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.
Update time: Noah talks PTPA, Novak vs the world, and....Sewer Cat
It's been nearly 3 months since Noah and Mike have caught up and discussed issues of the day, so what better time!
Here's a little timeline for you, and a note for our patreon supporters, LISTEN TO THE END OF THE SHOW!
2:00- Noah Life Update
6:00- Mike got a cat from the sewer
8:00- Wimby recap, and the Big 3 vs Parity
16:30- The player reaction to Naomi Osaka
22:00- Noah's update on the PTPA
Love y'all, more info on the shirts, and stickers, soon!
Noah will be back this week, after we air this episode I recorded in Orlando a few weeks ago!
Goncalo Oliveira will take us on a ride through a fascinating childhood, to say the least. In some ways, it was living the dream; in others, not so much.
He's now on the cusp of being a perennial Grand Slam doubles participant. But that's not the goal yet. He'll explain why, and we'll talk about some of the ATP politics as well
What a treat to have J.C. stop by my house while he was in Tulsa for a Futures this week. Noah joins us by phone from Minnesota.
With J.C., we go through his development and time at Virginia, and then to the in depth discussion on how Type 1 diabetes has affected his life on and off the court. It's changed dramatically over the past 10 years, and is he at a new point in his life?
Of note, no Noah this week, as he was both traveling, AND he had Islanders rinkside seats while I knocked out this pod, as well as one with Goncalo Oliveira that we'll post soon.
Uli is 23 years old, with a unique childhood that he'll tell you about. Really a fascinating interview, and thanks to everyone for popping in and spending time with me the last couple weeks back on the road!
NOTE: PLEASE EXCUSE THE DOUBLE AUDIO FOR THE FIRST MINUTE OF THE INTERVIEW. I got it sorted out after about a minute or so. -Mike
The ankle injury continues to hamper Noah, but Mike trudges on alone on the road, but is joined by Jason Jung, a perennial top 150 player who has found ways over the years to continue to see high level success. It's been a long path, from a highly successful junior career, to a college career that didn't quite hit those big expectations, to a real life job, and then yes, on to a really strong professional career.
We talked through that journey, and how difficult it's been coming back from the six month pandemic hiatus both on court, and off. And we also walked through what it's meant for him when he changed nationalities in 2015.
It's a big week with Roland Garros qualifying underway in Paris, so we were thrilled to have a few minutes on Sunday to chat with Ellen Perez. Ellen was this week's feature on Behind the Racquet, and we wanted to extend the conversation a bit and see if her effervescent personality and positivity could rub off on the two cynics in the room.
Little Rock is on the docket for Mike next week, and Orlando immediately following, so we'll have a couple more in person chats coming up.
It's been a pretty damned decent 2021 already for Jenson Brooksby, He's now won three Challenger titles, including both Orlando in Tallahassee in April in back to back weeks ON DIFFERENT SURFACES on the USTA Pro Circuit. Truly remarkable stuff. He hops on the pod to talk with Mike and Noah about where he gets his incredible self belief, learning from early opportunities at Challengers in Northern California, and how and why he's as vocal as he is on the court.
Recorded Friday night, Orlando Finalist Denis Kudla joins us to discuss how marriage has changed his life both on and off the court, and given him new perspectives.
He also discusses what he learned from a few days away on Necker Island, learning from Richard Branson.
