Roland Garros is here! The French Open has officially landed and the singles draws are out. Join Joel, Kim, and Chris as they dive into the next two weeks in Paris—with plenty of plot twists already in the brackets. On the men’s side, top seeds Sinner and Alcaraz face tricky paths, while Novak Djokovic seems to have lucked out with a smoother draw (hello, Zverev’s quarter). Can Jack Draper bounce back from last year’s early exit?

On the women’s side, defending champ Iga Swiatek has her hands full in a stacked section featuring Ostapenko, Rybakina, Svitolina, and finalist Paolini. Sabalenka’s on the hunt for her first French Open title—if she can get past Qinwen Zheng again. Plus, the team reveals this year’s Roland Garros Collect A Set player picks, quarter-by-quarter predictions, and their very BOLD calls for the tournament - we’d love to hear yours too! And don’t miss Chris’s behind-the-scenes scoop from Paris with Producer Alina, fresh from a draw ceremony full of champagne and strawberries and cream tarts (Wimbledon, is that you?!).

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It’s a milestone moment at Tennis Weekly HQ as we celebrate our 500th episode! Join us for a special edition with Joel, Kim and Chris on hand to look back on all the events from Week 2 at the Italian Open plus look ahead to the French Open. In Rome, the electric rivalry between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz reignited once again, with Carlitos emerging victorious to stop the Italian's 26 match winning streak. Jasmine Paolini thrilled the home crowd by doing the singles and doubles double while Coco Gauff came up just short again in another clay final and Sabalenka suffered a straight sets surprise to Qinwen Zheng.

Off the court, Novak Djokovic made headlines by ending his coaching partnership with Andy Murray after just six months, and the Laver Cup revealed fresh names for 2025, including Holger Rune and João Fonseca who are set to make their debut in San Francisco. The gang also reflect on some of their favourite moments of the podcast as they hit 500 (Venus Williams! Timea Bacsinszky! Joel at Glastonbury!) and reveal the winners of the Rafael Nadal 'The Warrior' book competition. With 500 events also underway in Strasbourg and Hamburg, Joel ponders whether this is one of the best weeks on the tour to pick up some big and easy ranking points if you are an out of form player (ahem, Andrey Rublev). Thanks for joining us for 500 episodes—we couldn’t have done it without you!

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Paris... Roland Garros... French Open... with the second Grand Slam of the season just around the corner, we bring you a special episode from Tennis Weekly HQ where we talk Spanish legend Rafael Nadal with renowned tennis journalist and author Christopher Clarey who gives us an honest and insightful portrayal of the King of Clay in his latest book: The Warrior: Rafael Nadal and His Kingdom of Clay.

With Joel and Kim, Chris takes us behind the scenes of Rafa's relentless rise to dominance on clay, the psyche that defines his greatness, where the biggest impact Uncle Toni made on his game, what he feels were his sweetest triumphs at the French Open in Paris and much more. We also discuss the legacy he has built off of the red dirt at Wimbledon and whether the Roger Federer rivalry could happen one more time on the court. Whether you're a lifelong Nadal fan or simply fascinated by greatness (or should that be GOATness?), join us for the story of Rafael Nadal like never before told as we reflect on one of the sport's most iconic champions.

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We're halfway through the Italian Open in Rome, and there’s been no shortage of drama in the final clay Masters event in the build up to the French Open in Paris. Joel and Chris are on hand at Tennis Weekly HQ to talk all about the return of the World Number 1 Jannik Sinner from suspension including the player and fan reaction. Carlos Alcaraz is also back, if a little under the radar after missing Madrid, but has got the pair pondering could we be in for another Sinner-Alcaraz ding dong? And if not, when?

On the WTA side, It’s been another bumpy ride though on the clay for Iga Swiatek who suffered a early loss to Danielle Collins which put the chance of defending her Roland Garros title further into doubt whilst Coco Gauff proved why she could be the biggest threat to Aryna Sabalenka in Paris with a classy win over Emma Raducanu to make the quarterfinals.

Outside of Rome, Novak Djokovic grabbed headlines with a wildcard entry into Geneva whilst his PTPA player union scored a legal win over the ATP. Plus, the Billie Jean King Cup Finals draw in Shenzhen is out as Great Britain were handed Japan - but who will be the British Number 1 leading the charge when September rolls around? We also break down what we’re looking forward as Week 2 in Rome gets underway and Joel is in the hot seat with nowhere to run in a solo edition of Par for The Courts.

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So, SO close… this week at Tennis Weekly HQ, we unpack all the drama from a thrilling Week 2 at the Madrid Open! Jack Draper came agonizingly close to a second Masters title, but it was Casper Ruud who claimed the biggest win of his career in a gripping three-set final. On the women’s side, Aryna Sabalenka continued her dominance with a statement victory over Coco Gauff—could this be her year in Paris at the French Open? We also dive into Iga Swiatek’s struggles after a tough loss to Gauff, who now has won their last 3 encounters without dropping a set. With whispers of Swiatek potentially skipping Wimbledon and the grass court season entirely, we ask: what’s going on with the world No. 1, and is it time for a team shake-up?

Elsewhere, Naomi Osaka picked up her first title in four years at a WTA 125 event which got the gang thinking in the Mailbag—which other big names should consider dropping down to rebuild confidence? Plus, we react to the latest doping-related suspension, this time involving Australia’s Max Purcell. Looking ahead, we preview the Italian Open in Rome, with Jannik Sinner after his suspension and Carlos Alcaraz returning to action while Novak Djokovic opts to sit this one out. The draws are in, the predictions are bold (and occasionally unhinged), and fan-favourite quiz segment Par for the Courts is back!

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A dramatic Monday in Madrid as a power outage across Spain and Portugal cancelled play for the day at the Madrid Open. Join Joel, Kim and Chris at Tennis Weekly HQ as they look back on all the events of the first week where Novak Djokovic lost for the third time in a row leaving us to question (for the umpteenth time) whether he is a serious prospect for another Grand Slam title with the French Open looming. It was also a similar story for defending champion Andrey Rublev who left Madrid with a 1-4 Masters record this year, falling out of the Top 15 for the first time since 2020.

It was not all doom and gloom though as Maria Sakkari returned to form of old with a demolition job over Jasmine Paolini whilst Coco Gauff put Sunshine Swing disappointment behind her to set up a tantalising quarterfinal against teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva. The Brits also enjoyed a solid first week with Draper, Fearnley, Norrie all into R3 and Katie Boulter winning her first clay match on the WTA Tour. Emma Raducanu also revealed there is an 'informal agreement' in place with Mark Petchey on her team.

And though Carlos Alcaraz wasn't in Madrid due to injury, his new docuseries Carlos Alcaraz: My Way launched on Netflix with the gang discussing what they learned about Carlitos (other than his mum being a really good cook). Joel's Game also makes a return and we question what should be done about Electronic Line Calling in this week's Mailbag as Alexander Zverev follows Aryna Sabalenka and take a photo of a dubious mark on the tennis court during his match against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

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Penko Power returns! It’s been a week for upsets on the ATP and WTA Tours this week as Jelena Ostapenko and Holger Rune were the big winners in Stuttgart and Barcelona. The Latvian gave us a reminder of all her talents with wins over Sabalenka and Swiatek whilst Rune put Carlos Alcaraz to the sword and returns to the Top 10. Alexander Zverev also rediscovered form in Munich despite hecklers from the crowds over ongoing domestic abuse allegations whilst Elina Svitolina won out in Rouen. It wasn’t just all about the champions though this week, as Harrriet Dart was in the news for telling her opponent she needed some deodorant (bizarre!), there were wild celebrations from new kid on the ATP block Dedura-Palomero over a retirement win against Shapovalov and the coaching circus continues with Maria Sakkari getting back together with former coach Tom Hill.

Off the court, Serena Williams had her say on the Jannik Sinner ban and brought Maria Sharapova into the debate whilst the French Open organisers announced there would be a special ceremony for Rafael Nadal at this year’s Roland Garros. The gang also preview the upcoming Madrid Masters as we go back to the two week format (eurgh!) and give their champion predictions.

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Monte Carlo(s) Masters! Chris is back from Mallorca to join Joel and Kim to reflect on the past week in tennis, which saw Carlos Alcaraz claim his maiden Monte Carlo Masters Title on the ATP Tour against Italian Lorenzo Musetti. Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic had a horrible week on the French Riviera with early defeat to his clay nemesis Alejandro Tabilo as did Grigor Dimitrov who suffered a double bagel loss at the hands of Alex de Minaur and his short shorts. Whilst it was an off week for many of the top players like Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka on the WTA Tour, an Emma Raducanu-less Great Britain side made their way through to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Shenzhen joining the likes of USA, Spain and defending champions Italy.

The trio also discuss the latest coaching changes, as former World number 1 Dinara Safina joins Diana Schnaider’s team, Emma Raducanu considers Mark Petchey as her latest coaching option and there's rumour of Goran Ivanesevic joining the Stefanos Tsitsipas camp. There is also news that a certain Mr. Roger Federer is itching for a return to an exhibition tennis court which has got Joel wildly excited at the prospect of a Battle of the Surfaces 2 event against Rafael Nadal (one can dream right?). They also test their knowledge of recent WTA 1000 winners, make some daring clay court predictions and preview Stuttgart, Munich and Barcelona all taking place this week.

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