Tennis Unfiltered

Calvin Betton, George Bellshaw and James Gray are back behind the microphones to look at all the biggest stories of the week - and celebrate Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara's victory in Marrakesh. The WTA has confirmed that its biggest tournament, the WTA Finals, will be held in Riyadh for the next three years in a deal worth around $50m in prize money Rafael Nadal is out of the Monte Carlo Masters saying his body 'simply won't allow me' Danielle Collins wins her second title in a row, this time in Charleston, and has only lost two sets in the last three weeks. We talk about her incredible numbers on return of second serve It was a good week for the big servers as Ben Shelton, Hubert Hurkacz and Matteo Berrettini all won titles on clay across three different continents But it was a bad start to the clay season for the Brits with Dan Evans and Cam Norrie both bounced out in the first round in Monaco LINKS Calvin's week in crazy Marrakesh: https://www.instagram.com/p/C5ehdtLN5-QeJTvUq00oTY_TOTHje-QD50BMYY0 James ran a half-marathon on Sunday, raising money for his local community cricket club. You can donate here: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/james-runs-london-1 Jeff Sackmann has written this excellent blog on Danielle Collins's second serve return: https://www.tennisabstract.com/blog/2024/04/03/danielle-collins-destroyer-of-second-serves/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

FACTCHECK FROM JAMES: I said I was watching Charleston on red clay. I was of course watching *Houston*, not Charleston. Houston = reddish brown clay, Charleston = still equals mucky grey-green. Apologies... Calvin Betton joins James Gray (inews.co.uk) and George Bellshaw (man of the people) from the ATP 250 in Marrakesh to discuss a very busy few days in tennis... Danielle Collins is the surprise Miami champion after beating Elena Rybakina in the final, losing the first set of the tournament and then not another one after that But Collins also made headlines after clapping back at the suggestion she might reconsider retirement, due at the end of this year, given she is now playing the best tennis of her life Sofia Kenin and Bethanie Mattek-Sands won the women's doubes: an unlikely duo or a force to be reckoned with? Jannik Sinner comfortably beat Grigor Dimitrov in the men's final, having beaten Daniil Medvedev in the semi, their first meeting since the Australian Open final. Andy Murray has chosen not to have surgery on a “full rupture of my ATFL” and a “near full thickness rupture of my CFL” - that is the anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL) and calcaneofibular ligament (CFL) to give them their full names. Novak Djokovic has split with Goran Ivanisevic and does not know if he will replace him. Who would be the perfect coach for Djokovic at this point in his career? Djokovic said: “First of all, Goran is my friend for life, mine and of my family’s. I will always remember that he was there for me as a person, as a human being, first and foremost, and that he brought the right set of values into our relationship. That kind of chemistry was followed by great results. I wish Goran all the best. I still don’t have a clear idea who a new coach would be, or whether there will be one at all. I’ve had coaches since I was a kid, now I am trying to feel by myself what I need, what I feel most comfortable with. You will be informed in case someone joins the team.” PLUS... We answer your questions on Dominic Thiem and whether there really is "a dominant eye". LINKS MENTIONED James's piece on everything we know about Andy Murray's injury: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/andy-murray-wimbledon-injury-hopes-2976945 Novak Djokovic's quotes in full on his coaching situation: www.tennismajors.com/atp/djokovic-trying-to-feel-by-himself-what-he-needs-without-a-coach-for-the-moment-752469.html John McEnroe's penchant for the dramatic: https://twitter.com/Calvbetton/status/1774855117725933985 Hubert Hurkacz loses his mind: https://twitter.com/TennisTV/status/1772784378717823397 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

George Bellshaw, James Gray and Calvin Betton are back round the microphone to discuss Andy Murray picks up two valuable wins in Miami - but then tears two ligaments in his ankle while losing to Tomas Machac Simona Halep loses on return and gets into a fiery spat with Caroline Wozniacki over wildcards and doping bans There were defeats for Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans and Christopher Eubanks Holger Rune was thrashed by Fabian Maroszan (and blamed illness for winning just two games Denis Shapovalov wins the battle of the one-handers with Stefanos Tsitsipas Naomi Osaka is beaten by Caroline Garcia again and Katie Boulter picks up a couple of wins including beating Beatriz Haddad Maia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

George Bellshaw, James Gray and Calvin Betton are back to talk about another week of tennis after the final of Indian Wells... Carlos Alcaraz won first title since June, beating Alexander Zverev, Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev along the way - although he was temporarily halted by a swarm of bees... Novak Djokovic was stunned by lucky loser Luca Nardi, his third ever Masters loss to someone outside top 100, and has pulled out of Miami too Iga Swiatek thumped Maria Sakkari in just 69 mins to win Indian Wells for a second time Emma Raducanu picks up valuable points but is beaten well by Aryna Sabalenka Hsieh Su-Wei is the world No 1 in doubles after spending 18 months out of the game Roger Federer says today’s game is starting to lack variety, his goal when he was on tour was to mix things up Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

EMERGENCY PODCAST with James Gray (inews.co.uk) and Calvin Betton (ATP tour coach) to talk about the alleged Saudi Arabian takeover of tennis, and the games reaction to it. We are indebted to Simon Briggs of the Telegraph, friend of the podcast, for breaking this story and writing some brilliantly detailed stories about it. Read his original pieces below.. On the Premium Tour: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2024/03/11/wimbledon-aeltc-equal-prize-money-atp-wta-contender-tour/ On Saudi Arabia's bid: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2024/03/12/saudi-arabia-launches-tennis-takeover-1-billion-pound-offer/ On the civil war brewing in tennis: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2024/03/13/tennis-civil-war-saudi-arabia-pif-wta-atp-tour/ We will do a full podcast on this on Monday when we will know more, but in the meantime please send your questions to tennisunfiltered@gmail.com and we will try to answer them, or at least discuss them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray, George Bellshaw and Calvin Betton are back together to look back at a dramatic week off the court (and occasionally on it), discussing the following... Rafael Nadal pulls out of Indian Wells at the last minute, citing an injury issue - although he seemed fine at The Netflix Slam... Simona Halep gets a successful ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport, her doping ban reduced from four years to nine months and a verdict that she had not deliberately ingested a banned substance Katie Boulter follows up the best result of her career with... a first-round defeat to Camila Giorgi Andy Murray beats David Goffin and then loses a one-sided match to Andrey Rublev Netflix follows up its first live tennis event by cancelling its behind-the-scenes documentary  Queen's is set to host a WTA 500 event from 2025, according to the BBC Calvin calls out the ATP on the doubles entry system - and gets a lot of blowback on Twitter LINKS Calvin's viral tweet: https://twitter.com/Calvbetton/status/1766779797554762071 James's piece on Simona Halep and doping: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/simona-halep-doping-tests-reform-tennis-2945955 George's interview with Tim Mayotte: https://metro.co.uk/2019/05/24/tim-mayotte-bemoans-conflict-ridden-tennis-after-snub-from-noval-djokovic-and-player-council-9648485/ Full story on WTA and Queen's: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/68497148 Stu Fraser's piece on Netflix cancelling tennis: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/netflix-cancels-break-point-tennis-documentary-series-kbx0t9fzm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

George Bellshaw returns to join James Gray (inews.co.uk) and Calvin Betton (ATP tennis coach) to discuss a controversial week on and off the court. Andrey Rublev was DQed for abuse of an official on Friday - but had his points and prize money reinstated on Monday after appealing to the ATP (More on that story here: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/andrey-rublev-line-judge-default-120k-prize-money-2938316) Carlos Alcaraz "beat" Rafael Nadal to win "The Netflix Slam" in Las Vegas, but was it more circus than spectacle? Katie Boulter won the biggest title of her career, coming from behind to beat Marta Kostyuk to the WTA 500 title in San Diego (For an opinion piece by James, click here: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/katie-boulter-emma-raducanu-british-tennis-2938499) Titles also for Alex De Minaur, Yuan Yue, Ugo Humbert and Sebastian Baez Corentin Moutet with the best shithousery of all-time: https://twitter.com/juanignacio_ac/status/1763732566526321120 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eleanor Crooks, the Press Association's tennis correspondent, joins James Gray and Calvin Betton (with George temporarily unavailable). They discussed... Andy Murray's first win of 2024 before losing to Jakub Mensik - and then coming back next week and beating Denis Shapovalov. Is this still the game for him? Has he only got a few months left? Ivo Karlovic has finally confirmed his retirement after years out of the game. Was he really just an enormous server and nothing else? What other athletes's freakish size has made them a spectacle to watch? Anna Kalinskaya beat Jelena Ostapenko, Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek consecutively to reach the Dubai final. Is she another woman we are going to have to consider in the melting pot of women's tennis? And speaking of, Calvin defends his take on Azarenka-Ostapenko handshake-gate PLUS Wildcards for Irishmen in Dubai, Cam Norrie's struggles in South America and paying $150,000 for a private lesson with Carlos Alcaraz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Calvin Betton, George Bellshaw and James Gray go through all the big tennis stories from the last seven days, including... Iga Swiatek becomes the first woman since Serena Williams in 2015 to win the same WTA title three years in a row, beating Elena Rybakina to win in Doha Maria Sakkari has dropped out of the top 10 for the first time in two years Jannik Sinner continues his unbeaten 2024, winning the title in Rotterdam and beating Alex De Minaur Carlos Alcaraz loses to Nicolas Jarry in South America PLUS we answer your questions on: The I formation in amateur doubles Andrey Rublev - the new David Ferrer? Felix Auger-Aliassime's ceiling LINKS The death of the one-handed backhand in The Times (£): https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/death-one-handed-backhand-tennis-roger-federer-pfl2gwwp6 Gay doubles player Demi Schuurs talks about she has to go to Saudi Arabia because if she doesn't, someone else will: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/saudi-arabia-womens-tennis-2874511 Jelena Ostapenko's "handshake" with Victoria Azarenka: https://twitter.com/WTA/status/1757863285339177406 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's the Middle East swing and James Gray, George Bellshaw and Calvin Betton are back home in the UK, picking the bones out of the action. They answered your questions too, including: What does British tennis get from players switching allegiance to play under the Union Flag? And why does Kazakhstan do it? (Thanks to Matthew on email for that one) Can you remember anyone doing such a good job of improving on their weaknesses, at least so quickly, as Aryna Sabalenka has on second serve? (Nikos via email) Danny asks "What's the deal with the ITF events held in places like Monastir and Sharm El Sheikh, how do they afford to host tournaments every week of the year without the backing of wealthy federations, at the bottom tier of the sport with no TV or gate money?" And in this week's news Elena Rybakina wins the title in Abu Dhabi Naomi Osaka talks about failure - but then gets the best win of her comeback so far over Caroline Garcia in Doha Emma Raducanu is beaten by Anhelina Kalinina in a one-sided encounter And so much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thanks to everyone who voted for us in the Sports Podcast Awards. We came SECOND, a one-place improvement on last year, but still losing out to Dan Kiernan. We shall overcome! We're back as a trio this week, a little later after James took the slow boat home from Australia, answering as many questions as possible from the bulging mailbag. Justin Cerny on Twitter/X asked: “Thoughts on the variety of surfaces & locations for events during weeks like this? (ATP, Challengers, WTA tour & 125s) Does it help bring opportunity & exposure or does it lack a uniform brand for professional tennis? Something in between? Keep up the good work” John Williamson on Twitter/X wrote: “After a joyful 2 weeks of loads of televised #tennis games courtesy of a month’s UK Discovery subscription, the potential spectre of Sky Sports thin pickings is appearing over the horizon – any chance of bluer skys?” Fab Miss Ana asked on Twitter/X: “What are possible penalties for (WTA / ATP) players for complaining about tour or tournament? Have they ever been enforced? Asking as Daniela Hantuchova (now appointed the infamous Madrid WTA director?) criticised players for complaining and asked for penalties to be enforced." Andy Lee on email asks: “Looking at the results from the Davis Cup this weekend, including a shock for Serbia (will that affect Novak's plans post US Open this year?) and to a lesser extent Croatia I noticed the finals group stages venues haven't been announced. I'm completely biased being from here but do the panel think Manchester should be a permanent finals venue as per last year? Yes, there were attendance problems at say Switzerland v Australia but the GB games were bouncing. Fill the other games with schools and club tickets if necessary. We suffer from a lack of top class tennis in the North, we have the Ilkley Challenger and then it's down to Nottingham/ Birmingham pre Wimbledon. This would fit the bill very nicely in my opinion.” We also discussed... Andy Murray's savage reaction to an article questioning whether his current form threatens to "tarnish his legacy" Emma Raducanu is one and done in Abu Dhabi, but with no added injury concerns and a win under her belt Heather Watson is back in the headlines, making a run at AD to return to the top 150 Holger Rune has got rid of Boris Becker and Severin Luthi, and signed for IMG Saudi Arabia is going to offer eight top players up to £5m to play an exhibition there later this year, more on the story here from Simon Briggs of the Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2024/02/06/saudi-atp-rules-6-kings-slam-novak-djokovic-rafael-nadal/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

