
Reflecting on Kei Nishikori's career and impact on the sport.
“And just, again, by chance, which is, once again, the wrong word, we saw sad Kei Nishikori charging back to the locker rooms after this match, didn't we?”
Qualifying Round Updates and Matches
52:47 to 56:00
Updates on qualifying matches and upcoming player matchups.
“In bed, well, certainly in less sad news, Jing Chin Wen lost only one game today, I think, on the resumption of her match.”
Qualifying Roundup at the US Open
56:00 to 57:40
An overview of the qualifiers and their matchups in the US Open.
“And they also, the Brits got Jacob Fernley through as a lucky loser.”
Road Trip to Rhode Island
57:40 to 58:48
Discussion about the upcoming road trip for the International Tennis Hall of Fame induction.
“We will be back tomorrow and every day, as I've established.”
Introducing Leo, the US Open Mascot
58:48 to 1:00:00
A light-hearted segment introducing Leo, the mascot, and his love for tennis.
“Keep across our Instagram, folks, and we'll have a show for you tomorrow to tell you everything about our experience.”
Listener Shout-Outs and Contributions
1:00:00 to 1:03:20
Engaging with listener feedback and sharing personal stories related to the podcast.
“You can run out of things to say when you've been having shout-outs since they were first offered.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:10Matt Roberts:Hello and welcome to the tennis podcast coming to you from the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York, less than 48 hours out from the start of the 2026 US Open. I'm Catherine Mitigrew. Alongside me are David Law and Matt Roberts. And together we are the Tennis Podcast, bringing you daily shows right the way through until the end of the tournament in 17 days time. We're coming to you today from a little spot behind the practice court. So the thwack of balls in the background is coming from various players who are out on court at the moment, having a sort of twilight hitting session at six o 'clock in the evening right now.
0:51Matt Roberts:And one of those is Carlos Alcaraz, the defending champion who we've just been watching from about, honestly, 10 feet away, pretty much. Hitting with Ben Shelton, both of whom we got the chance to speak to as part of Media Day earlier on today, where all the top players come through the media conference rooms and take questions from assorted media and TV networks. Alcaraz was understandably the most anticipated player of those that came for media day today for, well, for obvious reasons. It's been four and a half months since anybody's got the chance to speak to him. For most of us, it's been since Australia in January that we got the chance to speak to him.
1:33Matt Roberts:Last time I saw him in the flesh was boarding the flight home from Melbourne to Doha. And then he was going on to Madrid. So fantastic to get to speak to him. Fantastic to get that experience just now of seeing him practice and Matt to kind of map out everything that he'd told us in the press conference room about where he's at with his game and his comeback, kind of map it out onto the, well, onto what we just saw right now in terms of the forehands and the backhands.
2:03Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, it's an incredible vantage point that we get there next to practice court one. and, you know, it was very much going through the motions in that practice session. I think they're actually now playing points. I can hear a lot more squeaking of shoes and grunting than when we were out there. It was all pretty low intensity. But, yeah, really interesting to hear from him in the press conference and I thought generally quite encouraging. First thing I would say is one thing he's been doing over the last few months is practicing his English. My goodness, he's speaking so fluently now. And when he said the words intrusive thoughts, I think he was pleased with himself for getting that expression right in English.
2:49Catherine Whitaker:It was fantastic.
2:52Matt Roberts:Has he spent five months doing Duolingo?
2:55Catherine Whitaker:And he said that because he was talking about how he can compare coming back from this injury to 2024 when he had the forearm injury that was a big part of his Netflix documentary, and he talked about how he was struggling to trust it, and even though his coaches were telling him it was fine, he wasn't fully there, and we saw some struggles that he had during that clay court season before he got to Roland Garros, and, OK, I don't think he ever played his best tennis at that Roland Garros, but he won the title, and he was talking about how helpful that experience has been for him because he has been feeling similar things.
3:34Catherine Whitaker:It has been, he said, in his head. that the wrist injury is there as much as everyone's telling him it's fine and it is feeling fine, which was great to hear. It is an obstacle for him to overcome. So, you know, I was very encouraged by the fact that he's feeling physically fine. And I think my expectations are that the first match, and if he wins it, maybe the first few matches, there might be some doubt, there might be some ups and downs in those matches as he rides this comeback. and tries to get out of his own head. But basically what I wanted to hear was that the wrist is feeling fine and we heard that and that is just great news.
4:15Matt Roberts:Yeah, he confirmed no technical changes. He said if I needed technical changes to be here, I wouldn't be here, which big picture was very reassuring, I think. I didn't hear anything to indicate it's not going to be a very rocky ride early on. I think the Romans of Euland match is going to be fun. I think hold on to your hats. And I think for a round or two beyond that, if he gets there, it could be fun. But I also think if he can get there and grow in confidence in that wrist, there's time for him to grow into this tournament, potentially. I found it a very illuminating press conference, David.
4:57David Law:Yeah, I've probably been the least enthusiastic of the three of us about his return. First time ever. Yeah. And I think we're probably hearing some cheers for him and Ben Shelton right now as they probably finish their practice session. There's such a buzz around the place. And there was a buzz in that press conference room because we'd been in there for Jessica Begula and Coco Goff back-to-back, more of them later. and then suddenly more people came into the interview room and I said, well, what's happening now? And you said, Alkraus is coming in. And it was really noticeable the way the place filled up even further.
5:37David Law:I think, I mean, look, his conferences will always be popular, but I think just this scarcity of his availability is such that everybody wanted to hear from him, know how he's feeling, know how he's looking, just get a sense for where he is and where he's likely to be. I do think there could be incredible nerves in that first match against Sifulin. We've seen him get nervous defending the Wimbledon title and playing his first match back on the centre court at Wimbledon. And I just don't think he's immune to that anyway. I think that that could be a factor that Sifulin could take advantage of. But I've got to tell you, the draw was certainly not enough for me to change my opinion on anybody yesterday, as you know because I still ended up with the same champions despite Coco Goff and Ben Sheldon having I think rough draws but my my sense of where Carlos Alcraz is or could be has changed quite dramatically in the last few hours because of what I saw from him in that press conference he he was reassuring to me and I I actually really enjoyed the way he spoke about referencing that previous layoff and comeback and using phrases such as I need to play with no fear.
7:00David Law:I need to play normally. I need to play with my identity. Not try and adapt. Not try and protect anything. If it's not going to work when he's out there, he's probably going to have to stop or not play a further match at this tournament. but I feel sure that he's going to be sent out there with the message to go for your shots, to be you. And I think he, at least consciously, is intending to do that. Whether subconsciously he tightens up in the moment, we'll wait and see. But I thought, OK, here's a guy who is coming back at the right time. I really doubted that because of the fact that he pulled out of Cincinnati.
7:40David Law:I thought, well, what are you doing coming back for... You must just miss it so much. and he clearly does miss it that you must be just coming back too early i don't feel like that now
7:49Matt Roberts:yeah and that that timing was an interesting theme of the day because obviously colos alcaraz was was asked about coming back at a grand slam tournament with where it's best of five sets versus best of three and other players too were asked about colos alcaraz doing that and and i actually think taylor fritz gave the most interesting answer about this and he said well what else would he do he said he's fit to play so whatever is happening the week that he feels ready to play he's going to play it whether it's a grand slam tournament or not he said well what's the alternative he stays at home knowing he's ready to play and just watches it on the tv he says okay what's the worst that can happen here he loses first round that's the same as not playing it's worse than not playing because you you you haven't had the experience you haven't had the crowd love you have you know he's having a good time here you could see that on the practice court just now like he has everybody's telling him his wrist is fine you're not risking and risking anything physically by playing all you're risking is losing in round one that's not going to dent his aura he's Carlos Alcaraz it's not going to cause a crisis of confidence like he's ready to play it's not ideal that that has happened to coincide with a Grand Slam tournament, but why on earth wouldn't he?
9:09Matt Roberts:It just sounded so simple and obvious, put like that.
9:14Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, and he seemed very clear-headed, I thought, in the press conference, and Medvedev debunked the idea that coming back in best-of-five will be tougher on the wrist. He said if there's any problem with the wrist at all, that is also going to show up in best-of-three. He was actually like, it's the legs and the glutes that are going to be hurting after not playing for four months and then playing best of five and that's going to be something he's going to have to deal with getting his match fitness back and look i was really encouraged by the english portion of his press conference i was like even more buoyed by the spanish person portion of his press conference because he he was asked about his expectations and he he had a little smile on his face and he said odio perder i hate losing and And he's like, so if I'm entering a Grand Slam, of course I have in mind winning it.
10:07Catherine Whitaker:He was like, I'm not going to put any limit on myself. I'm not going to put any pressure on myself. I'm not thinking about what round. But I am here and I hate losing. And he cited Federer and he cited Nadal as people who have had long layoffs and come back and done well at slams. And he was saying, we're going to try and show that I can do that too. You know, like, I completely agree with you about the first round and potentially the first few rounds. Yeah, buckle up six. But if he can get through that.
10:38Matt Roberts:Yeah, if, if. And he's got those examples and he's also got his own example. It was so, you've talked about that, Matt. Like, having had that 2024 French Open experience, I think is huge here for his own, to reassure himself, to soothe himself when he's experiencing the anxiety and doubts that he's going to experience against Roman Cefiulian. He's going to play on Monday, isn't he? We know that now. And I don't think that's going to suddenly disappear if he navigates his way through round one. I do think we could be in for however long it lasts. Quite a fun ride with Carlos Alcaraz this tournament.
11:25Matt Roberts:I'm, whatever's coming, I'm so excited for it.
11:29David Law:Oh, he has given this tournament and men's tennis and tennis generally just the most enormous adrenaline shot in the last few days generally and particularly for me today. Just the reminder of what he brings, the frisson. You know, he makes you just the nerve-ending stand-up. I think of tennis matches when he's playing because he's always looking to be explosive, to take a ball on, to make crowds gasp. There are other players that do that, but there's nobody who does it with quite such frequency as he does it and with such a glee and a determination to do that as part of his winning formula. and it's just a little reminder about how much the sport has missed him.
12:24Matt Roberts:In terms of the other men's players that came through the press conference room today, I wanted to kind of start off by talking about them all in terms of the opportunity because that is the theme of this Grand Slam on the men's side, isn't it? And I mean, capital T, capital O, the opportunity, TM. It's Yannick Sinner not being here and it's Carlos Alcaraz being, we assume, more vulnerable than the Carlos Alcaraz we've been used to. A totally unknown quantity at the very least. And these are two players that have had a stranglehold. They have been several levels above everybody else in men's tennis for the last few years.
13:08Matt Roberts:and various different members of the media in the press conferences today have found various different kind of delicate ways of asking these best of the rest guys, well, how much bigger do you think your chances are now that Yannick Sinner's not here and Carlos Alcaraz is coming back from five months off? And I found the answers really interesting. and that is with the caveat of not even knowing if they're true because you've had an assortment of answers to that variety of questions today. We've had Alexander Zverev asking if he's the favourite and he said, I feel like I'm one of 128 players in the draw who are the favourite.
13:55Matt Roberts:We've had Ben Shelton being asked if this is a massive opportunity And he said, I think it's disrespectful to all the guys in the draw to think there's no Yannick Sinner. It's a massive opportunity. I don't know if this is just something that they're saying to us to downplay the pressure. I don't know if it's something they're saying to themselves to downplay the pressure. I don't know if that's something they actually believe. But it is not true. this is a frigging massive opportunity and you need to be taking it
14:32David Law:yeah I mean the facts don't support their synopsis that it's disrespectful to the other players because sorry Ben the vast majority of the time you run into one of those two and actually the fact that you ran into other people and lost is probably the most alarming thing at the French Open and Wimbledon. But, yeah, and listen, maybe in his case, maybe that's been quite informative, that he needs to be very careful about the other rounds. And, of course, they do need to be careful, because if you don't get to X, Y and Z stage of a tournament, you haven't got a chance of winning it anyway. But he's always been Mr.
15:14David Law:Reliable. That's what was so jarring about those losses. But there is no question that without Yannick Sinner here, some players' chances of winning this tournament have just rocketed.
15:27Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, and again, I go to Medvedev, who I think has an interesting perspective here because he has been in that situation where he's been one of the guys expected to take advantage of an opportunity in a draw. Let's think of, for example, for some times when Novak Djokovic was missing slams. He'd have been the guy who was expected to take advantage of that. and he's actually not really that guy right now because of his own form and and and he recognized that and he said yeah if you're an artifice or you're alexander zverev you're gonna feel like it's it's different and there's an opportunity so i i do think medvedev sort of gave an insight there of of what it's like when you know you have an opportunity um even if the players who right now do have that opportunity and not prepared to say it for various reasons.
16:20Matt Roberts:And maybe in Shelton's case, he's trying to do it differently because in Paris and at Wimbledon, he was telling himself this is a massive opportunity and that contributed to his shock defeat. I get that. And I also totally understand why they're not going to always be totally honest with us in the press conference room. like it but i also we we still have to analyze what they they say in there because it's all all we've got isn't it we're not inside their brains and i do you know i do i don't find it
16:52David Law:i do i just find it interesting yeah it is yeah and it may it may be a bit of a mind trick for themselves it may be sort of politeness you know they the players do like to make to to feel like they're being respectful to the whole draw and to take it one match at a time but i wonder whether it is a defence mechanism to not get too wound up and wrapped up in the idea of this enormous singular opportunity.
17:17Matt Roberts:Do you also think there's an element of, you know, Yannick Sinner is going to come back. Carlos Alcaraz at some point is going, well, we hope is going to be the old Carlos Alcaraz again. They don't want to feel like they need those guys. As much as it might be the truth, they don't want to feel like they need those guys not to be there or not to be at their best to have a chance. Taylor Fritz was asked about his final here two years ago. And in the couching of the question, it was a well-asked question. Taylor Fritz took it well. He said he was asked about that day and his memories of it. And specifically his memories of walking out onto the court.
17:57Matt Roberts:And he said, other than the fact you lost, what were your positive memories of walking out onto the court that day? and he said, well, I thought I was going to win. So in terms of walking out, like, I wouldn't... What I remember about that moment is it was kind of a perfect moment for me in tennis, and I really thought I was going to beat Yannick Sinner in that final as much as, you know, if you did a straw poll around the place, you wouldn't have been able to find anyone that was predicting Taylor Fritz to win that tennis match. And, like, I realise this is damned if you do and damned if you don't.
18:32Matt Roberts:The line between self-belief and delusion in tennis players is paper thin, if not non-existent. But I do wonder if there's a bit of that. You know, Alexander Zverev, I think there's a monkey off his back to an extent that he has this Grand Slam title. But I do believe he still has a Ciner Al-Karra's chip on his shoulder. And it gnaws at him that he didn't beat one of those two to win that Grand Slam title. and I think deep down he knows his chances are bigger without them being there, but he also is trying to convince himself that's not the case and he is their equal.
19:09David Law:I mean, he does talk about it all the time, about being a big three, really, doesn't he? And I do think he's delusional, but I do think you have to believe that all the work you've put in on the practice court has made some difference that will catch you up to those guys. And it is still a fact that they might have a bad day anyway. you know there's two players out there and if you play to your very best they may not and you may win um that has happened so i i kind of get all of it but i do it is endlessly fascinating and i do
19:43Catherine Whitaker:think we have had some examples this season of players who have maybe put extra expectation on themselves during this period and it has kind of crushed them a little bit like i'm thinking of Alex de Menor I'm thinking of Felix Auger-Aliassine like these these guys have talked about the opportunity that there's been and haven't been able to sort of do anything that they hadn't done before so I think it can go both ways like I think really talking about it openly and actually putting the pressure kind of putting the pressure on yourself might not be the best thing to do either but I do also hope that everyone sort of deep down is seeing this as an opportunity because you want them to sort of lift and surge and...
20:40Matt Roberts:Think, this is my time. It might not come again. Right, exactly. The time is now. And look, maybe they'll do that on the court. They don't need to do it in the press conference room but all we've got right now is the press conference room. Just last player I wanted to touch upon from the men's side, Francis Tiafoe, he was suffering a bit with his hip in the Cincinnati final, wasn't he? He was asked about that quite a lot today. And he kept saying, I'll be fine by the time I play on Monday. But I don't know what you thought of those quotes, Matt. He definitely wasn't saying, I'm absolutely 100 % now, it's in my rear view mirror.
21:17Matt Roberts:I don't know, he's on fitness watch for me.
21:22Catherine Whitaker:yes agreed because the other player and this is going ahead to the women but the other player who had had a bit of injury concern coming in was jessica bagula and she was talking about her injury very very differently she she very much quashed it and said she's been feeling absolutely fine it was a one-time match thing against anisimova tiafo wasn't talking like that um so yes i i agree with you i'm not like thinking he's going to pull out necessarily but I'm just a little concerned.
21:54Matt Roberts:Yeah, absolutely. Okay, that is it for the men that we've spoken to today. Novak Djokovic is coming to press tomorrow as well as a few others, so we'll bring you news of what he has to say in tomorrow's show, but we'll talk about what the women had to say in part two. But first, we want to tell you about how you can enjoy a brilliant trip to the WTA finals in Indian Wells between the 8th and the 15th of November. That's right, Indian Wells in November. No, it is not a pandemic. This is courtesy of Steve Fergal's International Tennis Tours, the premium hospitality and experience provider. With them, you could be enjoying some of the best seats in the house for the biggest matches.
22:38Matt Roberts:And frankly, they're all big matches at the WTA finals, aren't they? And you could be staying at a choice of three hotel options. All of them sound delightful. The Homewood Suites by Hilton in La Quinta. the JW Marriott Desert Springs I know some people that have stayed there and speak very highly of it or the Tommy Bahama Miramonte that's where David would stay I think
23:00David Law:I like the sound of that
23:02Matt Roberts:I think you might have to wear a certain type of shirt to stay there David but I could see you rocking it you can do all of that with 5 % off courtesy of Steve Fergal's International Tennis Tours using the code DEUCE5 That's D-E-U-C-E number five at checkout. Just go to toursfortennis.com forward slash podcast. That's toursfortennis.com forward slash podcast to find out more. Welcome back to part two of today's tennis podcast, where we'll run through some of the women's players that came through the media conference room today. We spoke to Coco Goff, Jessica Begula, Alexandra Iyala in the main room for the first time.
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23:44Matt Roberts:That was really cool. I wanted to start, though, with the world number one and defending champion, Irina Sabalenka, because I feel like I learned a lot from her press conference today, David, just like we all did from Carlos Alcaraz's. But in a very different way, I was already feeling pretty doubtful about Sabalenka's form and general vibe coming in here. I mean, by her own high standards, the results have not been resulting. this was a different Sabalenka today. The vibes were really off. And I actually went back to watch her pre-tournament press conferences at Wimbledon and at Roland Garros to kind of check that my feeling, my sense was right about this.
