Tennis Unfiltered

Henry Patten. Harri Heliovaara. What a team. Two of the last three slams. There is so much work by so many other people that went into that win, but they were the two men standing - or more correctly lying - on court at the end. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How doubles champions prepare for a late-night final Did Novak Djokovic deserve to be booed off? Does Alexander Zverev have a chance against Jannik Sinner? Has Ben Shelton got any better? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

...but we wanted a Sabalenka vs Swiatek final. Aryna Sabalenka did her part, beating best friend Paula Badosa with ease But then Madison Keys upset the apple-cart, brilliantly hitting Iga Swiatek off the court to reach her second grand slam final, eight years after her first Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Iga Swiatek wins her Australian Open semi-final with ease but not before a controversial double bounce incident (https://inews.co.uk/sport/iga-swiatek-double-bounce-australian-open-emma-navarro-3494688) Jannik Sinner batts Alex de Minaur, guaranteeing 50 years since the last Australian male winner here Ben Shelton books his place in a second grand slam semi-final Madison Keys outlasts Elina Svitolina SEMI-FINAL PREVIEWS Iga Swiatek vs Madison Keys Aryna Sabalenka vs Paula Badosa Novak Djokovic vs Alexander Zverev Jannik Sinner vs Ben Shelton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

George Bellshaw and James Gray look back at a thrilling day - or specifically, night - of tennis at Melbourne Park Novak Djokovic beat Carlos Alcaraz in an instant classic across four sets Djokovic had treatment for a left leg injury, thought to be groin or hamstring, but rallied from losing the first set to triumph just before 1am in Melbourne How will he pull up to face Alexander Zverev, who beat Tommy Paul, in Friday's semi-final? Aryna Sabalenka outlasted Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in a wind-swept semi Coco Gauff produced 41 unforced errors in just two sets, mostly on her forehand, as Paula Badosa became a shock semi-finalist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Novak Djokovic boycotted Channel 9 interviews after beating Jiri Lehecka, claiming he had been offended by comments made by anchor Tony Jones. Jones appeared to have already apologised on Saturday, but Djokovic said he would not talk to the broadcaster until an official apology had been issued Jack Draper was forced to retire after two sets of his fourth-round clash with Carlos Alcaraz (More on that here: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/carlos-alcaraz-message-jack-draper-3489163) Coco Gauff nearly comes a cropper against Belinda Bencic Tommy Paul ghosts his way into the quarter-finals Aryna Sabalenka shrugs off Pam Shriver's scheduling complaints: https://x.com/PHShriver/status/1880498898587836547 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Emma Raducanu is thrashed 6-1, 6-0 by Iga Swiatek to end her Australian Open run Gael Monfils shocks Taylor Fritz to reach the fourth round - and then watches his wife do the same thing by beating Jasmine Paolini on the very same court Eva Lys, the lucky loser, continues her dream fortnight by reaching the last 16 and setting up the biggest match of her life against Swiatek Ben Shelton is doing his best to cash in on a soft section of the draw too, beating Lorenzo Musetti in a hard-fought four-setter. LINKS Elo ratings piece here: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/stat-proves-emma-raducanu-world-class-iga-swiatek-3485830 And Jeff's excellent Elo ratings here: https://tennisabstract.com/reports/atp_elo_ratings.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NO. SLEEP. TIL. BROOKLYN. James Gray is delirious, Jack Draper is through to round three and it's going off in Melbourne Park. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's the fifth day of the tournament and I've finally tracked down Calvin Betton, our resident tennis coach, to chat through the biggest issues of the day - including why the Brits are on the verge of history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Tuesday at the Australian Open wraps up the first round of the year's opening major Emma Raducanu beat Ekaterina Alexandrova despite hitting 15 double-faults in an error-strewn performance - but she did win her 7th and 8th tie-breaks in a row A win for Katie Boulter over Rebecca Marino made it six Brits into the second round, a new record But Cam Norrie could not join them, beaten by Matteo Berrettini There was a shock win for Joao Fonseca, the teenage qualifier, over No 9 seed Andrey Rublev And Daniil Medvedev needed five set to see of Kasidit Samrej, the Thai wildcard, marmalising a camera in the process Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jacob Fearnley beat Nick Kyrgios in straight sets on Monday, leaving the Australian questioning whether he would ever play singles at the Australian Open ever again. In his first-round match, Novak Djokovic, now coached by former rival Andy Murray, overcame a challenging start to defeat 19-year-old American Nishesh Basavareddy. After losing the first set, Djokovic rallied to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, marking the beginning of his pursuit for an 11th Australian Open title and a record 25th major title. Stefanos Tsitsipas, seeded 11th, was eliminated in the first round by American Alex Michelsen. Michelsen secured the victory with a 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 win, marking a significant upset in the men's singles draw. Returning mother Belinda Bencic is back, beating Jelena Ostapenko in straights to catapult her up the rankings from 421 in the world And finally, legendary rugby player Sonny Bill Williams appeared on Court 6 - and it turns out he is coaching Australian wildcard James McCabe. For more, read James's article for The i Paper here: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/sonny-bill-williams-coaching-tennis-australian-open-3477653 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

