Another Raducanu trial, Kyrgios is injured and Botic spoils the party again
George Bellshaw and James Gray are stuck on this side of the Atlantic while Calvin Betton is sunning himself in Tennis Paradise: Indian Wells.
We delve into the mailbag for your emails on weird dreams, George's long-term hatred of Indian Wells, the let rule, and comments on coaching by Janko Tipsarevic
Emma Raducanu has another coach on trial
Nick Kyrgios managed just 1.5 sets on his comeback from injury, beaten by Botic van de Zandschulp...
...who then ruins the party for Novak Djokovic in tough conditions that he said were totally different
And there's a great run in IW for Sonay Kartal
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1:20:44
Feud with Roddick continues, VAR controversy and Pique's wild ideas
Calvin Betton (ATP tennis coach), George Bellshaw (writer and broadcaster) and James Gray (journalist) all gather round the microphone once again to discuss the biggest issues in tennis.
On the eve of "the fifth slam", there has been plenty of off-court controversy...
Calvin reacts to Andy Roddick's claim that Rohan Bopanna being a good person and helping other people "doesn't necessarily make doubles a use case" as well as insisting that "a singles player might have done the same or even more"
George breaks down the VAR controversy in Dubai where Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alexander Bublik clash over a "hindrance" video replay call
James posits a theory on Stefanos Tsitsipas's resurgence
Gerard Pique says he has more ideas on how to improve the sport because "tennis needs to evolve to adapt to the current speed and attract those young people who are tempted to watch many other things like HBO or Netflix"
Emma Navarro records a double-bagel victory in the Merida final while Jessica Pegula makes it two titles for the American women with victory in Austin
Tomas Machac serves his way to a maiden ATP title
And everyone gets ill in Acapulco
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1:21:28
Raducanu's Dubai ordeal, Andreeva's biggest title and clapping back at Reilly Opelka
Molly McElwee (Substack here: https://mollymcelwee.substack.com/) joins James Gray, Calvin Betton and George Bellshaw to talk about a busy and often fraught week of tennis.
Emma Raducanu was approached by a stalker in Dubai, who allegedly followed her across four tournaments, and burst into tears on court, triggering widespread discussion of women's safety in tennis
On the court, Mirra Andreeva won the title, beating Elena Rybakina and Iga Swiatek back to back
Andrey Rublev won the men's title in Doha, beating Jack Draper in the final - but it was Stefanos Tsitsipas's remarkable defeat to Hamad Medjedovic that really caught the eye
Reilly Opelka says it's time to get rid of doubles - and it backfired badly
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1:45:53
Jannik Sinner banned, Rybakina coach suspended and Fonseca makes his move
Quiet week in tennis? It will never happen.
ATP coach Calvin Betton, The i Paper journalist James Gray and former tennis reporter George Bellshaw sit down to discuss a couple of weighty issues in tennis this week.
Jannik Sinner has agreed a three-month ban with Wada after two positive test for clostebol last March. Wada re-stated their acceptance of his excuse, that a member of staff had used it, but would have claimed on appeal that he bore some responsibility for the actions of his team members.
Stefano Vukov, somehow still coach to Elena Rybakina, has been handed a one-year ban by the WTA for "mental abuse", calling Rybakina stupid and telling her she would "still be picking potatoes in Russia" if it wasn't for her, as well as pushing her physically to the point that she got ill. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6035283/2025/02/11/stefano-vukov-wta-ban-report-elena-rybakina-coach/
Joao Fonseca has won his first ATP tour title in Buenos Aires
Jelena Ostapenko didn't win the title in Doha but has cemented her place as Calvin's "absolutely rock star" of women's tennis
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1:46:20
A Raducanu losing streak, Murray-Djokovic latest and Simona Halep retires
Grand-slam winning tennis coach Calvin Betton, tennis writer George Bellshaw and The i Paper's sports news correspondent James Gray are all back for another episode of the award-winning Tennis Unfiltered podcast.
They discussed...
Emma Raducanu is on a four-match losing streak after another defeat in the first round, this time to Ekaterina Alexandrova in Abu Dhabi - but what next for her in the coaching corner?
Two-time grand slam champion and former world No 1 Simona Halep is retiring at the age of 33
Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic remain in talks about their future together as coach and player
Lucas Pouille says he may have played his last match
Belinda Bencic won a title, her first after returning from maternity leave four months ago
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