Tennis Unfiltered
Tennis Unfiltered
Tennis Unfiltered
Tennis Unfiltered delivers honest, in-depth analysis of professional tennis. Get expert commentary on ATP and WTA tours, Grand Slam tournaments, player rankings, and the biggest stories in tennis. From Wimbledon to the US Open, we break down matches, strategies, and tennis news without the corporate filter. Perfect for tennis fans who want real talk about their favorite sport.
The kids are taking over in Canada as Sinner and Alcaraz injury worries go on
Tennis Unfiltered Supporters Club members are listening to this podcast ad-free! You could be too, and all you have to do is sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/tennisunfiltered (TUSCers also get an extra podcast every week, access to daily slam coverage, and great group chats with the lads and other TUSCers. Give it a whirl.) **** OFF-COURT NEWS - Jannik Sinner is out of the Cincinnati Masters with a knee injury, raising concerns about the US Open - Emma Raducanu has already confirmed she will miss Flushing Meadows as part of her continued recovery from a stress fracture - Serena and Venus Williams will play doubles together for the first time in years at Cincinnati, presumably preparing for a US Open reunion - Coco Gauff addresses the WTA trans policy (with her usual eloquence) WTA TORONTO - Aryna Sabalenka's poor run of form continues with a last-16 defeat to Ekaterina Alexandrova - Jessica Pegula and Mirra Andreeva also lose early - Alexandra Eala goes on another raucous run but this time she is stopped by Belinda Bencic - Iga Swiatek is marching through the draw and it looks like Francisco Roig is having the desired effect - Elena Rybakina is still in but looking increasingly rusty on serve ATP MONTREAL - Jack Draper is left in tears on court after struggling with his arm again against Terence Atmane - Cam Norrie saves match points against Alex de Minaur but then is stopped comprehensively by Arthur Fils - The youngest line-up ever in the quarter-finals includes 8 players born in the 2000s for the first time - Rafa Jodar is on the verge of breaking a long-standing Boris Becker record FUNDRAISING - If you want to sponsor George's Iron Man effort, tap here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/gd-bellshaw-1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Aug 11
1 hr 40 min
Is it time to slash the Masters? + Vondrousova's damning texts
The Tennis Unfiltered Supporters Club is the best way to experience Tennis Unfiltered: ad-free listening, an extra podcast every week, exclusive group chats with other members and daily grand slam updates from James, George and Calvin. Tap here to join now: https://www.patreon.com/TennisUnfiltered We love making Tennis Unfiltered, and the Tuscers enable us to make even more. Anyway, on with this week's podcast... **** There's no Calvin Betton this week owing to a variety of circumstances, so it's just James Gray and George Bellshaw - but there was no shortage of topics to discuss... - Carlos Alcaraz has a new (questionable) haircut... but the real news is that he will be joined at the Cincinnati Masters by Novak Djokovic - The 24-time slam champ confirmed his participation, a growing trend that sees players more likely to miss than attend these flagship ATP events which begs the question... - When will someone turn around and say "let's get rid of the Canadian Open"? - Marketa Vondrousova's full judgment is out... and it does not look great for the Czech player, who will surely appeal her four-year ban from the sport to the Court of Arbitration for Sport - Alexandra Eala comes back the next day a set down to beat Jessica Pegula and win the biggest title of her career in Washington... - ...before Rafael Jodar falls short of what would have been his, beaten in straight sets by Taylor Fritz - Kristina Liutova is the youngest player in the WTA top 500 but is now a 250 champion at the age of just 16, coming behind in a tight final to claim her maiden title **** A link to the story re: the PTPA threatening to sue Andy Roddick is here: https://x.com/KaplanSportsBiz/status/2084257820149457262 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Aug 4
1 hr 15 min
Sinner and Novak skip Montreal, Korpatsch ends the German curse, and a teenage takeover with a one-hander
