The Behind the Racquet Podcast is the best glimpse you can get in to the ins and outs of professional tennis, told by its players, and voiced by Tennis Star Noah Rubin.
Expansion by Subtraction
Lots to catch up on for the boys this week. We start by answering Noah's question on whether the Alcaraz upset Monday shows that we haven't been respecting "The Big 3" enough.
Are Carlos and Iga "Generational Talents?"
Expectation, success, and hyperbole all on display lately.
We also hit the blatant sexism in Madrid, and Mike pleas with the new owners of the Western and Southern Open to keep it in Cincy.
Next week, we'll announce a giveaway of a Daniil Medvedev used ball from the day he became #1 in the world!
Patrick Kypson wins the USTA Wild Card for Roland Garros
Patrick Kypson reached his second Challenger semifinal in 4 weeks in Savannah, and in doing so, he earned the USTA's reciprocal wild card to the French Open. But he had to sweat on Sunday, as Tristan Boyer could have surpassed him had he won the Savannah title.
We chat with him about what it means to win the Wild Card at this stage in his career, and his favorite pastime, smoking meats.
Zizou Bergs is a 23 year old from Belgium who won the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger on Sunday in straight sets over Tung-Lin Wu. During the event, he didn't lose a single set, while clinching his fifth Challenger title. It was an emotional moment for Zizou, who recently lost his grandfather. We talk about the week ,his style, and what this one means to him.
The 26-year-old from Atlanta sits down with the boys post Miami to talk about the process of getting to the top 100 for the first time in his career after his quarterfinal run. A huge achievement, so we discuss how it happened philosophically, and technically.
Behind the Racquet of Gender Finances with Jamie Loeb
Jamie Loeb rejoins the show to gives us the full details of what financial inequalities look like at the lower levels of tennis, after Denis Shapovalov helped bring it to light in his recent article. We got in to the intricacies of what that looks like at tournaments that have both men's and women's events at the Challenger level, and how some of the finances break down, and why. We also explored some other reasons WHY the financial inequities might be happening, and most importantly, Mike's daughter Marnie hops on to ask some questions of the Dynamic Jew-o.
Grant Chen is now the Head Coach for the men's tennis team at SMU. He came to Dallas after a legendary run from the team manager for UCLA, all the way to Associate Head Coach. He also helps run the Dallas Open, and multiple USTA Pro Circuit events at the Styslinger Altec Tennis Complex in Dallas as well. Further, he's about as connected as anyone can be. You'll see him in the box from time to time for Grigor Dimitrov, he's tight with John Isner, and many others. So Mike sat down with him to find out what makes him go, how he's gotten to this point, and what tennis means to him.
Mackenzie "Mackie" McDonald is 27 years old from Northern California, ranked 53 in the world as of March 6th. He was the NCAA singles and doubles champion at UCLA in 2016, winning the doubles with Martin Redlicki (a former BTR Pod guest, now coaching at Oklahoma State).
Mackie joined us from Indian Wells, with the draw coming out later today.
Mike here- This pod got DRASTICALLY delayed (totally on me), but this pod was recorded in Melbourne immediately following qualifying, as Alexis was headed towards the airport. The guy is an incredibly hard worker, super positive, and it was fun learning a little bit more about what took him to NC State (not a traditional tennis powerhouse), and has him inside the top 200 in the world.
Why American men are making a push; AO TV miscues, Break Point, and a terrible record on Domestic Abuse
Hey all- In between interviews with Ernesto Escobedo, and Alexis Galarneau, the boys reconvened to chop up the American men at the AO, why the TV coverage was down, and the horrific record tennis is starting to set on domestic violence.
Behind the Racquet with Ernesto Escobedo: Why he's now playing for Mexico
Have to preface all of this by noting that this was recorded the day after Neto qualified in Australia. As a result, it's important to note that it does not have any details regarding this week's Davis Cup news with regard to the Mexican Tennis Federation. He was honest and forthright about his decision and why, and clearly is at peace with the decision he's made.
More coming up next week, including an interview with Canada's Alexis Galarneau.
