Category: Podcast

Episode 42 of the Tennis Abstract Podcast, with Carl Bialik of the Thirty Love podcast, rings in 2019 with a discussion of the players we’re most looking forward to watching in the new year. The WTA offers us a wealth of promising future stars, and the ATP continues to provide a generation of potential contenders who may finally break through.

We also delve into the ATP Cup and the possible demise of Hopman Cup, as well as the complexities and implications of the new structure of the ITF rankings and transition tour.

Thanks for listening!

(Note: this week’s episode is about 55 minutes long; in some browsers the audio player may display a different length. Sorry about that!)

Click to listen, subscribe on iTunes, or use our feed to get updates on your favorite podcast software.

Episode 41 of the Tennis Abstract Podcast, with Carl Bialik of the Thirty Love podcast, focuses on the man of the hour, Alexander Zverev, who defeated Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic to win the season-ending event and record his career-best result. We discuss how he did it, and what it says about his chances to take a step forward at majors in 2019.

We also talk about the opportunity for longer-format matches at the Tour Finals, especially in doubles, and the questionable aggregate stats that TennisTV introduced during the week in London. Finally, we cover the plans for the first ATP Cup in January 2020, as well as a quick preview of this weekend’s Davis Cup final between France and Croatia.

Thanks for listening!

(Note: this week’s episode is about 61 minutes long; in some browsers the audio player may display a different length. Sorry about that!)

Click to listen, subscribe on iTunes, or use our feed to get updates on your favorite podcast software.

Episode 40 of the Tennis Abstract Podcast, with Carl Bialik of the Thirty Love podcast, starts with the Czech Republic’s victory in the Fed Cup final, and quickly diverts to a discussion of how we can evaluate players, and whether stylistic varietey is all it’s cracked up to be.

We preview the ATP Tour Finals, with a look at Djokovic, Federer, and a half-dozen dark horses, then discuss the plethora of experiments in progress at the NextGen Finals in Milan, including a fast-four-like scoring system, which neither of us are all that excited about, even if it’s supposed to make things more, well, exciting.

Thanks for listening!

(Note: this week’s episode is about 57 minutes long; in some browsers the audio player may display a different length. Sorry about that!)

Click to listen, subscribe on iTunes, or use our feed to get updates on your favorite podcast software.

Episode 39 of the Tennis Abstract Podcast, with Carl Bialik of the Thirty Love podcast, covers the breakthrough Masters title of Karen Khachanov, along with the memorable semi-final between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. We also give an update on Jack Sock’s career choices and the career accomplishments of doubles whiz Rajeev Ram.

The second half of the episode is our recap of the WTA Finals in Singapore and the Elite Trophy in Zhuhai. We get distracted from our discussion of Svitolina, Sabalenka, and Barty by delving into the weeds of tournament formats, considering the pros and cons of the various round-robin and wild-card approaches that events use this time of year.

Thanks for listening!

(Note: this week’s episode is 61 minutes long; in some browsers the audio player may display a different length. Sorry about that!)

Click to listen, subscribe on iTunes, or use our feed to get updates on your favorite podcast software.

Episode 38 of the Tennis Abstract Podcast, with Carl Bialik of the Thirty Love podcast, is our preview of the WTA tour championships. We look at Sloane’s weak position on the Elo table, Wozniacki’s comments about the strength of the field, and the strongest tacticians of the elite eight. We also consider the shifting career forecast of the resurgent Luxembourg finalist, Belinda Bencic.

We also have quick takes on Ivo Karlovic, who is setting records both in age and tiebreak frequency, and the new fifth-set tiebreak rule at Wimbledon. Thanks for listening!

(Note: this week’s episode is about 65 minutes long; in some browsers the audio player may display a different length. Sorry about that!)

Click to listen, subscribe on iTunes, or use our feed to get updates on your favorite podcast software.

Episode 37 of the Tennis Abstract Podcast, with Carl Bialik of the Thirty Love podcast, opens with a discussion of Borna Coric’s future, along with the difficulty of forecasting 21 year olds in an era when men don’t peak until much later. We touch on Roger Federer’s unusually weak performance in the Shanghai semi-final, as well as Novak Djokovic’s dominant return of serve and his growing pile of Masters trophies.

We also look ahead to the year-end championship fields in London and Singapore, and consider Simona Halep’s place in history, now that she has sealed the year-end number one ranking for the second consecutive season.

Thanks for listening!

(Note: this week’s episode is about 62 minutes long; in some browsers the audio player may display a different length. Sorry about that!)

Click to listen, subscribe on iTunes, or use our feed to get updates on your favorite podcast software.

