Carlos Alcaraz wins Monte Carlo and Team USA delivers at Billie Jean King Cup
In this episode, Anastasia and Nick catch up on all the latest from the tennis world—from the red clay of Monte Carlo to the team spirit of the Billie Jean King Cup.
They break down Team USA’s surprising BJK Cup performance, share highlights from Anastasia time at the Charleston Open, and unpack the energy (and drama) of Monte Carlo. Expect a closer look at standout players like Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, recent coaching shake-ups, and rising American names like Hailey Baptiste and Bernarda Pera.
It’s a mix of insights, on-the-ground reflections, and everything you need to know heading into the next stretch of the tennis season.
🎧 Available now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.
Relevant Links:
Alex De Minaur’s shorts: https://www.instagram.com/p/DIYQU7po93g/?img_index=1&igsh=MWdpN2RudWF5bGZo
Monte Carlo Stringer Video: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DITY8TVpbsa/?igsh=MWd0eXh6N25qamt5bw==
TRANSCRIPT
Anastasia (00:00)
Recording is in progress. Yuki Tsunoda is in the points.
Nick (00:06)
Anastasia, this is the wrong podcast.
Anastasia (00:11)
Okay, okay, okay, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. That's our other secret Formula One podcast. Yes. Yes. Hello.
Nick (00:19)
We're now going to start looking for our Formula One podcast now Anastasia
Anastasia (00:22)
You know, if they can find it, they deserve it.
Nick (00:25)
Well, yeah, maybe we might be able to find it on our SubStack
Anastasia (00:29)
Oh, you never know. Oh, man. Okay. Welcome to Groundpass, the tennis podcast. You have found a very excited Anastasia and Nick. Nick, you're a Yuki fan, right?
Nick (00:48)
Who isn't a Yuki fan?
Anastasia (00:49)
Okay, thank you.
Who isn't a Yuki fan? Everyone loves Yuki and he is in the points in the Bahrain Ground Pass, but that is not what we're here to talk about today, even though we're super excited about that. We're here to talk about Team USA. That's our subject.
Nick (01:05)
USA, USA. I mean I'm practically American at this point.
Anastasia (01:11)
At this point,
we have adopted you. You may be part of Team USA, but...
Nick (01:19)
to remember where they've actually been.
Anastasia (01:22)
Exactly, all you had to do was join a podcast. But yeah, that was also another exciting thing to talk about today. We have so much to talk about. We cannot wait.
But first and foremost, I want to start putting this on in the beginning. If you're listening to us, if you love our little banter and you love all things Groundpass, please subscribe anywhere, usually YouTube, subscribe on YouTube.
but we would love to hear from you. Drop a review, drop a like, drop a comment, and I'm going to be giving a little prompt. I think I'm gonna do this every episode, maybe not every episode, because maybe it's not really relevant, but because of the tournaments this year, or this past week, actually, a question came to mind. So if you're listening to this, drop a comment, a review with your answer.
and we will read it back next week. We'll see what answers came through. But the question for this week is, what non Grand Slam tournament is top on your wish list to attend Nick?
Nick (02:31)
Indian Wells. I don't think I need to go into much more detail than that because every episode of the podcast over the last sort of month or so has been I want to go to Indian Wells. Yes. Probably longer than a month, two months. The last two months has been I want to go to Indian Wells. I feel like I could be repeating myself.
Anastasia (02:49)
Exactly. You have been talking about it for a long time and my answer is very relevant to this week and it is Monte Carlo. Monte Carlo is very high on my wish list of a non Grand Slam tournament to attend and this week only, you know, made it go higher on my list. You know, if it wasn't number one before, now, now it totally is. So.
We're going to be talking today about all things Monte Carlo. We will also be hitting on Billie Jean King Cup and all the other tennis news that has happened during the past week.
Nick (03:28)
Point of clarification, is it a tournament you've attended you've not attended before? Yes! Or is it in general? Yes.
Anastasia (03:36)
Yes, no, definitely something you haven't attended before. Yeah, because then it wouldn't be on your wishlist. Then it wouldn't be a wishlist tournament.
But yeah, so that is what we're hitting on this week. If you did not listen to last week's episode, I never say this, but just stop listening now and then go back, listen to next last week's and then come back because it was awesome.
Nick (03:59)
It was fantastic. I absolutely loved that podcast. listened back to it and I loved it even more the second time I was listening to it back and just like, yeah. Abigail is a very engaging person and sort of her tips about life are inspiring. She is definitely a role model for a lot of us. So I definitely say go check that out.
Anastasia (04:28)
Yeah, it was incredibly listening back while I was editing it and just thought, for, you're right, just for life, all her quotes were just so relevant and it was a really great episode to listen back to. It's just one that's just, should always be on the queue. If you're ever feeling like you need some motivation, just listen to the Meet the Professionals episode with Abigail Johnson. So really excited about that one and for more.
interviews that we are going to, you know, hopefully bring you this season on that series. So let us begin.
Let us begin where we left off because I think when we left off, I was heading to Charleston.
Nick (05:14)
Yes, which once again you kept secret from everyone else
Anastasia (05:18)
That's the way to do it. But do you know who knew before everyone else? Substack. Substack knew before everyone else.
Nick (05:27)
place to go if you want to find out everything to do with Charleston, because we're not going to do a full recap on it. And that would take, I don't think it would do justice to the amount of content that Anastasia did. But if you do want to hear about it, go subscribe to our sub stack. there any other ways that we're going to be letting people know about it?
Anastasia (05:49)
Yeah,
because I think one thing that we have kind of developed over time with Groundpass is we love to talk about all these tournaments. We love to talk about tournaments and how you can go to them on a Groundpass and what to expect. So we are going to be releasing a review video of what Charleston is like. That's gonna live on our YouTube. It's gonna come out next week. And then also,
going to do a little write up on our website as well because I want something that some people can just go to year after year because this is actually something that I find lacking. Every time I want to go to a new tournament, I immediately go look online and say, Charleston Open, Monte Carlo, all those things. And for the most part, you can go to the tournament website itself and get some information.
But I think what is missing sometimes is just a fan's perspective, someone who's been, who knows where the sun shines on a court, who knows like the secret entrance to this court or, you know, what time periods to bye tickets, just a little bit of an inside track on stuff like that. So I think we will be putting on our website what that is and it'll just live there. We'll update it every year.
So if you didn't know we had a website, groundpasspodcast.com is where you can find all of that stuff. Actually, super great tip for those who just like to read, because I didn't realize this, but a lot of people just want the transcripts of podcast episodes and they can read it back. I didn't know this. So I actually do put all the transcripts or the transcription of each podcast is on there.
if you want to go check that out. you like photos from tournaments, we have that there too. But yeah, so not going to touch a lot about Charleston. What I will say is it is the best WTA 500 level event, at least that I have attended. And it's mostly because of the people. The people there are just really great.
Nick (08:03)
And is that the people who are the local residents of Charleston, North Carolina, or is it the people at the tournament?