That's it! The Australian Open is in the books once and for all. Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka are the champions (the first men and women's champion at any slam since the early 1990s to share the same first letter of their surname) and James, George and Calvin have (almost) caught up on their sleep. They ask... Having broken his duck, how many grand slams will Jannik Sinner go on to win? Will Daniil Medvedev ever add to his solitary US Open victory? What's going on with Andy Murray? Can anyone stop Aryna Sabalenka? What else has the women's game got to offer? Will Emma Raducanu get back to her US Open heights? Remember to leave us a positive review if you enjoy the podcast - and if you want to ask Calvin a question, email us at tennisunfiltered@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

THANK YOU to everyone who voted for us in the Sports Podcast Awards. The results will be revealed later this year and we look forward to seeing the fruits of your endeavours. To review both singles finals, George Bellshaw in London joins James Gray in Melbourne to discuss... Jannik Sinner beat Daniil Medvedev 3-6 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-3, coming from two sets down to become Australian Open champion and win his first grand slam title Medvedev has now lost five of his six major finals, and twice been two sets up in a final in Melbourne before losing Aryna Sabalenka dominated her Australian Open final, losing just five games to continue her streak of 14 matches unbeaten at Melbourne Zheng Qinwen would rather her first grand slam final had gone better, but does she have what it takes to sustain a lucrative Chinese presence in the top 10? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

VOTE FOR US. We have once again been short-listed for a Sports Podcast Award in the tennis category - but now we need YOU to help us win it. Time is running out as voting closes on January 28th. Vote for us NOW: https://www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/best-tennis-podcast/ Novak Djokovic lost at the Australian Open for the first time in six years, with Jannik Sinner not facing a single break point along the way. (James's analysis with input from Boris Becker, Darren Cahill and both players is here: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/novak-djokovic-slowing-down-sinner-2875415) Daniil Medvedev went two sets down to Alexander Zverev but fought back to win in five and reach his sixth grand slam final Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

VOTE FOR US. We have once again been short-listed for a Sports Podcast Award in the tennis category - but now we need YOU to help us win it. Time is running out as voting closes on January 28th. Vote for us NOW: https://www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/best-tennis-podcast/ Coco Gauff was beaten 7-6 6-4 by Aryna Sabalenka, who won her 13th straight match in Melbourne and reached the final for the second year in a row, the first female player to reach back-to-back slam finals since Serena Williams in 2017 Gauff served eight double-faults and has been attacked on second serve by almost all her opponents at this year's Australian Open. James wrote something about why, and what Roddick did to try and fix it: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/coco-gauff-andy-roddick-serve-2872771 Meanwhile, Zheng Qinwen became the first Chinese woman since Li Na here in 2014 to reach a grand slam final, beating Dayana Yastremska 6-4 6-4 in a nervy encounter On Friday Novak Djokovic will play Jannik Sinner, hoping to avenge the three match points he failed to take (remember that match here: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/jannik-sinner-match-points-novak-djokovic-davis-cup-2777778) The winner will face Daniil Medvedev or Alexander Zverev, two players who really don't like each other. Here's why: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/daniil-medvedev-alexander-zverev-crying-2872703 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TIME IS RUNNING OUT - both existentially but also in terms of voting for us in the Sports Podcast Awards. Please do it, do it now: https://www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/best-tennis-podcast/ (Apologies for the sound issues here: Calvin's laptop charger got torched by Doha airport so he had to record on his phone on this occasion. Back soon we hope!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vote for us! Seriously. Please. We need your help. Badly. https://www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/best-tennis-podcast/ Calvin and James discuss... Calvin's overall impressions of the Australian Open - and a run-in with security Alex de Minaur, hot or not? (Tennis-wise...) Can Taylor Fritz stop Novak Djokovic? Previewing Alcaraz vs Kecmanovic, Norrie vs Zverev and Hurkacz vs Cazaux Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vote for us! https://www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/best-tennis-podcast/ Calvin and James discuss... Novak Djokovic finding his best form Cameron Norrie turning into peak Tim Henman Nuno Borges and Arthur Cazaux making shock runs to the fourth round Emma Raducanu trying to tag her opponent on match point Aryna Sabalenka or Coco Gauff Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mike Dickson, the Daily Mail's long-serving tennis correspondent, has died suddenly at the age of 59. Mike was in Melbourne covering the Australian Open for the Daily Mail with his usual gusto and good humour. But on Wednesday, we were given the most awful news imaginable. James and George both knew Dicko, as he was to almost everyone, through working in tennis and have both separately tried to put into words what he meant to them. This obituary from Jonathan McEvoy, who knew Dicko for far longer, is a fitting tribute: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/tennis/article-12975403/Mike-Dickson-Jonathan-McEvoy-tribute-friend-colleague-Mail-Sport-Australian-Open.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vote for us! https://www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/best-tennis-podcast/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

VOTE FOR US, because time is running out to help us win best tennis podcast at the Sports Podcast Awards: https://www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/best-tennis-podcast/ ** Tonight, James is joined by Eleanor Crooks of the Press Association to talk through the day's play. Here are the highlights. ** Australian Open, Day 3 Jack Draper required five sets to beat Marcos Giron, needed his blood pressure checked mid-match and had to seek out a courtside bin to throw up immediately after sealing victory. "I kind of felt bad because I obviously just beat the guy, and I was saying, 'I need to shake your hand, mate, but I need to get to that bin'," Draper said. Iga Swiatek came through an opening test of fire in her hunt for a first Australian Open title on Tuesday. Poland's world number one Swiatek had been handed a stern opening draw in hot and blustery conditions that made things difficult for players across the grounds. But the four-time Grand Slam champion responded in style and twice fought back from a break down to win 7-6(2) 6-2. "It wasn't the easiest first round," said Swiatek, who is now on a 17-match winning run after triumphs in Beijing and the WTA Finals last year as well as her United Cup heroics where she won five successive singles matches. "I felt off in terms of the timing. For sure the temperature was higher than any match I've played here and I needed to adjust as the balls were flying in these conditions." Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz wrapped up the third day's play with an entertaining victory over French veteran Richard Gasquet on Tuesday. Alcaraz was spared the worst of the heat as he made his return to the tournament after missing it last year. Concluding a balmy night session on Rod Laver Arena against a man who won his first ATP tour match a year before he was even born, the 20-year-old Alcaraz won 7-6(5) 6-1 6-2. The young Spaniard, wearing a sleeveless vest top, was given a run for his money by 131-ranked Gasquet who produced some signature backhand winners to get within two points of taking the opening set in the tiebreak. But Alcaraz responded to reel off three successive points and once he had the first set in his pocket he cruised. "I didn't have good run the years that I played here but I felt really well today," Alcaraz, who is making his third appearance at the year's opening Grand Slam, told American former great John McEnroe on court. "I struggled a bit in the first set and Richard was playing great but in the end I think I played quite a good level." He will face Italian Lorenzo Sonego in round two. And former US Open champion Emma Raducanu made an encouraging return to the Grand Slam stage after surgery as she outplayed American Shelby Rogers for a 6-3 6-2 win. Double Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka was made to work hard by Italian Camila Giorgi before the 18th seed from Belarus prevailed 6-1 4-6 6-3. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

VOTE FOR US, because time is running out to help us win best tennis podcast at the Sports Podcast Awards: https://www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/best-tennis-podcast/ *** By Press Association Andy Murray suffered only his second opening-round defeat at the Australian Open in 16 years on a sobering evening for the Scot at Melbourne Park. The five-time finalist was outplayed by 30th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry in a 6-4 6-2 6-2 loss that was a far cry from his glory days. His only other defeat in the first round here since 2008 came five years ago in an emotional five-setter against Roberto Bautista Agut after Murray had revealed the extent of his hip problems. A tribute video from his fellow players and global attention accompanied that occasion, with Murray's career thought to be winding to a close. Hip surgery has given him a commendable post-script, but it would be no surprise if this much more low-key exit does signal the 36-year-old's final departure from Melbourne. Murray admitted at the end of last season that he was not enjoying tennis, and it is increasingly hard to see him finding the sort of performances and results that will bring the joy back. This was his fourth defeat in a row dating back to October, while he has now lost seven of his last eight matches, the worst run of his career. *** Two tennis players have defended their decision to play an exhibition event in Russia last month, sponsored by Gazprom, despite pleas from the Ukrainian No 2 not to do so. Adrian Mannarino and Roberto Bautista Agut, ranked 19 and 72 in the world respectively, both took part in the event in St Petersburg on 1-3 December as part of their preparations for the Australian Open. Read more here: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/tennis-players-defend-decision-play-event-russia-sponsored-gazprom-2854150 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

VOTE FOR US, because time is running out to help us win best tennis podcast at the Sports Podcast Awards: https://www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/best-tennis-podcast/ ** Novak Djokovic beat Dino Prizmic in four sets, the match of the day on the opening Sunday of the Australian Open - but is he fully fit? James asked him afterwards if he was suffering from a cold, and here is what he said. "I am a bit under the weather last four, five days. You can probably judge by my voice," Djokovic said. "Look, it is what it is. You just have to try to deal with it and get over it and accept the circumstances and try to make the most of it." ** Amanda Anisimova made a successful return to grand slam tennis on Sunday, downing No 13 seed Liudmila Samsonova in straight sets. The American took seven months off last year citing burnout and mental health concerns, but says she is happy to be back. "The most important thing is that I feel a lot more refreshed," Anisimova said. "I'm enjoying practicing. I'm enjoying every second that I'm out there. Even when I was down today, I was still just enjoying the challenge. "I'm just happy with how I feel coming back. I feel like I was very burned out while I was playing, and that really wasn't a nice feeling. Being able to just reset is really nice." ** Matteo Berrettini's rotten luck at grand slam continues after he was forced to withdraw before the first round with a foot injury. It means the tie of the round - against Stefanos Tsitsipas - is off, but lucky loser Zizou Bergs will hope he can still provide entertainment against the Greek. James interviewed him for inews.co.uk before he played Jack Draper at Wimbledon in 2022: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/zizou-bergs-who-jack-draper-wimbledon-2022-opponent-name-why-zinedine-zidane-1710171 PLUS Andre Agassi is back, but with an unpopular wingman Alina Korneeva, 16, leads the charge of the Russian women Andrey Rublev 'gives up' mentally but wins in five sets Jodie Burrage is the first Brit up - and first Brit out Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

VOTE FOR US, because time is running out to help us win best tennis podcast at the Sports Podcast Awards: https://www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/best-tennis-podcast/ Enter #FTU (Fantasy Tennis Unfiltered) for FREE: https://shorturl.at/krT37 Have you ever wondered what it's like to be a doubles player on tour? Or what it's like travelling with Calvin Betton? Wonder no more. Here is Henry Patten, world No 73 and long-time charge of Calvin's, to tell us all about it on a rainy Melbourne afternoon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

VOTE FOR US, because time is running out to help us win best tennis podcast at the Sports Podcast Awards: https://www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/best-tennis-podcast/ Enter #FTU (Fantasy Tennis Unfiltered) for FREE: https://shorturl.at/krT37 James Gray and George Bellshaw sit down to take the Australian Open draw in line-by-line. Calvin will be back for our next episode, bringing with him Henry Patten to talk about life on tour, playing doubles for a living and trying to get his coach to change his mind. Can Novak Djokovic win an 11th Melbourne title? Could Jack Draper cash in on his open section? Is there much for Iga Swiatek to fear? Aryna Sabalenka's run is HARDER than you think? Click here for the full men's draw: https://ausopen.com/draws#!mens-singles Click here for here for the women's draw in full: https://ausopen.com/draws#!womens-singles And if you want to read James's analysis of the routes of the top two seeds it's here: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/australian-open-draw-2024-predicted-routes-final-djokovic-alcaraz-and-sabalenka-2848106 And how the Brits might fare is here: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/australian-open-draw-2024-who-every-british-player-raducanu-murray-2848101 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

VOTE FOR US in the Sports Podcast Awards: https://www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/best-tennis-podcast/ We're back! Welcome to 2024 - where we hope we do not encounter as many technical issues as we did in the opening episode... Calvin Betton is (briefly) live from rainy Adelaide, James Gray is frantically packing for Melbourne and George Bellshaw is... staying in London. He will be our constant as James and Calvin try to take over the world in Australia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

VOTE FOR US in the Sports Podcast Awards: https://www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/best-tennis-podcast/ As we take a two-week break over the festive season, James Gray turns the spotlight onto Calvin Betton, Tennis Unfiltered's resident tennis coach. Born in south Yorkshire in the 1970s, we talk about the real reason he loves John McEnroe so much, learning to shithouse his brother off the court and an ill-fated trip to a trailer park in Tennessee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's Christmas so we are taking some time off, but we have recorded a couple of special episodes to keep you going in the festive period. This week, James turns the spotlight onto George Bellshaw, born in 1992 in Sutton Coldfield to a lawyer and a teacher. Once known as the best tabloid tennis journalist in the UK, he then turned his mind to matters of health and social care in the civil service, but kept his oar in by co-hosting what was then the Love Tennis Podcast and keeping up appearances on TV and radio stations around the world. We talked about playing the trombone, wishing he had been a better person as a youngster and why he might be the most famous person from the town where he grew up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Once more with feeling... for the last time this year, our Tennis Unfiltered crew get together for an hour of discussion, laughter and, occasionally, tennis. To help you navigate the last "live" episode (there will be two specials over Christmas and New Year) of the season, here is a topic-by-topic runthrough of the episode... 01:04: Reflecting on the dramatic year of tennis 03:33: Pre-season at the NTC 04:43: Discussion on Australian Open balls 10:04: Recap of the Ultimate Tennis Showdown Grand Final 11:20: Review of the UTS format 16:07: Jack Draper's UTS victory and Australian Open prospects 18:00 onwards: MAILBAG 18:35: Ana Ivanovic's potential comeback 27:37: Differences in playing deuce and ad in doubles 32:23: Appearance fees and prize money 39:01: Reviewing our predictions in players who made a leap in rankings 44:44: The controversy surrounding Patrick Mouratoglou's $7,500 coaching sessions 50:26: The debate over Tim Henman's coaching and performance 56:36: The value and duration of warm-ups 01:01:47: The financial relationship between the All England Club and the LTA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you have more questions for the pod, send them to tennisunfiltered@gmail.com and we will try to get to them (along with all the others) next week. James Gray, George Bellshaw, Calvin Betton and you the listener vote on the 2023 Tennis Unfiltered Awards - and the winners are... Men's Player of the Year: Novak Djokovic Women's Player of the Year: Iga Swiatek Young Player of the Year: Carlos Alcaraz Most Improved Player of the Year: Jannik Sinner Doubles Team of the Year: Ram/Salisbury Match of the Year: Djokovic vs Alcaraz, Wimbledon final Moment of the Year: Alcaraz winning Wimbledon Worst Moment of the Year: The WTA Finals Coach of the Year: Brad Gilbert Disappointment of the Year: Felix Auger-Aliassime Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's awards season! As 2023 comes to a close, James Gray, Calvin Betton and George Bellshaw start to mull over who's hot and who is not after a dramatic 12 months. Maybe the more things change the more they stay the same? Below are the nominations for each award. Head over to our Twitter (@UnfilterTennis) to vote on each one over the week and make your opinion count! Who is your men’s player of the year? Djokovic Alcaraz Medvedev Sinner Who is your women’s player of the year? Swiatek Sabalenka Gauff Rybakina Who is your young player of the year? (Under-22 at start of season) Alcaraz Sinner Gauff Zheng Qinwen  Who is your most improved player? Sinner Sabalenka Shelton Wang Xinyu Who is your doubles team of the year? Gauff/Pegula Krejcikova/Siniakova Ram/Salisbury Dodig/Kraijcek What is your match of the year ? Djokovic-Alcaraz Wimbledon Murray-Kokkinakis AO Svitolina-Azarenka Wimbledon Muchova-Sabalenka FO What is your moment of the year? Alcaraz winning Wimbledon Gauff’s USO win Svitolina’s emotional Wimbledon run Sinner winning Davis Cup What is your worst moment of the year ? Nadal failing to make the French Open Widespread support of the Saudi Arabian regime The WTA Finals mess Murray’s missed challenge vs Tsitsipas Who is your coach of the year? Brad Gilbert Darren Cahill Raemon Sluiter Juan Carlos Ferrero Which player who disappointed you most in 2023? Murray Tsitsipas Auger-Aliassime Raducanu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

George Bellshaw is still on holiday for one more week so former player turned now presenter, commentator and broadcaster Pippa Horn joins James Gray (inews.co.uk and i newspaper) and Calvin Betton (ATP coach) Italy win the Davis Cup final, powered by the brilliant Jannik Sinner How did he save three match points against Novak Djokovic? Will captains ever learn that singles players are *bad* at doubles? Is Sinner beating Djokovic his Andy Murray 2012 Olympics moment? Is the Davis Cup format finally working? 2024 BJK Cup draw Great Britain are handed France again - this time away in April What surface will they give us? How will the British women fare? Next Gen Finals preview Is this the thin end of the wedge that sees Saudi Arabia take over tennis move into tennis? Jon Wertheim's story is here: https://twitter.com/jon_wertheim/status/1728825313642307777 Is there anything anyone can do? What about the new rules? No on-court warm-up: Matches will start immediately after the coin toss, with a separate practice court available for warm-ups. Shot-Clock Reductions: A new maximum of eight seconds will be introduced between first and second serves. This also applies after a let on first or second serve. As in previous editions, time between points will be reduced from 25 to 15 seconds if the previous point includes fewer than three shots. Each set will be first to four games with a tie-break played at 3-3. Games will be played using the No-Ad scoring format with the server choosing the service box. TV coverage of the professional tennis tours is going back to Sky in the UK Wimbledon’s expansion plans have hit planning permission problems, here is James's in-depth long read on the top https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/wimbledon-200m-headache-residents-halting-expansion-plans-2770548 AND FINALLY Caroline Garcia breaking the mould by going to Antarctica on holiday rather than the Maldives or Miami Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Calvin Betton (coach of Henry Patten and Luke Johnson) and James Gray (inews.co.uk) are joined by Ben Lewis (Match Point Canada) subbing in for George Bellshaw to look back at the ATP World Tour Finals in Turin and ahead to the Davis Cup Finals. They talked about all this and more... How have Canada won all these team titles? Can they do it again in Malaga? Why is Milos Raonic back again?! Will Andy Murray's absence be so keenly felt by Britain? Can Novak Djokovic win as second Davis Cup title? How did we rate his ATP Tour Finals win over Jannik Sinner? And should Sinner have tanked his match against Holger Rune? PLUS: Calvin answers your questions on... Alcaraz and Djokovic practising together Stefanos Tsitsipas's 'regression' Court speeds Best-of-five for women Expensive tennis balls Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

George Bellshaw delays his holiday to join James Gray and Calvin Betton to look through another full week of tennis news Andy Murray and Ivan Lendl have split for a third time Novak Djokovic's win over Holger Rune seals year-end world No 1 *again* Week-old tennis news but Iga Swiatek has also claimed that title after thrashing Jessica Pegula, a disappointing finish to an awful WTA Finals Leylah Fernandez, Marina Stakusic and, surprisingly, Eugenie Bouchard lead Canada to Billie Jean King Cup victory Emma Raducanu pulls out of her proposed comeback at an exhibition in China but is still on track to play in Australia And much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"He was like the Donald Trump of tennis!" Listen on to find out who Calvin Betton was talking about when he said this. Our resident tennis coach was in fine form with George Bellshaw (ex-Metro) and James Gray (inews.co.uk) watching on in awe. First, they answered your questions on... What are the best and worst Masters 1000 event on the ATP Tour and which 500 would you promote if you could? Did losing best-of-five-set finals at Masters change the course of tennis history? Why won't Calvin start a tennis consultancy? Is Novak Djokovic being "undermined" by the media? And they also talked about... Novak Djokovic winning his 97th title in Paris, beating an in-form Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-3 in the final. He is now 12 short of Jimmy Connors’s record, and says he is determined to chase down his tally. Daniil Medvedev flipping off the Paris crowd Why so many singles players pulled out of the doubles The WTA Finals, a bungle to end bungles And more! KEEP IN TOUCH Sign up to our newsletter: https://tennisunfiltered.substack.com/ Follow us on social media: https://twitter.com/unfiltertennis Follow George @BellshawGeorge, Calvin @CalvBetton and James @JamesGraySport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's another weekly tennis round-up featuring tennis coach Calvin Betton, fresh off a German carpet, broadcaster and columnist George Bellshaw, fresh off a practice court, and James Gray (inews.co.uk) is on dog duty. They discussed: Another defeat for a downbeat Andy Murray from match point up against Alex de Minaur Whether Toni Nadal has got a point when he says that tennis players have gone soft these days Why the WTA Finals is such a mess What the PTPA actually *do* Coaching scouting reports Beatriz Haddad-Maia The wedding alternates list And so much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We have to start with an apology: James was hit by serious technical gremlins this week that mean his audio died just a few minutes into the podcast and we have had to rely on the emergency back-up. Hopefully it does not ruin your enjoyment and you can still listen to the musings of Calvin Betton and George Bellshaw in full HD! We discussed... Emma Raducanu's BBC interview in which she claimed that some coaches couldn't "keep up" with her questioning in training Boris Becker returns to tennis as he is signed by Holger Rune to replace Patrick Mouratoglou Saudi Arabia is in line to buy the licence for a Masters 1000 event Petros and Stefanos Tsitsipas win their first ATP doubles title Ben Shelton wins his first ATP singles title in Tokyo Titles too for Alexander Bublik, Katerina Siniakova, Tamara Korpatsch and Elise Mertens Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Calvin Betton tunes in from Stockholm to join George Bellshaw and James Gray for another look back at the week that was in tennis. What it's like inside the 250 in Stockholm Why was Leylah Fernandez wearing basketball shoes? Does Eva Lys have a point about the ever-changing balls on the WTA? Is Hubert Hurkacz underrated? (He now has more Masters titles than Dimitrov, Wawrinka, Cilic and Del Potro) Has Andrey Rublev turned his life around? Jessica Pegula reveals why her win in Korea was such an emotional one Should we be worried by Carlos Alcaraz actually losing a match? We will do an "Ask Us Anything" in next week's episode. Get involved by sending us an email on tennisunfiltered@gmail.com or head to our X/Twitter, it's www.twitter.com/UnfilterTennis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray, Calvin Betton and George Bellshaw talk about all the biggest issues from tennis last week including... Jannik Sinner beats Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev in consecutive matches to win the Beijing title and move to a career-high No 4 in the world Coco Gauff is beaten, nay thrashed, by Iga Swiatek as the Pole restores her supremacy over the new US Open champion Dan Evans loses a highly entertaining match to Alcaraz in Shanghai Stefanos Tsitsipas sacks Mark Philippoussis and brings back his Dad, but insists nothing has really changed And who really is the best tennis coach in the world? LINKS Here is Hugh Clarke's excellent newsletter about Jannik Sinner, with some brilliant in-depth stats: https://hughclarke.substack.com/p/beijing-wrap This is the super-wholesome Ben Shelton moment Calvin was talking about: https://twitter.com/TennisTV/status/1711258959565529139 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Calvin Betton (@calvbetton), George Bellshaw (@BellshawGeorge) and James Gray (@JamesGraySport) discuss all the latest issues in tennis this week. Including... - How does a tennis coach work from home? - What can video analysis do for you? - Is Wim Fissette wrong to dump Zheng Qinwen for Naomi Osaka? - Was there anything wrong with Jannik Sinner? - Should we ban medical time-outs? - Why doesn't tennis sell any tickets in China? And so much more! How good are these tennis impressions? https://www.instagram.com/p/Cx0F6xVo_-k/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

George Bellshaw and Calvin Betton join James Gray to answer the big questions in the world of tennis this week, including: What is the point of the Laver Cup? Can it survive without Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and co? Wouldn't it be better as a mixed tournament? How did Brit Liam Broady finally crack the top 100 a few months before his 30th birthday? Is a title in Guadalajara a turning point for Maria Sakkari? Has Elena Rybakina got a point about performance byes? Plus your questions answered and much, much more Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray, Calvin Betton and George Bellshaw discuss all the latest news from the tennis world over the last seven days, including... - What Sky Sports said about YOUR feedback on their coverage of the US Open - The WTA make their return to China after a four-year absence and no real political stand - Great Britain edge France to reach the Davis Cup Finals in dramatic fashion - Spain missed out though which means they will host but not play, which could hit ticket sales - An awful 1000-level draw in Guadalajara And more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Calvin Betton joins James Gray and (very briefly) George Bellshaw to look back at the US Open and answer as many of your questions as possible in an hour Why did Daniil Medvedev not change his return position? Is Novak Djokovic just cashing in on a weak era? Was the men's final actually interesting? Why isn't Iga Swiatek more marketable? Will Coco Gauff find her own period of dominance? When is Naomi Osaka coming back? And much, much more Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

George Bellshaw joins James Gray (inews.co.uk/i newspaper) to look back at Coco Gauff's maiden grand slam title and one last preview of the men's final Should we bother interviewing players after finals or just give them the microphone? What next for Coco Gauff? Does Aryna Sabalenka need to learn to handle the crowd? Can Daniil Medvedev use a mental edge to win a second US Open title? Will Novak Djokovic suffer from the pressure like he did two years ago? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's US Open finals weekend! James Gray and George Bellshaw discuss... Two pantomime villains, one more willing than the other, in Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev How Carlos Alcaraz was unpicked by the 2021 US Open champion Whether Coco Gauff can handle the occasion What Aryna Sabalenka can do to overcome the crowd Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Calvin Betton and James Gray look back at the women's semi-finals and ahead to the men's on Friday night... What has Coco Gauff *actually* done with her forehand to add racket head speed? How Aryna Sabalenka became world No 1 The gameplan Ben Shelton needs to overcome Novak Djokovic What Daniil Medvedev could do to upset Carlos Alcaraz's rhythm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray and George Bellshaw look back at the US Open quarter-finals and make their predictions for the semis Can anything, or anyone, stop Novak Djokovic or Carlos Alcaraz from reaching the final? What does Ben Shelton have to do to stop his first ever grand slam semi-final into a procession? Is Alexander Zverev BACK? What does Coco Gauff have left in the tank? Did anyone predict Madison Keys to make it this far? (Yes, Martina did.) And much, much more Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray is joined by former player, now broadcaster and commentator Pippa Horn to talk about the latest US Open news including... Coco Gauff thrashes Jelena Ostapenko in just 67 minutes to cement her place as favourite for the title Karoline Muchova reaches her second grand slam semi-final of the year Novak Djokovic screams at his own fans en route to a straight-sets win over Taylor Fritz and a 47th grand slam semi Ben Shelton announces himself as a superstar by beating Frances Tiafoe in four sets We also get to know Pippa and talk about her career, her experiences in tennis and why decided not to pursue a life on tour Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James finally tracks down Calvin Betton, who is still recovering from third-round defeat for Henry Patten and Julian Cash to Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden. We talked about... Whether sushi is the root of all the illness at the US Open What it's like to hit on Arthur Ashe How Ben Shelton hits 149 mph serves for fun and why we should never change that (Read James's interview with him here: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/ben-shelton-tennis-nba-star-us-open-2573842) Iga Swiatek is starting to look like she has a mental block against Jelena Ostapenko Why Calvin is NOT wrong about Coco Gauff's forehand despite her QF run And much, much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray and George Bellshaw look back at round two of the US Open Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray and George Bellshaw look back on the second round of the US Open on Wednesday where... - Zhang Zhizhen became the first Chinese man to beat a top-five opponent in ATP rankings history, stunning last year's runner-up Casper Ruud - No 7 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was knocked out by Dominic Stricker, world No 128 and a qualifier, in five exhausting sets - A Brit finally lost as Lily Miyazaki was beaten 6-3, 6-3 by Belinda Bencic, a dark horse for the title (James insists) - Venus Williams was battered 6-1, 6-1 by Greet Minnen - and we ask at what point she still deserves a wildcard - There were also defeats for Petra Kvitova, Victoria Azarenka, Beatriz Haddad Maia, Magda Linette, Francisco Cerundolo and Chris Eubanks PLUS All the latest from fantasy tennis, the league table is here: https://shorturl.at/azJRW Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray looks back at the second day of action at the US Open where more seeds fell to make it a total of 17 out, more than a quarter, after only the first round. Six British players picked up wins, all in straight sets, to make it 18-0 in the first round Andy Murray saw the first ever use of VAR in a grand slam go awry Grigor Dimitrov came from two sets down to win a 4:40 thriller Caroline Garcia and Donna Vekic crashed out And more! LINKS Laura Siegmund defends herself: https://twitter.com/josemorgado/status/1696528429355827200 Inside Sky Sports Tennis, by James Gray: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/sky-sports-tennis-return-us-open-mnf-studio-rights-2566137 Warning, contains strong language, but non-UK viewers need to be made aware of Neil Warnock: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NCCzGM_af4&ab_channel=TomStrong Also more Warnock here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQtWVcFpvHg&ab_channel=poppadomhands Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What happened at the US Open on Day 1? Well... In the men’s draw… Holger Rune loses to Roberto Carballes Baena and then complains about the court scheduling (while also claiming he wasn’t) Dominic Thiem wins against Alexander Bublik! His first grand slam victory in 2 years and lost three of last four against top 20 players. Bublik also embarrassed himself rather and overstepped the line with a rant. As predicted, Felix Auger-Aliassime slumps to defeat against Makenzie McDonald Sebastian Korda and Lorenzo Musetti out too Stefanos Tsitsipas is too strong for Milos Raonic Novak Djokovic cruises through, water is wet etc In the women’s draw… Maria Sakkari is out and in pain, saying she may need a break from the game Other seeds to fall were Anhelina Kalinina, Bernarda Pera and Elisabetta Cocciaretto Caroline Wozniacki gets a win on her Grand Slam return Coco Gauff survives an early scare against queen of gamesmanship Laura Siegmund Beatriz Haddad Maia edges Sloane Stephens Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina cruise through Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray and George Bellshaw assess every player's chances at the US Open, going through the men's and women's draw line by line. How easy is Djokovic's draw and is Alcaraz's even easier? Could Andy Murray go deep or will Alexander Zverev stop him in his tracks? What was Iga Swiatek worried about? Who is the WTA dark horse? LINKS Interview with Ben Shelton: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/ben-shelton-tennis-nba-star-us-open-2573842 Interview with Milos Raonic: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/milos-raonic-bitter-losing-murray-wimbledon-sour-taste-2447451 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week's featured listener emails are From Heather: "I found your discussion on the transgender issues in tennis really interesting but wonder why this is being treated as something new when in fact, the same issues occurred in the 1970s when Renee Richards tried to enter the US Open. I think that after various court cases, she did eventually win the right to compete there but I don’t remember anything else about her career other than she coached Martina Navratilova at some stage. It would be interesting to see if any of the issues people are concerned about at the moment were around when Renee Richards was fighting for her right to play and to see how and if, they were resolved. Love the podcast!" Andy Lee asks: "As a spectator, I always try and sit opposite the umpire's chair. Why can't someone in 2023 come up with a solution that would give spectators a better view on the players bench side? E.g. a perspex chair or suspended chair umpire? I find it ridiculous that the view of a third of the court is still obstructed from a lower level!" Got a question for the podcast? Email us on tennisunfiltered@gmail.com Meanwhile, this week James Gray, Calvin Betton and George Bellshaw discussed... Novak Djokovic defeats Carlos Alcaraz in another epic that lasted nearly four hours and which the Serb called "definitely one of the toughest matches I've ever played in my life, regardless what tournament, what category, what level, what player" Djokovic also compared this to his rivalry with Nadal. Is Alcaraz-Djokovic perhaps even better? Alcaraz laughed and joked with Djokovic afterwards, but how can he switch from friend to foe so effectively? Coco Gauff wins the women’s title in Cincinnati, the biggest title of her career, not long after getting Brad Gilbert involved in her coaching team Meanwhile, beaten semi-finalst Iga Swiatek says she has no fuel in the tank and needs to rest before the US Open Juan Martin del Potro's potential comeback is over :( A venue for the WTA Finals still not confirmed - nor the Next Gen Finals either AND FINALLY Stefanos Tsitsipas asks for a woman to be removed from the crowd because she’s imitating a bee when he’s about to serve. Really. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tennis coach Calvin Betton joins James Gray (inews.co.uk and the i newspaper) from Poland in part one before George Bellshaw replaces him in part two from the less glamorous Birmingham. They answer questions on Tommy Paul's serve, string tension for amateurs, tournament scheduling, Alcaraz-Rune-Sinner and the race for No 1 between Iga Swiatek. We also discuss... Is Jannik Sinner triumphing in Toronto a watershed moment for his career? Can Alex De Minaur keep going up after reaching the final? Why has Stefanos Tsitsipas hired Mark Philippoussis as his new coach? Will Andy Murray get a game after returning to the GB Davis Cup team? How impressive is Jennifer Brady's comeback? Will Iga Swiatek still start the US Open as favourite? LINKS Milos Raonic interview: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/milos-raonic-bitter-losing-murray-wimbledon-sour-taste-2447451 Cotton Eye Joe: https://twitter.com/some1namedryan/status/1690431039498592257 Collins vs Sakkari: https://twitter.com/BenRothenberg/status/1689516627648192512 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray of inews.co.uk and the i newspaper talks to George Bellshaw (@bellshawgeorge) and Calvin Betton (@calvbetton) about music, Pokemon, walking and occasionally tennis. This week we talk about... A first ATP 500 win for Dan Evans after poor run of form where he’d not won a match since April Similarly in poor form, Coco Gauff gets her season back on track with a title in Washington  Nick Kyrgios replied to himself on Twitter presumably (he or others close to him) trying to send praise from a different account, and once again starts a fight about prize money Caroline Wozniacki returns in Canada after coming out of retirement Martina Navratilova criticises USTA for trans policy after a trans woman wins the 55+ national title PLUS Your questions answered on Daniil Medvedev, Andy Murray's volleying and Pokemon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray of inews.co.uk and the i newspaper talks to George Bellshaw (@bellshawgeorge) and Calvin Betton (@calvbetton) about music, Pokemon, walking and occasionally tennis. This week we ask... Is Alexander Zverev establishing himself as a US Open threat after winning the title in Hamburg? Wasn't Marketa Vondrousova vs Ons Jabeur at Wimbledon actually just a refreshing change from the usual power battles on the WTA? What is Max Eisenbud, agent to Sharapova, Li Na and Raducanu, trying to sell us? How hard is it to adapt to different opponents day after day? Is Nick Kyrgios doing anything for the game of tennis? Why do we still love Stan Wawrinka so much? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tennis coach Calvin Betton, journalist James Gray and writer and broadcaster George Bellshaw look back at a busy week of news in tennis as well as take a broader look at what happened at Wimbledon having had a week to reflect on the tournament. We pick our awards including best moment, worst moment, biggest surprise and biggest disappointment. We also ask: Is Carlos Alcaraz working too hard? Are the Brits working at all? What on *earth* happened in that Toth-Zhang match? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray asks Calvin Betton and George Bellshaw the big questions after Carlos Alcaraz claims his first Wimbledon title and Novak Djokovic misses out on his eighth. Questions like: Has Alcaraz's second serve always been this good? What happened to Djokovic in the tie-break? Is this the beginning of a great rivalry? Who will win the US Open? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Calvin Betton and George Bellshaw join James Gray for a debrief on the women's final, which saw Marketa Vondrousova become the lowest ranked women's champion in Wimbledon's history, while Ons Jabeur lost her third consecutive grand slam final. It left us asking questions like... Why shut the roof in the wind? Will Ons Jabeur ever win a grand slam? Will Marketa Vondrousova ever win another? Has the women's draw given us more entertainment than the men's? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

George Bellshaw joins James Gray at the gates of Wimbledon ahead of the women's final to look back at Friday's action and ahead to Saturday's. Novak Djokovic felt he was unfairly called for a hindrance against Jannik Sinner. What do you think? https://twitter.com/jamesgraysport/status/1679872598295937024 Does Carlos Alcaraz have any chance of beating him on Sunday? He says he will not be tired or afraid. Who will become a first-time Wimbledon champion: Ons Jabeur or Marketa Vondrousova? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tennis coach Calvin Betton joins James Gray to review the women's semi-finals (Vondrousova vs Svitolina and Jabeur vs Sabalenka) as well as look ahead to the men's last four (Djokovic vs Sinner and Alcaraz vs Medvedev). To sign up for our live text chat on a new app called Circus on Friday, you need to download two apps. First of all, download Test Flight: https://t.co/UAjqwtpRFa Then download Circus: https://testflight.apple.com/join/R83MjeGY When we go live during Djokovic vs Sinner, you'll see Tennis Unfiltered in there. Join us! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray and Calvin Betton look back at the second set of Wimbledon quarter-finals as Ons Jabeur beats Elena Rybakina, Carlos Alcaraz tonks Holger Rune, Daniil Medvedev outlasts Christopher Eubanks and Aryna Sabalenka cruises past Madison Keys. To sign up for our live text chat on a new app called Circus on Friday, you need to download two apps. First of all, download Test Flight: https://t.co/UAjqwtpRFa Then download Circus: https://testflight.apple.com/join/R83MjeGY When we go live during Djokovic vs Sinner, you'll see Tennis Unfiltered in there. Join us! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tennis coach Calvin Betton joins James Gray of inews.co.uk and the i newspaper to look back at the first day of quarter-finals at Wimbledon Order of play Centre Court – 1.30pm (6) Ons Jabeur (Tun) vs (3) Elena Rybakina (Kaz) (1) Carlos Alcaraz (Spa) vs (6) Holger Rune (Den) No 1 Court – 1pm (25) Madison Keys (USA) vs (2) Aryna Sabalenka (Bel) (3) Daniil Medvedev (Rus) vs Christopher Eubanks (USA) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray and Calvin Betton look back at a day of shocks that never were - and ask why Wimbledon insists on starting matches so late. Tuesday's Wimbledon order of play on the show courts Centre Court (1.30pm) (1) Iga Swiatek (Pol) vs Elina Svitolina (Ukr) (7) Andrey Rublev (Rus) vs (2) Novak Djokovic (Ser) No 1 Court (1pm) (4) Jessica Pegula (USA) vs Marketa Vondrousova (Cze) (8) Jannik Sinner (Ita) vs Roman Safiullin (Rus) No 2 Court (11am) (15) Marcel Granollers (Spa) & Federico Zeballos (Bol) vs Robert Galloway (USA) & Lloyd Harris (Rsa) (13) Jamie Murray (Gbr) & Michael Venus (Nzl) vs (4) Hugo Nys (Mon) & Jan Zielinski (Pol) Caroline Garcia (Fra) & Luisa Stefani (Bra) vs Su-Wei Hsieh (Tpe) & Barbora Strycova (Cze) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray looks back at the second ever scheduled Middle Sunday, and ahead to a not so manic Monday, which will feature... Centre Court (1.30pm) (13) Beatriz Haddad Maia (Bra) vs (3) Elena Rybakina (Kaz) Not before 2.30pm, to finish: (2) Novak Djokovic (Srb) leads (17) Hubert Hurkacz (Pol) 7-6, 7-6 (6) Ons Jabeur (Tun) vs (9) Petra Kvitova (Cze) (1) Carlos Alcaraz (Spa) vs Matteo Berrettini (Ita) No 1 Court (1pm) (3) Daniil Medvedev (Rus) vs Jiri Lehecka (Cze) (21) Ekaterina Alexandrova (Rus) vs (2) Aryna Sabalenka (Blr) (21) Grigor Dimitrov (Bul) vs (6) Holger Rune (Den) All courts below start at 11am No 2 Court (25) Madison Keys (USA) vs Mirra Andreeva (Rus) Christopher Eubanks (USA) vs (5) Stefanos Tsitsipas (Gre) (5) Santiago Gonzalez (Mex) & Edouard Roger-Vasselin (Fra) vs Toby Samuel (Gbr) & Connor Thomson (Gbr) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray, Calvin Betton and George Bellshaw debate the merits of the BBC's Wimbledon coverage and why British tennis has had such a poor tournament. Order of play for Sunday Centre Court (1.30pm) (7) Andrey Rublev (Rus) vs Alexander Bublik (Kaz) (1) Iga Swiatek (Pol) vs (14) Belinda Bencic (Swi) (17) Hubert Hurkacz (Pol) vs (2) Novak Djokovic (Ser) No 1 Court (1pm) (4) Jessica Pegula (USA) vs Lesia Tsurenko (Ukr) (8) Jannik Sinner (Ita) vs Daniel Elahi Galan (Col) (19) Victoria Azarenka (Blr) vs Elina Svitolina (Ukr) No 2 Court (11am) Marketa Vondrousova (Cze) vs (32) Marie Bouzkova (Cze) Not before 12.30pm, to finish: (21) Grigor Dimitrov (Bul) leads (10) Frances Tiafoe (USA) 6-2, 6-3, 1-2 Roman Safiullin (Rus) vs (26) Denis Shapovalov (Can) No 3 Court Not before 12pm: Mirra Andreeva (Rus) vs (22) Anastasia Potapova (Rus) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray gets Calvin Betton and George Bellshaw to break down all the action from the first Friday of Wimbledon, including Andy Murray finally losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas. Saturday’s order of play (All courts start at 11am unless stated) Centre Court (1.30pm start) (1) Carlos Alcaraz (Spa) vs (25) Nicolas Jarry (Chi) (6) Ons Jabeur (Tun) vs Bianca Andreescu (Can) Katie Boulter (Gbr) vs (3) Elena Rybakina (Kaz) No 1 Court (1pm start) (3) Daniil Medvedev (Rus) vs Marton Fucsovics (Hun) Anna Blinkova (Rus) vs (2) Aryna Sabalenka (Blr) (19) Alexander Zverev (Ger) vs Matteo Berrettini (Ita) No 2 Court Natalija Stevanovic (Ser) vs (9) Petra Kvitova (Cze) Laslo Djere (Ser) vs (5) Stefanos Tsitsipas (Gre) (10) Frances Tiafoe (USA) vs (21) Grigor Dimitrov (Bul) No 3 Court (13) Beatriz Haddad Maia (Bra) vs Sorana Cirstea (Rom) (31) Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (Spa) vs (6) Holger Rune (Den) (22) Anastasia Potapova (Rus) vs Mirra Andreeva (Rus) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray and Michael Hincks look back on Day 4 at Wimbledon, and Denis Shapovalov talks about what it's like trying to beat the SW19 crowd ahead of his clash with Liam Broady Order of play for show courts (All courts start at 11am unless stated) Centre Court (from 1.30pm) (1) Carlos Alcaraz (Spa) vs Alexandre Muller (Fra) (Not before 3pm, to finish) Andy Murray (Gbr) leads (5) Stefanos Tsitsipas (Gre) 6-7, 7-6, 6-4 (1) Iga Swiatek (Pol) vs (30) Petra Martic (Cro) Stan Wawrinka (Swi) vs (2) Novak Djokovic (Ser) No 1 Court (from 1pm) Varvara Gracheva (Fra) vs (2) Aryna Sabalenka (Blr) (12) Cameron Norrie (Gbr) vs Christopher Eubanks (USA) (6) Ons Jabeur (Tun) vs Bai Zhuoxuan (Chi) No 2 Court Aliaksandra Sasnovich (Blr) vs (9) Petra Kvitova (Cze) (Not before 12.30pm, to finish) (3) Daniil Medvedev (Rus) leads Adrian Mannarino (Fra) 6-3, 6-3, 4-4 (19) Alexander Zverev (Ger) vs Yosuke Watanuki (Jpn) (26) Denis Shapovalov (Can) vs Liam Broady (Gbr) (32) Marie Bouzkova (Cze) vs (5) Caroline Garcia (Fra) No 3 Court Roberto Carballes Baena (Spa) vs (6) Holger Rune (Den) (8) Jannik Sinner (Ita) vs Quentin Halys (Fra) (4) Jessica Pegula (USA) vs Elisabetta Cocciaretto (Ita) Elina Svitolina (Ukr) vs Sofia Kenin (USA) Court 12 Viktorija Golubic (Swi) vs (25) Madison Keys (USA) 14) Lorenzo Musetti (Ita) vs (17) Hubert Hurkacz (Pol) (11) Daria Kasatkina (Rus) vs (19) Victoria Azarenka (Blr) (7) Andrey Rublev (Rus) vs David Goffin (Bel) (Not before 6pm) (1) Barbora Krejcikova (Cze) & Katerina Siniakova (Cze) vs Fang-Hsien Wu (Tpe) & Lin Zhu (Chn) Court 18 Marta Kostyuk (Ukr) vs Paula Badosa Gibert (Spa) Matteo Berrettini (Ita) vs (15) Alex De Minaur (Aus) Alexander Bublik (Kaz) vs Maximilian Marterer (Ger) (3) Rajeev Ram (USA) & Joe Salisbury (Gbr) vs Tallon Griekspoor (Ned) & Bart Stevens (Ned) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray of inews.co.uk and the i newspaper looks back at a wild Wednesday, before asking Grigor Dimitrov about how to unlock the secrets of Carlos Alcaraz. Order of play (British players in bold; show courts only) Centre Court 1.30pm: Liam Broady (Gbr) vs (4) Casper Ruud (Nor) Alize Cornet (Fra) vs (3) Elena Rybakina (Kaz) Andy Murray (Gbr) vs (5) Stefanos Tsitsipas (Gre) No 1 Court 1.00pm: (19) Alexander Zverev (Ger) vs Gijs Brouwer (Ned) Sloane Stephens (USA) vs (20) Donna Vekic (Cro) (4) Jessica Pegula (USA) vs Cristina Bucsa (Spa) No 2 Court 11.00am: (28) Elise Mertens (Bel) vs Elina Svitolina (Ukr) (7) Andrey Rublev (Rus) vs Aslan Karatsev (Rus) Danielle Collins (USA) vs (14) Belinda Bencic (Swi) (3) Daniil Medvedev (Rus) vs Adrian Mannarino (Fra) No 3 Court 11.00am: (29) Tomas Martin Etcheverry (Arg) vs Stan Wawrinka (Swi) Viktorija Golubic (Swi) vs Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (Svk) Leylah Annie Fernandez (Can) vs (5) Caroline Garcia (Fra) Ilya Ivashka (Blr) vs (21) Grigor Dimitrov (Bul) Court 12 11.00am: (16) Karolina Muchova (Cze) vs Jule Niemeier (Ger) Matteo Berrettini (Ita) vs Lorenzo Sonego (Ita) Viktoriya Tomova (Bul) vs Katie Boulter (Gbr) (10) Frances Tiafoe (USA) vs Dominic Stephan Stricker (Swi) (13) Jamie Murray (Gbr) & Michael Venus (Nzl) vs Albano Olivetti (Fra) & David Vega Hernandez (Spa) Court 18 11.00am: Jan Choinski (Gbr) vs (17) Hubert Hurkacz (Pol) Kimmer Coppejans (Bel) vs (15) Alex De Minaur (Aus) (32) Marie Bouzkova (Cze) vs Anett Kontaveit (Est) Mikael Ymer (Swe) vs (9) Taylor Fritz (USA) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray is joined by brand expert and editor-in-chief of PRWeek UK Danny Rogers to talk brand Wimbledon, as well as looking back at a rain-affected second day of the Championships Wednesday's order of play (All courts start at 11am unless otherwise stated) CENTRE COURT (1.30pm) Daria Kasatkina [11] vs Jodie Burrage (GBR) Iga Swiatek (POL) [1] vs Sara Sorribes Tormo (ESP) Jordan Thompson (AUS) vs Novak Djokovic (SRB) [2] No 1 COURT (1pm) Daniil Medvedev [3] vs Arthur Fery (GBR) Heather Watson (GBR) vs Barbora Krejcikova (CZE) [10] Jannik Sinner (ITA) [8] vs Diego Schwartzman (ARG) No 2 COURT Maria Sakkari (GRE) [8] vs Marta Kostyuk (UKR) Yannick Hanfmann (GER) vs Taylor Fritz (USA) [9] 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 5-7, 2-3 to finish Dominic Thiem (AUT) vs Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) [5] 6-3, 3-4 to finish Alexander Zverev (GER) [19] vs Gijs Brouwer (NED) (Not before 4:30pm) Nadia Podoroska (ARG) vs Victoria Azarenka [19] No 3 COURT Frances Tiafoe (USA) [10] vs Yibing Wu (CHN) George Loffhagen (GBR) vs Holger Rune (DEN) 6-7(4), 0-0 to finish Sonay Kartal (GBR) vs Madison Keys (USA) [25] Jasmine Paolini (ITA) vs Petra Kvitova (CZE) [9] (Not before 4:30pm) Andrey Rublev [7] vs Aslan Karatsev COURT 12 Beatriz Haddad Maia (BRA) [13] vs Yulia Putintseva (KAZ) 2-0 to finish Denis Shapovalov (CAN) [26] vs Radu Albot (MDA) 5-7, 2-2 to finish Matteo Berrettini (ITA) 13 vs Lorenzo Sonego (ITA) 14 6-7(5), 0-0 to finish Karolina Muchova (CZE) [16] vs Jule Niemeier (GER) (Not before 4:30pm) Jan Choinski (GBR) vs Hubert Hurkacz (POL) [17] COURT 18 Sho Shimabukuro (JPN) vs Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) [21] Katie Boulter (GBR) vs Daria Saville (AUS) 5-6 to finish Karolina Pliskova (CZE) [18] vs Natalija Stevanovic (SRB) Kimmer Coppejans (BEL) vs Alex De Minaur (AUS) [15] (Not before 4:30pm) Lorenzo Musetti (ITA) [14] vs Jaume Munar (ESP) COURT 4 Shuai Zhang (CHN) vs Donna Vekic (CRO) [20] Ysaline Bonaventure (BEL) vs Zhuoxuan Bai (CHN) 6-7(0), 0-4 to finish Shintaro Mochizuki (JPN) vs Tommy Paul (USA) [16] Matteo Arnaldi (ITA) vs Roberto Carballes Baena (ESP) COURT 5 Camila Osorio (COL) vs Elisabetta Cocciaretto (ITA) Alexandre Muller (FRA) 3 vs Arthur Rinderknech (FRA) 7-6(5), 1-0 to finish Christopher Eubanks (USA) vs Thiago Monteiro (BRA) Marco Cecchinato (ITA) vs Nicolas Jarry (CHI) [25] (Not before 4:30pm) Xinyu Wang (CHN) vs Sofia Kenin (USA) COURT 6 Anett Kontaveit (EST) vs Lucrezia Stefanini (ITA) Varvara Gracheva (FRA) vs Camila Giorgi (ITA) Marcos Giron (USA) vs Hugo Dellien (BOL) 7-6(2), 1-2 to finish Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) vs Anna Blinkova (Not before 4.30pm) Tomas Barrios Vera (CHI) vs David Goffin (BEL) COURT 7 Dominic Stricker (SUI) vs Alexei Popyrin (AUS) Madison Brengle (USA) vs Sara Errani (ITA) 6-3, 3-0 to finish Adrian Mannarino (FRA) vs Alexander Shevchenko (Not before 4:30pm) Maximilian Marterer (GER) vs Michael Mmoh (USA) COURT 8 Sorana Cirstea (ROU) vs Tatjana Maria (GER) Benjamin Bonzi (FRA) vs Harold Mayot (FRA) 3-6, 3-5 to finish Bernarda Pera (USA) [27] vs Viktoriya Tomova (BUL) 7-6(3), 0-1 to finish Maxime Cressy (USA) vs Laslo Djere (SRB) (Not before 4:30pm) Alexander Bublik (KAZ) [23] vs JJ Wolf (USA) COURT 9 Lloyd Harris (RSA) vs Gregoire Barrere (FRA) Ilya Ivashka vs Federico Coria (ARG) Christopher O'Connell (AUS) vs Hamad Medjedovic (SRB) 7-5, 1-0 to finish Viktorija Golubic (SUI) vs Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (SVK) (Not before 4:30pm) Alycia Parks (USA) vs Ana Bogdan (ROU) COURT 10 Jaqueline Cristian (ROU) vs Lucia Bronzetti (ITA) Roman Safiullin vs Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) [20] 2-6, 7-6(7), 6-7(4), 0-0 to finish Nao Hibino (JPN) vs Alize Cornet (FRA) Borna Gojo (CRO) vs Jiri Vesely (CZE) 4-6, 7-6(4), 0-0 to finish (Not before 4.30pm) Stefano Travaglia (ITA) vs Yoshihito Nishioka (JPN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wimbledon order of play, day 2 (All courts start at 11am BST unless stated; show courts only) Centre Court – from 1.30pm Shelby Rogers (USA) v (3) Elena Rybakina (Kaz) Ryan Peniston (Gbr) v Andy Murray (Gbr) Panna Udvardy (Hun) v (2) Aryna Sabalenka (Blr) Court 1 – from 1pm (1) Carlos Alcaraz (Spa) v Jeremy Chardy (Fra) (6) Ons Jabeur (Tun) v Magdalena Frech (Pol) (12) Cameron Norrie (Gbr) v Tomas Machac (Cze) No 2 Court Dominic Thiem (Aut) v (5) Stefanos Tsitsipas (Gre) Not before 12.30pm, to finish: Quentin Halys (Fra) leads Dan Evans (Gbr) 6-2, 6-3 Jasmine Paolini (Ita) v (9) Petra Kvitova (Cze) Heather Watson (Gbr) v (10) Barbora Krejcikova (Cze) (3) Daniil Medvedev (Rus) v Arthur Fery (Gbr) No 3 Court George Loffhagen (Gbr) v (6) Holger Rune (Den) Not before 12.30pm, to finish: Taylor Fritz (USA) leads Yannick Hanfmann (Ger) 6-4, 2-6, 4-6, 7-5, 3-2* (8) Maria Sakkari (Gre) v Marta Kostyuk (Ukr) (19) Alexander Zverev (Ger) v Gijs Brouwer (Ned) Sonay Kartal (Gbr) v (25) Madison Keys (USA) Court 12 Matteo Berrettini (Ita) v Lorenzo Sonego (Ita) Not before 12.30pm, to finish: Radu Albot (Mda) leads Denis Shapovalov (Can) 7-5, 2-2 (18) Karolina Pliskova (Cze) v Natalija Stevanovic (Ser) Alison Riske-Amritraj (USA) v Paula Badosa Gibert (Spa) (10) Frances Tiafoe (USA) v Yibing Wu (Chn) Court 18 Katie Boulter (Gbr) v Daria Saville (Aus) Kimmer Coppejans (Bel) v (15) Alex De Minaur (Aus) Sho Shimabukuro (Jpn) v (21) Grigor Dimitrov (Bul) (16) Karolina Muchova (Cze) v Jule Niemeier (Ger) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Enter Fantasy Tennis Unfiltered here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1f4-6Mxa9xlLjMz1qr4FTytGFLPShl97MVUgYi8YFsBY George, James and Calvin react LIVE to Nick Kyrgios pulling out of Wimbledon, take a look at how tennis is ready to take the Saudi Arabian dollar whatever way they can and look ahead to the first day at SW19. Wimbledon order of play, day 1 (All courts start at 11am BST unless stated) Centre Court – 1.30pm Pedro Cachin (Arg) vs (2) Novak Djokovic (Ser) Venus Williams (USA) vs Elina Svitolina (Ukr) (8) Jannik Sinner (Ita) vs Juan Manuel Cerundolo (Arg) No 1 Court – 1pm (1) Iga Swiatek (Pol) vs Lin Zhu (Chn) Laurent Lokoli (Fra) vs (4) Casper Ruud (Nor) Sofia Kenin (USA) vs (7) Coco Gauff (USA) No 2 Court (4) Jessica Pegula (USA) vs Lauren Davis (USA) David Goffin (Bel) vs LUCKY LOSER Katie Swan (Gbr) vs (14) Belinda Bencic (Swi) Quentin Halys (Fra) vs (27) Daniel Evans (Gbr) No 3 Court (7) Andrey Rublev (Rus) vs Max Purcell (Aus) Katie Volynets (USA) vs (5) Caroline Garcia (Fra) Jodie Burrage (Gbr) vs Catherine McNally (USA) Yannick Hanfmann (Ger) vs (9) Taylor Fritz (USA) Court 4 Nadia Podoroska (Arg) vs Tereza Martincova (Cze) Corentin Moutet (Fra) vs Richard Gasquet (Fra) Rebeka Masarova (Spa) vs (31) Mayar Sherif (Egy) Lloyd Harris (Rsa) vs Gregoire Barrere (Fra) Court 5 Barbora Strycova (Cze) vs Maryna Zanevska (Bel) Maximilian Marterer (Ger) vs Borna Gojo (Cro) Mikael Ymer (Swe) vs Alex Molcan (Svk) (32) Marie Bouzkova (Cze) vs Simona Waltert (Swi) Court 6 Sebastian Baez (Arg) vs Marcelo Tomas Barrios Vera (Chi) Martina Trevisan (Ita) vs Sara Sorribes Tormo (Spa) (24) Qinwen Zheng (Chn) vs Katerina Siniakova (Cze) (29) Tomas Martin Etcheverry (Arg) vs Bernabe Zapata Miralles (Spa) Court 7 Luca Van Assche (Fra) vs Aslan Karatsev (Rus) Marketa Vondrousova (Cze) vs Peyton Stearns (USA) Miomir Kecmanovic (Ser) vs Diego Schwartzman (Arg) Camila Osorio (Col) vs Elisabetta Cocciaretto (Ita) Court 8 Alycia Parks (USA) vs Anna-Lena Friedsam (Ger) Lesia Tsurenko (Ukr) vs Claire Liu (USA) Dominik Koepfer (Ger) vs Oscar Otte (Ger) Benjamin Bonzi (Fra) vs Harold Mayot (Fra) Court 9 Jordan Thompson (Aus) vs Brandon Nakashima (USA) Storm Hunter (Aus) vs Xin Yu Wang (Chn) Aleksandar Vukic (Aus) vs Daniel Altmaier (Ger) Court 10 Cristina Bucsa (Spa) vs Kamilla Rakhimova (Rus) Jeffrey Wolf (USA) vs Enzo Couacaud (Fra) Roman Safiullin (Rus) vs (20) Roberto Bautista Agut (Spa) Court 12 Diane Parry (Fra) vs Harriet Dart (Gbr) Michael Mmoh (USA) vs (11) Felix Auger-Aliassime (Can) (26) Denis Shapovalov (Can) vs Radu Albot (Mol) Shuai Zhang (Chn) vs (20) Donna Vekic (Cro) Court 14 (14) Lorenzo Musetti (Ita) vs Juan Pablo Varillas (Per) Kateryna Baindl (Ukr) vs Leylah Fernandez (Can) (28) Elise Mertens (Bel) vs Viktoria Hruncakova (Slo) (13) Borna Coric (Cro) vs Guido Pella (Arg) Court 15 Yue Yuan (Chn) vs (19) Victoria Azarenka (Blr) Liam Broady (Gbr) vs Constant Lestienne (Fra) Alexander Bublik (Kaz) vs MacKenzie McDonald (USA) Anett Kontaveit (Est) vs Lucrezia Stefanini (Ita) Court 16 Linda Fruhvirtova (Cze) vs (30) Petra Martic (Cro) John Isner (USA) vs Jaume Munar (Spa) (24) Yoshihito Nishioka (Jpn) vs Daniel Elahi Galan (Col) Sloane Stephens (USA) vs Rebecca Peterson (Swe) Court 17 Ana Bogdan (Rom) vs (15) Ludmilla Samsonova (Rus) (23) Magda Linette (Pol) vs Jil Teichmann (Swi) Jan Choinski (Gbr) vs Dusan Lajovic (Ser) Danielle Collins (USA) vs Julia Grabher (Aut) Court 18 (12) Veronika Kudermetova (Rus) vs Kaia Kanepi (Est) Albert Ramos-Vinolas (Spa) vs (17) Hubert Hurkacz (Pol) (11) Daria Kasatkina (Rus) vs Caroline Dolehide (USA) Emil Ruusuvuori (Fin) vs Stan Wawrinka (Swi) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Read the Wimbledon men's draw in full here and the Wimbledon women's draw in full here Or listen to George Bellshaw and James Gray break down the full draw for both men and women, including: Can anyone stop Novak Djokovic? How will food poising affect Iga Swiatek's chances? What will Carlos Alcaraz make of his projected run to the final? Who are our best picks for fantasy tennis? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Calvin Betton is in Eastbourne, George Bellshaw is in Birmingham and James Gray is in London to discuss all the latest goings on in the tennis world, including: Carlos Alcaraz beats Alex De Minaur to claim the Queen's title Jelena Ostapenko announces her Wimbledon candidacy in Birmingham Wimbledon wildcards are released Alexander Bublik beats Andrey Rublev to win the biggest title of his career Who are the best up and coming British players? Is Kate Middleton any good at tennis? Are the Saudis taking over? And so much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The latest tennis news with James Gray of inews.co.uk and the i newspaper, joined by tennis coach Calvin Betton (part one) and writer and broadcaster George Bellshaw (part two). We answered listener questions on: Are tournaments for sale to the highest bidder? Does tennis take doping seriously enough? Which one-time major winners are the least likely to win a second major? Why do you think Wimbledon is not exploiting all their commercial opportunities? And in tennis news, we talked about: Andy Murray winning Surbiton and Nottingham (part one) and then loses in the first round of Queen's (part two) Katie Boulter wins her first WTA title but is that just what happens when you play on grass? Dan Evans produces 'embarrassing' defeat to Sebastian Korda and has split with his coach Venus Williams and Camila Giorgi go to war in Birmingham Anett Kontaveit *retires* Nick Kyrgios withdraws from Halle Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tennis coach Calvin Betton, writer George Bellshaw and reporter James Gray of inews.co.uk and i newspaper look back at the two French Open finals, review the tournament as a whole and pick up on the latest tennis news. Here are the stories we discussed: Novak Djokovic beats Casper Ruud to win French Open and eclipse Rafael Nadal with record-breaking 23rd grand slam Will Djokovic now go on and take the calendar year Grand Slam? Iga Swiatek beats Karolina Muchova in ‘rollercoaster’ to win fourth grand slam Andy Murray takes a wildcard to play the Nottingham Challenger French Open slammed by doubles champion - 'I hope next year you can do better' We have a Fantasy Roland Garros winner! #FTU results revealed Dan Evans wages class war on British tennis after French Open exit Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray reports live from Paris after Iga Swiatek beats Karolina Muchova 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 to claim her third French Open title and fourth grand slam title overall. In Paris, she equals Serena Williams, Margaret Court and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, while also winning her fourth slam just five days apart in age from Rafael Nadal. The men's final between Novak Djokovic and Casper Ruud awaits (2pm UK time) and the weather is likely to mean the roof will be shut, another obvious advantage for Djokovic. But does Alexander Zverev have a point? Could the nerves get to Djokovic? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray, George Bellshaw and Calvin Betton look back at Novak Djokovic vs Carlos Alcaraz - and spend a lot of time talking about cramp. Here is Carlos Alcaraz playing arguably the best shot of all time: https://twitter.com/jamesgraysport/status/1667211512371396615 And here is Roger Federer doing something similar: https://www.reddit.com/r/tennis/comments/14588bg/where_have_we_seen_this_before/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray reports live from Paris after Iga Swiatek beat Beatriz Haddad Maia and Karolina Muchova stunned Aryna Sabalenka on women's semi-final day Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray catches you up on all the quarter-final action from the French Open Carlos Alcaraz hammers Stefanos Tsitsipas, who blames a failure to manage his sleep properly for his performance Novak Djokovic cruises past Karen Khachanov to reach his 12th Roland Garros semi-final and set up a showdown for the ages Karolina Muchova is through to face Aryna Sabalenka, who appeared to inflame the situation with Elina Svitolina after her quarter-final win Iga Swiatek still can't lose to Coco Gauff, hard as the American might try Beatriz Haddad Maia is making history for Brazil Alexander Zverev is coming up on the rail fast Holger Rune ran out of puff against Casper Ruud French Open women’s semi-finals (Not before 2pm BST) Karolina Muchova vs Aryna Sabalenka (2) (Followed by) Iga Swiatek (1) vs Beatriz Haddad Maia (14) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray looks back at Day 9 action from Roland Garros and ahead to the first set of quarter-finals Tuesday’s schedule (All times BST) Court Philippe Chatrier (from 10am) Karolina Muchova vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Not before 11.30am) Elina Svitolina vs Aryna Sabalenka (2) Novak Djokovic (3) vs Karen Khachanov (11) (Not before 7.15pm) Carlos Alcaraz (1) vs Stefanos Tsitsipas (5) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Looking back at the middle Sunday of Roland Garros, when the first two quarter-finals in each singles draw were decided Monday’s French Open schedule All times BST Court Philippe Chatrier (from 10am) Bernarda Pera vs Ons Jabeur (7) Nicolas Jarry vs Casper Ruud (4) Anna Karolina Schmiedlova vs Coco Gauff (6) (Not before 7.15pm) Grigor Dimitrov (28) vs Alexander Zverev (22) Court Suzanne Lenglen (from 10am) Sara Sorribes Tormo vs Beatriz Haddad Maia (14) Holger Rune (6) vs Francisco Cerundolo (23) Iga Swiatek (1) vs Lesia Tsurenko Tomas Martin Etcheverry vs Yoshihito Nishioka (27) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray in Paris and Calvin Betton at Surbiton look back at the first week of the French Open, and glance ahead at what might be to come Sunday’s schedule (All courts start at 10am) Court Philippe Chatrier Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Elise Mertens (28) (Not before 11.30am) Novak Djokovic (3) vs Juan Pablo Varillas Carlos Alcaraz (1) vs Lorenzo Musetti (17) (Not before 7.15pm) Sloane Stephens vs Aryna Sabalenka Court Suzanne Lenglen Karen Khachanov (11) vs Lorenzo Sonego Karolina Muchova vs Elina Avanesyan Elina Svitolina vs Daria Kasatkina (9) (Not before 4.30pm) Sebastian Ofner vs Stefanos Tsitsipas (5) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray reports live from Paris Saturday’s schedule (All courts start at 10am BST unless otherwise stated) Court Philippe Chatrier (from 10.45am) Elena Rybakina (4) vs Sara Sorribes Tormo Holger Rune (6) vs Genaro Alberto Olivieri Iga Swiatek (1) vs Wang Xinyu (Not before 7.15pm) Alexander Zverev (22) vs Frances Tiafoe (12) Court Suzanne Lenglen Zhang Zhizhen vs Casper Ruud (4) Mirra Andreeva vs Coco Gauff (6) Fracisco Cerundolo (23) vs Taylor Fritz (9) Olga Danilovic vs Ons Jabeur (7) Court Simonne Mathieu Yoshihito Nishioka (27) vs Thiago Seyboth Wild Ekaterina Alexandrova (23) vs Beatriz Haddad Maia (14) Bianca Andreescu vs Lesia Tsurenko Daniel Altmaier vs Grigor Dimitrov (28) Court 14 (Following a women’s doubles match) Borna Coric (15) vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry Anna Karolina Schmiedlova vs Kayla Day Court 7 (Following a women’s doubles match) Nicolas Jarry vs Marcos Giron Elisabette Cocciaretto vs Bernarda Pera Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray reports live from Paris to look back at Day 5 at Roland Garros, as the second round completes. Friday’s schedule (All courts start at 10am BST unless stated; singles only) Court Philippe Chatrier (from 10.45am) Elise Mertens (28) vs Jessica Pegula (3) Kamilla Rakhimova vs Aryna Sabalenka (2) Novak Djokovic (3) vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (29) (Not before 7.15pm) Carlos Alcaraz (1) vs Denis Shapovalov (26) Court Suzanne Lenglen Peyton Stearns vs Daria Kasatkina (9) Lorenzo Sonego vs Andrey Rublev (7) Sloane Stephens vs Yulia Putintseva Diego Schwartzman vs Stefanos Tsitsipas (5) Court Simonne Mathieu Karen Khachanov (11) vs Thanasi Kokkinakis Anna Blinkova vs Elina Svitolina Lorenzo Musetti (17) vs Cameron Norrie (14) Karolina Muchova vs Irina-Camelia Begu (27) Court 14 (Following one men’s doubles match) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Anastasia Potapova (24) Fabio Fognini vs Sebastian Ofner Juan Pablo Varillas vs Hubert Hurkacz (13) Court 7 (Following two women’s doubles matches) Clara Tauson vs Elina Avanesyan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray reports live from Paris to look back at Day 5 at Roland Garros, the first half of the second round Thursday’s schedule (All courts start at 10am BST unless stated) Court Philippe Chatrier (from 10.45am) Giulio Zeppieri vs Casper Ruud (4) Iga Swiatek (1) vs Claire Liu Oceane Dodin vs Ons Jabeur (7) (Not before 7.15pm) Alexander Zverev (22) vs Alex Molcan Court Suzanne Lenglen Elena Rybakina (4) vs Linda Noskova Jannik Sinner (8) vs Daniel Altmaier Julia Grabher vs Coco Gauff (6) Arthur Rinderknech vs Taylor Fritz (9) Court Simonne Mathieu Kayla Day vs Madison Keys (20) Diane Parry vs Mirra Andreeva Aslan Karatsev vs Frances Tiafoe (12) Court 14 Tomas Martin Etcheverry vs Alex De Minaur (18) Bernarda Pera vs Donna Vekic (22) Tommy Paul (16) vs Nicolas Jarry Bianca Andreescu vs Emma Navarro Court 7 Diana Shnaider vs Beatriz Haddad Maia (14) Emil Ruusuvuori vs Grigor Dimitrov (28) Marcos Giron vs Jiri Lehecka Lauren Davis vs Lesia Tsurenko Court 6 Borna Coric (15) vs Pedro Cachin Ekaterina Alexandrova (23) vs Anna-Lena Friedsam Jasmine Paolini vs Olga Danilovic Francisco Cerundolo (23) vs Yannick Hanfmann Court 9 Elisabetta Cocciaretto vs Simona Waltert Guido Pella vs Thiago Seyboth Wild Court 12 Sara Sorribes Tormo vs Petra Martic Rebecca Peterson vs Wang Xinyu Thiago Agustin Tirante vs Zhang Zhizhen Court 13 Anna Karolina Schmiedlova vs Aliona Bolsova Yoshihito Nishioka (27) vs Max Purcell Genaro Alberto Olivieri vs Andrea Vavassori Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

George Bellshaw joins James Gray live from Paris to look back at the third day of French Open action, and look ahead to the second round. Wednesday’s order of play (All courts start at 10am unless otherwise stated) Court Philippe Chatrier (from 10.45am) Camila Giorgi vs Jessica Pegula (3) Caroline Garcia (5) vs Anna Blinkova Carlos Alcaraz (1) vs Taro Daniel (Not before 7.15pm) Novak Djokovic (3) vs Marton Fucsovics Court Suzanne Lenglen Roberto Carballes Baena vs Stefanos Tsitsipas (5) Marketa Vondrousova vs Daria Kasatkina (9) Iryna Shymanovich vs Aryna Sabalenka (2) Lucas Pouille vs Cameron Norrie (14) Court Simonne Mathieu Storm Hunter vs Elina Svitolina Stan Wawrinka vs Thanasi Kokkinakis Corentin Moutet vs Andrey Rublev (7) Leolia Jeanjean vs Elina Avanesyan Court 14 Jelena Ostapenko (17) vs Peyton Stearns Lorenzo Sonego vs Ugo Humbert Sloane Stephens vs Varvara Gracheva Luca Van Assche vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (29) Court 7 Elise Mertens (28) vs Camila Osorio Liudmila Samsonova (15) vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova Tallon Griekspoor vs Hubert Hurkacz (13) Lorenzo Musetti (17) vs Alexander Shevchenko Court 6 Fabio Fognini vs Jason Kubler Yulia Putintseva vs Zheng Qinwen (19) Karen Khachanov (11) vs Radu Albot Leylah Fernandez vs Clara Tauson Court 12 (Following men’s doubles at 10am) Mayar Sherif vs Anastasia Potapova (24) Matteo Arnaldi vs Denis Shapovalov (26) Court 13 Sebastian Ofner vs Sebastian Korda (24) Karolina Muchova vs Nadia Podoroska Roberto Bautista Agut (19) vs Juan Pablo Varillas Magdalena Frech vs Kamilla Rakhimova Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Live from Paris, James Gray looks back at a busy first Monday at Roland Garros... Novak Djokovic wins and writes a political message about Kosovo on the camera Carlos Alcaraz also picks up victory on Day 2 Jack Draper is 'mentally destroyed' after yet another injury Why Cam Norrie was furious with an 'absurd' umpiring decision despite victory over Benoit Paire Tuesday’s order of play (All courts start at 10am BST unless otherwise stated) Court Philippe Chatrier (from 10.45am) Lucia Bronzetti vs Ons Jabeur (7) Thiago Seyboth Wild vs Daniil Medvedev (2) Iga Swiatek (1) vs Cristina Bucsa (Not before 7.15pm) Gael Monfils vs Sebastian Baez Court Suzanne Lenglen Elias Ymer vs Casper Ruud (4) Rebeka Masarova vs Coco Gauff (6) Elena Rybakina (4) vs Brenda Fruhvirtova Richard Gasquet vs Arthur Rinderknech Court Simonne Mathieu Anhelina Kalinina (25) vs Diane Parry Alexander Zverev (22) vs Lloyd Harris Holger Rune (6) vs Christopher Eubanks Victoria Azarenka (18) vs Bianca Andreescu Court 14 Rebecca Peterson vs Fiona Ferro Hugo Gaston vs Alex Molcan Clara Burel vs Sara Sorribes Tormo Michael Mmoh vs Taylor Fritz (9) Court 7 Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard vs Genaro Alberto Olivieri Lesia Tsurenko vs Barbora Krejcikova (13) Quentin Halys vs Guido Pella Erika Andreeva vs Emma Navarro Court 6 Tommy Paul (16) vs Dominic Stricker Selena Janicijevic vs Oceane Dodin Emil Ruusuvuori vs Gregoire Barrere Petra Martic vs Shelby Rogers (32) Court 8 Andrea Vavassori vs Miomir Kecmanovic (31) Zhu Lin vs Lauren Davis Thiago Monteiro vs Yannick Hanfmann Court 9 Yoshihito Nishioka (27) vs JJ Wolf Court 10 Mirra Andreeva vs Alison Riske Olga Danilovic vs Kateryna Baindl Court 11 Xinyu Wang vs Marie Bouzkova (31) Alexander Bublik vs Giulio Zeppieri Court 12 Max Purcell vs Jordan Thompson Arantxa Rus vs Julia Grabher Francisco Cerundolo (23) vs Jaume Munar Ylena In-Albon vs Claire Liu Court 13 Nicolas Jarry vs Hugo Dellien Linda Noskova vs Danka Kovinic Sorana Cirstea (30) vs Jasmine Paolini Timofey Skatov vs Grigor Dimitrov (28) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray looks back at the opening day of the 2023 French Open, live from Paris. French Open order of play, day 2 (All courts start at 10am BST unless stated) Court Philippe Chatrier (from 10.45am) Karolina Pliskova (16) vs Sloane Stephens Novak Djokovic (3) vs Aleksandar Kovacevic Caroline Garcia (5) vs Wang Xiyu (Not before 7.15pm) Jannik Sinner (8) vs Alexandre Muller Court Suzanne Lenglen Benoit Paire vs Cameron Norrie (14) Elina Avanesyan vs Belinda Bencic (12) Carlos Alcaraz (1) vs Flavio Cobolli Petra Kvitova (10) vs Elisabetta Cocciaretto Court Simonne Mathieu Kayla Day vs Kristina Mladenovic Felix Auger-Aliassime (10) vs Fabio Fognini Elina Svitolina vs Martina Trevisan (26) Arthur Fils vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (29) Court 14 Kaia Kanepi vs Madison Keys (20) Stan Wawrinka vs Albert Ramos-Vinolas Tatjana Maria vs Beatriz Haddad Maia (14) (Not before 4pm) Luca Van Assche vs Marco Cecchinato Court 7 Brandon Nakashima vs Denis Shapovalov (26) Yulia Putintseva vs Maryna Zanevska Filip Krajinovic vs Frances Tiafoe (12) Jelena Ostapenko (17) vs Tereza Martincova Court 6 Ilya Ivashka vs Alex De Minaur (18) Marketa Vondrousova vs Alycia Parks Dominic Thiem vs Pedro Cachin Veronika Kudermetova (11) vs Anna Karolina Schmiedlova Court 4 Caty McNally vs Ana Bogdan Christopher O'Connell vs Taro Daniel Hamad Medjedovic vs Marcos Giron Nao Hibino vs Anna-Lena Friedsam Court 5 Shang Juncheng vs Juan Pablo Varillas Rebecca Marino vs Diana Shnaider Peyton Stearns vs Katerina Siniakova Zhang Zhizhen vs Dusan Lajovic Court 8 Dayana Yastremska vs Donna Vekic (22) Alexei Popyrin vs Aslan Karatsev Aliona Bolsova vs Kristina Kucova Daniel Altmaier vs Marc-Andrea Huesler Court 9 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Linda Fruhvirtova Jack Draper vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry Botic Van De Zandschulp (25) vs Thiago Agustin Tirante Anna Blinkova vs Ysaline Bonaventure Court 12 Anett Kontaveit vs Bernarda Pera Roberto Bautista Agut (19) vs Wu Yibing Borna Coric (15) vs Federico Coria Ekaterina Alexandrova (23) vs Viktoriya Tomova Court 13 Bernabe Zapata Miralles (32) vs Diego Schwartzman Varvara Gracheva vs Dalma Galfi Jiri Lehecka vs Jan-Lennard Struff (21) Simona Waltert vs Elizabeth Mandlik Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray is live from Paris and George Bellshaw is live from his bedroom to analyse the French Open draw. FANTASY TENNIS UNFILTERED IS LIVE, ENTER HERE: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1DFWXhrlx_Y25itXD7unoLUAXIMMmdkLgfBBZ0v_dR_Q Novak Djokovic could not have wished for a worse consequence of Daniil Medvedev’s first-ever clay-court title in Rome as the Serb was drawn into the same half of the French Open as Carlos Alcaraz. Medvedev overtook Djokovic as the world No 2 last week, relegating him to No 3 seed. As such, there was a 50:50 chance that he would end up in the same half as world No 1 Alcaraz and so it proved, meaning he could face the US Open champion in the semi-finals, then perhaps have to take on Medvedev in the final two days later. Meanwhile, Iga Swiatek could have four consecutive grand slam finalists as she tries to defend her French Open title. Thursday’s draw saw her handed a relatively straightforward opening week, but a succession of players with past success at Roland Garros and beyond are slated to await her in the second week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rafael Nadal has announced that he will miss the French Open through injury and will spend several months away from the tennis court. Nadal wants to give his hip as much time as possible to heal because 2024 will probably be his last season. He said: “I’m going to try to make my last year not just a party, I'm going to try to compete at the highest level, give myself the option to try to compete and win tournaments on this clay tour. The reality is that we'll have to wait for that." Will he realistically be able to make a meaningful comeback or will this be a farewell world tour? ***** LISTENER QUESTION: Tino from Hamburg asks "how are players like Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev able to recover from those severe injuries and potentially get back to the top, given that they face stronger opponents in the first rounds of bigger tournaments, are used to continuous success (and a place within the top 10), still lack physical strength and even lack of trust in their bodies?". ***** Elena Rybakina benefits from not one, not two but three walkovers en route to the Italian Open title, where her final started after 11pm local time, the crowd booed her and they forgot to present her with the trophy. But she moves to No 4 in the world and further into contention for the French Open title, where Iga Swiatek faces a race against time to be fit after suffering a thigh injury in Rome. "A couple of days off for sure. And booking my flight to Paris, so fingers crossed, please," Swiatek wrote on social media. ***** Daniil Medvedev cemented his status as a clay-court threat and a shithouse of the highest order as he won the Italian Open. First he produced some abysmal dance moves to mock Stefanos Tsitsipas's own dance from a previous encounter, and then outplayed a fatigued Holger Rune to win in Rome. “I always want to believe in myself and I always try to do my best I want to win the biggest tournaments in the world. But in the same time honestly I didn’t really believe much I can win a Masters 1000 on clay in my career because usually I hated it,” Medvedev said afterwards. “I don’t think I love it. I love hard court. My only love… in tennis! But I definitely like clay courts much more now.” ***** Andy Murray has pulled out of the French Open to concentrate on the grass after failing to win a tour-level match on clay. He did win a Challenger title - and will return to the Challenger Tour in Surbiton instead of playing at Roland Garros. Is it the right decision? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's Roman but it's no holiday - the Italian Open follows hot on the heels of two weeks in Madrid, and while the grind of the clay-court swing may have caught up with some players, James, George and Calvin are still clinging onto their motivation. This week, the tennis podcast that does not hold back talks about... Rafael Nadal was spotted doubled over in pain during practice - are the pod starting to think he is now OUT of Roland Garros? (https://twitter.com/vanshv2k/status/1656760340133343232) Novak Djokovic has returned and got some wins under his belt: how do we think he’s looking? Is one good tournament here enough to convince us he’s the favourite for Roland Garros? And what about that elbow? Holger Rune was booed ONTO court. We ask Calvin whether he was hiding in the crowd... (https://twitter.com/TheTennisLetter/status/1657725318969593857) Sofia Kenin is... back? Coco Gauff is out early again. A French Open finalist last year but does anyone believe that is realistic again? that feel a world away this time?  Emma Raducanu famously ditched her coach Andrew Richardson just days after she won the US Open, but the man known as "Flex" has never spoken publicly about why - until now. (Read the full interview here: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/tennis/article-12083065/I-got-brief-phone-call-Andrew-Richardson-opens-split-Emma-Raducanu.html) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tennis coach Calvin Betton, writer and broadcaster George Bellshaw and journalist James Gray look back at another packed week of tennis news... Carlos Alcaraz wins another title in Madrid but can anyone stop him in Rome or Paris? No love lost in the women's final but Aryna Sabalenka came out on top against Iga Swiatek - could we finally have a rivalry worth fighting for? What on earth was going on with the organisation in Madrid? And why were the women's doubles players gagged? Rafa Nadal will go into Roland Garros without a warm-up tournament for the first time in his career - does he stand a chance? Maybe four months out of the limelight will be the making of Emma Raducanu? LISTENER QUESTIONS Peanut: Now that Rafa has withdrawn from Rome, do you think he will play RG and if he does, will he have a chance to win it? Errol Samuel: What do the players check for when they receive the balls to pick before they serve. Elena Tsourdi: What was the tipping point in Andy's performance on clay in 2016? i always thought his game is a very good fit for clay: the physicality, building up of points, good hands at the net, slices and angles. The early years in Spain probably were pivotal-so why did it not come sooner? Kirit Mookerjee: What possible reason for Madrid organisers to eliminate speeches for women's doubles trophy ceremony? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rick Macci thought he was mad when he answered Richard Williams's call and turned up in Compton to see his two little girls play tennis. What he saw was two of the greatest of all-time in the making: Venus and Serena Williams. As portrayed by Jon Bernthal in the Oscar-winning film King Richard, Macci coached the girls for four years and remains friends with the whole family. We talk: Why Serena and Venus are "like family" to him What marks out a special player How he could fix Emma Raducanu's game Clay courts of the USA (and why hard courts could be a better coach) What's happened to Sofia Kenin And so much more! LISTENER QUESTIONS Laurie on email: Would Calvin be able to elaborate about the 4 stages of a shot (anticipation, perception decision and action) and how these differ from each other? Also specifically regarding the component, shaping, diversion and automatic stages of developing these? Sami Dowd on Twitter: Was Calvin encouraged at all with Dominic Thiem's performance against Stefanos Tsitsipas or does he still think there is no way he comes back? Love Will Survive on Twitter: Why didn’t you lot record a pod from May 2019 to 2020? Tim Mason on Twitter: Protected rankings - how long do you get them for and who has ever really benefited? Kyle Edmund not having much fun at the moment. Laurie again: Was Brandon Murphy 's behind-the-back passing shot in the UK pro league the shot of the year so far? I can't quite tell from the footage but he looks like he's fully de-weighted when he hits it?! [Watch it here: https://twitter.com/TennisLegende/status/1647560959530090500] Ask your questions on Twitter @UnfilterPod or email us tennisunfiltered@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

LISTENER QUESTIONS Kenny Koala Bear on Twitter: What can be done to address the distinct prize money differences in WTA and ATP tournaments? The difference between Stuttgart and Barcelona was huge! Carmen on email: With the clay season in full swing, I'd like to learn more about how chair umpires determine which specific mark on the court was made by the ball when a player challenges a call. The umpire seems very confident about which mark it was but how can that be if there are so many smudges on the clay court. At times it seems quite arbitrary. Also, why isn't Hawk Eye the default choice? It seems like a more reliable, fast and fair way to call a ball in or out. Ian Warren in Twitter: Is the WTA trying to win a prize for most incompetent sporting body? First China saga followed by top 10 players not allowed to enter 250 events and the schedule of tournaments? Last week a 28-player draw in one tournament while the men had three tournaments. Matt on email: Watching Alcaraz drop shot Tsitsipas over a dozen times it struck me that drop shots seem to be a more important tactic than they used to be. I’m only 29 so don’t have much to compare to though! What do you think, are drop shots used more now than they used to be? Also, how much can you coach when to play a drop shot and how much is down to instinct? IN TENNIS NEWS Iga Swiatek retains the Stuttgart title on return from injury and proves why she is favourite for the French Open title Ons Jabeur is out of Madrid with a torn calf muscle What next for Emma Raducanu after a thrashing at the hands of Jelena Ostapenko? Novak Djokovic joins the long list of withdrawals in Madrid with what we suspect is an elbow injury Dusan Lajovic knocked him out in Banja Luka before claiming only the second title of his "storied" career Carlos Alcaraz defended his Barcelona title including a one-sided victory in the final against Stefanos Tsitsipas, who promises to open a one-handed backhand academy in the aftermath... Holger Rune saves four match points to beat Botic Van De Zandschulp and win the title in Munich Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

