TENNIS.com Podcast

“Last year towards the end of the season, I put myself in a good position. Had the changes not occurred I’d be close the Top 300 right now... You don't know what your next tournament is going to be. It's really hard to keep up that motivation. I go through practice days just existing out there."  This week's episode of Inside the Tour takes an in-depth look at the new ITF World Tennis Tour with American pro Jared Hiltzik. Like a lot of people, podcast co-hosts Nina Pantic and Irina Falconi are still trying to make sense of the new tour that started in January 2019.  Players at Hiltzik's level (largely in the No. 300 - No. 500 range) now have two pro rankings: one for the ITF World Tennis Tour, and one for the ATP Tour. Each ranking is determined by ranking points earned at tournaments on the respective tours (with some exceptions). Hiltzik is currently ranked No. 381 on the ATP (with 43 points) and No. 309 on the ITF (with 240 points)—a "no man’s zone." His ATP ranking isn't high enough to get him into Challenger tournaments, which are needed to boost his ATP ranking, so he's forced to drop down into the $15,000 and $25,000 ITF events, where can only earn ITF points, or extremely minimal ATP points.  Players and coaches, including Toni Nadal, have spoken out against the new ITF tour. Hiltzik, still trying to figure out his schedule under the new rules, will be the top seed at the men's open in Ojai next week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ahead of the release of his new book, Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, out on May 28, 2019, David Epstein joins the Beyond the Baseline podcast to discuss the opening chapter on Roger Federer vs. Tiger Woods. Wertheim and Epstein dive deep into the sports science of generalization vs. specialization, specifically in terms of Federer in tennis and Woods in golf and how Federer grew up playing a variety of sports, from skiing to wrestling to swimming and more, while Woods was surrounded by golf from a very young age. Why did Federer benefit from a generalist childhood vs. a specialization one? Epstein discusses Federer's characteristics and reveals how his specific skills and experiences have helped him climb to the top of the sport. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beyond the Baseline host Jon Wertheim talks with rising Canadian star Felix Auger-Aliassime and recaps with Miami Open with Andrea Leand. Now up to No. 33,  the 18-year-old Auger-Aliassime discusses his rise in the rankings, his goals for the future, why family is important to him, his relationship with fellow young Canadians Denis Shapovalov and Bianca Andreescu and much more. On the second half of the podcast, Andrea Leand recaps the pros and cons of the "new" Miami Open tournament and location, Roger Federer and Ashleigh Barty's win and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"That's what we hold our hat on: We've got to work a little bit hard than everyone else to be successful."  Charleston tournament director Bob Moran joins the TENNIS.com Podcast with Nina Pantic and Irina Falconi. He shares the biggest challenges in running the Volvo Car Open (3:50) and all the ways the WTA Premier has been innovating each year like using the Volvo Car Open app to provide an in-seat concessions service (5:53).   Speaking of innovation, this February they held a UTR-based pre-qualifying event, allowing any female with a 10.0 or higher to compete for a spot in the qualifying draw. Jessica Ho, a 22-year-old Floridian who had a WTA ranking of No. 516 and a UTR of 11.79, won the wild card.   Moran talks a lot about how important building tennis in the community of Charleston is, and one much-loved member of that Southern community is Shelby Rogers. The 26-year-old made her comeback from knee surgery this week after 13 months off the tour (15:52).   The largest WTA-only clay event in the U.S. has a reputation for being the go-to spot to catch future stars. Past champions and finalists include the likes of Kiki Bertens, Sloane Stephens, Daria Kasatkina, Angelique Kerber and Jelena Ostapenko. Moran looks out for which youngster might be the next star, and even named Bianca Andreescu as one such potential act—notably before she won Indian Wells and withdrew from Charleston (24:31).  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“There’s no real moment where you’re 100 percent sure you’re ready to play again. You just kind of have to jump back in and go for it.”  Shelby Rogers joins Nina Pantic and Irina Falconi on the TENNIS.com Podcast this week. The American is ready for her return to the tour at her hometown event, the Volvo Car Open in Charleston. The former world No. 48 has been out for just over a year after undergoing left knee surgery, and explains the ordeal she went through and how the new protected ranking rules are helping her (02:53). She was ranked No. 78 when she played her last match in the first round of Indian Wells in 2018.  