Arthur Fils - future Roland Garros champion?
Quotes & Clips
5 clipsElena Rybakina leads the 2026 WTA race
“Returning to number one in the race, David is an interesting one for Rybakina, isn't it? Because absolutely nobody is arguing with Irina Sabalenka being the world number one, the best tennis player in the world. And yet, with quite a large sample size now, coming up to four months, Elena Rybakina has been the best player in the world in 2026, and I think somehow those two things are both true.”
Stuttgart indoor conditions favor Rybakina’s elite game
“And on clay, I do think the indoor clay is a good surface for a little bit of time on the ball and so dominant on both serve and return. This time she just resorted back to the brilliant form that she'd been in all season. I think Andreeva and Muchova were not quite either of them at their sort of physical best in the semifinal or final, they both perhaps faded a little bit, but Rybakina was just awesome.”
Rybakina and Sabalenka distance themselves from peers
“I think maybe the more significant point is they feel more like the Sinner Alcaraz. Rather than worrying about who's number one, who's number two, they feel different to everybody else right now. I think that they should be going into probably, and certainly the next Grand Slam as the favorites really, because it's Clay, and I was looking at Rybakina's Roland Garros record, hasn't been that great.”
Karolina Muchova snaps losing streaks against rivals
“She'd lost six times in a row to Goff. And she'd actually lost three times in a row to Svitolina. So to flip those head to heads around in consecutive matches, I agree with you, this does feel like a real step for Muchova. Her forehand picked up where it left off against Mertens in the round before and was absolutely brilliant coming up with so many angles, such pace on it as well.”
Muchova manages fitness with a disciplined schedule
“I trust her more, I trust her body more in these matches and these tournaments. She's 20 and this season against everyone that isn't Sabalenka, Goff, Swiatek and Rybakina. She is not taking bad losses at all, you know, and she's healthy, she's played a full schedule, but she's also, to David's point about Sabalenka, I think, playing a smart schedule. She's pulling out of events, you know, looking through the season.”
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Episode Description
Part one - WTA (00:00 - 32:07). We start with Elena Rybakina’s title in Stuttgart which takes her to the top of the WTA Race for 2026. What were the keys to her victory? How did she come through an extraordinary match with Leylah Fernandez? And what might this mean for the rest of the clay court swing? There’s also chat about Karolina Muchova’s brilliant run and another loss from a set up for Iga Swiatek. But were there some positive signs for Swiatek in her defeat to Mirra Andreeva? Over in Rouen, we cover Marta Kostyuk’s victory in an all-Ukrainian final against Veronika Podrez. Part two - ATP (32:08 - 1:05:08). Arthur Fils is a title winner again and David is a very happy man! We discuss Fils’ level to beat Lorenzo Musetti, Rafael Jodar and Andrey Rublev in Barcelona before David makes a very big prediction. In Munich, we analyse Ben Shelton’s improvement on clay and an emotional week for Flavio Cobolli. Part three - News and Madrid preview (1:05:09 - 1:28:49). We cover the news that Marketa Vondrousova is facing investigation for refusing a doping test before looking through the Madrid draws. How concerning is Carlos Alcaraz’s withdrawal? Full details of the second edition of the Mike Dickson Award can be found here. Become a Friend of The Tennis Podcast Check out our new merch shop! Talk tennis with Friends on The Barge! Sign up to receive our free Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, Fantasy League updates, and more) Follow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast) Subscribe to our YouTube channel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.