George Bellshaw and James Gray look back a rain-affected first day of the Australian Open, talking about Kei Nishikori, Emma Raducanu, Jiri Lehecka and more! An interview with Andrey Rublev: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/jan/12/andrey-rublev-i-dont-feel-any-more-that-crazy-anxiety-and-stress Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Play FTU, AO 2025 edition sponsored by Raquex NOW: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/19oQbG9pcnYnX0oXLGFgDkta5ugKcs5MEizCPmXLC3A8/ [Closes 12 January] James and George go line by line through both draws to suss out the new fantasy tennis format. Don't forget to vote for us in the Sports Podcast Awards either! https://www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/best-tennis-podcast/ [Closes 13 January] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

VOTE FOR US: It’s your last chance to get a vote in for us in the Sports Podcast Awards, which we would dearly like to win this time after narrowly missing out two years in a row. The deadline is THIS WEEKEND: www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/best-tennis-podcast/ George Bellshaw (from convalescence after surgery) and James Gray (preparing for a flight to Australia) get together to discuss a genuinely exciting week of pre-grand slam tennis. The off-season is well and truly over! FTU is now LIVE! Enter here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/19oQbG9pcnYnX0oXLGFgDkta5ugKcs5MEizCPmXLC3A8 They discussed: Nick Kyrgios returning to court in singles and doubles, and making sure to return to form on Instagram as well. (See Cruz Hewitt’s post with Jannik Sinner: https://www.instagram.com/cruzhewitt/?hl=en) Novak Djokovic is beaten by Reilly Opelka, who reaches the Brisbane final just over two years since he had hip surgery Coco Gauff gets another one over on Iga Swiatek as the Americans win a thrilling United Cup (The Brits did okay too, but in truth only won one tie…) Luke Johnson and Sander Arends take the title in Hong Kong, beating Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov in the final to give Calvin yet another title Naomi Osaka gets through to the Auckland final but worryingly retires with another injury while a set up in the final Speaking of big-name Japanese stars and comebacks, Kei Nishikori was back in a final this week too! Meanwhile, Emma Raducanu did not even make the start line in Auckland, pulling out with a back problem, but is already back in training ahead of the Australian Open in Melbourne Elena Rybakina’s coach Stefano Vukov is suspended by the WTA pending an investigation into an alleged breach of the code of conduct, which he denies (H/t to the great reporting by The Athletic’s Charlie Eccleshare and Matt Futterman here: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6034236/2025/01/02/rybakina-vukov-coach-suspended-wta-investigation/) Gaby Dabrowski reveals she was diagnosed with cancer in April, but has come out the other side - and played through it to win an Olympic medal and the WTA Tour Finals (Read her incredibly moving Instagram post here: https://www.instagram.com/gabydabrowski/p/DEPGbMNvrCF/?img_index=13) Beatriz Haddad Maia hits one of the all-time bad serves (https://x.com/josemorgado/status/1873229229493764484?s=46&t=Rhiq-18RZr7lX_TkDfCsvA) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

VOTE FOR US! We are desperately trying to beat Dan Kiernan to an award and *really* need your help in doing so. It takes about 20 seconds to vote for us, just head to this link: https://www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/best-tennis-podcast/ This week, George Bellshaw is a late withdrawal after being called in for surgery on a torn meniscus, Calvin Betton tunes in from Hong Kong (sorry about the satellite delay!) and James Gray is at home for the last time before heading to Australia. They discussed... Jack Draper has been forced to pull out of the United Cup because of a hip injury and will also skip the Davis Cup, but says he is still optimistic of competing well at the Australian Open Emma Raducanu has turned over a new leaf for 2025 and says she is learning to say no more Max Purcell has been provisionally suspended after admitting to a breach of anti-doping rules relating to "a prohibited method" Nick Kyrgios is back, drawn in a big-serving match-up with Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in Brisbane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Merry Christmas! (Or just happy Wednesday if you