Update: Episode index with links, thanks to FBITennis:

Forecasting young players	1:07
Assessing Roger Federer after Shanghai	8:53
How good is Djokovic’s return game?	16:16
Adjusting titles for strength of opponent	24:10
Do the Masters’ surfaces suppress Fed’s achievements?	30:20
Who is the favorite for the ATP Tour Finals (London)?	36:18
Who is the favorite for the WTA Finals (Singapore)?	41:30
Is Halep an all-time Top 10 WTA player?	49:58
ELO as a leading indicator of (next) year-end ranking	58:50

Episode 36 is a very special edition of the Tennis Abstract Podcast. I’m joined (in person!) by my co-host Carl Bialik ,of the Thirty Love podcast, along with Federer super-fans and stats junkies Edo Salvati (of settesei.it) and Sulaiman Ijaz.

With this overwhelming amount of analytical enthusiasm gathered around a conference room table in Helsingør, Denmark, we delve into the GOAT debate, trying to take a balanced approach despite our likely Fed bias. We consider the value of weighting slam titles for draw difficulty, the importance of weeks at number one, the surface balance of Masters tournaments … even the doubles prowess of the men in the conversation. We also speculate about the eventual career tallies of Nadal and Djokovic, and what might tilt the debate in a new direction.

This was a really fun episode to record, so I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as we did.

(Note: this week’s episode is about 94 minutes long; in some browsers the audio player may display a different length. Sorry about that!)

Click to listen, subscribe on iTunes, or use our feed to get updates on your favorite podcast software.

Episode 35 of the Tennis Abstract Podcast, with Carl Bialik of the Thirty Love podcast, starts with a look at the newest star on the WTA tour, Aryna Sabalenka. The 20-year-old Belarussian won the Wuhan trophy last week, and already looks like one of the strongest hard-court players in the field. We also touch on the rise of Hawkeye line-calling competitor FoxTenn, and the ATP titles claimed a couple of players on the comeback trail, Bernard Tomic and Yoshihito Nishioka.

Thanks for listening!

(Note: this week’s episode is about 59 minutes long; in some browsers the audio player may display a different length. Sorry about that!)

Click to listen, subscribe on iTunes, or use our feed to get updates on your favorite podcast software.

Update: Episode index with links, thanks to FBITennis:

Sabalenka-mania	1:00
Australian Open preview based on WTA Elo	7:58
Is Osaka the next Serena? Is Sabalenka the next Maria?	16:25
Swinging around to swinging volleys	17:55
Performance byes	21:50
Fox “Force” 10 and challenges	25:15	And the payoff
The return of Bernard Tomic	39:45
Disappointing result for Fabio Fognini	46:10
The effect of injury on consistency	49:00
Nishioka’s first title	52:50

Episode 34 of the Tennis Abstract Podcast, with Carl Bialik of the Thirty Love podcast, breaks down the second edition of the Laver Cup, with a look at the structure of the event, how it generates its appeal from an unusual format, and whether it can survive without Roger Federer. We also check in on the WTA Asian swing, and the ups and downs of top players that have made this season so difficult to predict.

Thanks for listening!

(Note: this week’s episode is about 59 minutes long; in some browsers the audio player may display a different length. Sorry about that!)

Click to listen, subscribe on iTunes, or use our feed to get updates on your favorite podcast software.

Update: Episode index with links, thanks to FBITennis:

Laver Cup 2018	0:50
Sock as the Best Doubles Player	6:52
A Laver (King/Gibson) Cup for Women?  Or Mixed?	15:30
Can Laver Cup survive celebrity retirements?	26:30
Will Laver Cup enthusiasm reach other formats?	36:20
WTA Guangzhou, Seoul and Tokyo	39:25
The two sweet Carolines (Wozniacki and Garcia)	43:55
Are we seeing mediocrity, or stronger parity in the WTA?	47:10
Probability an existing WTA GS winner wins at least 7 of them	51:20
Surprise stat fact about Caroline Garcia	55:05

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Episode 33 of the Tennis Abstract Podcast features guest host and frequent Heavy Topspin contributor Peter Wetz, who reports from last weekend’s Austria-Australia World Group playoff tie in Graz, which featured Dominic Thiem and podcast favorite Alex de Minaur, among others. We also try to give an explainer of the new Davis Cup format, but it’s possible we’ll leave you more confused than you were before.

Thanks for listening!

(Note: this week’s episode is about 61 minutes long; in some browsers the audio player may display a different length. Sorry about that!)

Click to listen, subscribe on iTunes, or use our feed to get updates on your favorite podcast software.

Update: Episode index with links, thanks to FBITennis:

What’s it like to go to a Davis Cup tie (Austria example)?	1:15
Gunter Bresnik’s coaching legacy	8:15
Dominic Thiem as clay court specialist	10:25
Mr. Sackmann’s One-Hander, and Results	14:20
One-Handed Backhands on Clay	15:40
Who will be #4 next year?  Delpo, Zverev, Murray or Other	16:50
Alex De Minaur	19:20
Other World Group Playoffs Action	28:10
Prediction for 2018 World Cup Final	30:50
New Davis Cup Format/Reforms	36:15
How will the new DC format treat doubles	55:30