Time away from the tour hasn't been all bad though as the 26-year-old got to live a normal life and embraced online school with Indiana University East (06:23). While she was injured, Rogers also tried her hand at working for the Tennis Channel as a commentator, interviewer and host (08:04).   It’s Rogers’ first significant injury, so she shares what she learned and what goes into plotting a comeback schedule, which may include a return to Roland Garros (14:31).  We take a break from the serious stuff to dig up her falsely edited Wikipedia page from years ago which claimed she lost several toes in a car accident and credited power lifting for her comeback (17:33).  Back to business—she explains how her life changed after she reached the quarterfinals of Roland Garros in 2016, including entry into the Elite 8 Club (19:41). And now that she’s had experience working in working for media, she tells us how her perspective has changed (21:36). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After being named the Miami Open tournament director in January 2018, James Blake joins the Beyond the Baseline podcast to talk about the tournament’s move from Key Biscayne to its new location at the home stadium of the Miami Dolphins. Blake talks about what his role entails; what fans should expect from the new location … Continue reading Beyond the Baseline, with Jon Wertheim — James Blake on the new-look Miami Open → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“You need to prepare for a legacy. You can’t just say, ‘Oh they stopped playing. We need a legacy.’” TENNIS.com Podcast hosts Nina Pantic and Irina Falconi are thrilled to have Judy Murray on this week. Though best known as the mother and former coach of Andy and Jamie Murray, the Scot has her own vibrant story to tell as she continues to do everything she can to promote tennis in Scotland and around the world.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the grounds at Indian Wells, Jon Wertheim checks in with Jamie Lisanti to discuss the top storylines and results from the BNP Paribas Open, including: Naomi Osaka's recent comments on Twitter about becoming a role model for young tennis players around the world; Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal's comments on the announcement that ATP president Chris Kermode will not continue as ATP president beyond his current contract, which expires at the end of 2019; and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From his home in Florida, Kevin Anderson joins the Beyond the Baseline podcast to talk with Jon Wertheim about his ongoing recovery from an elbow injury, how he's managing his time and when he is expected to return to tournament. Following up on his guest appearance in the Mailbag, Anderson also talks about tennis' sustainability efforts and his suggestions for how the sport can improve parts of the game to help the environment. Anderson and Wertheim also talk about the Rafael Nadal–Nick Kyrgios match and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"For all of the trolling we get on social media, I find it fascinating how positive and supportive people are when you talk about mental health issues."  Nicole Gibbs comes on the TENNIS.com Podcast this week with Nina Pantic and Irina Falconi. Gibbs, a former Stanford multiple NCAA champion, has been ranked as high as No. 68 in the world and has reached the third round of two Grand Slams. Last week, she won the $25,000 ITF Pro Circuit event in Rancho Santa Fe, marking her seventh career ITF title.  With Indian Wells just around the corner, the American is excited to get back to the site of her best result, which was the round of 16 in 2016 as a qualifier (01:23).  The 25-year-old shares what keep her motivated, especially when tournaments don’t go her way and when her ranking dips (03:14). She talks about the importance of work ethic and how she recently changed her perspective of what her game style should look like (09:05). She also dives into why she connected so strongly to Andre Agassi’s book Open (11:32).  Gibbs tells us about her Behind the Racquet post about her battle with depression, and stresses the importance of managing your mental health (18:20). She has got a huge platform on social media and isn’t afraid to use it, yet even she was surprised by the support she has gotten after opening up (27:54).  While tennis is the focus of her season, Gibbs also has a huge personal milestone coming up in 2019. She’s getting married to her longtime boyfriend Jack Brody in November. He proposed with one of the most well-thought-out videos of all time and she reveals her expectations for the wedding (30:13). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices