What’s happened since the US Open? 

16:31Matt Roberts:as well so often you know see Matt's book it looks you know it looks pretty miserable largely and to just there's a lightness about that even though they're carrying sort of the weight of representing their country they look lighter for it somehow so so many of them which is great to see I've remembered by the way David it's Oliver Tarvit you've tried to sell us off the back of an Alcaraz comparison Matt please note that down for the end of year quiz what do Liam Drax pixel lorenzo sonigo and oliver tarvit have in common tarvit is challenger carlos

17:13Matt Roberts:okay challenge challenge it sounds like you've lowered your expectations for the tarvit's career it's it's like student mat grad mat and now proper mat you've got to work your way up okay if we workshopped proper mat how do you feel about that

17:34Catherine Whitaker:Matt's fine

17:41Okay

17:44Matt Roberts:That's you told David South Korea mean that there will be two representatives from outside of Europe in the Davis Cup finals they join Canada in that representation They beat India 3-1 in Seoul this weekend. Sunwoo Kwon and Hyun Chung with the points for Korea. What a blast from the past that name is, Matt. Like, talk about a forgotten gem from the ATP tour in Hyun Chung.

18:20Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, I mean, just Google Hyun Chung 2018 Australian Open and you'll see that in consecutive matches he beat Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic. And he was the coming guy off the back of the next-gen finals the previous year, and his career has just been decimated by injury, really. And, yeah, it's Davis Cup where I've seen his name most often, to be honest, over the last few years. He's kept popping up and now Sun Woo Kwon as well is a name who might be familiar to a lot of people. But his career stopped with mandatory military service and 18 months, I think that went on for.

19:08Catherine Whitaker:Him and BTS both. He's been able to play in Korea and in Asia and he's played Davis Cup. amazing for South Korea to be at the Davis Cup finals as it would have been for India had they got through this was always the tie, this was the anti-Czechia USA tie this was the one where whoever won it was going to be amazing for them just to be there I hope Sun Woo Kwon can return to the tour and get back to where he was because he's a very decent player and for Hyeongchang you just hope that the injuries are past him.

19:54Matt Roberts:Yeah, Sing Wukong was for a while there, he was a player that was just sort of always there, wasn't he? Like just reliably there, somebody that would never beat themselves, maybe a ceiling to their game and then sort of he was not there. Great tennis analysis there from me. He was there and then he was not there. Well done. Great Britain beat Ecuador 3-0 at the Copper Box in London this weekend. Some new names on the winners roster for Great Britain. Cameron Norrie was injured. He was there with the team but not able to play. So step up Toby Samuel and Arthur Ferry. Arthur Ferry has also been compared to Carlos Alcaraz, I feel like.

20:40David Law:Not by me. Yeah, that was by Matthew.

20:42Matt Roberts:That was Matthew, okay, our resident Arthur Ferry guy. Did he watch this? Did he watch the Davis Cup?

20:51Catherine Whitaker:No, he couldn't find it on telly.

20:56Matt Roberts:I wonder if he'll tune into the Labour Cup now that Ferry has been named as an alternate.

21:01Catherine Whitaker:I tried that this morning. He didn't seem that into it.

21:08Matt Roberts:Pretty cool for Arthur Ferry though, isn't it? It kind of really like cementing, I mean, it feels like every week is cementing his new status in the sport and like a new experience. But leading the line for GB in a Davis Cup tie that gets them to the finals is a really big deal, I think.

21:28David Law:Yeah, and doing a good job of it as well. You know, this was a tie that they should win, but, you know, it's Ecuador that Britain should have beaten on paper in, I think, 1999. And, I mean, admittedly, they did have Nicholas Lepenti back then and brother Giovanni Lepenti, who announced his name.

21:49Matt Roberts:Lepentitities.

21:50David Law:Yes. So they were problematic for GB back then and beat Britain.

21:56Matt Roberts:That was another Bryce Nakashima situation where suddenly there was another Lepenti.

22:02David Law:Yeah, and it was Giovanni who beat Harvin Palmer in the final rubber to send Britain into relegation. And then Lepenti Jr. kind of never really got it going after that. You know, he was 17 at that time and he played for years, but he didn't actually manage to break through really on the tour.

22:21Matt Roberts:Which one was, Giovanni was junior?

22:24David Law:Yes, yeah. Nicholas was a top 10 player. He managed to get to the tour finals, you know. Was there an expectation after that?

22:31Matt Roberts:this has turned into tennis relived but this is right in my sweet spot was there an expectation after that did people think giovanni was going to be a thing i did off the back of a win over arvin

22:43David Law:palmer well yeah i mean you know he'd um palmer was a top 100 player at the time and this kid was 17 and you know it was on grass at wimbledon and you know it was it was quite a performance you know it It was really surprising to me that Giovanni Lepenti didn't quite break through after that. Nicolas Lepenti was the one who reached, as I said, the Masters Cup, as it was then. He played Andre Agassi, and Agassi was memorably dismissive of Lepenti as, I can't let anybody get away with slicing forehands to me. Actual quote. A very good player, though. He's one of those real work horse of a player.

23:30David Law:Anyway, this tie, they didn't have a Le Pente-level player. But then Britain didn't have Jack Draper, obviously. Dan Evans is retired. They'd lost Cameron Norrie right on the eve of it. I mean, this was Toby Samuel's first ever tie. And he lost the first set of the first rubber. It's quite a moment, really, for a young lad. that but he's made real strides this year you know he's come from really not somebody we need we even knew about to to a regular at least grand slam qualifying level and and he fought back won this tie then arthur ferry plays a pretty close contested first set against uh against ecuadorian number one and edges that and then really took flight and played really well after that um and britain won it 3-0 and i think that's a really good professional win you know you're supposed to win but they're inexperienced and they got it done so good for them and that's a few years now that they haven't played in the the final eight so good for them yeah and if nori can get fit you

24:42Matt Roberts:know it's all in the drawer isn't it but they're they're they're strong in doubles gb which could

24:48David Law:be critical for them yeah this was patten and skubski and they did look good absolutely germany

24:56Matt Roberts:beach croatia in hala not on the grass it was an indoor hard court zverev with two points in that win over dino prismich and somebody called mate dodig is that a relation of ivan david is this a Lepenti situation.

25:13David Law:I'm not aware of a sibling relationship.

25:18Matt Roberts:Is Dodig a common name in Croatia?

25:22David Law:Not that I'm aware of. I only know the two. Those two.

25:29Matt Roberts:Okay, well, now that I've put it out there in the universe, I'm sure people will let us know if the two Dodigs are in fact related. Austria beat Belgium 3-1 in Vienna on outdoor clay and Spain beat Chile 3-0 in Santiago. Daniel Merida and Rafael Jodar with the singles points over Alejandro Tabilo and Christian Gareen and then Jaume Munar and Pedro Martinez with the doubles points. So we will see Spain, Matt, at the Davis Cup finals. And presumably they would be favourites with the situation currently that we don't know that Yannick Sinner will play. I guess if Sinner plays, Italy then become the favourites.

26:22Matt Roberts:But given Sinner didn't play last year, it feels like at the moment, given what we know, Spain the favourites for the title. And look, with all due apologies and respect to Chile, it's cool that Spain are going to be there.

26:43Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, it is. And it was one of Alcaraz's stated goals at the start of the year, wasn't it? When he said he wanted to win the Davis Cup. Obviously, I think his injury was a factor as to why he wasn't playing this week. But I think if he's fit, he will be there at the end of the season. And what an exciting team Spain have kind of all of a sudden. You know, if you think last year, we didn't know so much about Hodder. We didn't know so much about Merida. We didn't know so much about Landaluthe. And they're all in the fold now. And obviously with Alcaraz, that's a young team. That's a squad of players who can keep improving and maybe threaten this Italian dynasty that there's been at Davis Cup in the last few years.

27:29Catherine Whitaker:And I think for Sinner, you know, my sense is that maybe the time off that he's had makes him a bit more likely to play just because he might want some more matches at the end of the season. Who knows? I think if he goes really deep in the indoor events and Turin, like maybe that will be too much load. He's obviously going to be worried about that given what happened to him earlier in the season when he really pushed it. So I do think his participation is a question mark, but we'll see.

28:00Matt Roberts:But then also you're going to be a very interesting decision that from Sinner, I think, actually. Yeah. Especially as he got a deathbed hammering from Nicola Pietrangeli for not playing last year. I mean, not that I think that would impact his decision making, but, you know, he did get a hammering. Yeah.

28:20Catherine Whitaker:I mean, I think he can point to the times he has played and help them win it. And so, you know, it's look, I'd love to see him play. I hope he does. I think you also have to put Germany in there as among the favorites with Zverev very much committing to it this year in a way that he hasn't in the past. And he talked about that this week, saying he feels like it's an opportunity to capitalize on. He also went from the US Open final and and did his thing and won his matches, which was very impressive. And they've also got a very strong doubles team in Kravitz and Putz, who have got a great record in Davis Cup.

28:57Catherine Whitaker:So I think those three really do stand out, especially if Sinner plays as being the strong forces. But, you know, then you've got Czechia and Canada have got a pretty strong team as well. Like it makes for an exciting finals, I think. I just hope that as many of the top players play as possible.

29:20Matt Roberts:The draw for the finals takes place in Bologna on Tuesday. Bologna, of course, the venue for the Davis Cup finals. So we'll know more about who plays who in that final eight come Tuesday. A few more bits and bobs of tennis news from the Davis Cup. We'll deal with that in part two. Welcome back to part two of today's tennis podcast. Outside of the finals qualifiers, there were other world group ties. In fact, ties at every level of the Davis Cup going on this weekend, including one for Denmark, which saw the return of Holger Rune to professional tennis. Finally, after rupturing his Achilles almost a year ago, We've had so many false starts with his comeback.

30:16Matt Roberts:He was, or certainly either he or his mum has been threatening to come back since Monte Carlo of this year, since all the way back in April, which always seemed wildly improbable. You know, every medical professional I've ever heard from says there's kind of no shortcuts with an Achilles rupture and it was always going to be kind of minimum nine or ten months. And here we are, ten and a half months later, with Runa finally making his comeback to the tour. And a winning comeback. He had to fight pretty hard for both these matches, including one over Grigor Dimitrov. Not sure how great Dimitrov will feel about losing to Runa in his second match after a ten and a half month hiatus.

31:07Matt Roberts:but look I think he's a pretty chaotic human being but I do like Colgaruna's tennis and I'm

31:15David Law:I'm pleased to see it again David yeah I'm pleased for him just on a human level as well I mean I don't think I've ever seen anybody as quickly back on their feet trying to hit tennis balls as he was after an injury like this you know he you could tell how just devastated he was to be in that position and how unaccepting really was of of and totally understandably of the fact that he'd got to go through this and he was trying to sort of shortcut it all the way and short circuit it and and kind of find a way to just not not be off for 10 and a half months and I totally understand that in the end he's I think he's probably ended up still on the short side of what the layoff could have been and to come out playing like this I think he's bloody impressive really you know to have an injury like that and to not you know I was sort of watching him move I watched some of this the first rubber he played and watching him hurthling to balls and come screeching to a stop my heart was in my mouth watching him do that I've just seen an NFL player, Jaden Daniels, who dislocated his elbow late last year and they've made a documentary about him and he's just done it again, you know, like last night.

32:38David Law:And it's so horrible to see these things happen. And I was just sort of, yeah, hoping for the best that Runa... You want him to be able to trust his body. You sometimes see these returning players kind of cautiously tiptoeing up to things or half hitting a serve. and again, you totally understand why, but I didn't think Roona was doing that. I thought Roona was playing pretty full on.

33:03Matt Roberts:He looked explosive, didn't he? Which is what his game needs him to be.

33:09David Law:Absolutely. And I'm sure he's got to be a little careful and there's no telling whether there'll be significant bumps in the road yet. This is a great start and hopefully he feels okay today waking up But wow, what a nice scene to see him back out on a tennis court because it clearly means so much to him.

33:32Matt Roberts:Incredibly emotional scenes in Brazil, in Rio de Janeiro, with the tie between Brazil and Switzerland, which Brazil won three rubbers to one, but it was João Fonseca's win over Dominic Stricker in three sets that elicited some incredibly emotional scenes from Fonseca. I mean, he was sort of heaving with tears into his towel after this. And I think indicative of, you know, obviously it's a tremendous privilege to carry the weight and the support of a whole nation on your back as a tennis player. But it is a weight. and I think Joel Fonseca is a kid who's adjusting to a lot and I think he's a sensitive kid adjusting to a lot and I think he's feeling it at the moment.

34:31Matt Roberts:I get the impression he is really, really feeling that and I'm so pleased he got that win. Sorry, Dominic Stricker, who is a talented player. I don't quite understand why Dominic Stricker just isn't a thing at all. But yeah, this wasn't easy for Fonseca, I don't think. And I'm pleased that he got that win. And I hope we can all give him a bit of space, really, to figure all this out. Because it's a pretty unique situation that he's in. And I know, Matt, you've talked a lot about this crop of players we have in tennis at the moment that are kind of solo representatives of large countries with vociferous support.

35:29Matt Roberts:You know, obviously, Alexandre Ayala is the prime example. You've got Janice Chen from Indonesia and João Fonseca isn't totally alone. There are other Brazilian tennis players, Luisa Stefani, of course. But, you know, in terms of being the talisman, he is very much it. And I don't think the way Alexandre Iala is able to cope with the situation she's in, I don't think that's the norm and I don't think that should be necessarily expected of everybody. And I, I, yeah, I hope that, I hope that Fonseca has some space and support to sort of process it all because it's so much and he's a kid. Yeah.

36:16Catherine Whitaker:And it goes both ways. I think that doesn't it like having, having that much support can be a amazing thing and can be a real help and, but it can also be a pressure and a burden. And I think it can make it can probably make the wins feel bigger than they are and it can make the losses feel bigger than they are. I imagine it's really hard to keep keep the right perspective when everything is just this this massive deal every time you play. And also he's had injury problems as well, hasn't he? Like a young career trying to get started and he's kept having those those little injury setbacks. And yeah, it did feel like just a release of a lot of pent up emotion when he managed to get that win.

37:03Catherine Whitaker:And yeah, he's one of those people who's so explosive. You sort of just think, wow, he could do something incredible at any moment. But he also, I think, needs time to develop. It's a bit of a juxtaposition.

37:21Matt Roberts:Finally on the Davis Cup, Matt, we had the Netherlands winning their World Group tie with Colombia in Denbosch this weekend. And we had Talon Greekspor winning both his singles and his doubles matches and winning, quote, of the week, hands down, knockout, not even close. What happens to Talon Greekspoor at the Davis Cup to make him just an incredible quote machine?

37:56Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, I mean, first of all, the Dutch team back together, seemingly, you know, Jesper de Jong was there as well. I'm a bit gutted about that. I like the egginess there. Me too. And we didn't get Greekspoor de Jong just off the back of their beef earlier. earlier in the year, which I was hoping for.

38:18David Law:Just to say, though, just because you're on the same team doesn't mean you get on. Look at Andy Cole and Teddy Sheringham for Manchester United. They were an amazing partnership, and yet they couldn't stand each other and never spoke.

38:32Matt Roberts:But the fact that they're now teammates again suggests that... I don't know. I would be surprised now if there was aggro in subsequent singles matches, you know. I'm sure they'll be very grown up about it and, you know, for the sake of the Netherlands.

38:50Catherine Whitaker:Is Greeksport capable of being grown up, though? I don't know.

38:54Matt Roberts:That's a very good point. Very good point.

38:58Catherine Whitaker:And anyway, back to the main matter at hand, which is Greeksport's quotes about the US Open final. He was asked about it and he said he wasn't surprised by Zverev's win. Quote, I expected it against Shelton. The precedents were obviously already clearly in favour of Zverev. And then he said, I found the match rather mediocre. Shelton played very inconsistently and gave away two or three free points per game. You see what a first slam final can do to a player. And then he said, Zverev wasn't exceptional, but he served really well. The second set tiebreak was crucial. asked whether he watched the final.

39:43Catherine Whitaker:He said, there were other sports going on and I simply have a hard time watching Zverev, especially in this tournament where he bounced the ball 400 times before every serve. It was really extreme, but it obviously helped him. Maybe I should do the same.

40:00Matt Roberts:I just have absolutely no notes on any of that.

40:04Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, it's pretty great.

40:08Matt Roberts:I do love that there is someone out there just not giving a shit about what people think of him in the locker room you know

40:18David Law:but then he put out a tweet he did put out a tweet

40:23Catherine Whitaker:yeah he said normally I don't react on here but this is getting out of control just said it was tough to watch because of the never ending bouncing nothing but praise for Sasha for what he's done throughout the year. And then one of these heart emojis.

40:41Matt Roberts:Oh.

40:45Matt Roberts:Viewers on YouTube will have just seen something extraordinary come out of Matt's chest.

40:51David Law:But does it work on YouTube when it comes out? Let's assume it does. But anyway, for listeners, it was actual hearts because Matt did a heart shake. Amazing. Catherine's trying now and it's not working. I'm trying to recreate it.

