Behind the Racquet Pod (Mike Cation & Noah Rubin/Tennis Channel Podcast Network)

Nicolas Moreno De Alboran defeated Mikhail Kukushkin in 3 grueling sets on Sunday in Tyler, Texas to win his second career Challenger title. Before he had to run to catch a flight, he chats with Mike about what it means to get a title on home turf, be at a new career high (142), and how he solved the riddle of Kukushkin.

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Noah lost a tough one to Ivo Karlovic. To Mike's delight, the gentle giant threw in THREE underarm serves. We'll get Noah's take on his French Open experience, what's next, and what the hell is going on with the French Open balls?

Then the boys discuss the complete lack of consistency pointed out this week by former guest Gaby Dabrowski, among others, on medical protocols from week to week. What's the ATP telling it's players? Noah tells us.

Then, Mike takes on some wild tangents, because that's what Mike does when he has little sleep.

HUGE thanks to our latest patreon sponsors, Scott Cole, and Lee Stanley. You can help support the pod by visiting patreon.com/behindtheracquetpod

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It's a big week with Roland Garros qualifying underway in Paris, so we were thrilled to have a few minutes on Sunday to chat with Ellen Perez. Ellen was this week's feature on Behind the Racquet, and we wanted to extend the conversation a bit and see if her effervescent personality and positivity could rub off on the two cynics in the room.

Little Rock is on the docket for Mike next week, and Orlando immediately following, so we'll have a couple more in person chats coming up.

Thanks as always for the continued support!

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We introduce you today to Dr. Jonathan Katz, a member of the BTR team who will take us on a journey of exploring mental health in athletics.

Today, we talk about the impacts of social media on us all in the midst of the pandemic, as well as the challenges facing athletes, specifically tennis players, when they return to the field of competition.

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Lots going on the last two weeks, and Noah and Mike recap the wins by Mmoh, Giron, and Wolf.

And we discuss how crucial it is for small countries to have someone leading the way in the sport, with the best player EVER from Barbados, Darian King.

Join the conversation with @noahrubin33 or @mikectennis on all forms of social media

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Luke Saville and his partner Max Purcell won seven Challenger doubles titles in 2019, and moved up around 30 spots in the ATP rankings. But they received a much deserved wild card to the 2020 Australian Open, and fought their way to a Grand Slam final.

One year later, the 27 year old (HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAV!) prepares to defend those points in next week's AO; but first, he's part of Team Australia in this week's ATP Cup. It's his first international team appearance for Australia since Junior Davis Cup, when he was one of the two or three most feared players in his age group.

Sav breaks down his career, his intent with singles and doubles, and the difficulties of opportunity on the doubles side.

Big thanks to our latest patreon sponsor Keith. You can help support the cause at patreon.com/behindtheracquetpod

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This week, hear Mike's interview with Stefan Kozlov, who won the USTA's reciprocal wild card to the Australian Open by virtue of a final, title, and title over the last 4 weeks in Vegas, Charlottesville, and Champaign.

We've also got an interview with Christopher Eubanks, winner of the Knoxville Challenger one week ago.

Finally, to start the show, the boys discuss Koz's impeccable run over the last two months, Peng Shuai, and Novak's completely unnecessary post celebrating Alex Zverev.

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Noah joins us from Chile, after winning his first round match this morning, and boy let me tell you, he's got some stories. While Novak's deportation took all the headlines, it was FAR worse in Chile. Hear the story, and catch up with the guys.

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Karue Sell is a force to be reckoned with. After a successful junior career, and collegiate career, he took a year off, got to about 350 in the world after returning to tennis, stepped away from playing, became Naomi Osaka's hitting partner, founded mytennishq.com with his friend Gui, coached Marcos Giron, and now has restarted his playing career, winning a title in his second tournament back.

This week, he joins us to talk about how your perspective changes as a coach, his massive success online and what that means as he resumes his playing career, and what can change to make tennis a smoother ride.

Don't forget, on Friday, he's competing with Clay Thompson, Bradley Klahn, and Marcos Giron in a exo on mytennishq.com! Watch and subscribe for free!

• 00:00
• Introduction and Background
• 03:00
• Taking a Break from Tennis
• 06:00
• Returning to Compete
• 11:00
• Balancing Coaching and Playing
• 13:00
• Growing My Tennis HQ
• 16:00
• Challenges of Creating Content on the Road
• 20:00
• Future Goals for My Tennis HQ
• 22:00
• Promoting and Growing Tennis at Lower Levels
• 30:00
• Using Platforms to Grow the Sport
• 33:00
• Upcoming Tournaments and Collaboration

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Quick tech note: Mike's recorder went wayward the first few minutes. It restarted a few minutes, the audio is clean about 7 minutes in.

Now.

This is Mental Health Week for the Behind the Racquet.

Join Noah as he explores mental health from a variety of perspectives, with special guests on the Behind the Racquet Instagram live:

All times Eastern:

Monday 2PM Dr. Jonathan Katz

Tuesday 2PM: Sven Groeneveld

Wednesday 2PM: Marcos Baghdatis

Thursday 5PM: Reilly Opelka

Friday 2PM: Marco Trungelliti

Any questions, join Noah and discuss!

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Of note, no Noah this week, as he was both traveling, AND he had Islanders rinkside seats while I knocked out this pod, as well as one with Goncalo Oliveira that we'll post soon.

Uli is 23 years old, with a unique childhood that he'll tell you about. Really a fascinating interview, and thanks to everyone for popping in and spending time with me the last couple weeks back on the road!

-Mike.

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Jon Wertheim doesn't get to go in the weeds too often, but we dragged him in for an extensive interview about media coverage and how it relates to players outside the top 50. We also get a little more in depth in to the idea of improving marketing for players, as well as payments for those outside "the big 4."

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The body has not been kind to Andrew Harris over the years. Back issues have limited his ability to play a full schedule since an incredible junior and college career, in Australia, and then Oklahoma. He's still hesitant to use the word specialist, but he's cognizant that this may give him the opportunities to reach the sport's peaks.

Here how he got started in the sport, what took him to Oklahoma, and how he's approaching this stage of his career. He's got some fun tales about 2022 Wimbledon, and some thoughts about how to face doubt and challenge in tennis.

More from Indianapolis with Christopher Eubanks this week.

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Mike got back out on the road, so he shares his thoughts on the Challengers in Orlando and Tallahassee.

Then, we get in to your questions, including Jack Sock's future, the difficulties of scheduling....

and then a LOT of you wanted us to discuss Jenson Brooksby. So we did. And hopefully, we have him hop on with us later in the week.

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A couple of things to hit on this week's edition of 15-all:

Noah's in to the third round (at the time of recording) at the Indian Wells Challenger

He's still seeing some unhappiness amongst is peers. Is he happy?

HUGE thank yous to our new patreon sponsors!!!

And Mike is starting to panic a bit about the coronavirus.

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Canadian Davis Cup Champion Gabriel Diallo joins Mike on the pod this week. The 23 year old provided another big jump in the rankings in 2024, moving in to the top 100 on the back of his first ATP Final in Almaty.

We discuss his beginnings, his quite international background, the college days at Kentucky, and how he's focusing on process over results.

More next week with Jamie Loeb talking to Hayley Carter!

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Noah will be back this week, after we air this episode I recorded in Orlando a few weeks ago!

Goncalo Oliveira will take us on a ride through a fascinating childhood, to say the least. In some ways, it was living the dream; in others, not so much.

He's now on the cusp of being a perennial Grand Slam doubles participant. But that's not the goal yet. He'll explain why, and we'll talk about some of the ATP politics as well

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The boys have a quick chat about Noah's return to competitive tennis, and why it's so important to him again after a difficult stretch.

Mike takes a look back at the Atlantic Tire Championships in Cary, North Carolina, some of the surprises and big stories, as well as a quick discussion on Jenson Brooksby, Atlanta, and the potential US Open wild cards.

Then we hear Mike's chat with Mitchell Krueger, recorded just after the Texan won his title on Sunday.

Subscribe, and be a part of the discussion, @noahrubin33 and @mikectennis

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Guest Host Christopher Eubanks guides us through the career of French tennis star Enzo Couacaud, and take you Behind the Racquet to tell you his story.

Things get interesting when they start talking about the French generation of Monfils, Tsonga, Gasquet and others, and what "greatness" is.

And then we get in to how the NBA influence could benefit tennis.

More coming next week!

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Mike (Cation) here. I've known Michael Kosta since I started working in tennis, right out of college, when Craig Tiley asked me to be the public address announcer for the University of Illinois Men's Tennis team, in 2001. He and Amer Delic came in to work on a pre-match CD of music, and we talked, and I immediately started pushing for him to join our radio morning show from time to time, because he was just hilarious.

25 years later, and Kosta has achieved some incredible things, with multiple comedy specials, and now as a correspondent and host on the Daily Show. And now, as he promotes his new book Lucky Loser, we have our first interview together in 22 years.

Enjoy.