LISTENER QUESTIONS Chris Thornton asks: “I know it’s not ‘new’, but does legal on-court coaching favour younger players, who may be more fleet of foot, but less experienced problem-solvers, compared to their potentially more experienced opponents, who my not be the athletes they once were, but greater problem-solvers?” Twitter user Ppeanut says: “Can Rafa win FO this year and what are his chances for a second gold medal next year?” Ian Warren in Melbourne asks: “During the Masters coverage last week Rory McIlroy was interviewed by CBS walking up the 9th fairway. How long before we see something similar in Tennis? End of the set hook up with the comms team?!” Balvin Cetton asks: “How are we going to stop singles players entering doubles and then pulling out?” ‘Anja loves tennis’ wants us to talk about “Daniil Medvedev's sneaky tricks and how he lulls everyone by his rhetorical skills” IN TENNIS NEWS Andrey Rublev comes from behind to win his first Masters 1000 title in Monte Carlo Daniil Medvedev hits back at “unfair” accusations from Alexander Zverev by essentially telling him he has more friends than him Novak Djokovic loses to Lorenzo Musetti and gets very grumpy about it indeed Great Britain are beaten 3-1 by France in the Billie Jean King Cup (but will probably work their way into the finals anyway) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tennis coach Calvin Betton and (belatedly) George Bellshaw join James Gray, journalist for i newspaper and inews.co.uk, to answer your questions and look at the biggest news in tennis this week. Listener topics include: Why team tennis in Europe makes players money (but will never work in the UK) Cam Norrie crashes out in R1 for the second tournament in a row Dominic Thiem has split with his coach Nicolas Massu after yet more on-court struggles Why is the women's game so inconsistent And we also talk the latest from Monte Carlo, more injury concerns for Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, the return of Novak Djokovic and Billie Jean King Cup selection. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices