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.
Serena Says Goodbye, and Make Mike Best Man 2024
We start with Noah's engagement, as our lil boy is all done growed up.
But the real story is Serena Williams' retirement announcement. We discuss that, how she has impacted tennis, and our lives; and why this year has become a year full of retirements across both tours.
More from Cincy, and wherever Noah heads next, coming next week.
Behind the Racquet with Enzo Couacaud with Guest Host Christopher Eubanks
Guest Host Christopher Eubanks guides us through the career of French tennis star Enzo Couacaud, and take you Behind the Racquet to tell you his story.
Things get interesting when they start talking about the French generation of Monfils, Tsonga, Gasquet and others, and what "greatness" is.
And then we get in to how the NBA influence could benefit tennis.
Yibing Wu on winning three straight titles on the USTA Pro Circuit
One of the more remarkable runs I've witnessed on the USTA Pro Circuit over the last 9 years. Yibing Wu lost 2 sets in 15 straight wins. He's moved from 1741 to 174 in the ATP rankings since returning to the tour earlier this year after surgery and covid restrictions.
I talked to him immediately after he came off the court in Indianapolis. He was winded, emotional, and thoughtful, considering he was ultimately rushing to get to a flight. Appreciated the time immensely.
The body has not been kind to Andrew Harris over the years. Back issues have limited his ability to play a full schedule since an incredible junior and college career, in Australia, and then Oklahoma. He's still hesitant to use the word specialist, but he's cognizant that this may give him the opportunities to reach the sport's peaks.
Here how he got started in the sport, what took him to Oklahoma, and how he's approaching this stage of his career. He's got some fun tales about 2022 Wimbledon, and some thoughts about how to face doubt and challenge in tennis.
More from Indianapolis with Christopher Eubanks this week.
Tsitsipas and Kyrgios' Saturday clash once again highlighted how players all have different interpretations of what's OK on court. Mike and Noah go through it to sort out what's needed to fix that issue.
And Noah gives us his take on what it's like to face Kyrgios.
We go Behind the Racquet this week with presenter, commentator, personality, and fantastic human being Blair Henley to talk about the challenges of being a parent in the tennis media business, and finding the happy medium of social media presence versus wanting to have good time when we're away from the sport. It's not flipping easy!
On top of it, those of us in the Gen X/Y age want to know, how the heck does Blair stay on top of every trend!
And Blair and Mike also make their Wimby picks with the draws coming up within days!
Behind the Racquet with Ben Shelton and Special Guest Host Christopher Eubanks
Really enjoyable chat with the rising junior at the University of Florida, Ben Shelton. We talk about how he's planning his summer, what he's learned from his father and coach, Bryan Shelton, and Christopher Eubanks gives his advice on how to approach Ben's first summer as a "pro."
A Noah-less episode this week, as Mike talks with former Ohio State star JJ Wolf from Little Rock, Arkansas, site of this week's Baptist Health Little Rock Open.
Somdev Devvarman was an All-American and NCAA Champion at Virginia, and reached as high as 62 in the world during his professional career. He's now returned to tennis as both a broadcaster in his native India, and as a coach of Sumit Nagal. Hear his viewpoints on how we could improve the transition for players post their playing days, and his thoughts on the Challenger tour as a whole.