24:32Matt Roberts:And it was very, very different. And, you know, Wimbledon and Roland Garros, she was participating, if not leading the line, with the media boycott. And she was on the clock and she was fielding, a lot of questions about the boycott. So it was kind of quite tricky vibes at those press conferences, albeit she also definitely did have a feeling of sort of wanting to reassure the media, didn't she? She didn't hate us because she was participating in a media boycott and it wasn't personal. You know, there was an element of charm offensive in those press conferences. So, you know, make of that what you will.
25:07Matt Roberts:But she was defensive today. She was quite sassy to some perfectly legitimate questions, I thought. And there was a very revealing answer to the question, do you feel as confident as you did here last year? She said, always confident in a very clipped way. And that's, you know, tell me you're not feeling confident without telling me, isn't it?
25:32David Law:Yeah, that is fascinating. I'm not hugely surprised because I think she does find all this really irritating at the moment she hates this she hates not playing well and she's not used to it she's used to being able to find it and recently she hasn't been able to find it so you end up getting asked about it all the time and that's irritating as well that all being said I don't think that means she can't win the tournament because I think it's in there somewhere. She's going to become really good again at some point in the next however many months. I think maybe it's not going to be this tournament.
26:15David Law:I'm not expecting her to win this tournament. I think of Yggis Fiontet winning this tournament when I was convinced after her press conference that she hated New York a few years ago. So I'm always a little bit reluctant to try to just read everything into these things. But, look, the results also go with it. The results tell you recently that she's just, she is off. And she's searching for the answers and she's pissed off that she can't find them. So, yeah, who knows exactly what has led to that slightly weird vibe that you've experienced today. But there's a lot of evidence around it that would make you think, well, it's probably because of that.
26:56Matt Roberts:You're right. Pissed off is kind of a good way of putting it, really. because we've talked often, haven't we, about how being well number one really suits Sabalenka in a way it doesn't suit everybody. Like there are great tennis whose tennis is the best in the world but that actually don't like being chased and doesn't suit them to be the figurehead and the one that everyone's asking about being chased. It's always suited Sabalenka down to the ground. She's like, come and get me. I'll be the face of this sport. I will puff my chest out and walk with swagger and, you know, own it, all of it, lean into all aspects of being the best player in a sport.
27:42Matt Roberts:And, yeah, having to answer questions about being out of form and maybe not being the favourite for this title that she sees as hers. She's the defending champion and she's got number one next to her name. Doesn't suit her at all. Does not like it.
27:58Catherine Whitaker:yeah she was asked whenever someone at your level doesn't have the results people want to say you know what's wrong with arena you did say you look frustrated your last match in Cincinnati is anything wrong with your game and she replied maybe there's something wrong with people which is true I'm quite
28:20David Law:enjoying this sass I wasn't in the press conference but I'm quite enjoying the report
28:24Catherine Whitaker:reportage it's It's so hard with Sabalenka because there's not much difference between the kind of energy that she really needs to tap into, I think, to be a dominant world number one and the energy of when it's all going wrong. You know, it's a very thin line that she always treads. And to me, this felt a little bit on the wrong side. It didn't feel like, it didn't give me more confidence in her coming in. it felt like oh you're pissed off i think is a great way of putting it and i'm not sure she's necessarily going to play her best tennis if she's pissed off but but it's close to that energy when she plays her best tennis do you know what i mean like it's it's it's hard with savolenka except that she's got this psychological project going on where she's trying to make that not the case
29:19Matt Roberts:And, you know, I've got this theory on the go that kind of that's the problem. To take away the weakness, she's also taking away her strength, certainly at the moment anyway. Totally opposite vibes in Coco Gauff's press conference. That was everything I wanted to see from somebody who I've picked to win the title.
29:39David Law:Yeah, same here. Yeah, she followed Jessica Pegula into the press conference room and just owned the place, really. I mean, she received her award, didn't she, from the International Tennis Writers Association for being the most helpful female tennis player on the tour with the media. And she did that with wonderful grace and comedy.
30:01Matt Roberts:And she was informed when she was presented with the award that there was one for the men and one for the women. She said, oh, who won the men's award? And Simon Cambers, the head of ITWA, gave it to her. He said, oh, Daniel Medvedev.
30:14Catherine Whitaker:and she went oh okay we're getting the same award yeah yeah we're the same okay um but she exuded the
30:25David Law:vibes of somebody who's just sorted things out over the last year and and you katherine asked her about the difference between now and a year ago and and obviously you know the the big it was a follow-up to a question about the big overhaul really that she'd come into this this event and And you asked her about sort of, you know, here you were practicing in the rain a year ago, practicing your serve. And now you've just had a title winning in Cincinnati. And she was so clear that she's not just trying to get the bloody thing in anymore. She's not playing with her sort of arm tied behind her back.
31:04David Law:She has always believed that she's got a serve that could be a weapon. And it's like to the naked eye, you look at it and you think, God, when you hit that thing and really get it right it's one of the most destructive serves in the world.
31:17Catherine Whitaker:The first thought I ever had about Coco Gauff was watching her in Juniors at Wimbledon and thinking my God, she's a good server. I never would have thought from that moment that we would have had the discussions we've had over the last couple of years.
31:31David Law:No, she just feels right where she needs to be to my eyes, Catherine, and from that press conference, again, reassuring was a great word, but there weren't the same doubts coming into it. I expected it to be upbeat, but she just underlined that.
31:45Matt Roberts:Yeah, she said, she talked about how tough the whole experience of last year was for her, but she said she has no regrets about the timing of it. She said, I stand by the logic of that decision. I didn't want to wait another minute. And she was prepared for this to be a long journey. We talked about this, you know, how she stuck with that project, even when every, well, a lot of people were saying, well, it took like a week for Gavin McMillan to fix Zarina Sabalenka's serve. This clearly isn't working. Why are you sticking with it? And she trusts herself. She trusts herself.
32:23Catherine Whitaker:And she said that she put a lot of pressure on herself so that the outside still thought that Gavin McMillan was good. She was like, you know, everyone had this impression that Gavin McMillan is really successful. and she was like, well, if I'm the one that kind of let him down, people are going to start thinking madly of him as well. But yeah, I know he's good. He's given me good advice. I need to deliver on it. And yet it wasn't coming for weeks and months, but she stuck through it and is reaping the rewards right now. And she talked about how she feels like she's arrived at a place where she can not ride or die on her results at the US Open and try and take joy from being here and winning rather than just pure relief, which I think she has felt in the past.
33:10Catherine Whitaker:And that's always such a good sign, I think, when a player is talking about that kind of mentality. That's the sweet spot.
33:18Matt Roberts:It made me think of an answer Matt Futterman gave at the event we went to of his the other night to promote his book, The Cruelest Game. And he was talking about Madison Keys, wasn't he? And about it's not about wanting to win, it's about having permission to lose, giving yourself permission to lose. And it feels like that's, if it's about having fun, then you've got that permission to lose, haven't you? She said, it sometimes feels like I ride and die on my results because of how competitive I am. And, you know, like Carlos Alcaraz, I hate to lose. They all do. But she said, every time I've done well, it's when I've taken a step back and just tried to enjoy it.
34:04Matt Roberts:And she said that, she said, it's not always easy, particularly here, because being here in New York is a lot. But she's, I think, as close as she can get to that here right now.
34:17Catherine Whitaker:And now her mum has taken away family dynamic stress over tickets with an epic Instagram post, which, you know.
34:27David Law:Have you seen this, David? She was asked about a lot. I mean, I heard Coco Goff's account of it, but what was the gist of what her mum actually posted?
34:35Catherine Whitaker:Her mum basically posted that people, and Goff explained it was kind of distant family members who don't communicate with her throughout the year. The US Open rocks up and suddenly they're getting in touch and asking for tickets. And Goff's mum basically put out a post being like, stop doing that. rather than like individually replying to them all she's just done a post and like
35:02Matt Roberts:nipped it in the bud there and there and this wasn't at coco's behest coco did not know she was doing this no i mean she was she supported it fully supportive of it um especially as like you know the parents and the agents are the ones mostly fielding fielding these requests i my theory is that coco goff is going to get a lot more happy birthday messages this year because her benchmark for whether or not you're in the mix to receive tickets is whether you wished a happy birthday.
35:32Catherine Whitaker:She's mentioned that a few times.
35:34Matt Roberts:Several times. These people that didn't even wish me happy birthday asking for tickets, you can jog on. So, yeah, great vibes in the Coco Gough press conference. It was Jessica Bagula that was in the media conference room just before Coco. How did we find her? How was Matt's pick for the title?
35:53David Law:Well, I asked the first question of this press conference, which was about her health. And you touched on it earlier on, Matt. And I was concerned, having seen her in Cincinnati kind of pull up and also fade a little bit in the final, admittedly against a very good opponent in Coco Gauff. But I thought she was unconvincing compared to what I'm used to. She played so many matches. Is there an actual problem that she's managing here? she put my mind at rest 100 % because she was emphatic. There is no problem anymore. I did feel something, but within a game or two, the pain of whatever I'd felt there was gone, and I didn't feel it for the rest of the tournament.
36:38David Law:She says, I feel like I've had a good few days to kind of recharge and refresh, and I'm just ready to go. So I think if you want to be reassured that your long-term pick, Jessica Bagula, is in with a chance of winning this title, it's going to be down to her tennis in the moment now. I don't think she's going to be having to nurse anything here. It's all coming together.
37:08Catherine Whitaker:Pissed off Savalenka. Pergoula in fine health.
37:13Matt Roberts:Feeling good, Matt?
37:14Catherine Whitaker:Feeling good. Yeah, feeling good. Why wouldn't you be?
37:18Matt Roberts:Who else have we had today? Alexandre Yola.
37:20Catherine Whitaker:Oh, by the way, just on Pergoula. I did enjoy how much she was throwing Taylor Fritz under the bus for the mixed doubles performance. And then Taylor Fritz himself did own it.
37:32Matt Roberts:And to be fair, Fritz throwing himself under the bus, he was like, I can't be getting my serve broken twice in mixed doubles. But he did also reiterate, I am still a mixed doubles specialist. He was like, three Tie Breaks Tens titles speak for themselves. It was fantastic. Yeah, it was a very tough review of Taylor Fritz as a mixed doubles partner, wasn't he?
37:53Catherine Whitaker:He was like, I will be back next year trying to win it.
37:56David Law:Just not alongside Jessica McKiela by the sounds of things.
38:00Matt Roberts:Alexandra Iala, Matt, in the main press conference room, I think for the first time.
38:07Catherine Whitaker:Certainly my first experience here with her in the main press conference room, and she's so composed. Yeah, and smart. Smart and thoughtful and engaging. yeah she's she's on the list of you know great press conference that you need to go to really and you know I love the way she was talking generally she was you know she said the said the phrase I have a baseline of belief in myself which I thought was just a great line like it's always there she said it can fluctuate a little bit how much the level of belief is but I always carry some with me. There was an exchange in the Philippine portion of the press conference, which, as I've discovered today, people in the Philippines mix Filipino and English into their answers.
39:03Catherine Whitaker:And so I'm sort of understanding some of it, but not all of it. But she was asked something about her serve. And I think it was framed in terms of it being a weakness. And she sort of bristled at that in a very nice way. But she was saying, I love myself.
39:18Matt Roberts:She's really proud of her serve. Yeah.
39:21Catherine Whitaker:She said, I call it my little brother. She said, it can work for me. It can do things for me. And she doesn't want it to be talked about as a weakness. She said, I still want a better serve. I can improve it. But she's not marking it out in a way compared to the rest of her game. I think she's seen the effect it's had on some top players this year. And look, maybe that will change if that record gets worse for her against the top players. and if people do start to take advantage of the serve. But right now, she's kind of happy with it. And, yeah, it was a great press conference. She gave a great answer to you, Catherine.
39:57Yeah, I asked her a question about...
40:00Matt Roberts:I mean, obviously, she gets asked a lot about her status in the Philippines and what she's doing for tennis in the Philippines. But, of course, that is all true. But she's changing the sport globally. and I asked her how aware she is of her impact on the sport and how she experiences that because it's really hard to get this across. We are seeing media outlets put... This is an attention economy. We are all operating within an attention economy. Nobody is immune to that. But we are seeing media outlets put Alexandria in their headlines and titles of things to an irresponsible extent, I think, in a really craven, pretty grim way, I think.
40:51Matt Roberts:And yes, that's a sign of the times to some extent, but it's also irresponsible at best, I think, and quite dehumanising to her just to use her as a lightning rod for clicks in that way. And I worry about that for her. and yet it is so huge that it must be impossible for her not to be aware of to some extent. And you were in that match. She gave the most incredible answer to this question. I mean, long story short, she is aware of it, certainly to an extent.
41:31Matt Roberts:But she tries to view it in terms of the context of the sport and the deepening knowledge of the history of the sport, which she spoke about, Matt, in a way that, I mean, it's sadly pretty rare to hear players speak about, quite honestly.
41:52Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, she said, kind of, I'm only in a position to be able to have that kind of effect on a sport because of the people that have come before me who have put the sport on the map and said compared to them I'm a drop in the ocean in terms of like the big picture of tennis and its history and how she's just standing on kind of the shoulders of everyone who's come before her and said that playing with Venus this year has really made her learn about Venus and she's learnt about Venus's role in getting equal prize money at Wimbledon and it seems like she'd really taken the opportunity to play with Venus to also learn about Venus and kind of do her homework on what Venus means to tennis so that she recognises how big that moment was for her to get to share the court with her.
42:41Catherine Whitaker:It was an incredible sense of perspective. And yeah, you kind of want to show that answer to Billie Jean King. Yeah. Imagine Billie Jean King being so proud of someone on the tour talking that way.
42:54Matt Roberts:And it was just really, I mean, yeah, it was so wonderful to hear somebody talking about the sport in that way, but also reassure it. It made me feel like you're going to be all right. You know, this is going to be a lot. I'm sure there'll be moments where it feels like a lot and overwhelming, but I think you're going to be all right with this somehow, which is a good feeling to have for somebody with that much on her shoulders.
43:21Catherine Whitaker:She also said that out of her and her brother, the brother is the nice one. Imagine how nice he is.
43:26Matt Roberts:and she said she said I think if she said I think if I were the older sibling I wouldn't be anywhere near as nice as he is about it about being the older one
43:38David Law:I mean also I mean about having a younger sister who's one of the most up and coming most famous people on the planet the way it feels just at the moment there are a lot of dynamics going on here but that's lovely to hear I wasn't in the press conference so I was really fascinated to hear your take on how she'd been and that's lovely.
44:03Matt Roberts:Yeah David's been doing tennis podcast meets work today that episode is coming to Friends of the Tennis Podcast over the next couple of days still some finishing touches to be put to it
44:13David Law:but David's doing some great work a little tease two lovely chats today one with Tatiana Maria and one with a player who's virtually half her age in Sarah Bielik, who obviously had that incredible run in Cincinnati, beating Madison Keys and Irina Sabalenka and Barbara Krzykova. You know, it's just so fascinating to get these insights into people that are so different in terms of their stage of life and yet playing the same sport in the same draw at the same tournament. So, yeah, I hope everybody enjoys those chats.
44:51Matt Roberts:That'll be up for Friends of the Tennis Podcast in the next couple of days. If you'd like to become a friend of the pod, the link is in the show notes. We've still got more to talk about on today's show. Some interesting stories coming out of qualifying, which concluded today. And we'll talk about that in part three. Welcome back to part three of today's show, where we will talk now about the qualifying tournament, which finally concluded today. It was supposed to finish up yesterday. As we know from being on stage when it happened, And there was a storm yesterday. It rained all afternoon. Wreaked havoc with live shows and qualifying matches everywhere.
45:26Matt Roberts:So everything finished up today. The qualifiers were placed in the main draw. Let's get the tough stuff out of the way early. And by that, I mean Bianca Andreescu, who is setting a breakup on the former French Open semifinalist Tamara Zidancic. A friend of the pod, Hannah, was out there watching and was reporting that it, dare I say it, looked like Andreescu of old. Coco was in the stands with her parents. You know, she was looking confident. And look, conditions are tough. It is very, it's not the highest temperatures you'll ever see here, but it is very humid. There is no shade out on a lot of the courts, certainly not on court seven where she was.
46:13Matt Roberts:And look, I think she got very stressed as well. She's not been in situations like this. qualifying for this tournament would have been an enormous deal for Bianca Andreescu, sadly, given where she's at in her career. And I think all of those things interplayed. And she had the doctor out on court midway through that second set. And frankly, tail spun from there onwards, ended up losing in three. I mean, really tenacious stuff from Zidanecek, I should say, who really played the right way and gave Andreescu the runaround. But it was an absolutely brutal Andreescu scene. She was cramping out there.
46:53Matt Roberts:She was clearly having an existential crisis. And then just by, well, I was going to say chance, but it doesn't feel like the right word. David, you and I were confronted with the image minutes after this match of Bianca Andreescu who collapsed on the floor of the corridor just inside the walkway where the players returned to the locker room. And there she is. She's got the medical team sort of circled around her. Her parents are there clutching little Coco, her dog. And then eventually a wheelchair arrives and Bianca is heaved up into the wheelchair. and there she is sort of convulsing in sobs as she's wheeled away.
47:41Matt Roberts:It was absolutely devastating.
47:44David Law:Yeah, because this is a player that has gone through so many of these type of incidents over the last seven years since she won this title. And when she won this title, I think she was the most exciting young player in the world, certainly one of them. and I thought we were in for a future world number one and a multiple, multiple Grand Slam champion. She beat Serena Williams in the final. She'd been the dominant player in the summer that year and it just, you couldn't imagine how it could go wrong really for her and time after time after time she has suffered terrible injury, missed significant periods of time out of the sport.
48:26David Law:The pandemic obviously came at a time that, well, it affected the world and from her position as a tennis player it took all the momentum away um and you know she's obviously had a lot of a lot of mental health challenges as well and just really had a difficult run of things and this felt like maybe one of the chances to get something going winning two rounds of qualifying losing just six games as you told us many times Catherine the last couple of days because it really felt significant it felt like she was she tapped into something that the form was there then she goes and wins the first set today and it looks all there for her and that's how she must feel and then suddenly bang she can't run about it's just it's a it's pretty
49:13Matt Roberts:heartbreaking yeah it was it was it was extremely tough um staying with this staying with the sad stuff just for a moment longer kane ishikori's career came to an end today lost out to his countryman Sakamoto. And just, again, by chance, which is, once again, the wrong word, we saw sad Kei Nishikori charging back to the locker rooms after this match, didn't we? He'd had a little retirement ceremony on court 17, which was a nice touch, but he was so close to getting into the main draw.
49:47Catherine Whitaker:He was, yeah, just one round away. Was it definitely his last match? Is he going to play Tokyo? I don't know.
49:54Matt Roberts:So, David, you were in the press conference, were you?
49:57Catherine Whitaker:I don't know whether that was mentioned,
49:58Matt Roberts:but definitely his last major match.