don't celebrate.) VOTE FOR US: It's the Sports Podcast Awards next month and Tennis Unfiltered is up for best tennis show. We came third two years ago and second last year, so would mean a lot if you added your vote and helped us complete the set! https://www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/best-tennis-podcast/ While the lads take a well-earned week off over Christmas, we pre-recorded an episode with Tom Corrie of the excellent Tennis Insights to talk about how they generate their data, what it means, how they use it and a whole lot more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thanks to Chris, Deb and Colum for their questions and comments which we read out this week. You can get in touch by emailing us on tennisunfiltered at gmail dot com - and James does read them all even if they don't all make the pod! If you want to sign up for our newsletter, Substack is the place to do it: https://tennisunfiltered.substack.com/ And finally, have a very Merry Christmas when it comes! As well as our awards this week, we discussed... Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic teaming up to play doubles in Brisbane The LTA bringing in a ban on trans women in female events down to Grade 6 amateur tournaments Got an opinion? Email us. We welcome it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A special BONUS episode from James Gray and George Bellshaw from the UTS Grand Final in east London, held at a sold-out Copper Box Arena. NB: James apologises for the edit and audio quality. An amateur sound engineer at best, this is as good as he can do with the equipment in hand! VOTE in our Tennis Unfiltered 2025 awards: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1aUUOiYvsuDQpALWPEQpJj1v873OP-vk_-7gpQDRZCBg/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Calvin Betton, James Gray and George Bellshaw are in full off-season mode - and spending as much time talking nonsense as possible. No Peaky Blinders chat, this time, although our Spotify Wrapped does get a mention We answered questions from Taz, Jeff, Ben and Nicolas about boring tennis matches, the 2009 US Open and tennis analytics. Plus... Emma Raducanu reveals her pre-season plans (More here: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/emma-raducanu-australian-open-plans-glory-3419042) And we preview our awards for 2025 George's newsletter: https://tennisunfiltered.substack.com/p/the-best-and-worst-bits-of-tennis VOTE in our Tennis Unfiltered 2025 awards: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1aUUOiYvsuDQpALWPEQpJj1v873OP-vk_-7gpQDRZCBg/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tennis never takes a week off, does it? And neither (sort of) do James Gray, Calvin Betton and George Bellshaw, who are back to discuss all the latest goings on in a busy week of breaking tennis news. Iga Swiatek is serving a one-month ban after testing positive for trimetazidine or TMZ, a banned metabolic modulator Simona Halep, Nick Kyrgios and Denis Shapovalov have plenty to say about it, as does everyone else Novak Djokovic explains more about his coaching link-up with Andy Murray Hubert Hurkacz has replaced long-time coach Craig Boynton with an unusual combo of Nicolas Massu and Ivan Lendl And Calvin has dug out a stat about the good old days... PLUS Your questions on Jannik Sinner, tennis balls and cats all answered Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray, George Bellshaw and Calvin Betton get round the microphones again and wonder if there is anything to talk about this week... Andy Murray has agreed to join Novak Djokovic's coaching team for pre-season the Australian Open at least, just three months after retiring from playing (James wrote this piece for the i paper if you're interested: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/andy-murray-coaching-novak-djokovic-storyline-netflix-3397499) Oh, also Rafael Nadal retired this week as Spain crashed out of the Davis Cup to the Netherlands Italy retained their title thanks to Jannik Sinner, who ends the year without losing a match in straight sets And they also won the Billie Jean King Cup, powered by the extraordinary doubles pair of Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani, the underarm-serving legend Britain blew their big chance in the semi-finals, losing having been a set away from a straightforward win over Slovakia And finally... the USA made the same mistake all over again in their clash with Australia, dropping their doubles specialists for the deciding clash with Jordan Thompson and Matthew Ebden, only to see Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton beaten in straight sets Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Uh oh, Calvin is not a happy man... but why? Listen on to find out as George Bellshaw and James Gray do their best to keep him in hand while discussing... Jannik Sinner dominates ATP World Tour Finals, not even dropping a set en route to the title in Turin Taylor Fritz moves to a career-high ranking after reaching the final, and continuing his dominance of Alexander Zverev Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter lead Britain into the semi-finals of the Billie Jean King Cup Frances Tiafoe avoids a ban for his sweary outburst at an umpire in Shanghai earlier in the season, but is fined $120,000 Plus your reviews and questions on a fifth slam and foot faults answered Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Calvin Betton calls in from the ATP World Tour Finals in Turin to help James Gray (inews.co.uk) and George Bellshaw (his flat in north London) discuss the latest in tennis Coco Gauff wins the WTA Finals in a dramatic - but not necessarily high-quality - final victory over Zheng Qinwen John Wertheim is forced to apologise for comments about Barbora Krejcikova's "eight-head" Denis Shapovalov wins a first title in five years, but isn't in the mix for ATP Comeback of the Year Daniil Medvedev "loses his head" And finally... Roberto Carbaelles Baena throws his hat into the ring for wettest bloke on tour after beef with Cam Norrie And here is THAT Jannik Sinner stat Calvin was talking about: https://x.com/TennisTV/status/1855594522199150734 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Calvin Betton is in Helsinki but that doesn't stop him dialing in to Tennis Unfiltered; George Bellshaw is in north London but that doesn't stop him struggling with tech; and James Gray is now married and didn't get into a scrape with Elena Rybakina. We answer your questions on LTA funding and doubles end-of-year tournaments, plus... Alexander Zverev wins the Paris Masters title and returns to No 2 in the world Giovanni Mpetshi-Pericard's huge serve keeps on entertaining on the French capital's lightning-fast courts Richard Gasquet says a tearful goodbye to Paris, but he will be back Jack Draper picks up a big win over Taylor Fritz The WTA Finals is underway in Saudi Arabia And more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Calvin Betton, George Bellshaw and James Gray are all in England at the same time, a genuine rarity this year, but are still all sitting in their respective living rooms refusing to actually spend time together. Instead, they talked about... Jack Draper's second career title, beating Karen Khachanov in Vienna to move up to No 15 in the world Novak Djokovic pulling out of the Paris Masters and perhaps calling time on his whole season Nick Kyrgios raising his head above the parapet on Louis Theroux's podcast, positing all kinds of wild theories on the pyramids, the flat earth and his own tennis abilities Dominic Thiem's retirement and legacy Maria Sharapova's induction into the Tennis Hall of Fame Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard's serve And so much more... LINKS The Louis Theroux Podcast with Nick Kyrgios: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4KpdqmxkTVSO9qy50GZ2SD Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard has always been a giant: https://x.com/Nigee_Uno/status/1850189321619337633 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Calvin Betton calls in from Vienna, James Gray from honeymoon and George Bellshaw... is here also. We started by answering a listener email from Blair, who asked: “I'm taking a few too many long haul flights in the next couple of months, and am looking for distraction recommendations. Which matches from the past 30 years would you recommend I download to watch? Any documentaries? I particularly enjoyed the Vilas one, so anything like that'd be great.” Here are some links to the docs mentioned. Agassi vs Sampras: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ACFmPyN80g&ab_channel=AustralianOpenTV Federer vs Safin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agF1HkdpR6s&ab_channel=AustralianOpenTV 1984 Wimbledon final, McEnroe vs Connors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQS-XriW9p8&ab_channel=JohnMcEnroeChannel Girls on Tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnHcaki-PO8&ab_channel=RealStories In other news... Iga Swiatek hires Wim Fissette, saying: "I said many times that my career is a marathon for me, not a sprint and I’m working, operating and making decisions with this approach. I want to say that I’m very excited and looking forward to working with Wim. He seems to have a great attitude, vision and huge experience at the very top level of tennis.” Aryna Sabalenka passes Iga Swiatek as world No 1 despite neither playing this week Danielle Collins backtracks on retiring, saying: "The Danimal story has not reached its conclusion. I will be back on tour in 2025.” She added: "Dealing with endometriosis and fertility is a massive challenge for many women and something that I am actively traversing, but I am fully confident in the team I am working with. It is just going to take longer than I thought." In the “Six Kings Slam” event in Riyadh, Daniil Medvedev earns a $21,739 a minute after getting hammered by Jannik Sinner 6-0, 6-3, while Holger Rune reportedly earned 68 per cent of his annual tournament earnings But is Saudi Arabia changing? Novak Djokovic beats Rafael Nadal to end their rivalry and both gave gushing tributes as you would expect Forgotten man Roberto Bautista Agut beats Jiri Lehecka to win Antwerp, the second-oldest tour-level champion this year at 36 Grigor Dimitrov opens up about anxiety and panic attacks on court after losing the final in Stockholm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Calvin Betton dials in from Antwerp to join James Gray. George Bellshaw is, unforgivably, on holiday. Rafael Nadal announced his retirement this week, causing Calvin