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Just a slew to unpack this week, in this order

1) The French results, Iga on BTR, Nadal's achievement at the French

2) The return of the USTA Pro Circuit

3) PTPA vs the New Player Council

4) Mental Health Awareness Week and where Noah and Mike are in that regard

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First, apologies for some of Mike's audio issues in this one. Unfortunately, the wifi in his hotel this past weekend caused a few issues so we're going to ignore the fact that he sounds worse than normal, which is saying a lot.

Here are Eliot's deets:

Age: 22

Rank: ATP 721, ITA (College) #1

Hometown: Greenwich, Connecticut

2023 Collegiate Player of the Year, finishing #1 in singles, #2 in doubles

He will definitely hop in as a Challenger level player quickly once he turns pro at the end of the year.

More coming up next week! Also, happy birthday to the lil fella.

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Ethan Quinn is 20 years old, ranked 246 in the world, out of Fresno, California. He won the NCAA Singles title at Georgia in 2023.

On the eve of US Open qualies, he sat down with Mike to discuss his path out of Fresno, why he's a 40 year old in a 20 year old body, the slow and sometimes difficult progression in the pros, and his journey in to hip hop.

More (hopefully) next week.

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26 year old Liam Broady prepares for the restart of tennis as the 211th ranked player in the world, and unsure about how the quarantine rules will affect him over the next few months. He recently created a stir by flipping off Andy Murray. He's a possible male model. 

The pride of Stockport joins Noah and Mike to discuss those topics, and what he's learned from the Battle of the Brits, Andy Murray, and his trips through the states.

Thanks again to all of our patreon sponsors. You too can be a sponsor by visiting patreon.com/behindtheracquetpod.

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Noah and Mike catch up on the misbehavior of some of Noah's contemporaries, and discuss Iga and Carlos' victories in Miami, along with some stories from on the ground from Mike.

More coming from Tallahassee in a couple weeks!

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Thanasi Kokkinakis sat down with Mike after winning the Elizabeth Moore Sarasota Open, his 6th Challenger Title. We talk about his return to the top 100, and guaranteeing himself a spot in the French Open main draw with a week on an injured foot. He battled tough conditions, tough opponents, and the weight of that main draw throughout the week, and is now headed on his European summer trip.

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The 18-year-old defeated Yuta Shimizu on Sunday in Chicago to win his first Challenger title, and moved inside the top 200 for the first time.

Along the way, he also defeated Li Tu, Aleks Kovacevic, Kei Nishikori, and Jerry Shang. Heckuva week.

Chat with Chris Eubanks coming later this week!

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Zizou Bergs is a 23 year old from Belgium who won the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger on Sunday in straight sets over Tung-Lin Wu. During the event, he didn't lose a single set, while clinching his fifth Challenger title. It was an emotional moment for Zizou, who recently lost his grandfather. We talk about the week ,his style, and what this one means to him.

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Jamie Loeb takes the court on Grandstand this afternoon against Iga Swiatek after a gritty, and hard earned qualifying run last week. It's her first main draw appearance at the Open since 2015. And she's really, truly, been through a lot this last year. This is her story of how she's found new perspective, fought through covid, self doubt, and is allowing Jamie Loeb to be Jamie Loeb.

This is the Behind the Racquet Pod

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Grant Chen is now the Head Coach for the men's tennis team at SMU. He came to Dallas after a legendary run from the team manager for UCLA, all the way to Associate Head Coach. He also helps run the Dallas Open, and multiple USTA Pro Circuit events at the Styslinger Altec Tennis Complex in Dallas as well. Further, he's about as connected as anyone can be. You'll see him in the box from time to time for Grigor Dimitrov, he's tight with John Isner, and many others. So Mike sat down with him to find out what makes him go, how he's gotten to this point, and what tennis means to him.

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Limits are getting pushed indeed.

For Mike, it's the all too familiar feel of depression that's hit pretty hard.

For Noah, it's a level of frustration with the leaders of tennis.

Listen, react, and reach out.

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Part of the underlying pressure faced by players at the Challenger level is the constant undercurrent of defending points from one year ago.  

Noah Rubin (noahrubin33) and Mike Cation (mikectennis) break it down, and explain why the current system is a bit flawed, while searching for a correct fix.

Also, a big surprise at the end as we reveal next week's guest, and ask for your input!  

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The caveats are important here. Nothing, in terms of discussing the what ifs of tennis, matters as much as the health of humans, and how we move forward as a society.

That being said, Mike and Noah talk a bit this week about how they're personally being impacted, and how the decision making processes by the various entities in the sport are drastically underrepresenting its players.

Personal note from Mike: Apologies for not properly thanking all of our incredible patreon supporters in this week's episode. I will make sure to make that right next week.

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This was supposed to be a week for us on positivity, and some of the things that make this sport so memorable and positive for us.

That changed with the positive Covid test for Frances Tiafoe in Atlanta.

So, this week, Mike takes the reigns to rant against the idea that so many exhibitions are having as much influence on the sport as they are.

Noah brings us home with the positivity,

Don't forget, support the podcast at patreon.com/BehindtheRacquetPod

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Recorded immediately preceding Carlos Alcaraz's victory in the men's singles final, Noah visits Mike in Queens to wrap up the Open.

We talk rivalries

The Happy Slam in New York

And Carlos' impact.

We get some takes on the PTPA, US Open Broadcast times, and more.

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Noah has received a wild card in to the US Open Doubles Draw.

Mike has received an offer to broadcast the US Open.

All good news!

Dr. Katz helps the guys out and gives them tips on how to survive the bubble, and appreciate the opportunity.

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Mike and Noah take on the Novak crisis (as of Monday Jan 10 in the morning), and decry the fact that this continues to make tennis look bad. And what about everyone else who did the right thing. And WHAT ABOUT THE TENNIS

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A difficult topic parsed by Noah and his longtime friend Phillip Simmonds, taking a look at race in the sport of tennis, and how it affects the players and fans.

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Wide ranging chat with the pride of Carmel, Indiana Rajeev Ram this week. Mike gets to chat all things University of Illinois with one of the legends from the undefeated National Championship team of 2003, and Noah looks ahead with the Australian Open champion about how the sport might be changing due to the pandemic delay.

Huge thank you to our patreon supporters this week. We're so thankful for the support in this difficult time, and if you're able, we'd appreciate your support too. Go to patreon.com/BehindtheRacquetPod

<3 Mike and Noah

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Somdev Devvarman was an All-American and NCAA Champion at Virginia, and reached as high as 62 in the world during his professional career. He's now returned to tennis as both a broadcaster in his native India, and as a coach of Sumit Nagal. Hear his viewpoints on how we could improve the transition for players post their playing days, and his thoughts on the Challenger tour as a whole.

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Mitchell Krueger's road has not always been easy. But a return home, a strong relationship, and a commitment to himself have allowed him to persevere. Hear from DFW's finest in this week's Pod.

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Top 100 star Ben Shelton gave his thoughts on his whirlwind year, his three straight titles to end the year, his offseason, his girlfriend Anna, and Mike gets emotional because that's what you do at the end of the year.

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18 year old Alex Michelsen (pronounced like the golfer) joins Mike on the eve of the Little Rock Challenger, where he'll attempt to have a decent week to get in to Wimbledon qualies. He's already reached a Challenger final in Rome, has wins over former top 10 players Pouille and Sock, and is ready to enroll at the University of Georgia in the fall. We talk about his confidence, his on court improvement, and what he likes to do off the court. And yes, we talk about how he's processing the college decision as a potential top 250 player.

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Zachary Svajda is 20 years old from Southern California, currently ranked 170 in the world. This fall, he won the Cary Challenger, and this past Sunday, he won the Tiburon Challenger for the second straight year.

We talk about his upbringing, his decision to go pro instead of going to college; his strong connections with Roger, Novak, Steve Weissman, and Rick Buchta; and that incredible ball-striking ability.

Hopefully, more coming up from Fairfield this week!

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A quick 7 minute interview with Jack Sock after he won the Savannah Challenger on Sunday, before our full episode with Somdev Devvarman, which will be released on Tuesday.

Also, an update on us pausing our patreon page.

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The 27 year old Atlanta resident woke up from a well deserved nap to join us on Wednesday night, and go through how his life has changed in the span of 3 weeks with a first ATP title in Mallorca, and a spirited run to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon.

We go through how he's processing it, the reaction at home in Atlanta, what's changed in his game, and yes, the most remarkable celebrities that reached out.

Lots to cover, so dive in!

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The pandemic has been difficult for the entire tennis community, and has been well documented. But when @annak4ever posted a graphic this week about the lack of "Challenger level" opportunities for women (just 3 tournaments in the 60-100K prize range from January through March!), it really opened Mike's eyes to the incredible lack of upward mobility available right now on the women's side.

There's no one better qualified to talk about it than Tara Moore. The 28 year old Brit is a member of the ITF Player Panel, and with a current ranking around 200, is one of the players directly impacted by a lack of tournaments with sufficient points to improve her rankings. She walks us through some of the challengers both personally, and globally, for women outside the top 75 in the world.

As always, a huge thank you to our patreon sponsors. You can help by visiting patreon.com/behindtheracquetpod.

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A week after he leaves the bubble, Noah Rubin reflects on his times at the Open, while Mike appears to have a different view entirely. The boys dissect their reflections on it.

And Mike was moved immensely by Naomi Osaka, but also wondered if it's possible for someone like Noah, or any player around 200 in the world, to have an impact socially, if they don't win at the highest level.

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Our weekly check in today is essentially therapy time for Mike, while Noah is taking his discussions to a large group of players. Hear what he's discussing with them, and how the guys are handling their time sidelined, and without an income source.

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Both guys are now on the mend, after Mike gives you the details on his recent medical trauma.

Hoooobi is the champion in Miami. What does it mean for what's popular in tennis?

We debate development routes, focusing on the path taken by Sebastian Korda and how to make it accessible to more people.

And finally, yes, how good is women's tennis right now at the top?

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It's Noah's 25th birthday, so the boys get together to celebrate, recap the AO, and recap the last several weeks on multiple different levels.

-Novak's GOAT status

-Naomi's GOAT status

-Brady and Aslan and what it means for "Challenger players"

-Why didn't Noah play last week.

Love from us to you. We appreciate you, very much.

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Mike here: There are few people that I respect more than Paolo Lorenzi. When I heard that he had made his decision to retire last week here in New York, I can say I was genuinely saddened by the news, but am so, so thrilled that Paolo is moving on to the next phase of his life. He is one of the kindest souls off the court, and one of the more ferocious competitors I've ever witnessed. We discuss this dichotomy, and so much more, on this week's BTRPod, with a BONUS EPISODE TOMORROW!

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A difficult one for both Noah and Mike, talking with friend Tennys Sandgren about his social media presence in years past, and where he's at with social media now.  

Also, how did Sandgren escape the landscape of Futures and Challengers.  

As always, continue the conversation with us @noahrubin33 and @mikectennis 

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Patrick Kypson reached his second Challenger semifinal in 4 weeks in Savannah, and in doing so, he earned the USTA's reciprocal wild card to the French Open. But he had to sweat on Sunday, as Tristan Boyer could have surpassed him had he won the Savannah title.

We chat with him about what it means to win the Wild Card at this stage in his career, and his favorite pastime, smoking meats.

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Coco Gauff has delighted the tennis world, and America, with incredible spirit, great tennis, and a fascinating story to tell.  She's also signed massive endorsement deals, met with Michelle Obama, and has forced the WTA's hand with their age limits. 

Number of tournaments is one thing.

The responsibility of the tour is another.

Noah Rubin (@noahrubin33) and Mike Cation (mikectennis) discuss it and more from the US Open.  

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Johannus Monday enters 2025 at 371 in the world, but as we know on the BTR Pod, the ranking very rarely tells the full story.

The 6'6" lefty has evolved immensely over the last five years, and ended the 2024 season with three straight 25K titles, and a semifinal at the Knoxville Challenger. That was a special one for him, as it was a few months after he graduated from the University of Tennessee.

We talk about he went from an unheralded prospect out of Hull, to one of the most feared players out of the collegiate system in the last few years. He joins Jake Fearnley, Nishsesh Basavareddy, Eliot Spizzirri and others from the 2024 class making their mark at the highest level.

We go over those humble beginnings, how he got to Tennessee, that incredible 2024 class, and what he, and Mike, think he needs to do to be the best version of himself. His goals will surprise you.

More from Melbourne next week!

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Third volume, and it's got a name.

15 minutes with Noah from the RBC Tennis Championships ahead of his matchup with Aleks Vukic

Topics: Agents, and the value of friendships out here.

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Zach moves to ~139 in the rankings with a 10 match winning streak. This is a nice addendum to our full podcast, which is the previous one in your feed!

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We start with Noah's engagement, as our lil boy is all done growed up.

But the real story is Serena Williams' retirement announcement. We discuss that, how she has impacted tennis, and our lives; and why this year has become a year full of retirements across both tours.

More from Cincy, and wherever Noah heads next, coming next week.

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Miguel is now 36 years of age, and remains very much in the discussions at the slams as a top 75 doubles player. The former Texas Longhorn talks about his long career as a doubles specialist, what made that decision for him, and how he views the long history of Mexican tennis.

We also get in to some of the ATP Player Council politics, namely how doubles gets more eyes (and money), where the ATP is on a domestic abuse policy, and whether Latin America will be getting a Masters Series event.

More next week!

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A quick recap from Noah on his last several weeks on the road before we talk with the now 28-year-old from Vancouver, who had a dominant junior career with four slam finals in a year, with two titles.

Mike will be in Dallas on Sunday (weather permitting) so hopefully we can meet up if everything works out!

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Aleks Kovacevic sat down with Mike before the Dallas Open to discuss finally hitting top 100 after his run through qualies and in to the 2nd round of the Australian Open. At the time of publish, Kova is back outside of the top 100, at 102, after losing some points from the Cleveland Challenger title one year ago. But hitting 85 was just one step on his journey. He's a University of Illinois graduate, his game is gorgeous, and he's got a new coach to help him get to that next level.

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Recorded Friday night, Orlando Finalist Denis Kudla joins us to discuss how marriage has changed his life both on and off the court, and given him new perspectives.

He also discusses what he learned from a few days away on Necker Island, learning from Richard Branson.

And.....hockey talk.

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Noah jumps about 25 spots in the rankings after a GREAT week in Indian Wells.

Naturally, he's headed to Hawaii.

And yes, the coronavirus is weighing heavily on our minds. First, both of us are quite aware that the human toll, in casualties, illnesses, and the like are far more important. But the impact that tennis players outside the top 50 feel, are similar to the impacts that many of our listeners feel. So we riff on it for a bit.

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Quite an end to the year, although did the year ever really "end" A slew of exhibitions, Davis Cup distractions for the US, and really questionable (at best) words from a few top male stars.

More next week.

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It's been a while, so Noah and Mike have some catching up to do.

Noah brings you all the latest info the players have received when it comes to the Australian Open. Hint: It's still a little dicey.

Plus the schedule for 2021 is way up in the air. What's it mean?

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Well, it was quite a revelation last week when Noah Rubin announced he'd start playing pickleball. He finally sits down with Mike to discuss the whys, the people who are rooting against him, and what tennis can learn from pickle.

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Young American Reilly Opelka spoke with Mike during a trip to NorCal back in 2018. A heck of a lot has changed since then. He'd just started his foray in to fashion, but he's now a force on the Tour, with a couple of ATP titles in his pocket, and one of the most feared serves in the sport.

We talked to him about his growing health concerns, how he's adjusting to them, and where the sport is after a difficult 2020.

Thoughts and concerns, as always, to patreon.com/behindtheracquetpod!

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Well now that the announcement is out there, Noah talks us through why he's stepping away from tennis, and what he'll miss most.

We also talk about Fed's retirement decision, and what he's meant to both of us in our respective careers, including Noah's meeting with him at the Australian Open 2017.

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Thank you SOOOOO much to our patreon supporters, first and foremost, including those that supported this week.

On Monday, Noah is traveling to Tulsa for a non-podcast reason. But it is going to allow us to record what could be our lone in-person podcast for the rest of 2020. SOOOOOO.

It's your turn. You get to ask us anything you could possibly want.

Patreon supporters get first dibs. We'll be sending out an email on how patreon supporters can ask their questions, and then social media questions from there.

You can also email us at: contact@behindtheracquet.com, or mike@mikectennis.com

Cool?

Cool.

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The always mature Sam Riffice joins Mike during his run to the semifinals in Fairfield, California. They talked about his childhood in Sacramento, his strong family structure, and what he's learned from his fiance, Cici Bellis.

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Mackenzie "Mackie" McDonald is 27 years old from Northern California, ranked 53 in the world as of March 6th. He was the NCAA singles and doubles champion at UCLA in 2016, winning the doubles with Martin Redlicki (a former BTR Pod guest, now coaching at Oklahoma State).

Mackie joined us from Indian Wells, with the draw coming out later today.

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Catching up with Noah here after a few weeks off, as the final stretch awaits. Back with new guests and shows next week.

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In part 2 of our dispatches from Cary, Noah and Mike chat with Denis Kudla (who is in the final on Sunday at the Atlantic Tire Championships in Cary), doubles specialist Nate Lammons, Jack Sock's coach and former top 100 player Alex Bogomolov, Jr., and top 70 doubles star Luke Bambridge.

More coming up next week from Orlando!

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NOTE: PLEASE EXCUSE THE DOUBLE AUDIO FOR THE FIRST MINUTE OF THE INTERVIEW. I got it sorted out after about a minute or so. -Mike

The ankle injury continues to hamper Noah, but Mike trudges on alone on the road, but is joined by Jason Jung, a perennial top 150 player who has found ways over the years to continue to see high level success. It's been a long path, from a highly successful junior career, to a college career that didn't quite hit those big expectations, to a real life job, and then yes, on to a really strong professional career.

We talked through that journey, and how difficult it's been coming back from the six month pandemic hiatus both on court, and off. And we also walked through what it's meant for him when he changed nationalities in 2015.

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Brian Koppelman is a DEVOTED tennis fan, but you'll know him best for his involvement as Executive Producer and Showrunner for the Showtime series Billions, writer of Ocean's Thirteen and Rounders, and the director of the 30 for 30 episode "This Is What They Want", about Jimmy Connors.

He sits down with Noah to chat about Billions, his tennis love, and so much more. Mike was unfortunately on air at the time, so he had to feed Noah questions about his literal favorite film, Rounders.

Tomorrow we'll have a quickie with Abdullah Shelbayh, and Freddie Nielsen joins us next week!

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Lots to catch up on for Noah and Mike, and so they hit the Muzza/Nick instagram live, Reilly Opelka's momentous and page turning interview in Racquet mag, and whether Noah will be hitting at any exos.

We also thank our incredibly kind and generous patreon donors, who have helped sustain us, literally and figuratively, the last couple months. You can donate at patreon.com/behindtheracquetpod

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Alright, LOTS to get to.

Mike and Noah discuss the big topics post RG, including Novak, Iga, Sabalenka's fake indignation, Miyu Kato, new #1 Austin Krajicek, and more...

Then, we get in to Mike's talk with Blair Henley, who did some commentary at the Tyler, Texas Challenger. Finally, dubs specialist Alex Lawson joins Mike and Blair for giggles.

More with Alex Bolt on Monday!

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Lots to discuss with longtime coach Brad Stine, including how he's kept Tommy Paul focused during the pandemic, his coaching progression, and more importantly, how and whether tennis should resume.

Stine takes issue with some of the boys' points on ways to improve and improvise the sport during the pandemic, and gives insight on how the rankings might play out during the rest of the year and in to 2021.

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Noah and Mike reconvene after a month apart. We discuss:

Mike's first time as an on court reporter, in Acapulco

Kristie Ahn's retirement, and the potential for a few more

Sascha Zverev's incident in Acapulco

How the war in Ukraine will effect the tennis world

Naomi Osaka, and mental health breaks in a sport with no time for breaks.

More coming soon, we hope!

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Despite a few technical issues at the outset, this is a full ranging interview with Madison Keys, ranging from her love of Christmas, to shortening the tennis season, to leadership issues for the ATP/WTA, to dealing with the pressures of the tour at a young age.

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Yeah, you heard about it. Noah Rubin decided yeah, sure, I'll play Andy Murray on Sunday after losing a heartbreaker 20 minutes earlier in Winston-Salem. He was lauded for giving it a go, and at least efforting to put on a show for a packed crowd.

But the story, and the pressure of that decision, was a lot more exhausting.

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Noah rejoins us after his three month sojourn to introspection.

We go through the Wimbledon controversies, how the surfaces now all feel alike, and talk about the upcoming summer here in the states.

And as a quick bonus, Mike's daughter Marnie pops on to say hello and give her take on Noah, Chris Eubanks, and her favorite joke.

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Two years after thinking about ending his career, Luke Bambridge now has multiple ATP doubles titles. What are the secrets, and what are the challenges facing him at the higher levels of doubles?

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Jamie Loeb rejoins the show to gives us the full details of what financial inequalities look like at the lower levels of tennis, after Denis Shapovalov helped bring it to light in his recent article. We got in to the intricacies of what that looks like at tournaments that have both men's and women's events at the Challenger level, and how some of the finances break down, and why. We also explored some other reasons WHY the financial inequities might be happening, and most importantly, Mike's daughter Marnie hops on to ask some questions of the Dynamic Jew-o.

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Important to note, we had to record BEFORE Grigor Dimitrov tested positive for Covid-19. Which is too bad, as we have some damned thoughts.

But, hear Noah's surprising take on whether the Open should go on or not, and how he's combatted the Novak fans he argued with through the last week.

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It's been a pretty damned decent 2021 already for Jenson Brooksby, He's now won three Challenger titles, including both Orlando in Tallahassee in April in back to back weeks ON DIFFERENT SURFACES on the USTA Pro Circuit. Truly remarkable stuff. He hops on the pod to talk with Mike and Noah about where he gets his incredible self belief, learning from early opportunities at Challengers in Northern California, and how and why he's as vocal as he is on the court.

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We talk over Fed's retirement at the Laver Cup, the absolutely inexcusable abuse thrown toward Frances Tiafoe after he beat Fed in his final match. And we walk through some of the changes to the Challengers coming in 2023. TLDR: Mike is optimistic, Noah, shockingly, is not.

Jason Kubler next.

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Marcus Willis is a 33 year old from Slough, Great Britain, ranked 116 in the world. He is a 5 time (at this moment) Challenger doubles champion.

Once, he made it to the second round of Wimbledon.

Those two sentences don't begin to sum up the man with some of the best hands in tennis. Marcus sat down with Mike and Noah to talk about THAT run to Wimbledon, THAT episode with the RC Cola and a snickers bar, and also how those big moments have been mixed with some really trying times, both externally, and some self made issues.

As you'd expect with a Brit once nicknamed Cartman, there's a lot of hysterical stories, some introspection, and we get it all on this week's BTR Pod.

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Nate Lammons is one of my favorite people to run in to at every tournament. He's down to earth, not impressed by pretense, and just a good human to be around.

He also happens to be one of the top 20 doubles players in the world. We chopped it up about his rise to that level, and some of the top doubles topics right now, including the US decision not to play Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek during Davis Cup this year.

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New in to the Top 100

3 Challenger Championships

Being cussed out by an opponent

A twitter beef with Nicole Gibbs?

Everything is up for discussion with Tommy Paul, who joined Noah and Mike before his weekend title in Tiburon, California, as well as a short interview after.

As always, join the discussion by tweeting/DMing @noahrubin33 and @mikectennis

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Thoughts on the bubble?

Thoughts on the play?

Should the Paire 11 have been removed from the tournament?

Noah sounds off, once again

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Our Ask Us Anything brought a great question that needed some further discussion. So Dr. Jonathan Katz, Mental Health Advisor and Performance Coach for Behind The Racquet, joins us to answer this question from Jack Wichtendahl:

How do you stay motivated for something you’re not sure is going to come back, and even it does, you know it’s not going to be the same because of the coronavirus?

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First, unfortunately, Mike's mic shut down in recording, so as the least important person on the pod (Noah and Tristan agree on this)..his voice will sound shaky today.

Tristan Boyer is a 23 year old out of Southern California, ranked 231 in the world. In a few weeks, he'll play in Roland Garros qualifying for the first time in his career, just his second career grand slam appearance (after the US Open Qs last year). Just over one year ago, he was ranked 1500 in the world heading in to the green clay Challengers in the states, and reached the Savannah final to really start his professional career.

We talked with Tristan about his more unique training in South American, his departure from Stanford, and what he's focusing on as his career gets underway in earnest.

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First, yeah, Mike has covid. (I'm fine, I promise). So, this week's plans for multiple pods got completely shot in the foot.

But, Noah was a trooper and sat in the cold so we could record a pod to discuss ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi's quotes about Challengers. Obviously, this caused some heat. We'll recap, go over it, and go from there.

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Three topics to hit today:

1) the whirlwind over the Coco Gauff BTR and Noah's learning moment

2) The odd exhibition tennis down in Florida last weekend

3) The 6 million dollar payments for lower ranked players, and how it's just a bandaid.

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Things are changing for us. We've rebranded as the Behind the Racquet Pod. And what better guest to get to mark the occasion than Ernesto Escobedo, the first person ever to be featured on Behind the Racquet.

We talk about his decision to be the first on BTR, what it's meant to be a Mexican-American star, and his unique ability with a football.

And don't forget to check out our new patreon page, at patreon.com/BehindtheRacquetPod

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One of the more remarkable runs I've witnessed on the USTA Pro Circuit over the last 9 years. Yibing Wu lost 2 sets in 15 straight wins. He's moved from 1741 to 174 in the ATP rankings since returning to the tour earlier this year after surgery and covid restrictions.

I talked to him immediately after he came off the court in Indianapolis. He was winded, emotional, and thoughtful, considering he was ultimately rushing to get to a flight. Appreciated the time immensely.

TOMORROW!!!!

And all new podcast...no Noah...no Mike?!?!?!?

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-Has tennis helped you get through a tough period in your life?

-Favorite tournaments?

-Superstitions?

-Jewish legacy in tennis?

We hop around quite a bit in this one, but what FANTASTIC QUESTIONS from our patreon supporters this week.

Later this week, expect an episode with Mental Health Advisor and Performance Coach Dr. Jonathan Katz, answering one of the submitted questions.

Thanks so much to our patreon supporters. You can join them, by visiting patreon.com/BehindtheRacquetPod

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