Anastasia (08:08)
It's everyone. It's the players, the people at the tournament, the residents of Charleston. There's a very small town feel. I have not been to a tournament where I'll meet someone in town and then meet them on the grounds as well. Like it's that small and close.
Nick (08:29)
Interesting. The idea of Charleston being a place for like everybody in town that goes to event when the tennis comes in. And yeah, that sounds like a really sort of fun, cozy event almost. And yeah, home away from home. So yeah, I can see why it's a very popular event. And you can find out more about why it's a very popular event by watching back on Substack or reading our website, which is great. Yes. The website is getting some love. And I love this idea of a resource that people can go.
and find all this information on them. It's going to take a while to update, but we'll get there.
Anastasia (09:05)
yeah, it's gonna please do not expect an entire debrief of every single tournament we've been to so far on there. It's going to take a minute to build up, but that is always going to be there as a resource for you. Okay, let's get into what happened this week. And I'm really sorry, guys, if you hear some music in the background, I think my neighbors just decided to have a disco party in their apartment.
So I don't know what's happening.
Nick (09:35)
Hold
on 1970s Saturday Night Fever
Anastasia (09:39)
Like literally and I'm like wait what is going on but hopefully you're not picking that up too much.
Nick (09:47)
I can't hear it when we're recording. So that's a good sign. So I guess this podcast is staying alive.
Anastasia (09:53)
Yes,
yes, fingers crossed. Okay,
what happened this week? I returned to New York from beautiful sunny Charleston to just rain and dark cloudy skies all week. Like it's been awful. And the only ray of sunshine that I had was watching Monte Carlo. Like that was my ray of sunshine. Did you get to watch most, did you get to watch a lot of this tournament?
Nick (10:24)
not loads because, to be honest, the way the tournament was scheduled, it was when I was at work. So like it was usually finishing by the time I got back from work a lot of the time. and, this weekend I've had other things on, but also I have been choosing to watch Billie Jean King Cup a lot. because, you know, I got to support the, I've got to support the GB girls. so yeah, that's.
But I've been catching what I can and certainly from what I see, I think Monte Carlo has possibly one of the best stand views you'll ever see. Just looking out over the Mediterranean from up high. I mean, there's quartz nettle in mountains and that looks beautiful as well, but there's something about just looking out over that view.
Yeah. It is incredible.
Anastasia (11:26)
Yeah, that view is just every time they were playing the matches and they would just like go to a wide shot. I just thought, oh my word. I mean, just, it just looks so, I don't know. It's almost otherworldly because there are mountains on one side and then on the other side is just the ocean and then this beautiful clay court in the middle. And if you don't know, now you know.
Clay Court Season is my favorite season. I think we've talked about this on this podcast before, but I like the natural surfaces, clay, grass, like that is my vibe. But Clay Season is just my favorite. feel like, especially for the players who know how to work the surface, there's so much beauty they can create in the shots that they player. So just having that, the vista.
I really wanted to go, but we have someone who went. We know someone who went. Nick, you were able to get a voice memo from who went to Monte Carlo.
Nick (12:35)
So James, who is a friend of ours on the tennis internet, as it were, on the forums on X, he's known as Tennis Ranta on there. Good name. Yeah, good name. And generally, he is the go-to for all things Brit. But this is third time he's been to Monte Carlo. And he's written about visits before on sort
popcorn tennis, which was a tennis writing site he and I used to contribute to back in the day. doesn't run anymore.
Anastasia (13:12)
I actually think I remember this last year. Can you imagine this is our second Monte Carlo episode? But we talked about Monte Carlo last year and I think we included James's article.
Nick (13:24)
So I heard James was going back and obviously we like, you know, he's listened to a few of our podcasts before. And so I thought I'd reach out and say, Hey, can you tell us what it's like, like this in 2025? Cause things could change and judging from what he said, things have changed a little bit.
Anastasia (13:41)
Here is James from Monte Carlo.
Nick (13:46)
So what can I say about the Monte Carlo Masters? Well, it almost feels as though it is a bit of a constant battle between L'Elea de Blue and Forza Italia in terms of the almost Davis Cup atmosphere it can turn into. It's almost a home event for both French and also Italian players. And if you ever get the chance to end up on, you know,
one of the courts where you have an Italian versus a French, you can really turn into a fantastically raucous atmosphere. The match I was on this year was Gasquet versus Arnaldi. And there was a point you would think that there'd be more French fans in the stand than would be Italian, but that was generally louder cheers for the Italian fans than there were for the Italian player Arnaldi, than at times for Richard Gasquet.
And it's just a, get in that atmosphere, you feel the buzz of the crowd, the stomping of the chairs, and you can really feel the passion for the tennis and a time when sort of tennis is moving either away from smaller format, as we're saying, for the masters or potentially looking at going to areas of the world which don't have that sort of tennis culture. It is a real stark reminder of why we love it and why we want, you know, we want those atmospheres and those, you know.
and those vibes and whatnot to work the way they do in places like Monte Carlo. But I was going give you some top tips. You have to, if you can, up trying to go on both of the main courts. If you can, over a couple of days, of course, you've got Court Ragne-Toire, the main court, which even at the top of the stands, you still get a great view of the court. And you see the scenery and up into the mountains.
If you're at the top of the stands, you can see over the the banisters to have a look at the Mediterranean Sea. And if you're on the stand that's closest to Dipwant or Diprances, then you can look over and have a look to see what's happening on that court. And it's one of the sort of best sites when certainly when you when you're on Diprances or you're on maybe court two and you're seeing people staring over the top of the banister, the top of the sort of stands to have a look at what is going on.
You know, I always say that the sort of what feels like the best kept secret in tennis, especially given with the 56 format of Monte Carlo is the great matches and the great atmospheres that you can get on to Francis. It's you know, you're very condensed and the noises are fantastic. You were literally sitting mere meters away from sort of top, you what can be top 10, top 20, top 30 players playing in their absolute prime and
you know the idea that this could be the almost like you know the tennis masters of the also the tennis paradise of of the clay season very much rings true you know when it comes to the type of tickets the most common ones in which you will note will be the ones for ragne where you can get either ones at a right court side which tend to be the most expensive and then there are also ones that are a little bit further up the
up the stands which tend to go down in price but still can be, at the back end of the week can be quite pricey but the best bargain is de France which is the second court where pretty much far in the first couple of rows every single ticket on that court is the same price and it tends to be half the price that you would pay to get on Ranier Trois and if you go at maybe looking at round the 16 day where you've
that the way you've got four fantastic singles matches on there, that's a bargain, or even any point earlier in the week, it's a real worthwhile ticket. They have changed things for the new court. They recently changed the court to Etta or Masse. That one you have to have a ticket to one of the top two courts and then actually purchase an extra ticket to get on Masse these days. I'm not a fan of that. I felt court two under his old format worked really well when any fan could rock up to that court.
and generally get some great atmospheres on there and you always hear the the chouts and the cheers from that stadium. But you know just to wrap up if you can you have to go have to at least go to Monte Carlo for an attempt to experience that Masters 1000 and yeah just could recommend it anymore.
Anastasia (18:22)
Now, another thing that I love the mostest is team tennis vibes and listening to James talk about what the crowd is like between sort of like the French and Italian players when they're there and it's a little bit like Davis Cup. I now have to go to Monte Carlo. Like that is an atmosphere that I want to be in the middle of.
Nick (18:52)
Yes. I mean, obviously it's your kind of atmosphere for kind of when it all gets noisy. And certainly it does feel like a mini French open with some of the crowd there. Like you get the, there's even been a few of the classic French chant that we will probably hear echoing through the stands of Roland Garros popping up now and again. But also I think, yeah, when you see who does well at Monte Carlo, yeah, that's where a lot of the overlap happens.
Anastasia (19:23)
So let's dive into a little bit to Monte Carlo. Now Monte Carlo is, it's a Master 1000 level event for the ATP only. It is a non-requirement. So if you follow us on, well, either Instagram or TikTok, I made this a little bit a part of our coffee catch up where I give a little bit of a rundown of what the Monte Carlo Masters is.
It's one week long and because it's one week long, it meant that the matches just came hard and fast immediately. Like the seated players had buys, but some of these first round matches, Nick, I was not ready. I had just come back from Charleston and I really wasn't ready for Carlos Alcaraz versus Cerundolo or any of the other absolute.
blockbuster that we saw right from the jump.
Nick (20:27)
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. think, obviously, because Alcaraz, Cerundolo think, you know, that had Blockbuster already in order for it. did potentially see a wobble for Alcaraz, but then he stopped after that first set with Cerundolo. The big moment, was Zverev getting knocked out by Berettini in what was a first round epic, or second round technically, I suppose, because Zverev had a bye.
Berettini I thought he'd be dangerous anyway, because Berettini is no slouch on a clay court But the way he kind of kept up with Varev and kind of was able to live with just what Varev does was very, impressive. And that 48 shot rally that Berettini won basically set him up to win the match from that point, like in the deciding set. And that is what everyone was talking about. It is one of the two
quotes, matches of the week on the ATP side, I would say the other one we'll probably talk about a little bit later involving a match that Anastasia was probably frothing at the mouth at when that started happening. There was a lot of excited texts between the two of us about that match. The Zverev-Berettini match was also pretty special and a great way to kind of, it kind of set the tone for Monte Carlo, right? Yeah.
Anastasia (21:50)
No, it really did. But it's really funny too. I had this feeling and maybe because I had just come back from Charleston, I maybe needed a little bit of a break. So I was expecting, was like, I'll just turn on Monte Carlo and it'll just be some quiet first round matches. No. Because it's a one week event, what these one week events do is that it just...
throws you into the wool sten right away and you're fighting for your life at these matches. that Zverev-Berettini match definitely set the tone, I think, for the rest of the week in the tournament. Zverev did lose in his quote unquote, it's technically his second round match because he got a bye for the first round. Sorry. But he's having a moment. The poor kid, he...
Has he won a match? Well, I guess he has at some point, maybe, maybe one or two since he lost the finals of.
Nick (22:55)
He's not won many matches though. I'll just look at that now.
Anastasia (23:00)
I think I talked about this too in a recent episode of How.
Tennis isn't just about just hitting the ball. There is such a mental part to it too. And it really does seem like he is going through something and you wonder if he can ever get out of the funk that he's in. But it is such a case study in how you also have to be mentally strong in tennis to win.
as well. can't just have the best forehand and the best backhand or the best serve. That doesn't always work in tennis and that's why as a sport I really do love tennis because of that. There's such a psychology to it as well.
Nick (23:49)
To confirm, Zverev has played six tournaments since he lost the straight and open final to Jannik Sinner. He's won six matches.
Some tournaments got in the first round, others got a bit further, like Miami was its best tournament. We won two matches, got to the fourth round. But that's been the highlight, I'm afraid, for Alex on average. He's winning one match per tournament at the moment, which is solid for someone of his ranking, but not spectacular.
Anastasia (24:25)
No.
Nick (24:27)
But you know, you're right. Like right now, he doesn't seem to have what he had for most of last year and sort of being able to just win matches. Yeah. Yeah. And that's going to affect him for the rest of the season, I think, because he didn't have many points to defend from the third part of the season in 2024. So we'll see how Clay treats him. He's coming up to Madrid, which is probably one of his favorite tournaments. And we'll see if that changes anything.
someone who maybe has changed their mindset who also loves Madrid, is Carlos Alcaraz back?
Anastasia (25:02)
He's back.
Nick (25:04)
You woke up guys.
Anastasia (25:06)
But here's the thing too, because... And I think this is something for fans to sort of consider as well is, but did he really go anywhere? Because if you think about it, if you think about it, he got you.
Nick (25:24)
Right, because I've got a spreadsheet, a track things on throughout the season. And I'm looking at like people's peak results, you know, what will get them like a good chunk of points in one go. When actually Carlos has been one of the most consistent big point scorers through the season. He's got quarterfinals in Australia, won Rotterdam, semi-finals at Indian Wells. And in first for us,
because we now actually have a result where we're recording, he's won Monte Carlo. So like, yeah, he's actually chalking things up. his results are better than maybe we would initially think the way we talk about it because we're so used to him being the top player. It's very similar to the way we talk about Iga Swiatek sometimes.
results are not good when you compare them to Spectacular.
Anastasia (26:20)
Exactly. And that's sort of where you kind of level set a little bit because yes, he he did go out for his first round, which is second round. Did he get a bye? Yeah, they all got a bye.
Nick (26:31)
Right.
Bye. Bye. Loser the first set.
Anastasia (26:36)
Not Miami.
Nick (26:38)
Miami. yeah. Miami. Yes. Goffin was a weird match. Yeah.
Anastasia (26:40)
Yeah,
yeah, so he got he got a bye Miami and then lost to Goffin in the second round. So, yes, that is his one early exit this season. But sometimes the way people talk about it, you would think he was like Zverev losing first round every or at least not making it through the first round match. But he's done pretty well, although I think in the theme.
in a weird kind of sort of theme of the Monte Carlo Masters is this sort of everyone working on their sort of mental game because at the end Carlos did talk about how he has not been feeling great and he was maybe looking at the rankings a little bit too much and what other people were saying he was supposed to be doing.
And that is why he kind of was in a slump a little, a slump in quote unquote. So mean, like, if that was my slump, I would take it. Quarterfinals at the Australian Open, semis, I would take that slump. But yeah, and you know, that goes on to another player, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who loves Monte Carlo and really did great at this tournament. But after his wins for his first couple of matches,
He was very disappointed. He was like, I did not player well. You my mind wasn't there, but they're all talking about the same thing with Lorenzo Musetti who made it to the finals. After each win, it was such an emotional release for him going through. And I was just like, wow, the boys, the boys are going through it in Monte Carlo is what it felt like to me.
Nick (28:28)
anyway,
you go through it by its very nature because the rallies are long. It's so physical. You have to hit through the ball a lot more by that. Yeah, which probably meant it's a temporary doesn't mean a lot to most people listening, but it's it feels like you to put the effort in, or at least put the endurance in and the mind has to follow with that. It's surprising that but it was great to see.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina who's having a great season, get another good result, really push Alcaraz and get a couple of good wins, spite, as he said, not playing well. Lorenzo Musetti you know, being so emotional and getting final, he did so well to get a set off Alcaraz in that first in the final today. And someone else, I mean, look, if you want someone who was going through it, that person was probably Anastasia in the quarterfinals. When Carlos Alcaraz
played Arthur Fils And that match, Fils could have won that match. He really could. He was pretty close to winning that match. I had that on the background when I was at work. It was, I couldn't pay much attention to it. But occasionally when I would look up to be able to like, I've got 10 seconds, I can watch a rally. The rally was insane. The rally was just like insane, crazy ball striking from both. Both of them were all over the court. You had Fils trying to
throw everything in his forehand to Carlos's backhand because he didn't want Carlos to go anywhere near the forehand. Both were all over the court. Carlos was just not having it. that was such a fun match. And that was me half only paying attention, being able to pay attention to some of it. What was that match like for you, Anastasia?
Anastasia (30:16)
It was so fun. It was, you know, it was almost, and maybe this is why I like exhibition tennis, because I just love fun tennis. I think I posted afterwards to her Instagram, one of the rallies, and I posted, if the ATP, whoever, you know, Rolex, Monte Carlo Masters, if they want to sell tennis, they post this match for free. Just put it up there for free.
everyone can watch it and you cannot watch that match and not be a fan of tennis at the end. It was insane. You were like, are they, what are they playing? What is this sport? Because it's not so much tennis as it is dancing and acrobatics and how they got to some of the balls. You're just like, how did he get that ball? How did the ball get into the court after he hit it that way?
It was phenomenal. It was so, so fun. again, with the whole emotional, emotional baggage or emotional response that everyone makes, know, Arthur Fils could have won that match. He was in control of the match. He, it was 5-5. He had won the first set. It was 5-5 in the second set. And he had three chances to break. It was love 40.
to Alcaraz's serve and he had three chances to break and Carlos was able to save all of those break points and get back on serve. And then you kind of knew that was it. Like he broke Arthur Fils' spirit that he could not convert any of those break points. And then Carlos broke to take the second set and he was able to win the third, even though in the third set.
Arthur Fils had the early break first. Like, ew, it was such a fun match.
Nick (32:17)
We said, Fils kept fighting. He kept fighting and we've been seeing his fighting spirit over last few weeks. Like he's got to three consecutive Masters quarterfinals now. And he's had some really like that where I was raving about a Tiafoe match he had in Miami. So yeah, he's a lot of fun. I don't think it's all dampened his spirits too much, I would hope. But I highly doubt it. I think he's going to come back and yeah, I agree with you that that sort of
They were everywhere in that match. was everything that you would want from Clay Court tennis at least.
Anastasia (32:54)
Yeah, you know who's now a clay court or as he calls it, clay dog. A clay dog is Alex De Minaur
Nick (33:04)
yes, yes Mr Boulter.
Anastasia (33:07)
Mr. Boulter. He's a clayd- His matches, I was sort of like, I was like, Alex De Minaur is gonna win Roland Garros. That's how good he was playing. Like it was insane, his level. And I just was like, where did this come from? Where did this all of a sudden just-
proficiency on clay, where did it come from? Which is very interesting. So a little backstory for Alex De Minaur He is Australian, but he was raised and he trains in Spain. So he has been practicing on clay for the longest time, but he never was anyone who was sort of like, okay, yes, he's gonna be super awesome on clay. Until this Monte Carlo opened, I was very, very shocked by his level.
And then the match, which maybe Grigor Dimitrov was a little bit compromised because he had a couple of long matches under his belt, but he beat Grigor Dimitrov love and love. He double bageled him, which you just don't see on the men's tour. You just don't see a double bagel ever. And that was a weird match. was 44 minutes long.
Nick (34:31)
Musetti broke that run to be honest because he crushed Musetti that first set
Anastasia (34:36)
Yeah,
which is, and that's the crazy thing where it's like, so that was the quarterfinals, semi-finals he plays Lorenzo Musetti. He wins the first set 6-1 and I'm thinking again, Alex De Minaur is gonna win the French Open.
Nick (34:51)
It's not massively surprising to me because it did get to the quarters last year.
Anastasia (34:55)
Yeah, but the way he did it, this, mean, he just wasn't, he beat Daniil Medvedev 6-2, 6-2. the score lines he was putting up were insane. I thought this is crazy. But then again, Lorenzo Musetti shut it down.
Nick (35:15)
He did, and that's probably why he got so emotional. I mean, to be honest, Anastasia, I am surprised you were paying that much attention to De Minaur's tennis.
Anastasia (35:24)
Well, there was the shorts as well. There was the magical shorts.
Nick (35:33)
What on earth are those shorts? It looks like something's happened where some kits have got mixed up. So I've obviously been watching Billie Jean King Cup and those shorts look like they go on the girls for the Billie Jean King Cup team, which Katie Boulter is playing in. I am wondering whether someone's laundry got mixed up.
Anastasia (35:37)
I don't know.
Which is so funny because even Katie Boulter, like he posted a photo of himself after one of his wins and Katie Boulter replied, great win, but what about those shorts? And if you don't know what we're talking about, so ASICS is the company that dresses, that sponsors Alex De Minaur and they have a current, they're currently, they have a,
What do you call them? Like a collaboration. Like a collaboration with APC. Now APC is a French brand. They're very much, it's a contemporary French brand. Kind of like if you're in the States, a little bit of an elevated J.Crew kind of vibe. they, you know, they do khaki, you know, very sort of clean cut, very chic clothing. It's very chic. It's very nice. They have this collaboration and
They also actually sponsor a player that we're gonna talk about later, because I was saying, maybe I need to see this kit on someone else. But the way this kit fit on Alex De Minaur, it was just so oversized. Like everything was just, it looked so oversized. But then the shorts were really short. So it wasn't like a Jack Draper US Open oversized, which was just sort of like that 90s oversized fit.
oversized and then really short shorts. And I think the shorts had a lot to do with the winning. So he's probably going to keep them through the clay season, I think.
Nick (37:35)
We'll see if Katie will allow that. yes, would, mean, look, if you didn't know, you clearly don't follow our Instagram, because I'm pretty sure there was a post about Alex's shorts at least once a day on our Instagram. So there you go. If that's our reason to follow us on Instagram, I don't know what is.
Something else that was really cool that came up in Instagram.
which is something that like, you when we're talking about meeting the professionals, like Monte Carlo produced a video which showed behind the scenes of the tournament stringers, some of whom have been working there for ages, for like years. Now it was, it is in French. So I think there are English, but yeah, and I think you shared it and it was on there, but I thought it was really cool. No other tournament.
Anastasia (38:21)
Yes, they are English subtitles.
Nick (38:29)
done that no other talk has offered that kind of insight into how something works. And, you know, talking to a stringer is something that we've talked about hoping to do one day on the pod. And I think it was a really nice thing to do to kind of give it a bit insight into what goes on behind the scenes. It's just a few guys having fun at work. That's what it is. And it looks so normal. It probably is normal to them, but it's such a specialist area.
especially to us tennis fans is so cool. I mean, I still don't understand how strings work, but that was a really cool video. So I would recommend going and checking that out if you haven't already, maybe we can link it.
Anastasia (39:08)
Yeah, no, definitely go check it out. I will link it in the show notes. It was just such a lovely, first of all, just a well-told story about a part of the tournament and I really loved it. It reminded me of, you know, I've been to all of these tournaments and believe me guys, I have probably only shared a quarter of all the video and things that I've taken throughout these tournaments and I'll try and filter them through at some point.
while I am finally home. But I did talk to the stringers at the Delray Beach Open. I had almost like an hour long video just talking to them. And I don't know if I will ever release it because the sound was really bad because it was really hot in Delray and they had this massive fan that was just keeping them cool.
but then it made the sound on the video just absolutely horrible. So I don't know if I will be able to share it ever, but it was very similar. Just the lives that they lead, they are the first people there because they have to be there once the tennis players arrive. And then the last ones to leave, because I never really understood kind of, you know, if once they...
they're done stringing the rackets. Like, do they just go home? And they're like, no, as long as there's a match happening, they have to be there. And I remember I was talking to one of the guys and it was after Kei Nishikori's match that he had played in Delray and he had played a night match. And Kei Nishikori apparently is very specific, like even more so than others, like very specific about how he wants his racket strung and who strings them.
and he actually will bring them by himself. So he had to be on the ready if any time during the match he sent something back to be restrung, you know? So it's a very interesting part of tennis that we don't see. And these guys are just, they're awesome. They string so many rackets, so many rackets during a tournament. So I will link that below for sure.
It is time to talk about the Billie Jean King Cup and some gripes I have with people online.
Nick (41:34)
I think you and have the same gripes. for Village in King Cup, which you know, if anyone still new is the Women's Davis Cup, Women's equivalent of Davis Cup is effectively the World Cup of Tennis that happens every single year. And the group stages happened over the weekend. And we I'll just list off who is through before we talk about the likes, maybe some of the results in more detail, but
the teams who are through that maybe we're not going to talk about so much Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Japan, they have qualified, they're going to the quarterfinals, semifinal, like the final stage is going to be held in Shenzhen, China in September, just before the kind of opening of the Asian swing. And a few other teams through but what I think was great about Billie Jean King Cup, especially this weekend was it is...
a chance for our ground pass players to take center stage and the people who aren't necessarily the top players for their countries, either because your number two player has to take part, they have to get a result. And so that highlights what other talent that nation has produced. But even if in a lot of cases, for most of the teams that their most well-known players didn't show up, Iga Swiatek didn't show up for Poland, even though their group was in part.
Poland. That was a big deal. So this probably leads into what Anastasia is alluding to, which is what happened with the US team. Because with the US team, they were originally going to send Jessica Pegula Danielle Collins, McCartney Kessler, as the singles team. They only need to pick two of them, but obviously you're going to pick Pegula and Collins. Gauff and Keys have obviously said no.
They're not going. I think they would have been asked first, why wouldn't you? But they've obviously decided it doesn't fit with their schedules. And then, well, Pegula and Collins pretty much last minute said, actually, we're not doing it. We're not playing. And what happened?
Anastasia (43:49)
Yeah.
So Pegula and Collins withdrew, which I actually, I was shocked they were, they had said yes in the beginning and maybe they thought they weren't going to do as well as they did in Charleston. Pegula.
Nick (44:05)
edition, just to kind of maybe just a first thing, Danielle Collins has in the last few hours pulled out of Stuttgart, which is happening this week. Okay. So I think Collins often has an ongoing thing going on.
Anastasia (44:16)
Yeah, yeah, but it's like they had both gone super deep in Charleston. Pegula won the event. Danielle Collins got to the semis. Yeah, the quarterfinals of Charleston. then Kessler was injured in Miami. So she obviously is still on the mend from that.
Nick (44:25)
40.
Anastasia (44:40)
They, since they pull out, they send Hailey Baptiste, Alicia Parks, and Bernarda Para. And the internet imploded.
Nick (44:53)
Well, the specific section of the internet implodes.
Anastasia (44:57)
You know what though, was actually, yes, definitely a specific section of the internet imploded, the ones that I feel like we usually will expect to implode. But I did see a lot of comments from some journalists who were like, well, here we are again. The US is not that invested in team sports was sort of the underlining idea from this group where
The U.S. isn't really invested in team sports because the top players are not going. Now, yes, know Coco hasn't gone in a very long time. Madison Keys didn't go this time, but this is what we've been talking about, I feel, for a long time, is that the depth of American tennis is so deep. There are so many good players and I just felt
It was in a way a slight to basically what we've been, you know, praising all this time. Like I think in the last few tournaments, everyone keeps talking about like, oh my goodness, they're like 17 players or so, or how many ever players are in the top 50, top 100 of the WT Tour are American. And I was like, well, now that we've come to the Billie Jean King Cup, why is that now?
not praised, you know, like just because the top five players are not going doesn't mean we don't have 12 others that can go and help the team. And these were a great team of players who some of them like Hailey Baptiste, it was her first time ever representing the U.S. at Billie Jean King Cup and they're all great players and everyone was like, they're not going to make it. Guess what?
Nick (46:53)
they did, they're through They're very- only- They- emphatically
Anastasia (46:54)
they did!
They made it emphatically. They did not lose a match.
even double they won everything. Hailey Baptiste her first two matches ever for for Billie Jean King Cup same thing with Bernarda Pera won their matches.
Nick (47:19)
So I kind of get this from a competitive perspective. If you are a competitor, if you want your country to be the best, the Americans have an advantage in that you have like not only the depth of the top 100, but you have like the Americans have four players in the top 10 now with well, obviously, three of the top five, then you add in the Varro who's going to be and that to use top 10 right now, but she will be after next week.
Anastasia (47:24)
Yes.
Nick (47:48)
or most likely be after next week. You've got Amanda Anisamova who's also top 20. That's five in the top 20. I didn't even mention Amanda Anisamova in my list earlier. And you keep going down the list and that's it. And the thing about it is that from a competitive perspective, the further down the rankings you go, the more evenly matched it gets amongst everyone. If you throw your top guys at it, you're pretty much going to guarantee to smash down the door and win. Now, Baptiste and Pera
Anastasia (48:15)
Yeah.
Nick (48:18)
pulled through and they did amazingly for their team. I think from if you're a looking at everything just on paper from a competitive perspective of like, well, why would you not? Why are our top players not supporting the team so we can have the strongest team possible? And there's also that whole national pride thing that annoys me in general, whatever country we're talking about. So I have more specific thoughts, I'm going to save them for later.
on that. If that's not a hint, I don't know what is. yeah, I think I will player Devil's advocate in that moment. But I do think that I agree with you that the depth that America has in the top 100 is underappreciated. Definitely the top 100 is under, top 100 players underappreciate in general, because that's why we do these player of Fortnight things, because nobody thinks that
top 100 players are any good. And in fact, they are a small percentage of anyone who plays tennis and are very, very, very, very good. just because you have to just because you only want to see the people with that extra very on it, your top 10, your top 20 doesn't invalidate how good a tennis that someone on the top 100 is able to produce day in and day out.
Anastasia (49:24)
Yeah.
Nick (49:45)
which is kind of where I'm at, which is the same as you, Anastasia.
Anastasia (49:50)
Yeah, yeah, no, we're always gonna be the champions of the sort of under 20, the under 20 players because I think they just should at least, I thought, especially for people who are having their first experience of the Billie Jean King Cup, should not have to read online. well, they sent the C team. What? I would love to be in the C team.
I am on the Z team, not even. I don't even make the alphabet at this rate. you know, I'm so happy for them. I'm glad that this was a great first experience for them. And I can't wait to see who they sent to Shenzhen. I hope they send this exact same team to Shenzhen and see how that goes, because I think they're a very good group of players and they played well together.
You know, it seemed like they really played well together as a team and that's what team events are about. So, go Team USA, you guys did awesome.
Nick (50:57)
In all likelihood though, think they probably will be sending top players because Shenzhen is now going to probably be a good warm up for the Beijing and Wuhan 1000s, where there's 2000 points on the table for whoever wins. So I think that could be end up being a critical part of their warm up. Shenzhen as a tournament has been relatively attractive to players in the past. If they're not too tired after playing three Grand Slams in three months, three, four months.
I mean, look, I'm feeling pretty good about my team as well. Cause GB also made it. they, they crushed Germany, which if you're a British sports fan, you know, that's a big deal. And then if you are, and then the Netherlands got a little bit scary because Sonay Kartel did amazing. Shout out to Sonay Kartel who, if you've now listened to Abigail's interview and our Indian Wells review, you'll now understand why I gave Sonay Kartel player Fortnight.
in Indian Wells. She deserved that probably here. She got her job done. She won her matches. Susan Layman's really stepped up for the Netherlands and beat Katie Boulter. And this was like a now a doubles match winner takes all winners in the gets their team into the quarterfinals out of the groups. And Layman's was playing along with Demi Shurrs who's a very good doubles player like top
has been like an elite doubles player for a long time now, since he's in the 40s at this point. they Brits played Katie Boulter and Jodie Burrage who is coming back from injury at the moment. And Boulter and Burrage thrashed the Dutch pair. I was not expecting this. I was being surprised. Well, that's it. They've got someone's really, really competent plus a really good doubles player. The Brits are having an uphill battle and
They, Boulter and Burrish just went for it. And I was so impressed by the way they basically went out there and took that match and took GB back to the final eight in the competition, which was amazing. So I'm so happy to kind of see that happen, especially again, there were sort of similar comments about the team after Emma Raducanu who decided she wasn't playing.
Anastasia (53:20)
Yep.
Nick (53:21)
In fact,
she's actually our, by ranking, second best player. And even if she has the most impressive overall CV, she is the current second best ranking. And Sonia Kartel is not that far behind her either. So we actually sent out a pretty strong, the strongest team almost that we could have. And got the job done. And yeah, we weren't favorites, but we, you know, we wouldn't be British sport if we didn't make it hard for ourselves.
Anastasia (53:24)
Yep.
Especially when it's being played on indoor clay, which is a great sort of warm up if anyone's going from there to go to.
Stuttgart, my favorite tournament.
Nick (54:04)
the 250 that's happening in the same this week coming up on the WTA. So that's the what's coming up a bit for the WTA out the way because yeah, Stuttgart and Rouen that's starting this week. We'll probably go into a bit more detail on sort of what's happening with those. do want to just wrap up the other teams through in Billie Jean King Cup, which is so GB are through, Italy have already qualified because they won the tournament last year.
China is also in the quarterfinals because they're hosting it. The last team through was Spain, which was a bit of an upset because one, they didn't have Paula Badosa and two, they were in a group with Czechia who like the USA have an insane depth of talent. And Jessica Bouzas Maneiro keeps pulling off these upsets. And yeah, she did it again, beating Noskova and basically sealing the result for Spain having after Sorribes - Tormo
Sorry, so we saw I beat Marie Bouzkova So that was a result that I wasn't necessarily expecting, but guess we'll see if Paula Badosa shows up in that. So I wanted to mention that story about Spain and again, more great, Jessica Bouza Maneiro is probably a player you need to keep an eye out for in our Ground Pass, think. Especially if she's playing a seed because she keeps doing this. She beat Vondrusova at Wimbledon last year as the defending champion.
And I do want to name one more person before we move on because...
Anastasia (55:34)
What I did want to mention about the British team and being on indoor clay because it's something that you might hear if you see like they're. The host country who's hosting in Billie Jean King Cup, they get to pick the location of what and where matches are played and for Billie Jean for for Team GB, this is the second year in a row that they're qualifying has been put.
on indoor clay and I think it's because in general, think players from different locations are put in boxes. If you're in Spain, they're like, they're really good on clay. Or if you're maybe a US player, they're like, they're super good on hardcore, you know? And I think putting Team GB on indoor clay was sort of a tactic and they seem to win it every single time. So maybe next time.
Just put them on grass. It'll be fine.
Nick (56:35)
outdoor clay because I think indoors does change how clay plays a little bit and it does player a bit more of the strengths of particular bridge plays. Having said that, if anyone's ever watched Sonay Kartel, she is a grinder worthy of a clay quarter. And she will quite happily rally all day and use those characteristics to her advantage. And she did just that. And throughout this weekend, you are absolutely right, trying to disavantage Team GB like that doesn't work right now.
Yeah, you're absolutely right. I hadn't raised your You hadn't finished your point. I do very want to this is a very quick point for me. Victoria Mboko is an 18 year old Canadian player who, as of now, has only lost two matches in 2025. Two matches. Now, you're probably wondering, why have I not heard about and why are you talking about her Nick?
Victoria Mboko played a bit of a splash in Miami, but we didn't really talk about her much in our Miami wrap up because a lot of other stuff happened. Specifically, this Filipino player called Alex Eala came along and kind of overshadowed the whole thing. Quite rightly, because she got some insane results. Whereas Mboko, no, she got a good win against Camila Osorio and then lost a thriller with Paola Badosa, lost in a final set tiebreak or 7-6 or 7-5 deciding set.
That was really, really cool. And then now she's won her two matches for Canada. Like Canada went out the day of the Billie Jean King Cup. They lost their final match to Japan, would have, would have been a takes all match. Mboko did all she could. She literally did everything that she could to keep Canada in. Won every match that was required of her. And the reason probably you haven't heard of her is because she's only been playing ITFs other than Billie Jean King Cup and then that Miami tournament when she got a wild card.
She is a very exciting prospect and I want to make sure that we don't overlook her on ground pass, especially if we start hearing more and more and more from her, which is why I want to bring her up now as a watch this space. I'm probably going to mention her again.
Anastasia (58:49)
What is her ranking right now? Do we know? okay.
Nick (58:52)
outside the top 100. Yeah,
but it's risen rapidly over the last three months.
Anastasia (58:58)
Yeah.
Because technically, so the reason why she hasn't been playing this, first of all, she's young, hasn't been playing main draw matches. She got the wild card into Miami and might, because she's an IMG athlete, get a wild card into Madrid maybe if she's still in Europe playing.
So it'll be interesting. She's definitely want to follow. If you follow us on social media, I've posted about her now numerous times. And she did really, really well for Canada. Canada that did not have Leyla Fernandez. I think that was the theme of this Billie Jean King Cup that most of the usuals, I think, who player Billie Jean King Cup were just either unavailable, injured, taking a break, something this season.
Definitely want to watch, really great player. Yes, Nick.
Nick (59:57)
ranking. She is now on Monday's rankings when this episode comes out she will be 157. So she is currently in Grand Slam qualifying territory. I agree with you highly anticipate to get a Madrid wild card. If you're going to Madrid go watch on the Ground Pass
Anastasia (1:00:09)
Yeah.
Yeah,
yeah, definitely. And the young Canadian coming up the ranking, so definitely want to watch there. What else?
What else happened in tennis was mostly about the coaches.
Nick (1:00:29)
There's a lot
of coaching that happening like, and they're all people who, showing my age yet, I grew up watching, or at least were kind of either I was watching sort of during that peak or, know one of them I just missed, but.
Anastasia (1:00:48)
Yeah, I think it was definitely during United Cup Australian Open. I was sort of super excited about like super coaches. like, I was like, the year of the coaches. The year of the coaches continues. It continues because Marat Safin is going to now be coaching Andrey Rublev. I don't know if they've put like a, was it, I don't know if they put like only for the clay season stipulations on it.
Nick (1:01:01)
It's happening guys!
I didn't see that. Again, we might have some newer tennis fans. Who is Marat Safin?
Anastasia (1:01:17)
Yeah.
well...
Nick (1:01:25)
Sorry, Anastasia. I know who is talking about because he retired when I was an early fan.
Anastasia (1:01:34)
Here is, and this is definitely for the casuals because how I even know Marat Safin is because I can't even remember what tournament it was, but in his coaching box for the tournament, instead of having, I don't know, your coach or your agent or whoever it is, your family, he literally put, there were like three models in his coaching box. This is the most,
It's one of the most popular sort of like lures of tennis or like just memes of tennis. But that's if you want to just get an idea of Marat Safin, he was like the bad boy of the 90s. You know, he was he was the bad boy of the tennis 90s.
Nick (1:02:21)
ironic given he won his Grand Slams in the 2000s
Anastasia (1:02:25)
Yeah,
but that was that was his reputation. That was his vibe and he hasn't.
Nick (1:02:33)
I'd
say about the stuff in Rublev relationship based on that. The Safin - Rublev, I like having Rublev amuse me for two reasons. One, I don't know why Andrey Rublev is picking someone who was in his prime, also incredibly explosive emotionally, but in a very different kind of destructive way. And also how someone who off the court is as like one of the good boys of tennis now in Rublev.
is partnering with someone who had Marat Safin's reputation. 25 years ago now.
Anastasia (1:03:06)
who is the bad boy of tennis.
But I think it has to do a lot with almost someone who, in the sense that you say Marat Safin was very explosive on court, and maybe it's sort of someone who almost knows what you're going through or understands where your emotions are coming from, is maybe someone who can
help you work through those because he did say when this partnership was announced, he did say he's had a relationship with Marat Safin before and he's kind of talked about it where, you know, he said Marat Safin has talked to him and they've had different conversations before this coaching relationship began. And now there's a coaching relationship as well. So the first tournament they were at together was the Monte Carlo.
Masters and they're going on I again I can't remember if there's some sort of end date or maybe this is sort of a trial period or something But they're together in Barcelona right now. I've seen like photos on social media and things like that so the relationship continues and then Diana Shnaider one of our favorites on ground pass is Being coached now by Dinara Safina
Nick (1:04:33)
That is correct. By the way, Dinara is Marat Safin's sister. Because in Russian, like if you're a woman, you add an a on the end of your surname. Don't know why I don't, I need to the research on that.
Anastasia (1:04:51)
I think it's just the feminine version. So they have like the masculine and the feminine version of their surnames. But
Nick (1:05:02)
Safina herself is a former world number one as well. She famously won Rome and Madrid, but didn't quite get over the line to win a Grand Slam. But I think it's great to see it because she's been of behind the scenes for a long time. So it's great to see her and about in this coaching relationship with Diana Shnaider. And I'm interested to see where that goes and what insight she brings.
Anastasia (1:05:24)
Yeah, no, and I, you know, it's funny because both siblings have been out of the tennis world up until now. And it's very interesting that they're both choosing pretty much the same time to come back into it as coaches. With Dinara specifically, I do love this almost, it seems a bit of a wave, maybe just a little eddy I don't know, but a bit of a wave of.
top female coaches coming onto the scene, especially in the WTA. We see what Conchita Martinez, who's been coaching for a while, has done with Mirra Andreeva So it's nice to see yet another female coach come in, Katie Boulter, Marta Kostjuk. They all have female coaches as well. So I like it.
Anna Kalinskaya Yeah, I think it would be nice to do something in all the current female coaches out there. And I hope it's a trend that keeps going and we see a lot more female coaches on the tour.
Nick (1:06:37)
I agree. I think that's going to be super exciting. Fortunately, we don't need to give too much of an introduction to the next player because we know who it is. Goran Ivanovich is a name you've heard before. He's coaching again. It looks like he's coaching Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Anastasia (1:06:54)
Yes, it looks like he's joining team Tsitsipas, which I think would be genius. mean, just anyway, whoever Goran chooses to coach, I think it'll be great. He didn't have much luck with Elena Rabakina, who he started with earlier this year, but hopefully he'll be able to do some work with Stefano Tsitsipas, who has dropped out of the top 10 for the first time in since, I think, 16. Was it what they said? I think it's.
Nick (1:07:22)
Did
not drop out the top 10? Because there was a period where he didn't have any one-handed backhand in the top 10 last year. So I think he did drop out briefly in 24.
Anastasia (1:07:31)
Right, but then it was like a, I think I remember it was like one week and then he was back in or something. But yeah, but he's going to be, maybe it's a top 15, because he's now basically live rankings. He's the top, he's the 16th best player in the world. So it's definitely a new, a new time for Stefano Tsitsipas. And we'll see if he can sort of use a little bit of Goran's magic to get back his form and
and get back to the top of the game there a little bit. I don't know, I think it'll be a great partnership.
Nick (1:08:07)
I think that would be really, really exciting too. I'm looking forward to seeing what will happen and especially, let's see what Goran can do with maybe making Stefanos' game more effective.
Anastasia (1:08:20)
Before we move on to sort of player of the Fortnight and what's coming up, I just wanted to talk about Challenger TV coming to Tennis Channel. So this is a little bit of a change because Challenger TV you can just get on and when we see Challenger TV specifically on the ATP side, because I think WTA you still have to go to their website to do that, but Challenger TV is usually available on the ATP website through their Challenger web online.
platform, but it is coming to Tennis Channel. You weren't previously able to watch Challengers on the Tennis Channel, but now it's going to be coming there. And it'll probably be on T2 as well, which is their free tier of Tennis Channel. So once we have more details on that, I'll bring it, but I just wanted to bring it, put it out there that it's coming. And it also means that Challengers, because if you watch Challenger TV, there's one angle for the most part.
It's a little webcam on the baseline looking at the court and that's all you saw. So apparently they're gonna bring a little bit of more of a higher level production to Challenger TV and you can see more angles and things like that.
Nick (1:09:37)
Which
is great if you are an avid enthusiast of the game and you want to see these players coming up or fighting to kind of get into grand slams, which is what a lot of these players are. And you can see things like, well, on the WTA side, you can watch Alex Eala playing in the We're S125, which is happening this week. Or you could have potentially watched, how do you pronounce his name? He won the Madrid Challenger today against Maran Cilic.
Anastasia (1:10:02)
Kamil Majchrzak He's from Poland.
Nick (1:10:06)
Yes. We talked a bit about what's happening with the WTA. So Stuttgart 500 is happening. That's got six out of the top 10 players playing in it. It's a stacked event. It feels like a mini 1000. That's all I should have to say to sell it and the winner gets a car. So that's kind of the schtick behind it. It's indoor clay. You'll see Sabalenka, Swiatek, Gauff, Pegula, Andreeva all kicking off their clay court seasons. That's going to be super exciting.
To see what kind of comes out of that. You've got Rouen, which should see 50 happening in France. I guess the big story coming out is that's where Bianca Andrescu, the 2019 US Open champion is making her comeback for 2025. That's also going to be indoor clay. And then on the ATP side, we have two 500s happening, Anastasia.
Anastasia (1:10:55)
We have two 500 happening, Barcelona where Carlos Alcares is probably going to be playing again. have Stefano Sitsipas, we have Andrey Rublev, Alex De Minaur, Ethan Quinn, who played qualifying, or Ethan Quinn who has been player of the Fortnight before, I believe, friend of the podcast, he's going to be playing Barcelona. He played through qualifiers and he has drawn.
the one and only Carlos Alcaraz in the first round. Good luck, Ethan Quinn. I will be rooting for you. So, going to be watching that. Then we have the Munich 500 where Alexander Zverev is playing. They've had a few withdrawals out of Munich. I know Jan Lenard-Struff who won it last year, he's going to be there to defend his title. So we will see what is coming out of Munich and then...
Nick (1:11:28)
You are so watching that much.
Anastasia (1:11:53)
I do want to mention the O..
Nick (1:11:59)
Oreias
Anastasia (1:12:21)
and there's a tennis court in the middle of it. So it looks really, really cool. There is a dual challenger happening, ATP and WTA. And like Nick said, Alex Eala is going to be playing there. It's the first time we have seen her since the Miami Open. So really excited to see how she does there for sure.
Next player of the Fortnight. Mine this week is actually Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
He is a Spanish player. I think because of his run at the Monte Carlo Masters, he got all the way to the quarterfinals. I think he's gonna be in the top 30 now in the live rankings, if I remember correctly. But he's from Spain, he's been around for a bit. But what I didn't realize up until Monte Carlo is he was the ATP player up until Monte Carlo.
with the most wins on tour. And that is pretty impressive for Alejandro. He's having a very, very good season, even though it's not leading to titles yet, but he has constant momentum and he was able to do very well this tournament. Yes, in the beginning, he, after every win, he was kind of like, I did not play well, I have to play better. So he was definitely working through some things there, but I think he's super fun.
There is a Twitter account that follows him that is titled Did Foki Fall? His nickname is Foki, F-O-K-I. And he tends to not be very firm on his feet. And he tends to float around and fall a lot on court. But he did not, he did not fall not one time at Monte Carlo. So he's doing better. And I just think he's a fun.
He's a fun player to watch and especially this clay season, I'm expecting that he's gonna do some things. He already has been and I think he definitely is worth a watch if you are going to tournament on a ground pass, he'll be there.
Nick (1:14:34)
yeah, especially since he probably will be seated low enough that he will he will definitely be there. That is for the first couple of couple of days. And yeah, he is very fun to watch. Yeah. Especially when he does decide to play tennis lying down. He decided he needs to do. I don't think anyone's surprised by my choice of players at the fortnight. Now, I did have a cheat. I did cheekily put Victorian Mboko in earlier, because
You know, I kind of thought she would, I needed to mention her and I was thinking about her, but I'm actually going to go with a couple of players that we've mentioned already. And that is Hailey Baptiste and Bernarda Parra. Because the party, because of what we talked about was with the reaction of who are these people playing in the USA team now, with where are the stars? And my response is if you've been to the USA on a grand pass, probably would have seen them.
I probably would have seen them play They're a very different stage in their careers. Hailey Baptiste is 23. She's just getting going. Bernarda Parr is 30. She's been around for a bit. Both made their Billie Jean King Cup debuts. Both of them won both their singles matches. They didn't need to go to doubles. The result was decided. And so, yeah, I think you should go celebrate.
Team USA, particularly an American fan. If you're not an American fan and you just like good tennis, go watch them anyway. But this is particularly when the US swing comes around. Go watch them, go support them, go show your appreciation for getting your team into the next round so that the stars can pick up, you know, where Baptiste and Pera did all the hard work and get to know these players because they're both very interesting players and
well worth paying attention to. So I am cheating a little bit by having two, but I don't think it's fair to give it just one.
Anastasia (1:16:39)
That is fine. A dual player of the Fortnight. And we have a Meet the Players episode coming soon. Maybe not next week, but the following with Hailey Baptiste. I got to sit down with her in Charleston. So expect that on our YouTube. I will post when it's live. But yes, definitely both players to watch and keep up with throughout the season, for sure.
So that is it for us. Thank you for joining us this week on Groundpass. It was definitely a busy week. Next week we will be coming to you with a mini pod and then we'll be back again in a couple of weeks with a full episode. If you're listening to us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, please leave us a five star rating. On YouTube, please subscribe and like and we will see you next week.
Bye!
