Matt Futterman is an award-winning sports journalist for The Athletic and New York Times. His new book is The Cruelest Game: Chasing Greatness in Professional Tennis. This is a fascinating conversation about the book and why professional tennis can feel uniquely brutal, even for the best players in the world. We talk through the childhood pipeline, the mental load of constant losing, and what separates the era of Serena, Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic from the stars trying to survive now. ...

In this AMA episode, I answer Tennis Tribe member questions with simple doubles strategy rules for drop shots, overheads against lobbers, and cutting down double faults. I also share how I think about building a second serve you can trust, as well as starting and recovery positions at the net. Drop shot rules and the best place to hit drop shots fromWhy your drop shot doesn't have to land shortThe best overhead targetsWhen letting a lob bounce makes senseThe causes of double faults at club le...

Mark Ein is the owner of the DC Open, an ATP and WTA 500 tournament starting on July 25. I spoke with Mark the week leading up to the tournament about how he has built the DC Open into one of the premier 500-level tournaments in the world. We discuss doubles' role in the tournament, his passion for tennis, and plans for the 2026 tournament. Mark also shares his thoughts on the ATP doubles cuts. Mark’s background in sports and business, starting as a ball kid at the tournamentWhy he feat...

I spoke with Coach Calvin Betton after a second Wimbledon doubles title in three years. Calvin coaches ATP #1, Henry Patten, as well as Luke Johnson. We discussed Henry's Wimbledon run with his doubles partner, Harri Heliovaara, as well as return strategy and the recent news about ATP doubles cuts. Comparing the 2024 and 2026 Wimbledon runsWhy “no free points” matters more than any "tiebreaker system”Balancing aggressive returns vs high-percentage returns by matchup and player profileSc...

Aldila Sutjiadi is the #36 WTA doubles player coming off a grass court title in Bad Homburg alongside Vera Zvonareva. I spoke with Aldila a few days before Wimbledon, so we discussed her preparation, recent title, and more. We talk through recovery choices, what actually creates doubles chemistry, and her health scare from a few years ago. Managing Wimbledon prep with smart on-site time and planned practice blocksHandling recovery day to day, including physio for specific painUnpacking the Fr...

I talk with Dan Kiernan from Wimbledon about the proposed ATP doubles changes for 2028 and why doubles players feel blindsided by the messaging. We focus on transparency, intent, and respect, and what doubles players can realistically do next if leadership will not share clear facts. You'll also hear specific names who we believe may be pushing this agenda forward. Initial reactions from doubles players and coaches at WimbledonWhy “doubles isn’t sustainable” needs real definitions and dataHow...

The ATP is rumored to be shrinking men’s doubles draws and shifting prize money over to singles, part of what has been a slow retreat from doubles over the past few decades. I don't agree with the decision and wanted to talk with someone who understands the ATP's side. Ben Rothenberg is a journalist who broke the news about the potential plans yesterday. He's also been on the show before (listen here). Ben shares what he knows about what's happening, and the case the ATP has to make such a de...

Anna Danilina, a 4-time major finalist and 2023 US Open mixed doubles champion, is ranked #6 in the world in doubles. She and Aleksandra Krunic are the #2 team in the 2026 race to the WTA Finals. I spoke with her recently as she prepared for Wimbledon. We discussed her development over the last several years, mental resets during matches, and how to create belief in yourself. She also shares tactical details you can steal for your own matches, including mixed doubles adjustments and an ad-cou...

Albano Olivetti is the #22-ranked doubles player on the ATP tour. He recently won a grass court title in Halle and owns the record for the 2nd fastest serve of all time. In this brief conversation, we unpack what really wins on fast courts and why he and his partner, Theo Arribage, feel confident right now. Albano shares practical serve and return lessons, plus his perspective on building a doubles partnership that keeps getting better. What they learned from 's-Hertogenbosch that helpe...

This is another AMA episode where I focus on the return of serve. Perhaps the most important shot in doubles, and certainly the least practiced. I break down why the return of serve is misunderstood and how I think about practicing and implementing effective returns. I also dig into consistency, targets, patterns, deuce vs ad court, and tactics for the return. Why returns and groundstrokes are not the same thing.One common mistake that you should fix to reduce return errors.The two bigg...