to ask whether he is actually the most underrated or perhaps most influential player of all-time ...and whether he will sign off on a high by winning the Davis Cup The full decision from CAS that reduced Simona Halep's ban for testing positive to just nine months has been published Frances Tiafoe, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev have all been mouthing off at umpires PLUS Your questions answered Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's the clash of the eras this week as Mats Wilander's comments on Eurosport spark an intense debate about whether Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have already eradicated the legacy of the Big Four. Carlos Alcaraz beats Jannik Sinner, who had chances of his own, to win the China Open and wrestle control of their head-to-head in an increasingly storied rivalry Arthur Fils wins a title in Tokyo and beats Taylor Fritz, Matteo Berrettini, Ben Shelton, Holger Rune and Ugo Humbert en route - but then crashes out in the first round a week later Davis Cup Group stages scrapped in favour of a return to post-US Open home and away ties Coco Gauff wins her second WTA 1000 title in China, returning to the top five and improving her final record to 8-1... ...but her match-up with Naomi Osaka disappointingly ended in a retirement as a back injury forced the Japanese player to walk off early Iga Swiatek has split with coach Tomasz Wiktorowski and is already looking for someone new LINKS FROM JG: "Many thanks to everyone who donated to my Cancer Research fundraiser. It made it all very worthwhile! If you would like to and missed out, here is the link." - https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/jamess-giving-page-139725 Hugh Clarke's beautifully crafted newsletter is here: https://substack.com/home/post/p-149701313 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Calvin Betton is still in China, George Bellshaw is still in London and James Gray is still complaining. They discuss... WADA has announced it is to appeal the decision to absolve Jannik Sinner of blame for his two positive tests for banned substance clostebol earlier this year. The case will be heard before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and the World Anti-Doping Agency will seek a ban of between one and two years Joe Salisbury and Rajeev Ram have broken up their long-standing, multiple grand slam-winning partnership. Salisbury will play with fellow Brit Neal Skupski in 2025 Naomi Osaka has won a match from a set down for the first time in 22 attempts, and now faces Coco Gauff in a blockbuster clash in Beijing British No 3 Jacob Fearnley has cracked the top 100 for the first time after winning his fourth Challenger title of the year Jack Draper is still struggling with the rigours of top-level tennis, injured again in Tokyo this week Marin Cilic has become the lowest ranked player ever - No 777 - to win an ATP title in Hangzhou If you want to donate to James's fundraisers, you can do so here: https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/jamess-giving-page-139725 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Calvin Betton tunes in from Beijing and George Bellshaw from north London to tell James Gray exactly what's wrong with the tennis world. Emma Raducanu told a reporter she was prioritising the Asian swing after a stripped-back schedule in the first half of the year, but after two wins in Seoul she suffered yet another injury, pulling out of the quarter-final with a foot injury and then withdraws from Beijing too. Coco Gauff has ended her partnership with coach Brad Gilbert just two weeks after her "disappointing" US Open title defence. Gilbert said: ”Coco, at just 20 years young, your future is incredibly bright, and I wish you nothing but continued success ahead. I’m excited for the next chapter in my coaching career.” Carlos Alcaraz has complained about tennis scheduling: ”Probably they are going to kill us in some way. Right now a lot of good players are going to miss a lot of tournaments because of that [injury].” Team Europe win the Laver Cup with Alcaraz winning the most points any player ever has - but did any of it mean anything? Beatriz Haddad Maia wins her fourth career title in South Korea Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray is joined by George Bellshaw and Calvin Betton to discuss all the latest tennis news (and an injury update from our resident coach). Naomi Osaka splits with Wim Fisette and hires Patrick Mouratoglou as her new coach Novak Djokovic is on course to miss out on ATP World Tour Finals but says he isn't bothered by it Jack Draper jumps off a plane and into the Great Britain Davis Cup team, but to no great effect as they are drummed out by Canada and Argentina Dan Evans hints this could be his last appearance in GB shirt Rafael Nadal pulls out of the Laver Cup Sonay Kartal wins her first WTA title in Monastir and enters the top 100 for the first time Emma Raducanu has been picked for the BJK Cup Olivia Gadecki reaches the Guadalajara final from qualifying Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray, Calvin Betton and George Bellshaw waited for the dust to settle... and then promptly started kicking it up again. Jannik Sinner wins the title in New York to become the king of hard courts Aryna Sabalenka is the queen too, or is she? Jack Draper gives a fine account of himself but hasn't impressed Martin Keown Have Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz both hit their ceiling PLUS Nick Kyrgios shows his true colours Vasek Pospisil defends the PTPA Calvin ducks the Davis Cup The final results of FTU: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1AB0u6pxiTiaY3kZMfjZZI60lSZ7g3GpJawK5bWxtsoI/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Calvin Betton wakes up from jet lag to predict the men's and women's final with James Gray ahead of Draper vs Sinner and Tiafoe vs Fritz in the semi-finals. They also looked back at Emma Navarro's defeat to Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula's win over Karolina Muchova, as well as a few thoughts on Iga Swiatek's absence from the latter stages. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Calvin Betton is fresh off a flight from New York and talks to James Gray about... Third-round defeat for Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara Why Beatriz Haddad Maia vs Caroline Wozniacki was a great example of how styles make fights… The secrets to Jack Draper's run at the US Open Why there have been so many double-faults at this year's tournament Is this the real reason everyone seems to hate Zheng Qinwen? What got Alexander Zverev's goat? Grigor Dimitrov limps out of perhaps *his* best chance to finally win a slam but allows Frances Tiafoe to guarantee an American man in the final for the first time since 2006 Also, Donald Young is in the mixed doubles final?! And Harri produces one of the all-time great racket smashes: https://x.com/BenRothenberg/status/1830757928166461726 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

George Bellshaw and James Gray catch up on a busy weekend of US Open action, including... Sky Sports apologise for problems with US Open coverage, raised by Tennis Unfiltered listeners: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/us-open-viewers-frustrated-sky-tennis-coverage-3256452 Video review goes so badly wrong as Beatriz Haddad Maia gets away with one against Anna Kalinskaya: https://x.com/LoveGame_Tennis/status/1830181747281055879 Dan Evans is finally beaten in the US Open, handed two bagels by Alex De Minaur Yulia Putintseva is beaten but more importantly apologises for this behaviour towards a ball girl: https://x.com/MerThomp/status/1829999912399818965 Coco Gauff is knocked out by Olympic team-mate Emma Navarro. Gauff served at 46 per cent and hit 60 unforced errors, but perhaps worst of all hit 19 double-faults and says she will consider a biomechanics expert to break down her service issues. "I definitely want to get other opinions because, you know -- and also I think it's sometimes more of an emotional, mental thing because if I go out on the practice court right now, I would make, like, 30 serves in a row." Who on earth will win the bottom half of the men's draw now? Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz are surely favourites with either Grigor Dimitrov or Frances Tiafoe waiting in the semi-final. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

George Bellshaw looks back on a day of US Open action where there really was only one place to start as Novak Djokovic was stunned by Alexei Popyrin as the men's draw continues to disintegrate Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Carlos Alcaraz is handed a shock US Open defeat by Botic van de Zandschulp Alcaraz said afterwards he is "not strong enough mentally" and has taken steps back in that regard. Van de Zandschulp meanwhile was proud of his "emotionally stable" approach to the match, impressive for a man who nearly decided to retire just a few months ago at the age of 28. The Dutchman came to the net 35 times in the match, winning all bar seven points when he did so, perhaps revealing a blueprint for beating Alcaraz in the future. It leaves a wide open section of the draw where one of Jack Draper, Dan Evans, Alex de Minaur or five others who have never made a USO semi-final is guaranteed to make the last four Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Emma Raducanu says she will manage her schedule differently going forward after "learning a lesson" in defeat to Sofia Kenin Raducanu had played just one tournament since Wimbledon and flew back to the UK instead of playing qualifying in Canada or Cincinnati, traditional warm-ups for the US Open. She said: "I know when I have a lot of matches, just like every player, you feel really good, you feel like everything's automatic. So yeah, I think I can learn from it and manage my schedule slightly differently." Here is something James wrote about Emma Raducanu in the wake of her defeat to Kenin: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/emma-raducanu-us-open-comments-reveal-sadder-truth-3248144 UK viewers complain about the "mess" that is Sky Sports+ is a mess for lots of users Temperatures hit 34 degrees Celsius in New York City with the heat rule in place, but there is nothing against Tomas Martin Etcheverry throwing up on himself mid-match, and still winning! Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova is out Defending champion Novak Djokovic is through after a Laslo Djere retirement Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray and Calvin Betton look back at some of the highlights from the second half of the first round of the US Open, including... Holger Rune promises his fans he "will not let you down any more" after being well beaten by Brandon Nakashima in the first round of the US Open. Karolina Muchova and Bianca Andreescu both produce early shot of the tournament contenders, Muchova's here https://x.com/usopen/status/1828459066626044039 and Andreescu's here https://x.com/usopen/status/1828586747438956844 Katie Boulter is through despite losing the first set to Aliaksandra Sasnovich, complete with white bodysuit. Felix Auger-Aliassime is beaten by improving teenager Jakub Mensik while Stefanos Tsitsipas is blown away by Thanaski Kokkinakis Danielle Collins ends her US Open career (in singles) but refuses a bunch of flowers at the end and says she had requested no presentation on the court Dan Evans grabs an unlikely win, beating Karen Khachanov in a match that lasted more than five-and-a-half hours, the longest in US Open history Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's the first daily update from Flushing Meadows after Day 1 of the US Open Novak Djokovic becomes the most successful ever player on Arthur Ashe, beating another Roger Federer record, in his easy first-round win over Radu Albot Coco Gauff promises she "will" win the US Open again, but maybe not this year Jack Draper says cheat accusations hurt him Emma Raducanu insists she will keep playing a stripped-back schedule to concentrate on the big events Diego Schwartzman and Dominic Thiem both bow out of the US Open for the last time Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Men's draw in full: https://www.usopen.org/en_US/draws/mens-singles.html Women's draw in full: https://www.usopen.org/en_US/draws/womens-singles.html George Bellshaw and James Gray go line-by-line through the US Open draw for 2024, and try to put together their #FTU teams. They also of course discussed the shock news this week of Jannik Sinner having twice tested positive for a banned substance. If you want to enter Fantasy Tennis Unfiltered, the last of the year, then please do so here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1csjRJTTdquLZiFPgrGogAzXtXMRyRaDxYrWco5mlFvY The concept is simple: pick players you think are going win matches. You have to pick a total of 10 players, five men and five women, one from each category. The Underdog (30 points per win) - A qualifier, lucky loser or wildcard The Surprise (25 points per win) - Another unseeded player in the draw The Possible (20 point per win) - One of the seeds between No 17 and No 32 The Probable (20 point per win) - One of the seeds between No 5 and No 16 The Star (15 points per win) - One of the top four seeds They score points for every match they win - with 5 bonus points for each match they win in the second week, and 5 more bonus points for winning the tournament overall. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Calvin Betton checks in from North Carolina to join James Gray and discuss... Jack Draper's controversial match point against Felix Auger-Aliassime Novak Djokovic calls for video replay in the aftermath Umpires come under fire after failing to overrule clear HawkEye failure Naomi Osaka writes a lot... but says very little Frances Tiafoe finds some form from nowhere Carlos Alcaraz hits out (at the ground) And much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Calvin Betton tunes in from Cincinnati, James Gray from back home in London and George Bellshaw from the sharp end of his anecdotal yardstick. Calvin gives us an update on Henry and Harri's bizarre concussion retirement: https://www.atptour.com/en/video/tennis-a-contact-sport-wimbledon-champs-collide-in-montreal Denis Shapovalov is defaulted for swearing at a fan: https://www.skysports.com/tennis/video/12110/13190123/denis-shapovalov-defaulted-after-heated-exchange-with-fan Hunter Reese and partner Scott Duncan are defaulted after ONE game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCONS88kPpo Jannik Sinner and Jack Draper having a blast playing doubles Rafael Nadal to skip US Open because he will not be 100 per cent but will play Laver Cup, is this the end? Stefanos Tsitsipas sacks his Dad as coach Coco Gauff loses to a player who is younger than her for the first time Emma Raducanu skips qualifying in North America and Novak Djokovic is barely going to play before the US Open Greg Rusedski to coach Victoria Azarenka: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/greg-rusedski-coach-victoria-azarenka-3220235 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One of our more international podcasts as tennis coach Calvin Betton joins us from the Rogers Cup in Montreal, James Gray from the Olympics in Paris and George Bellshaw... still at home in London. They discussed... Novak Djokovic exacted revenge on Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday and ‘completes tennis’ with Olympic gold. He is just the fifth player to complete the career golden slam, joining Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal, Steffi Graf and Serena Williams and first man to win gold without dropping a set, although it was pretty close in the final. Zheng Qinwen became the surprise women’s champion, beating in-form Donna Vekic. Zheng had an eventful tournament: she retired Angelique Kerber, ended Iga Swiatek’s Roland Garros winning streak and had a fall-out with Emma Navarro after which it became clear that basically no-one seems to like her. Iga Swiatek barely spoke after semi-final defeat to Zheng, says she cried for about six hours after defeat but did come back to win bronze. Andy Murray’s career is finally over, beaten by Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul in the Olmypic men's doubles. Sponsored by AG1, click here (https://drinkag1.com/tennisunfiltered) for free Vitamin D3/K2 and 5 travel packs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

First, an apology: James is covering the Olympics in Paris and the technological conditions are challenging to say the least, so his audio is not in great shape this week. However, he has identified the problem and has a solution in place for next week. In the meantime, here is this week's episode with Calvin from Porto, George from London and James from Paris. Calvin talks about Harri Heliovaara wearing a microphone on a live match court Rafael Nadal is drummed out of the Olympic singles by Novak Djokovic Coco Gauff loses her temper in defeat to Donna Vekic Late withdrawals fire Matt Ebden and Petros Tsitsipas into the singles draw Andy Murray and Dan Evans keep the dream alive And SO much more... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Calvin Betton, James Gray and George Bellshaw answer your questions on all sorts of topics, including some from the very bottom of the mailbag. Here's what we got into... Veteran Athlete: Is there a future for grass court tennis? Wazza: Is it time for Wimbledon to re introduce grass court seeding? Having Swiatek as number 1 seed when she has lack of ability on the surface makes a mockery of the draw in my opinion. Ian Warren: Hi guys question about the BBC coverage of Wimbledon. Do you think it’s time to pension off John McEnroe, Pat Cash and other players winning slams 40 to 50 years ago? As great as it was how many more times do we have to hear from John McEnroe about his rivalry with Borg. JG: Why is no one excited about the Olympics? Jari Jarvinen: Who do you think are best dubs players all time and why? This came to my mind because of Leander Paes Hall of Fame election. He won a lot and with so many different partners, that's a strong case for him. Definitely one of the best dubs volleyers Tennis Ranter: We see tennis players throughout the year jetting off to lots of locations, with air travel being the most used. What would your thoughts be on a carbon cap for players to limit the amount of carbon they use and encourage the use of less carbon intensive transport? Matt Gunner: For the modern great male players, is it the new normal to win 20+ majors? Pundits that played in the 80s and 90s often say how hard it is to win 7 matches over 2 wks and how remarkable it is to see numbers the big 3 have. For me, in the yrs ahead, these numbers will be the norm. Lynney Pin: Not really a question…. Just wanted to say I HATE seeing the ball kids passing the sweaty germ ridden towels to the players. Why the flip have they brought that back??!!! It’s revolting. GB1: Of the current crop of young players (let's say under 25), who has the best tennis IQ ? Would Alcaraz be lost without Juan Carlos ? How far would Ben Shelton get without his Dad's coaching ? For me, the Big Four and Meddy are high IQ players, but what about the next gen ? Also, do you think players like eg Shapovalov, Tiafoe, and certainly in the past Dimitrov, haven't reached full potential because they use their natural game without developing their tennis IQ brains as much ? Sponsored by AG1, click here (https://drinkag1.com/tennisunfiltered) for free Vitamin D3/K2 and 5 travel packs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Calvin, George and James are reunited for the first time since Wimbledon to discuss... Who will challenge Carlos Alcaraz? Is Novak Djokovic on the decline? Would Jasmine Paolini have been a more popular winner than Barbora Krejcikova? Should the Brits be pleased with their championships? What was the Champions' Ball like? And *so much* more. Sponsored by AG1, click here (https://drinkag1.com/tennisunfiltered) for free Vitamin D3/K2 and 5 travel packs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Men's doubles champion Henry Patten joins his coach Calvin Betton and host James Gray to look back at a 6-7, 7-6, 7-6 victory alongside Harri Heliovaara over the Australian pair of Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson. We laughed, we cried, we sat around and couldn't believe what was going on. My favourite podcast of the year. Sponsored by AG1, click here (https://drinkag1.com/tennisunfiltered) for free Vitamin D3/K2 and 5 travel packs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray sets his Wimbledon doubles nerves aside to look back at... How Daniil Medvedev nearly got disqualified from his Wimbledon semi-final Carlos Alcaraz finding an extra gear to seal victory and reach a fourth grand slam final Novak Djokovic barely got booed Lorenzo Musetti gave his best but his best wasn't good enough Sponsored by AG1, click here (https://drinkag1.com/tennisunfiltered) for free Vvtamin D3/K2 and 5 travel packs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices