Has women’s tennis served its purpose for Saudi Arabia?

Key Takeaways

• •

  Alcaraz wrist injury forces Barcelona withdrawal

  “He said, it's a more serious injury than we all expected. And I have to listen to my body so it doesn't affect me in the future. With great sadness, I have to return home and recover as quickly as possible.”

• •

  Barcelona night sessions prioritize revenue over player preference

  “I suspect that this will be the first of very many night sessions in Barcelona because I suspect they're making a lot of money from it. And, you know, once you're making money from something, that genie doesn't go back in the bottle. It tends to sort of mate with other genies.”

• •

  Two-week Masters events create unsustainable player schedules

  “I know that there's gaps between matches, but we've heard players talk about the fact that those two week masters are grueling because you're on, you're in tournament mode for such a long period of time. And I just don't think it's feasible really to expect him to play every single clay court event.”

• •

  Rafael Jodar emerges as surprise Barcelona title favorite

  “He's won ten sets in a row now, going back to his previous tournament and his first couple of matches here, without losing more than three games in a set. He has been destroying people, including Munnar, Karabelli a couple of times, Muller, Trangeli, Mahatch.”

• •

  WTA Finals may exit Riyadh for European hosts

  “We discuss tennis’ place in the quickly changing landscape of Saudi investment in sport, with reports that the WTA Finals will not be renewing in Riyadh. Could Czechia or Poland be good hosts?”

Episode Description

Catherine and Matt are together for a mid week catch up with events in Stuttgart, Barcelona, Munich and Rouen in full swing.  Part one - ATP (00:00 - 34:41). How concerning is Carlos Alcaraz’s withdrawal from Barcelona with a wrist injury? We react to his press conference and discuss the difficulty of his clay court season scheduling. Elsewhere in Barcelona, Lorenzo Musetti has picked up some much-needed wins and now plays Arthur Fils, while Rafael Jodar has become the favourite for the title. In Munich, there’s excitement ahead of Joao Fonseca vs Ben Shelton but also more dispiriting Stefanos Tsitsipas scenes.  Part two - WTA (34:42 - 59:02). We look ahead to a brilliant quarter-final line-up in Stuttgart, despite a slow start to the event. Iga Swiatek’s new era is underway and we chat about her win over Laura Siegemund and preview her match against Mirra Andreeva. And can Coco Gauff keep up her perfect record against Karolina Muchova?  Part three - News (59:03 - 1:34:58). We discuss tennis’ place in the quickly changing landscape of Saudi investment in sport, with reports that the WTA Finals will not be renewing in Riyadh. Could Czechia or Poland be good hosts? There’s also bits and pieces from Roland Garros’s pre tournament press conference, retirement announcements from Jamie Murray and Roberto Bautista Agut, and a Rafael Nadal documentary coming to Netflix.  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.