Calvin Betton, George Bellshaw and James Gray are back with another look at the week in tennis. This week: the doubles fightback starts in Washington, more Masters 1000 withdrawal fallout, the 2028 Olympic schedule is announced, the most epic Davis Cup finish ever, and three new tour title-winners. Here's what they discussed **** Washington tournament owner Mark Ein has been doing the media rounds this week (including a stop on Ben Rothenberg's Bounces), and it caught our ear when he declared himself a doubles superfan. Ein says Washington has gone as far as almost any tournament to promote doubles, including proactively engineering eye-catching pairings rather than leaving it to chance His pitch: nothing beats watching top players mixing it up in doubles on a 1,500–3,000 seat side court, right on top of the crowd. He acknowledges the counter-argument other tournaments make that doubles soaks up a lot of prize money, but argues the format needs to "add unique value" to earn its keep. Washington will live mic doubles players again this year, the third year running. Tournament director Valerie Tetreault has called for change after both Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic pulled out of the Canadian Masters 1000, a repeat of last year, when both skipped Toronto. Tetreault is disappointed but understanding of the players' need to prioritise health given the schedule. Her broader point is that repeated last-minute withdrawals from Masters 1000s raise a real issue for the sport, since fans "rightfully expect to see the world's best compete." She's calling for adjustments to better protect the integrity of Masters 1000 events. The 2028 Olympic tennis event, to be held in Carson, near where the Williams sisters grew up in Compton, will start just three days after the Wimbledon men's final. Kicks off the Wednesday after Wimbledon, running as a 10-day event Mixed doubles starts July 19, singles draws begin July 20, doubles from July 21 Will top players get involved in the mixed? Not likely World No. 1043 Ammar Alhogbani was serving for the match against Malaysia when he was violently sick on the baseline, and then a monsoon hit at 5-3, 40-15 in the third set. Play resumed seven hours later. Alhogbani came back and won it Saudi Arabia are promoted to World Group 2 in the most dramatic fashion imaginable Kitzbuhel: Quentin Halys Wins his maiden title at 29. Once a highly-rated junior with four Grand Slam finals (singles and doubles), he never translated it into a senior career until cracking the top 100 four years ago - and has now broken into the top 50. Estoril: Luca van Assche / Titouan Droguet & Kyrian Jacquet An all-French sweep: Van Assche took the singles, while Droguet and Jacquet won the doubles as alternates — including a first-round win over Calvin's pair Luke and Jan. Prague: Lilli Tagger Beat Daria Snigur 7-6, 6-2 to win the title, becoming the youngest player in the top 50 at 18 and the first player born in 2008 to win a WTA title. Also beat home favourite Barbora Krejcikova in the semis. Won the girls' French Open title last year. Austrian, trained at the Schiavone academy near Milan and coached by Francesca Schiavone. Hamburg: Tamara Korpatsch Beat Hungary's Anna Bondar 6-3, 6-3 to become the first German champion in Hamburg since Steffi Graf in 1992. Germans had gone 0-4 in finals there since. Born in Hamburg. Her dad was a truck driver and the pair used to tour ITF events around Germany in a borrowed camper van to save money EXTRA, EXTRA Australian Open caps cheap tickets after overcrowding problems US Open mixed doubles entries have been announced so far, but could change before the deadline Jiri Lehecka has snapped up Fred Fontang as coach, freshly departed from Felix Auger-Aliassime's box Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jul 28
1 hr 19 min
The WTA reopens the trans debate, Alcaraz eyes Cincy comeback, and some throwback title winners
Are you a member of the Tennis Unfiltered Supporters Club yet? Tuscers get all sorts benefits, including ad-free listening, an extra podcast every week, access to full grand slam dailies and the chance to participate in our Patreon group chats. Some of those group chats are completely free, so you can create a Patreon account and join in anyway. Just tap here to get started: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/tennisunfiltered⁠ NB: IF YOU WANT TO SIGN UP AS A PAID MEMBER, DO NOT DO IT THROUGH THE PATREON APP. YOU WILL GET CHARGED EXTRA FEES. Head to the website, create your account, pay there and then use the Patreon app to your heart's content. **** This week, James, George and Calvin tackle the trans debate, after the WTA announced a change to their gender eligibility policy. (Read the whole story here: ⁠https://www.benrothenberg.com/p/wta-require-genetic-sex-tests-dna-trans-women-tennis-womens-tennis-document⁠) They also discussed... - Carlos Alcaraz spotted at the World Cup final and on the entry list for the Cincinnati Masters - Joao Fonseca shows off the Brazilian pulling power - Barbora Krejcikova, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev all win titles in a throwback week (but so does Daniel Merida, to claim his maiden ATP title) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jul 21
1 hr 9 min
Wimbledon 2026, Day 14 in full: Sinner waits out Zverev + Cruz Hewitt makes a mark + Henry and Calvin's night out
Welcome to your weekly, full-length free episode of Tennis Unfiltered. It contains more James, George, Calvin and two-time Wimbledon champion Henry than you could ever dream of, all for the low, low price of £0 per month. If that seems like a bargain, wait until you hear about the Tennis Unfiltered Supporters Club. For £6 a month (plus VAT, if you're in the UK - sorry, there is nothing we can do about this!), you get ad-free listening, an extra weekly bonus, full episodes every day during grand slams, access to our Patreon group chats and loads more. Join here, support the podcast, and help get George through his Iron Man: https://www.patreon.com/c/tennisunfiltered/membership **** Well, there you have it. Wimbledon 2026 in the books. Doesn't the player protest over prize money feel an awfully long time ago? Since then, so much has happened. Here's what this last podcast for a few days covers... Cruz Hewitt, son of Lleyton, reaches the boys' final but loses to an American qualifier called Jordan Lee It's a serve-fest in the men's final with one of the lowest average rally lengths in years Alexander Zverev takes the first set and seems to have grown a forehand... ...but Jannik Sinner hangs tough and waits him out, sticking to the gameplan and eventually breaking the German down Zverev is in real danger of becoming likeable, charming the Wimbledon crowd with his acceptance speech Meanwhile, Sinner remains a character with whom the British public struggle to connect Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jul 13
1 hr 17 min
Wimbledon 2026, Day 13: Noskova beats the choke + Henry and Harri win again!
This is a short preview of our daily podcast from Wimbledon, to give you a flavour of what we are doing each day during the Championships. If you want to support the podcast, get full-length daily podcasts from grand slams, ad-free listening and so much more, go to ⁠⁠www.patreon.com/TennisUnfiltered⁠⁠ and sign up for the Tennis Unfiltered Supporters Club. Listen to the full version of this episode here: https://www.patreon.com/TennisUnfiltered/posts/wimbledon-2026-163552660 **** Grand slam champions - AGAIN! Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara have done the TUSCers proud at Wimbledon by triumphing in straight sets over Arevalo and Pavic. We've given Calvin Betton the evening off - and he was about four beers deep by the time we sat down to record. Instead, Eleanor Crooks is back to join James and chat about a straightforward (thank goodness...) win for the lads and the women's final. Linda Noskova very nearly goes all Jana Novotna and chokes a stunning lead - but completed an impressive reset after the second set to make sure she secured her first grand slam title Karolina Muchova produces her best line of the tournament by congratulating her "ex-friend" in her post-match speech Henry and Harri win two more tie-breaks to claim their third grand slam title - and Henry takes a well-aimed swipe at the ATP in his own speech Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jul 11
16 min
Wimbledon 2026, Day 12: The end of the Fery-tale (for now)
This is a short preview of our daily podcast from Wimbledon, to give you a flavour of what we are doing each day during the Championships. If you want to support the podcast, get full-length daily podcasts from grand slams, ad-free listening and so much more, go to ⁠⁠www.patreon.com/TennisUnfiltered⁠⁠ and sign up for the Tennis Unfiltered Supporters Club. Listen to the full version of this episode here: https://www.patreon.com/TennisUnfiltered/posts/wimbledon-2026-163473940 **** George Bellshaw hoped he would be able to nip down after work and watch the final few sets of Sinner-Djokovic - but the one-sided nature of both men's semi-finals Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jul 10
17 min
Wimbledon 2026, Day 11: Noskova bags maiden GS final + Gauff blows a huge chance
This is a short preview of our daily podcast from Wimbledon, to give you a flavour of what we are doing each day during the Championships. If you want to support the podcast, get full-length daily podcasts from grand slams, ad-free listening and so much more, go to ⁠⁠www.patreon.com/TennisUnfiltered⁠⁠ and sign up for the Tennis Unfiltered Supporters Club. Listen to the full version of this episode here: https://www.patreon.com/TennisUnfiltered/posts/wimbledon-2026-163383368 **** It's always a pleasure to have Eleanor Crooks sub in on the podcast: the Press Association's tennis correspondent is one of the very best tour-mates in tennis and what she doesn't know about tennis probably isn't worth knowing. She was covering the women's semi-finals on Thursday, so who better to have on while James waits for Calvin to gladhand his way round the locker-room after guiding Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara to a third grand slam final. Here is the big news from the second Thursday of Wimbledon. Coco Gauff dumps a drop shot into the net on match point and is dumped out of the tournament four points later by Karolina Muchova Linda Noskova makes it an all-Czech final as she beats Marta Kostyuk in straight sets, twice breaking at 4-5 to ensure she never had to serve it out Calvin assesses the chances of a player he has known for years, Arthur Fery, who is preparing for the biggest challenge of his life, up against Alexander Zverev in the first semi-final on Friday Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic will follow them on Centre Court in a blockbuster semi-final, the world No 1 against the all-time GOAT Carlos Alcaraz has already pulled out of the Masters event in Montreal, taking his wrist injury layoff to four months at least Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jul 9
15 min
Wimbledon 2026, Day 10: The Arthur Fery train just keeps on rolling
This is a short preview of our daily podcast from Wimbledon, to give you a flavour of what we are doing each day during the Championships. If you want to support the podcast, get full-length daily podcasts from grand slams, ad-free listening and so much more, go to ⁠⁠www.patreon.com/TennisUnfiltered⁠⁠ and sign up for the Tennis Unfiltered Supporters Club. Listen to the full version of this episode here: https://www.patreon.com/TennisUnfiltered/posts/wimbledon-2026-163287160 *** Arthur Fery, Wimbledon semi-finalist. We can still barely believe they are words that you can write down and no one can say "hang on, that's not right". But they are, no matter how little George or James can believe it. Arthur Fery beats Flavio Cobolli in straight sets to book his place in the last four, only the fifth British man in the Open Era to do so He will face Alexander Zverev, after he served Taylor Fritz off the court to catch his pigeon and end a long-running streak of defeats to the American Marta Kostyuk's display of clean hitting knocks out Jasmine Paolini and moves the Ukrainian into her second straight grand slam semi-final Linda Noskova's destiny awaits (if you ask James) as she picks up another win, this time beating Elise Mertens in straight sets Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jul 8
15 min
Wimbledon 2026, Day 9: Bryan brothers on doubles + Petko on Zverev + Osaka out + Gauff through
We've decided to make this episode free for all listeners, because we're feeling nice. But we still want and frankly need your support. For full-length daily podcasts from grand slams, ad-free listening and so much more, go to ⁠⁠www.patreon.com/TennisUnfiltered⁠⁠ and sign up for the Tennis Unfiltered Supporters Club. **** George Bellshaw, James Gray and Calvin Betton get together on the first day of quarterfinals to discuss everything that has been going on at Wimbledon and more - and are joined at various points by Jamie Murray, Andrea Petkovic and the Bryan Brothers - Naomi Osaka is out, well beaten by Karolina Muchova in straight sets and admits to pain in her feet due to plantar fasciitis - Coco Gauff lost the first set and appeared to be having "one of those days" but turned around her 23rd three-set match of the year to roar into a first ever Wimbledon semi-final, seeing off her often doubles partner Jessica Pegula - Alexander Zverev comes in on his day off to (eventually) see off Jiri Lehecka - Jannik Sinner absolutely cruises past Jan-Lennard Struff - Mike and Bob Byran weigh in the ATP's efforts to turn the doubles circuit upside down and downsize it up... - ...and so does Calvin - Henry and Harri make it through to the men's doubles semi-finals - And Arthur Fery is about to take on the biggest match of his life Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jul 8
1 hr 3 min
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