50:00David Law:He was quite reflective about things. And, you know, he's quite dry, is Ken Ishguri, the way he delivers his answers. He said, you know, in the future, I would like to be able to help my part of the world in tennis development. You know, I think it's, he kind of said, it's pretty sad that there's not more players from my region of the world's at the top in men's tennis right now and he'd like to help but not right now i think he wants to have a break i mean he's you know i don't look at his career with the same sadness as i do bianco andresco even though she's won a grand slam and he hasn't i just i mean i know he's had a lot of injury problems but i also feel like he's had a lot of chances to also be part of big moments, and I think she hasn't.
50:53Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, it was interesting, actually. Players were being asked about Kane Ishikori today, and I think one of them was Alexander Zverev was asked about him, and he said, well, without injuries, Ishikori could have been like Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka with multiple major titles, and maybe, but that's not my read really on Kane Ishikori's career. I do think he was impacted by injuries.
51:18Matt Roberts:Also, without injuries, Andy Murray would have had more major titles. If we're taking injuries away...
51:23Catherine Whitaker:Right. But I always felt there was a... Well, actually, I thought Ishikori would win a slam. Coming off the back of 2014, I thought he was so good. But actually, I think I was predicting a period of time where Federer, Nadal and Djokovic faded and that just did not happen. And there was this ceiling on his game, maybe with the serve, I think, always. But he is a very important player, I think, in the sport's recent history. I think it's hard for us to comprehend just how big of a deal Kei Nishikori is in Japan. And when he came through, it was all about Project 45 and getting ranked higher than the previous Japanese men's player who'd been 45, and he has pushed that boundary so far.
52:09Catherine Whitaker:And I associate him kind of most with this tournament because it was where he reached his major final and kind of perfect that he ended his career. OK, it would have been nice in the main draw, but against a fellow Japanese player, Ray Sakamoto, who is a really exciting talent. I saw him play Medvedev earlier this year in Miami and he talked about how he grew up watching Nishikori and he joined in in that ceremony afterwards. and, you know, if Nishikori couldn't get through, it's kind of nice that there was a bit of a sort of baton-passing moment and it was Sakamoto who took advantage of that.
52:44Catherine Whitaker:And, yeah, watch out for him. He's a fun player.
52:49Matt Roberts:In bed, well, certainly in less sad news, Jing Chin Wen lost only one game today, I think, on the resumption of her match. Six love in the third. She's qualified for the main draw. Good on her. It's been tough going since her injury comeback, Jun Jun Wen. Obviously, she has received some wild cards, but no joy here for her. So she's having to do it the hard way, and she's been well gone and done it. So I'm chuffed to see her make the main draw. Christina Lutova, the Memphis champion, she has qualified to make the main draw, which makes it her Grand Slam main draw debut, I think, Matt.
53:28Catherine Whitaker:And who does she face? Jun Jun Wen. Oh, wow. The two qualifiers facing off. And, yeah, 16-year-old hadn't played since she won the Memphis title. You know, she's not playing that much because of her age. And so she's now on like a nine-match winning streak, having won Memphis, qualified here. And she needed a couple of three-set matches in the first couple of rounds of qualifying, but she won in straight sets today. and in the very little I've watched of her, a little bit in Memphis, she seemed very mature for her age in terms of her shot selection and I think knowing her own game quite well and doesn't make many unforced errors and it's going to be interesting whether Jung is consistent enough with her power game to actually hit through her.
54:16Catherine Whitaker:So that's definitely a first round match that I've circled.
54:21Matt Roberts:Tasty. Nishesh Basavaradi just stormed his way through qualifying, cleaned Arte Gea's clock today, and Gea was the top seed in qualifying. Basavaradi is a potential second-round opponent for Flavio Caballi. Obviously, that's assuming he comes through the first round. He's a qualifier. He wouldn't necessarily be favourite to do that.
54:42Catherine Whitaker:He's got fellow qualifier, Tristan Schulhatay. It's the one-year anniversary of Schulhatay. Tristan Schoolgate.
54:49Matt Roberts:I wandered past his court when he was playing his second round qualifying match. And I saw that it was the very professional James Chiothafong in the chair. And I just knew that he wouldn't do any kind of comical pronunciation of Tristan Schoolkate's name. And I was a wee bit disappointed. OK, so Battaretti Schoolkate, the winner to likely play Flavio Caballi. If Flavio Caballi doesn't Caballi it up in round one, which is also absolutely not a given. Four Brits through qualifying, which is, we're reliably informed by Simon Briggs, a record. He said it's going gangbusters in qualies.
55:30Catherine Whitaker:Popping off.
55:32Matt Roberts:They got Harry Wendelkin. Nine hours he spent on court, Wendelkin. Nine sets, nine hours. Toby Samuel, Harriet Dart, who beat Heather Watson today. And Fran Jones, who beat Joanna Garland today in qualifying, incredible effort from Fran Jones. She qualified here last year too, didn't she? Fran Jones, tough for Joanna Garland, but she's getting closer. Keep going, Joe. And they also, the Brits got Jacob Fernley through as a lucky loser. So that's five, technically five, coming through the qualifying. They've placed all the qualifiers, as Matt's hinted at, into the main draw. Grigor Dimitrov faces Alexey Poporin in round one.
56:18Matt Roberts:Shintaro Mochizuki, fun Japanese player. He got in as a lucky loser. He faces Jakob Mensik. We've got Ugo Gaston, the qualifier, playing Daniel Medvedev, which just feels like it's going to be funny.
56:33Catherine Whitaker:If it's not, I'll be really disappointed. It has to be funny.
56:37Matt Roberts:Ugo Gaston. Toby Samuel's got Thomas Mahatch, which honestly I think is a good draw, given Mahatch's form. I really do. Coleman Wong from Hong Kong. He faces Tommy Paul, who didn't even get a room for his pre-tournament press conference today. He was just in an area. Oh, goodness. Tommy Paul. They saw the video, obviously, where he picked someone else for the title. Didn't back himself. Storm Hunter qualified today. She had about a year off with injury, didn't she? She qualified and now faces Marta Kostiuk. Alexandra Iale's got to qualify. She's got the American Mary Stoyana, who I don't know too much about, but that's interesting.
57:21Matt Roberts:Iala against an American, very keen to see where they schedule that. Fran Jones plays Magdalene Nett. And Robin Montgomery, the American, who I think is very talented. I think we all quite like Robin Montgomery's game. She faces Maria Zachary. So there you go. That's your qualifying roundup. We will be back tomorrow and every day, as I've established. and the show tomorrow will be coming from Newport, Rhode Island, folks, because we are road tripping there, well, soon. We're hopping in the car as soon as we hit stop on this recording, pretty much. We're road tripping to Rhode Island for the International Tennis Hall of Fame induction ceremony tomorrow, mostly to see our friend Mary Carrillo be inducted into the Hall of Fame and less so Roger Federer.
58:15David Law:he's a bonus.
58:17Matt Roberts:Roger Federer is a bonus, but we're there for Mary and we are... Can't wait to celebrate Mary. ...shoffed a bit to be able to celebrate that moment with Mary tomorrow. So that's where we'll be doing a show.
58:32David Law:Let's do this. We'll have lots of experience to tell you about. Never been, have we?
58:37Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, it's a real bucket list place for me to go to. The museum, the library, the vault. A new tennis library. So we're very excited about that.
58:45Matt Roberts:New museum, new library. Yeah. Keep across our Instagram, folks, and we'll have a show for you tomorrow to tell you everything about our experience. But that is it for today's show, except to tell you about Leo, our lovely US Open mascot. Cara says tennis balls are the great passion of Leo's life. Few things make him happier than retrieving one, proudly carrying it in his mouth, and squeezing it contentedly for hours on end. An avid tennis fan in his own right, he enjoys watching matches and listening to the podcast where he has become known for his strong views on late-night scheduling and his world-class side-eye whenever anyone engages in a bit of unnecessary faff.
59:29Matt Roberts:Leo is our people. Come on, Leo. Yeah, we love Leo. Here he is on a beach with a tennis ball. just looking fondly at the world. Lovely stuff. Hello to our mascots, Bodie, Maisie and Roger. Hello to our top folks and executive producers, Greg, Chris and Geoff. Let's have some shout-outs, Matt.
59:53Catherine Whitaker:We have Sarah Lewis from Sevenoaks in Kent.
59:58Matt Roberts:Hello, Sarah.
59:58Catherine Whitaker:Hi, Sarah. Sarah says, this is challenging. You can run out of things to say when you've been having shout-outs since they were first offered. Go on, Sarah. I've been trying to work out when I first started listening. and I really cannot tell exactly when it was, but I'd say it was mid to late 2010s. There was an article about the best podcast in a newspaper, Glossy Magazine, which listed the tennis podcast as one of the best sports podcasts, and I started listening immediately. I even went back and listened to earlier ones as well, such as Andy Murray winning Wimbledon.
1:00:32Matt Roberts:Oh, David loves it when people go into the vault.
1:00:35David Law:Yeah, you know, there's somebody on the barge who's gone back to episode one and is sort of chronicling the experience for other barge goers.
1:00:43Matt Roberts:There's another podcast I listen to. They have two terms for the two types of people that have listened to all the episodes. There's a wanna, which is people that have been with you since day one, that were there with us in 2012, David, in your parents' dining room. Not literally, but spiritually. And then there's a retro wanna, which is somebody that's gone back, discovered us later at whatever point, but gone back and listened. Those are the mad people, I think. I love those people. 2026 are going back and listening to our takes, our bad takes from 2014.
1:01:17Catherine Whitaker:They're all legends in my eyes. I think I might be a retro one-er of the tennis podcast. I should hope so. Yeah, I wasn't there for episode one. Too young. But I definitely went back and listened when I did discover you.
1:01:29David Law:When did you start then?
1:01:33Catherine Whitaker:you would have been on about episode 20 or so i think did you at any point think what are these lot banging on about probably like i still do now
1:01:44Matt Roberts:uh sarah i'm sure we said sarah ball well before i'm sure we sure we said chris lewis i'm sure i've said something nonsense about seven oaks sarah balick there we go very good david Coming up in Tennis Podcast Meet, Sarah.
1:01:58Catherine Whitaker:Excellent.
1:01:59Matt Roberts:Thank you, Sarah.
1:02:00Catherine Whitaker:And finally, we have Hassan. Hello, Hassan. Who is from Fren in France. And Hassan says, no tennis Hassan, but lately I discovered that I share my birth date. Not birthday, birth date, as in born the same day of the same year with a very TTP coded player. And it's like the universe, after creating me, saw my pathological need to please and say sorry to everyone. And so it said, well, let's bring balance to that on this very same day. And therefore the universe created Laura Siegmund.
1:02:39Matt Roberts:I was absolutely hanging on what play you were going to say there.
1:02:44Catherine Whitaker:Born the 4th of March, 1988. Yeah.
1:02:47Matt Roberts:Show me not a people pleaser.
1:02:50Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, it's Laura Siegmund. That really tickled me, Hassan. That is a really good contribution.
1:02:57Matt Roberts:like Tim and Tim Hemming and Greg Rosetsky having the same birth date no they're a year apart I've got that
1:03:05David Law:wrong yeah I've got the same birth date minus one as Greg Rosetsky so you know
1:03:15Matt Roberts:and I think Tim's is plus
1:03:18David Law:one yes he's just one different year yeah but the same birthday
1:03:25Matt Roberts:oh you're one day apart from Greg yes yeah okay yeah
1:03:30David Law:and the three of us couldn't be more different
1:03:33Matt Roberts:Hassan thank you very much for being a friend of the tennis podcast we're part of the Athletic Podcast Network we will be back tomorrow from Newport, Rhode Island which is where we're going to drive to now speak to you then
1:03:54Thank you.
1:04:23Thank you.
From the publisher
After spending the day in the US Open press conference room, Catherine Whitaker, David Law and Matt Roberts react to what the top players had to say as they prepare for the tournament.
Part one - We discuss the way Carlos Alcaraz left us feeling positive about his return from injury, detailing that his wrist has felt fine in practice, that he’s using his experience of being injured in 2024 to help him, and that he plans to play his usual game style. So what can we expect from him this tournament? There’s also chat about how the other men’s contenders - such as Ben Shelton, Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz - are largely playing down any talk of this being a big opportunity with Jannik Sinner not in the draw. What do we make of that?
Part two (23:30) - On the women’s side, defending champion Aryna Sabelenka has been struggling for form recently. In what way was she defensive about that in her press conference? And can we read anything into it? Coco Gauff, on the other hand, discussed how she’s in a much better place mentally and with her game compared to twelve months ago, while Alexandra Eala spoke with incredible maturity about understanding her growing influence on the sport.
Part three (45:06) - We cover some of the stories from qualifying, including more heartbreak for 2019 champion Bianca Andreescu, defeat for the retiring 2014 finalist Kei Nishikori, and lots of British success.
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