41:06Matt Roberts:That, oh, just, oh, that really, I hate the follow-up softening tweet. It doesn't really take back anything you said. It's just I'm trying to have it both ways and have said the punchy thing, but also not piss anyone off.

41:23David Law:I quite like the fact that he did also just insert the punchy thing again, though. All I said was I have a hard time watching the ball.

41:30Matt Roberts:Yeah, we all heard that, Talon. Say it again.

41:37Matt Roberts:OK, that's it for your Davis Cup roundup. There were WTA events happening this week. I mean, there were WTA events happening before the US Open had even finished, I don't think. I mean, certainly by the time we were packing on Monday, Bianca Andreescu was losing a tennis match. I think I was in the cab on the way to the airport updating you on Andreescu's loss to Christina Bookshire. So tennis never stops. We had the WTA in Guadalajara and Evie Jovic defending her title there. She beat Peyton Stearns in the final. Obviously, when she won this title last year, it was real like, wow, this kid's come along and announced herself and won these 500 points.

42:24And what does this mean?

42:26Matt Roberts:Is this a flash in the pan? And now it's like, right, yeah, Evie Jovic should absolutely, looking at the field, be winning this title. and she isn't somebody that has many letdowns extraordinarily, given her age. She's an incredibly consistent player all of a sudden and it really does not surprise me at all, David, that she has defended this title.

42:53David Law:No, she feels like such a reliable competitor at the moment. um you know she's made that transition from tiptoeing onto the main circuit and now being this ever-present who delivers you a level um and you you're really surprised if she doesn't and she just she carries herself as a champion in every way when she's at this sort of thing you know she looks absolutely pumped even though she's come off a pretty tiring run at the US Open she plays extremely well she she wins handily she is thrilled about it you know it's not just sort of matter of fact acceptance of a trophy she looks like this is a big deal which is exactly what you want them to look like the only thing i feel with watching her is i just hope she puts the right and the people with her plan the right schedule schedule for herself because it'd be very easy to just enter everything to get carried away by ranking points and prize money and and maybe even appearance money you know and just just want it all now you know oh maybe the maybe the tour finals is on the horizon in the next 18 months i'm gonna play everything i don't i don't want to see that from her because i think burnout could be a real danger for somebody with her work ethic and and I don't see any signs of that, by the way.

44:22David Law:I just think she's doing really, really well and I hope they get the balance right because she's such a cool story.

44:30Matt Roberts:There has also been a WTA 250 event in Sao Paulo this week, but they have had to delay the final, I think, due to rain, Matt. And that final will be between, and prepare yourselves for a blast from the past here, Nadia Podoroska, remember her? I mean, she's been kicking around since that French Open semifinal, but certainly not reaching any further French Open semifinals. But here she is in a final and she'll play Caitlin Quervado in that final. So we'll let you know how she gets on or how they both get on in our next show. We'll be back in part three to talk about the big news that the WTA finals have found a new home in North Carolina.

45:23Matt Roberts:Welcome back to part three of today's tennis podcast with the big news that dropped this week, that Charlotte, North Carolina has been chosen as the new home for the WTA finals on a three year deal that will start in 2027. Obviously, the 2026 edition of the WTA finals is going to be held in Indian Wells. That is after the WTA ended prematurely its partnership with Riyadh Saudi Arabia, which had been hosting the finals for the last couple of years. There was a mutual end to that contract. Indian Wells stepped in to host this year's finals. It was unclear whether that partnership would extend beyond this year.

46:09Matt Roberts:but we do now know that that will be a one-year arrangement before the finals go to North Carolina for a three-year deal. Valerie Camillo, the WTA chair, says the WTA has always owned the WTA finals, but now we're going to operate it too. We are not going to do everything ourselves, but we are taking control of this event, of the creation of the revenue and the controlling of the expenses, and that allows us to control our own destiny. The finals, which involve the best eight singles players and doubles teams of the year, will be staged at the Spectrum Centre, which is where the Charlotte Hornets play their home NBA games.

46:53Matt Roberts:Now, the basketball season will be in full swing next November, which is when the WTA finals are happening. And because of the frequency of home games, the finals will be reduced from eight to five days, which will likely affect revenue for the tournament. Camilo says the WTA has already started exploring alternative formats with the players, but if the round-robin element of the tournament survives, the finalists would need to play every day. Matt, what was your reaction to this news?

47:35Catherine Whitaker:I think on the whole positive you know I think the WTA finals has has needed a settled home in a in a place with a guaranteed fan base where they where they know that people are going to show up and watch tennis and make the event feel as good and as big as it can be You know, like the way it's moved around in the last few years has been quite chaotic, really. And they hit upon some gems like Guadalajara and it was amazing. But then they had some real duds, like suddenly having to host it at Fort Worth where no one was there. And, you know, it wasn't particularly well attended in Riyadh the last couple of years.

48:24Catherine Whitaker:So I think, you know, seeing what stability has brought to the ATP finals and allowing that event to grow and become so big in locations with fan bases like London and Turin, I think it makes sense to me that the WTA wants to host it, you know, in America and over three years. I think that's a good amount of time. I'm really pleased about that, generally, I would say.

48:56Catherine Whitaker:then you get the wrinkle of, oh, but it's having to fit in amongst the NBA season and suddenly it all feels a little bit small time again. Look, I do think there is a world where that might make the event a bit livelier and a bit fresher. And look, I think all of us have talked about not loving Ram Robin. And if they did come up with a format that got rid of Ram Robin, I think I would kind of be in favour of that. But at the same time, I do think there are some advantages for the finals of having round-robin in terms of being able to guarantee when players are going to be playing. And I think that does help to sell tickets and that kind of thing.

49:43Catherine Whitaker:So I'm not quite sure what to make of that, really. I think if they do keep the round robin The finalists having to play every day At the end of the season That sounds like a real grind For me And it pretty much rules out

49:58Matt Roberts:Being able to play singles and doubles Doesn't it

50:00David Law:You could remove semifinals And that would remove That would give you an extra day back So

50:09Catherine Whitaker:Just have winners of the groups Go through to the final Yeah

50:13David Law:that's one way to to to slightly make an allowance

50:20Catherine Whitaker:yeah look who knows what they'll do but i i i don't love that they're having to change the format and take a hit to revenue there um but let's see what they come up with i suppose

50:35David Law:before i before i take a real view in these ever elongated tournaments i i don't mind it I don't mind the idea of just compressing it into something more dramatic.

50:51Matt Roberts:Yeah, look, probably as a viewer, David, I agree with you. It might make the experience better. It might improve the tournament. I really do resent and find it quite depressing, the reasons for that format change. I really do find that quite bleak, actually, that the WTA finals is having to literally make itself smaller to fit.

51:25Matt Roberts:Yeah, I find that quite bleak. But yeah, it couldn't, you know, maybe, you know, the utilitarian way to look at it is if it improves the product. But I mean, the reduction in revenue is a pretty significant factor. this news is off the back of the news that Simon Briggs broke in the Telegraph during the US Open that the WTA is in a very tough spot financially. And if it were to remain on its current course, it would end up in a dire financial situation, potentially bankruptcy financial situation within the next couple of years. Now, the WTA is insisting that, while that might be true in principle it's forecast very much not to remain on that same course and obviously this this new plan for the WTA finals is very much part of that and clearly revenue wise there is great significance to the fact that the WTA are taking ownership as was detailed in that statement by Valerie Camillo controlling the creation of revenue and the expenses exactly the details of that are pretty hazy.

52:42But yeah, certainly reducing revenue days from eight to five

52:51Matt Roberts:can't be a good thing. I don't know. They beat out this report that Charlotte beat out Gdansk, Poland, Las Vegas and Sacramento. those were the other significant bids in the process and without knowing what they were offering what they were proposing maybe all of those bids had major sacrifice involved as well or maybe they were offering loads less money like we don't know what we're comparing this to but i do as a matter of principle you know i do find it quite depressing i don't think they'd be choosing

53:27David Law:this unless it was the best option um and well hang on a second they chose saudi arabia and our judgment of what was the best option there no i understand that they judged that that was the best option and we wouldn't we didn't agree with that i'm sure but i'm i can't see a like for like here or any or anywhere close i mean i i can't say i know the ins and outs of the charlotte hornets and that bid. I know that it's not, John Wertham was saying, it's not linked to Ben Navarro, who was at one stage looking at moving the Cincinnati tournament to Charlotte before continuing in Cincinnati. So it's not that organisation.

54:08David Law:I do feel a lot of it comes down to, and listen, the WTA say they remain on course for their goals that they set in 2023 of equal prize money for the combined events in 2027. we'll see whether they can hit their 2033 goals after that but so much of it to me is well what does it feel like when it happens you know if this if this place is buzzing and full and makes women's tennis feel elevated and get the atmosphere it deserves i'd rather it was five days than eight And if it's less money in the pockets of somebody, I'd prefer that too. But it's less money in the pockets of the WTA that really, really need the money to promote the sport.

55:01Matt Roberts:And, you know, like that, I don't think that's nothing.

55:07David Law:No, it's not nothing. But they say that they, I mean, listen, maybe they would say this, but they're saying that the WTA finals is a big part of the fact that they are now that it has this settled place that it is going to be a temporary shortfall in revenue for the next year but that this is a big part of the reason why they're going to get back on track basically and

55:28Matt Roberts:that their long-term prospects are more healthy yeah which is good I just I find it pretty sad given the strength of the product that let's assume that we would agree if we did have access to all the bids, we would agree that this was the best available bid. I do find it pretty sad that the best available bid involved cutting itself.

55:51David Law:I get the point you're making. I just feel like we've lamented the lengthening of tournaments for greater revenue and tennis making itself longer and bigger at all these combined events. why are we saying that it's a problem to compress it and make it more

56:10Matt Roberts:because as I say I see what you're trying to do there David

56:17Catherine Whitaker:as I say the actual practical outcome might be good

56:20Matt Roberts:but the WTA I guarantee the WTA had North Carolina been offering the full eight days they would have wanted that this is women's tennis making itself smaller i get it i just think that to fit a world that can't accommodate it too often the world should

56:40David Law:be able to accommodate it sure but the the people that are organized in tennis are getting so many of the things they want and they're all ending up being long and meandering and i think men's

56:51Matt Roberts:tennis is getting an awful lot more of the things it wants than women's tennis

56:56David Law:quite possibly but but uh women's tennis is going to end up better i think as a result of this not having these endless days of dull tennis.

57:08Matt Roberts:I hope so.

57:09Catherine Whitaker:I think it depends what they do with the format, personally. I think if it's five days and it's only eight players and it's round robin and they do have semifinals, I think that's too much. I think that's too much the other way. I think that would be crazy to be playing five straight days at the end of the year. I think you risk actually causing injury to your top players. I think that would be bad. I think if it's eight players and it's knockout, that's going to feel really slow because it's five days and you sort of think, oh, come on, get on with it. There's not enough matches. I mean, you go back in time, you look at the WTA finals, they had 16 players and they played knockout.

57:55Catherine Whitaker:I actually think that could work in this format. It would involve a radical change. I think you've got enough good players on the WTA Tour now that a 16-player knockout over five days, where you play the last 16 over the first two days, I guess. I just don't know whether the venue's big enough to have enough courts that you could do that. Are they planning to just have one main court? Right. So I just can't imagine that happening, but I think that would be a good format. So I find it hard to judge this before we know what the format's going to be. I think there is a world where what David's describing absolutely happens and it's fantastic and it's way better than it has been, even with the, I agree with you, Catherine, even with the rather depressing sacrifice that the WTA is having to make.

58:44Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, I don't think we're disagreeing, David.

58:47Matt Roberts:Like I agree with you, it could end up with the best possible outcome. It's just the fact of the circumstances that have brought it about are depressing, I think. But yeah, you got me with cut the faff. I simply cannot argue with that statement. It gets me every time. Even if it's accidental.

59:14David Law:Even if tennis doesn't mean to do it.

59:16Catherine Whitaker:Oh, look, we've managed to cut the faff.

59:19Matt Roberts:If the patriarchy results in faff cutting, where does that leave me? Oh, rock in a hard place. A couple of other bits of tennis news. Jack Draper is shutting down his season. Not a shock, but we have had confirmation. He says, I'm taking this time to reset and heal. So when I return, I'm 100 % ready to go. Tennis is my purpose and passion. And so when I step back on court, I want to make sure that there's nothing holding me back from where I want to go. Managing so much change, adversity and pain has helped me to grow massively in many areas of my life, but has also made me feel a level of fatigue.

1:00:01Matt Roberts:I'm glad he recognizes that. And it's rinse and repeat, isn't it, with everything we've said before. I hope this does do the trick. And we wish him well. So well. Absolutely. We've also had the news this week, one semi-surprise, one not, that Joe Salisbury and Rajiv Ram, obviously former very successful doubles partners, are both retiring from the sport. Salisbury is Britain's most successful doubles player of the Open era with six major titles, including three consecutive US Open men's doubles titles with Rajiv Ram. They were the first pair ever to win it three times in a row. And Ram also won six majors in his career and made it to world number one.

1:00:56Matt Roberts:I know Joe Salisbury had taken a hiatus at the start of this year for mental health reasons. So hope he's OK and at peace with this decision. We wish them both very well in their retirements. This week, we have the Billie Jean King Cup finals. In Shenzhen, China, the schedule looks like this. We start on Tuesday with Czechia against GB. Go with God, GB is what I have to say about that. Certainly on paper, quite a mismatch. I mean, look, most teams would experience that against Czechia, but wow, that's tough.

1:01:38Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, I mean, that feels like, you know, you're talking about it in terms of over and under a number of games GB might win I mean we saw Mukava-Bolter At the US Open didn't we And that was Well pretty ugly from a GB perspective And then you've got Noskova Like oh it's a brutal draw Yeah and it's You never know

1:02:00David Law:You never know folks With the Billie Jean King Cup The Davis Cup You can get a Liam Draxel You never know

1:02:06Matt Roberts:What percentage chance Are you giving GB in that tie David?

1:02:12David Law:15 god that's high i think they'd sign for that yeah i'd go yeah the the team photo for czechia is terrifying is it what is it who's in it yeah it's like a it's like a brazil all-time

1:02:30Catherine Whitaker:11 or something yeah it's like it's like even if you get it to the doubles sinniarch of us there

1:02:37Matt Roberts:Yeah, it's an absolute nightmare. Yeah, so good luck. Then on Wednesday, there's Spain against Kazakhstan. No Elena Rabakina for Kazakhstan. She and Marta Kostiuk have both withdrawn from the event, which is a shame, which means that Ukraine will be led by Alina Svitolina. They will play Belgium on Thursday and will also have China against Italy. we'll have Zheng Chin Wen leading the line for China, Jasmine Paolini for Italy. So look, some misses there in terms of the star power, but some strengths as well. And I hope Jasmine Paolini can get some good vibes from the week. It's been a tough year for Jasmine Paolini and some Billie Jean King Cup vibes, I think, are just what the doctor ordered, Just what she needs and just what the tournament needs, I think.

1:03:37Catherine Whitaker:Well, you say that, but then she'll be playing Junxun Wen, presumably. And I don't know, that'd be pretty great for the tournament, I think. It would be. If Junxun can do her thing at home. So, yeah, I guess whoever wins that tie is going to hopefully power the event with vibes.

1:03:57Matt Roberts:I mean, the prediction is Czechia, isn't it? Yeah, it would be insane to predict anyone other than Shakir. David?

1:04:05David Law:I think I could probably be convinced about that. Mind you, Italy are very good, aren't they, at this competition? Let's be honest.

1:04:13Matt Roberts:They are.

1:04:13David Law:Yeah.

1:04:14Matt Roberts:Is that a prediction?

1:04:17David Law:And I tell you what, I actually think, no, I think China are going to beat Italy. I think China are going to win it. There you go. okay not czechia no at home china i think they are tough now that junction wins back playing

1:04:37Matt Roberts:this sort of tennis okay fun prediction uh the wta also has an event in singapore this week uh really strong field uh matt and i i think we're standing at baggage claim at heathrow when we saw Amanda Inisimova posting content from Singapore. We were like, what's that flag? Why is she there? Oh, there's a 500 event in Singapore next week, which has Alisimova, Alexandra Iala, Mira Andreeva, also Barbora Krejcikova, Maya Filinska, Leila Fernandez, Donna Vekic, Maria Sakari, and Joanna Garland has qualified for the main draw.

1:05:19David Law:Catherine's pumping her fist.

1:05:21Catherine Whitaker:I'm so pleased for her. and she's playing doubles with Sue A. Shea.

1:05:27Matt Roberts:Is she?

1:05:29Catherine Whitaker:Oh, she's scored herself a heck of a partner there. That's a bucket list experience, isn't it? Yeah.

1:05:33Matt Roberts:Gosh, that's really cool. So, yeah, great field in Singapore. As we say this every year, it's such a shame. I mean, you said it earlier in the show. It's such a shame that the Billie Jean King Cup has to clash with other strong WTA events and it doesn't have a carve out in the calendar. It's women's tennis eating itself. but you know that's how it is for the time being there's also WTA 250 in Seoul South Korea which has Yelena Ostopenko who hasn't won it when did she last win a tennis match she could do with a good week in Seoul Kim Birrell Robin Montgomery almost said Colin Montgomery there Robin Montgomery Jeremiah Joint Sophia Kennan, Eva Lees and Magda Lynette all in the draw in Seoul.

1:06:24Matt Roberts:And in terms of the ATP this week, because the ATP do have a carve out in their calendar for Davis Cup, which we support, it does mean that this is the time of year when all the ATP events get totally out of sync and start finishing on a Wednesday, which we very much don't support. So we have Chengdu and Hangzhou, both 250 events, starting and finishing. on a Wednesday and finishing on a Tuesday or maybe a Wednesday. Finishing midweek next week. Anyway great. Thanks for that.

1:06:59David Law:We'll update you next week.

1:07:00Matt Roberts:Yeah, we'll let you know what's going on there. And then we have the Lever Cup in London. The return of Disco Surundalo. Team Europe is Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Flavio Caballi, Rafael Hodder, Jakub Menchik and Kasper Rood with With Arthur Ferry coming in as the ultimate, alternate. And Team World is Alex de Menor, Taylor Fritz, Lerner Tien, Brandon Nakashima, Alexander Bublik and Disco Sarundolo. With Nakashima there replacing Ben Shelton at the last minute. Who is the alternate for Team World? Do we know that yet? I do like finding out who the alternates are. Okay. All right.

1:07:46Catherine Whitaker:He was available, clearly He was slogging it out in Davis Cup this week in Peru

1:07:55Matt Roberts:Goodness me

1:07:57David Law:I wonder if Agassi's just like, oh, you know who we should bring in? I wonder if that's how it went

1:08:04Matt Roberts:Maybe Anyone want to make a Labour Cup prediction? I mean, it's Team Europe, isn't it? They're quite mismatched, those teams, I would say

1:08:16David Law:Yeah. Team World have been winning it the last few years, haven't they? They have, yeah. They've won three out of the last four, I think. David. Ah, stats.

1:08:26Matt Roberts:You've got Leva Cup stats.

1:08:28David Law:That was incredible. I mean, it might be wrong, but I read it.

1:08:33Matt Roberts:Andre Agassi definitely cares a lot more than Yannick Noah, I think, sort of captaincy-wise.

1:08:39David Law:Yeah. You know, in terms of getting greater than the sum of their parts,

1:08:44Matt Roberts:I would maybe back World. But the parts are definitely better on Team Europe. That's my analysis. Anyway, do join us next week to find out how all of that plays out. Folks, we have the return of pet mascots. We have Thor. What a great name. Thor is owned by Dana Prosser. Dana says, we got Thor three weeks after we got his brother Shorty back in 2012 from a family that couldn't keep him. He arrived with a spiked collar and a leash that said, Bad to the bone.

1:09:27Matt Roberts:We chuckled at both and figured we'd change his name. Excellent call, Dana. Well, 14 years later, his name and command of the universe remains. He is 16 pounds. He's the 16 pound boss of our other two dogs who are Anatolian shepherds, both£150. Oh, my. £150? Is that a typo? £150?

1:09:51David Law:It's nearly as heavy as me.

1:09:52Matt Roberts:That is wild. And he, Thor, being a half chihuahua and half smooth-haired fox terrier. He's so gorgeous. Wow. He's doggy DNA tested because giving mutt to inquiries seemed like a disservice to him. And he is 100 % of both breeds. following rabbits into their dens and providing a home alarm service in the form of tapping. He loves to eat, boss around the big dogs and cuddle when he feels like it. The closest he comes to tennis is laying on the couch with me when I watch. He's a good boy and I love him very much. Oh, he does look like a good boy. He looks very wise. Yeah, what a lovely... Bad to the bone.

1:10:39Matt Roberts:Incredible. Thank you Thor for being this week's mascot and thank you Dana for bringing Thor into our lives. Thank you and hello to Bodhi, Maisie and Roger. I feel like I'm on a rough predictions run for Bodhi. I don't think I get any points for predicting Czechia but maybe some respectability can be restored by my bold Czechia prediction.

1:11:07David Law:Maisie, if China come off, we can retire.

1:11:11Matt Roberts:Hello to our top folks and executive producers Greg, Chris and Jeff. And it's over to Matt for some shout outs.

1:11:19Catherine Whitaker:And we have Carlos Grubler in Dallas, Texas.

1:11:24Matt Roberts:Hello, Carlos. Like Alcaraz. Like Alcaraz. Very good.

1:11:35Matt Roberts:and Juan Carlos Ferreiro, who is teasing the world with his return to tennis this week. Have you seen that?

1:11:45David Law:Yes.

1:11:46Matt Roberts:Speculation rife about who he's going to be coaching. Would anybody like to make a prediction on that front? Well, everybody's saying, oh, it's Sinner because he did say he would be up for coaching Sinner and there's always speculation that Darren Cahill is, he's threatened to to not quit Team Sinner but take a step back from coaching for kind of sanity purposes hasn't he? That would be hilarious if he did. It would be the plot of that.

1:12:18Catherine Whitaker:We'd be in emergency pod territory I think wouldn't we? I think so. It would be great.

1:12:23David Law:That would almost be Andy Murray coaching job. Yeah.

1:12:26Matt Roberts:I think it's more likely to be Hodder, don't you think? Hodder's probably the most likely prospect but for the plot I just I can't see Sinner doing anything that that reality tv you know

1:12:42David Law:oh go on go on Yannick do it uh do we know anything about Carlos I just want to look at the look at Carlos Alcraz's face when he finds out the news a bit like that face when he thought they'd scored a goal and then they didn't.

1:13:00Matt Roberts:It might bring a bit of, I love that they're friends, but I also do like a spicy rivalry. And seeing as we've lost Jesper de Jong and Talon Greeks, Paul, potentially, you know, I wouldn't mind there being a touch of edge between Alcaraz Sinner, you know? Wouldn't hate that. Anyway, back to Carlos.

1:13:23Catherine Whitaker:Like when Danny Valvedu

1:13:24Matt Roberts:joined Thomas Birdie and played Murray. and we got the explicit content. That's what we want.

1:13:33David Law:David Felgate joined Xavier Melisse and played Tim Hemman at the US Open.

1:13:38Matt Roberts:Yes.

1:13:40David Law:See, Catherine likes it when pets are friends, but she doesn't want Alcraz and Sina to be friends.

1:13:45Matt Roberts:No, I do like them being friends. I do like their vibe, but just a bit of edge, you know.

1:13:51David Law:Do you want pets to have edge as well?

1:13:53Matt Roberts:No.

1:13:54David Law:No. No. Never.

1:13:59Matt Roberts:Anyway, back to Carlos

1:14:02Catherine Whitaker:Carlos has a dog named Rocky and two rescue cats Are they friends? They're veg I'm going to assume yes

1:14:13Matt Roberts:Lovely What if Rocky has a bad to the bone collar Thank you Carlos

1:14:21Catherine Whitaker:And finally we have Jesus Jimenez Hello Jesus We know Jesus

1:14:29Matt Roberts:We know Jesus

1:14:31Catherine Whitaker:And he is now also in Dallas, Texas But lived in New York for a few years

1:14:37Matt Roberts:Is that coincidence? No, reported on tennis Two Dallas based

1:14:43Catherine Whitaker:Don't know, I think a coincidence

1:14:47Matt Roberts:Unless Vicky's chosen them deliberately

1:14:50Catherine Whitaker:Yes, Jesus, very nice And he wants the US Open to have a nightly curfew Because it always ruins my sleep, he says no one wants to play tennis at 2am

1:15:01Matt Roberts:yes Jesus tennis Jesuses come on Matt our Spanish representative

1:15:11Catherine Whitaker:I've got anyone

1:15:12Matt Roberts:great Jimenez nope

1:15:17Catherine Whitaker:all I've got is Raul and that's going to put David in a bad mood correct

1:15:22David Law:he plays for Wolves Wolves beat Albion I don't want to talk about it.

1:15:27Matt Roberts:Okay. Well, glad that came up. Thank you, Jesus, for that. Hope you're good. Hope to maybe see you somewhere down the road. We are part of the Athletic Podcast Network, folks. We will be back on Monday of next week to talk about all the things that have happened or will have happened over the course of the next seven days. There is a lot of bonus content available for friends of the tennis podcast at the moment if you haven't checked it out. There is our US Open review show, which features voice notes from Pam Shriver, all of the athletic folks, Charlie Eccleshare, Matt Futterman, Ava Wallace, an incredible voice note from Hannah Wilkes as well.

1:16:07Matt Roberts:And a marvellous, as always, contribution from Mary Carrillo, which includes the word chuckle fox. There is also the US Open, the happy hour. And Briggs.

1:16:19Catherine Whitaker:Don't forget Briggs.

1:16:20Matt Roberts:Oh my gosh, I forgot Briggs.

1:16:23David Law:Briggs with another movie comparison

1:16:25Matt Roberts:With a really Exit

1:16:29Catherine Whitaker:He's going to be gutted I'm so sorry

1:16:32David Law:No he's got his own special segment though It's all worked out

1:16:38Matt Roberts:I'm sorry Crazy movie comparison

1:16:40David Law:He kicked off the show

1:16:42Matt Roberts:I promo'd his work earlier in the show He's doing great work Yeah, his swings and roundabouts For me and Briggs and there's also Vicky's Happy Hour which is a compilation of our apparently best, well kind of best and worst bits from the US Open which is marvellous to listen to, Vicky does incredible work I don't know how she puts those things together so quickly but it is available now for Friends of the Pod

1:17:12Catherine Whitaker:You can find out how early in the tournament David uttered the words Rebecca is probably just going to go and win it now That was a great moment Which surprisingly to me

1:17:25David Law:Ended up being better than my Ben Shelton's going to go all week

1:17:32Matt Roberts:It was great to relive the He's ill though he's from Brazil Moment

1:17:39Catherine Whitaker:Do you know when I heard that I really understood why you thought I said he's ill

1:17:46Matt Roberts:Did you not in the moment?

1:17:48Catherine Whitaker:Well, no, because I said he's wrong, so I knew what I said, but this was my first time hearing it. Do you know what I mean? Okay, right.

1:17:55David Law:And your word Brazil collided with somebody else saying something else.

1:17:59Catherine Whitaker:Yes, it got swallowed up and all that was heard was ill.

1:18:03Matt Roberts:And in the security, the very long and arduous security queue at JFK Airport, Matt and I, there was a man with a lovely dog behind us that obviously I befriended. And I was crouching down, petting the dog and listening in to the owner have a chat with. The dog was very popular. She was gorgeous. And the owner was having a chat with somebody else behind us in the queue. And I stood up from the floor and said to Matt, oh, she's ill. and Matt looked very alarmed and said, oh gosh, no, what's wrong with her? And I said, no, she's going to Brazil. And it was such a waste of a really sophisticated joke, I thought.

1:18:58Catherine Whitaker:You were playing with my good heart. I was concerned for the dog.

1:19:04Matt Roberts:I thought we were on a wavelength, Matt.

1:19:07David Law:And if Matt doesn't get it, nobody was going to get it.

1:19:10Catherine Whitaker:Exactly, I won't be trying that again. If the dog was ill and I'd burst out laughing, you would have been horrified.

1:19:21Matt Roberts:Anyway, if you want to relive all of that, it is available now for Friends of the Tennis Podcast if you'd like to become a friend. The link is in our show notes. We are part of the Athletic Podcast Network and we will speak to you next week.