TENNIS.com Podcast

"The sporting word, historically, has always been about men, so we're always playing catchup. And it's one of the reasons why, getting the chance to do this, it just really shines a spotlight on what still needs to be done."Co-producers Judy Murray and Rosemary Reed join the show to discuss their new SkyTv docuseries "Driving Force". They help tell the stories of 10 female athletes who have succeeded in a challenging climate. Behind every successful athlete is a driving force, and uncovering that is the focus of the 11-part series, which began airing in late November. The first episode tells the story of Murray raising two world No. 1's in Scotland, and then she becomes the host for conversations with 10 female British Olympic athletes. Murray explains how she embraced the role of interviewer and was able to relate to the athletes quite naturally thanks to her years of experience. Reed, the founder of Power of Women TV, shares what she learned from Murray, and why the project was so enlightening to them both. Beyond the docuseries, Reed aims to bolster females in the film industry while Murray hopes to encourage more females to get into coaching. Through their own stories, they help explain why women need to stick together. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"I don’t think people recognize the level of play in college tennis, even down to Division III, and the dual match is the exciting piece."This week is all about college tennis, a sector of the sport that has been hit the hardest by the pandemic. Tim Cass, the general manager of the USTA National Campus, joins the show to discuss the importance of college tennis and what's being done to help it survive and grow. Cass has been the general manager since 2016, when the sprawling 100-court facility opened in Lake Nona, Fla. He brought his own tennis-rich background to the job, having played at the University of New Mexico before starting a coaching career that included a decade at Texas A&M. He stresses how important college tennis is for the general ecosystem of the sport, and how hard programs have been hit in 2020 with tennis the No. 1 most-affected college sport. The dual season ended abruptly in March, and since then, nearly 60 programs have been cut at all levels, including 17 at Division I. The USTA is a huge support system, and the National Campus is hoping to host the 2021 Division I NCAA National Championships as well as looking to become the first facility to host all three NCAA National Championships in 2023. College tennis has become a proper gateway to the pros with the likes of John Isner, Steve Johnson, Danielle Collins and Jennifer Brady leading the way. Cass discusses why that is, while also highlighting what improvements could be made to make college tennis even more TV, fan and player friendly in the future. Watch TENNIS.com Podcast episodes on YouTube and Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"As an athlete you can't tell us when to stop, you can’t. You can’t because then we’ll always have these regrets and whatnot."Filled with anecdotes and wisdom, Lisa Raymond joins the show to give an update on her coaching and playing career, as well as react to her nomination for the International Tennis Hall of Fame Class of 2021.Raymond has been ranked No. 1 in the world in doubles and as high as No. 15 in singles. Though known mostly for her doubles success, she didn't focus only on a doubles-only career until her 30s. She explains how her life has been a collection of mini-careers from when she left the University of Florida in 1993, with a number of highs and lows, including a battle with her fitness. The 47-year-old has won four WTA singles titles and a whopping 79 in doubles with a variety of partners including Samantha Stosur, Rennae Stubbs, Liezel Huber, Lindsay Davenport and Martina Navratilova. She has hoisted 11 Grand Slam trophies in women's doubles and mixed, and had a bronze medal placed around her neck in 2012.After playing what she thought was her last match at the 2015 US Open, Raymond made a seamless transition to coaching by joining Madison Keys' team. She prides herself on choosing to stop in her own time, instead of listening to those who felt she should have called it a career much earlier. In 2019, the American began working with Allie Kiick, and she came out of retirement for an ITF W60 with more on-court appearances looming on the horizon. Raymond is nominated for the Hall of Fame ballot alongside Lleyton Hewitt, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Sergi Bruguera and Jonas Bjorkman. Fan voting closed with Raymond finishing in second place, and the inductees will be announced in early 2021. Watch TENNIS.com Podcast episodes on YouTube and Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"The whole purpose of the PTPA is strictly to organize and unite the players and be represented in a proper way where we actually have the ability to impact major decisions that are made that affect our livelihoods."A few weeks removed from a final run in Sofia to end his 2020 season, Vasek Pospisil joins the TENNIS.com Podcast to talk all things on court and off. The 30-year-old Canadian turned pro back in 2007 and would make his biggest splash in 2014 when he won Wimbledon (with Jack Sock) and climbed to No. 25 in the world in singles. Now he's soaring back up the ranks after returning from back surgery in 2019.This year, Pospisil reached the final of Montpellier and Sofia, and the fourth round of the US Open, helping him finish his best season since 2015 at No. 61.He's been even more busy off the court. During his injury hiatus, on top of gaining 24 pounds (something he laughs at now), he began creating the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA). That's not all the off-court developments for Pospisil. When the tour was shut down, he co-hosted the digital ATP-WTA showTennis United with Bethanie Mattek-Sands and co-founded a functional mushroom supplement company called Hekate. Though he gained viral fame for chugging maple syrup in Montpellier, he swears by the mushroom powder that eases inflammation and boosts recovery efforts. In August, Pospisil and Novak Djokovic launched the PTPA with the support of most of their peers. It hasn't been easy as the power struggle on the ATP tour intensifies, and recently, Djokovic and Pospisil were in the news for trying to return to the ATP Player Council. Pospisil clears the air about the PTPA's intentions and his reasons for accepting nomination for the Council, which was quickly blocked by the ATP. He gives an inside take on why tennis needs the PTPA, how he gained support and what the association's status is going into 2021.Watch TENNIS.com Podcast episodes on YouTube and Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"I'm still trying to figure out myself really and see what 2021 is: if I'm a doubles player or if I'm a singles player because I'm definitely going to be one or the other."Evan King is on the show this week to discuss life at the crossroads as he decides if he's going to drop his singles pursuits for a doubles career. Ranked No. 420 in singles and No. 126 in doubles, King is not ready to give up on his dreams. Since graduating from the University of Michigan in 2013, the Chicago native has won six ITF titles and was ranked as high as No. 185 in singles in 2018. On the doubles court, he has won seven ATP Challengers and 22 ITF crowns, and earlier this year, he was on the cusp of breaking the Top 100. Calling in from Austin, Texas, the 28-year-old has embraced the nomad lifestyle to the fullest, but it wasn't always such a simple choice. In 2013 and 2014, he struggled at the ITF level and abandoned the tour for a volunteer assistant position at Michigan. Not able to give up the game, he eventually threw himself into a full-time career and played as many weeks as he could in places like Uzbekistan, India, Zimbabwe, the Dominican Republic, China, Portugal, Japan and more. But now, King hasn't had the same dedication for competing anywhere, anytime, as he faces what he calls an "identity crisis." Though tournament options are limited for a player in his ranking bracket, there are places he could have gone, including in the United States. Instead, he's taking his time and preparing for 2021. Watch TENNIS.com Podcast episodes on YouTube and Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"I enjoy being in the gym and trying to become the best athlete I can be. I enjoy being on the court as many hours as I need to be."This week brings Nick Monroe to the show following his 17th year on tour. The 38-year-old is moving full speed ahead into 2021 by putting 100 percent effort into getting fitter and better every single day. Monroe played college tennis for the University of North Carolina before pursuing a pro career. He'd get up to No. 253 in singles before focusing only on doubles after turning 30. Now ranked No. 73 in doubles, he has won four career ATP titles and just reached the quarterfinals of Roland Garros alongside Tommy Paul. All along the way, his father has been his coach, and he explains how their relationship has evolved. Talking from his home base in Austin, Texas, Monroe reflects on a rollercoaster season full of bubbles and COVID-19 tests. While many have struggled this year to find motivation, Monroe is a testament to how far hard work can get you. He has a passion for training that's simply unparalleled and has no plans to slow down. Watch TENNIS.com Podcast episodes on YouTube and Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"I think I'm one of the few players that have made it here without being a good junior. So it's not like I was super good or I'm going to make it for sure."This week brings Maria Sakkari as she discusses her unique path to the Top 20 and how her tennis-rich family history has influenced her. Admitting she wasn't the best junior, Sakkari gave herself until the age of 22 to make it. She cracked the Top 100 in 2016 just before her 21st birthday, and she hasn't looked back.This year, she entered the Top 20 for the first time, reached two WTA semifinals and picked up a huge win over Serena Williams at the Western & Southern Open. The 25-year-old would make the second week at two majors, the Australian Open and Roland Garros, and is poised for a bigger breakthrough in 2021. The Greek opines on the new normal and shares what it's like to work with a coach (Tom Hill) and physical therapist (Daniel Pohl) that are the same age as her, as well as why they actually enjoy being in bubble environments. While she was never her full-time coach, Sakkari's mom Angeliki was ranked as high as No. 43 in the 1980s before retiring at the age of 25, a retirement age Sakkari cannot imagine. Sakkari shares how her mom influenced her career and what it was like to have her grandfather Dimitris, also a former pro, as her first coach. Sakkari and her team ended the 2020 season in Ostrava and she'll next begin preparations for the 2021 Australian swing.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"The time off just let me mentally relax and just enjoy life, but enjoy tennis for fun not because I had to do it but I wanted to do it, so I think that was important."Doubles champion Nicole Melichar is on the show this week to recap her very successful summer. The world No. 11 won titles in West Virginia and Strasbourg, reached the final of "Cincy" and the US Open, and appeared in the semifinals of Roland Garros (the latter of which with Iga Swiatek).Melichar pursued a pro career early in lieu of the college route, and initially focused on making it in singles, getting as high as No. 400 before zoning in on doubles. She would break through in 2018, cracking the Top 20 after winning two titles with Kveta Peschke and winning the Wimbledon mixed doubles crown.The 27-year-old explains what caused the shifts in her careers, first to doubles and later to the top of the rankings. She gives her assessment of Swiatek's talent and explains how she has been maneuvering through partners (and opponents) with Peschke's husband Torsten as her coach. Melichar also shares what goes into figuring out doubles practice and how she's helping design clothes for Neptune Athletics. Watch TENNIS.com Podcast episodes on YouTube and Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ken Skupski is on the show this week to talk all things doubles and brotherhood. The 37-year-old has helped his younger brother Neal on his tennis journey while enjoying a successful and lengthy career himself. After a respectable junior career in England, the Liverpool native took his talents to Louisiana State University where he remains one of the most decorated players in LSU history. He took his skills to the pro tour in 2007 and is currently ranked No. 57, which is 13 spots shy of his career-high ranking.He'd pave the way for Neal, who would also thrive at LSU and join the tour in 2013. While Bob and Mike Bryan were the most prolific doubles duo of all time, the Skupskis fared very well together by reaching eight ATP finals (and winning two of them).The elder Skupski explains why he believed so much in his little brother, what it's like being on tour with three young children at home and what has made British doubles tennis so strong. He also gives his candid take on Neal splitting up with him to team with Jamie Murray at the start of 2020. Watch TENNIS.com Podcast episodes on YouTube and Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Look at Billie Jean King. Would the three of us be sitting here having this conversation about tennis on TENNIS.com if it hadn’t been for women like her?"News anchor Dana Perino joins the show to share how tennis enriched her life during one of the most challenging periods of her career. She talks about her newfound love for the game, her White House experiences, how she deals with haters on Twitter, the power of the athlete voice, and why she's writing a third book to help young women navigate through the dreaded quarter-life crisis.Nicknamed "The Voice of Reason", Perino was appointed White House press secretary by President George W. Bush in 2007. That made her just the second female in history to hold the position. The 48-year-old is currently an anchor for Fox News covering her third presidential election, and is the host of "The Daily Briefing" and "The Five". She's also the author of two books, "And the Good News Is..." and "Let Me Tell You About Jasper", the latter of which focuses on her beloved Vizsla, Jasper.Tennis came into her life during the 2016 presidential election when she says she went from being America's sweetheart to America's ex-wife. She and her husband Peter McMahon began taking lessons together and even attended a tennis camp in South Carolina on vacation. Like the quality time spent with her famous dog Jasper, tennis became a way to balance out her hectic work life, and while it's a sport she picked up late, she's planning to play for life.Watch TENNIS.com Podcast episodes on YouTube and Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices