Tennisnerd - Where we bond over tennis

Liya Davidov is a Digital Programming Coordinator for the Tennis Channel and writes for tennis.com. She used to play college tennis for New Jersey, still follows the sport closely on her social media channels, and has a strong passion for writing in and outside tennis.

Time stamps:

00:00 Introduction to Liya, her work and tennis career
11:05 Doubles is underrated
17:07 Liya’s tennis background
21:45 The difficulty and solitude of competitive tennis
27:08 Pickleball or Padel?
31:47 How much tennis do you watch? And who do you like to watch?
40:48 Tennis is in a good place, but what can we do better?
48:52 Liya’s tennis schedule for 2024

Karue Sell is back on tour and on the Tennisnerd podcast for the third time. We talk about his return to pro tennis, life on tour, travel, what the ATP can do better, and, of course, his new racquet. You should check out his excellent YouTube channel My Tennis HQ, which gives some excellent coaching advice and other exciting content like match play footage from Karue and more.

Timestamps

00:00 Intro
01:40 How important is fitness to your success on the court?
10:05 Scheduling and planning as a tennis pro
18:10 The travelling is…
23:25 Capturing the essence of tour matches on camera
37:30 Hey ATP, we don’t like highlights
47:40 When is it time to bring a coach on tour? 
56:52 Tennis is MMA with a ball
1:05:05 Everyone knows the choke! Mental tennis
1:15:53 Accepting your tennis journey
1:20:45 Using content creators to drive engagement for pro tennis
1:28:05 Karue’s new racquet

Henrik Wallensten returns to the podcast to discuss the new Blades V9, Strikes, Speeds, tennis shoes, and more. When talking, Henrik is at the Davis Cup match in Helsingborg, Sweden, where he strings for the Swedish team. The first part of the podcast was done a bit impromptu on the run, and the sound of the first part on my end is so-so, but it improves in the second half when I am back in the "studio." 

Eliza returns to the pod! She is a digital strategist who comments on the tennis world on the rapidly growing account @Itselizasworld. 

She now also has a YouTube channel called Liza West.

Today, we will get into the ongoing Australian Open, tennis fashion and branding, and the bigger picture of what is happening in the tennis world.

Time stamps

00:00 Intro
02:53 Australian Open moments so far
10:59 Ostapenko serving burgers
16:50 Exciting fresh faces in the draw
19:03 Sabalenka heading to the title?
23:06 What is Nike doing these days?
26:55 Not being able to buy the endorsed outfits
30:45 “Full-kit wankers” and rocking your on-court personality
36:36 Protecting your brand (IGA and LEGO)
43:10 Yonex and other colorful tennis kits
50:24 Balls at the AO
53:00 Sakkari in Grand Slams
55:38 The “glamour” of pro tennis life
58:31 Does Adrian Mannarino have a clothing sponsor?
1:02:35 The best-looking men’s kit
1:05:15 The future of Andy Murray
1:12:36 The bothers of Berrettini
1:16:40 The Men’s tournament
1:27:36 Zverev allegations
1:41:55 What is happening in Eliza’s world?
1:43:45 The Cancun disaster and the WTA

Nikola Aracic is one the most popular online tennis coaches in the world with his brand Intuitive Tennis. He is refreshingly honest and straightforward and has become one of my favorite people in the world to talk about tennis with. This is his third time on the podcast and we get into various topics as highlighted in the timestamps below.

Timestamps

00:00 Intro
00:46 What it requires to improve in tennis
19:05 Mental vs Technical skills
31:14 Coming to the court with different racquets
38:30 Racquets, racquets, racquets
1:14:11 Rafa’s return and sports legend’s desire to compete
1:29:16 Australian Open predictions
1:40:04 Technical improvements on the pro tour
1:54:19 Intuitive Tennis in 2024
2:01:00 Weird Swedish forehands
2:04:31 Kyrgios and lack of respect for the past
2:13:45 Is tennis in danger? How can we better market the sport?

Racquet tester and Swedish Davis Cup stringer Henrik Wallensten is back on the podcast. In this episode, we break down 2023 regarding gear and discuss all the racquets, strings, and balls we tested during the year. We also look forward to 2024 and reflect on the reluctance of several racquet brands to send demos for review.

Timestamps

00:00 Intro
04:06 From wooden racquets to…
09:00 Racquet releases in 2024, but no demos?
14:44 The beauty of the Blade 100
18:21 Wilson Shift - a new line
23:13 The Aero Rafa racquets
28:12 HEAD Radical
32:30 Yonex VCORE
35:30 Yonex PERCEPT
39:57 HEAD Prestige Auxetic 2 and Gravity
47:54 Wilson Pro Staff V14
52:33 Babolat Pure Drive 98
56:53 STIGA Supreme
1:02:00 Diadem Elevate V3
1:05:13 Strings
1:10:44 Shoes
1:21:44 Balls
1:28:09 Upcoming racquet experiments

Thanks, Mehrban, for having me on your podcast Tennis Files and asking some great questions about racquets and strings! Make sure to check out the Tennis Files on your favorite podcast platform.

Timestamps

00:00 Intro
01:13 Jonas’ First Racquet
02:42 How do you find your ideal racquet? Step 1
05:26 Recording yourself
07:33 Typical mistakes
10:42 How do you find your ideal racquet? Step 2
12:47 How to demo a tennis racquet
18:18 Narrowing down your selection
20:45 Buying and selling racquets
27:47 How many racquets do you have?
29:30 Where to go from the Pure Aero VS 2017
37:51 What about the Shift?
40:05 String sensitivity and honeymooning
42:28 Comfort-oriented racquets
45:36 Dunlop SX 300
47:17 Making a racquet less dampened
49:26 Racquet updates in 2024
54:47 Top 3 control racquets
56:36 The top power racquets
1:00:31 Balance points
1:03:36 Strings
1:10:31 Solinco Hyper-G
1:13:11 The Tennisnerd Podcast
1:15:28 The most under-rated racquet brand

You might have seen Alex’s engaging videos on Instagram, where he creates wide-reaching content about tennis. He also worked for 13 years in community engagement for the USTA and has been a certified PTR Coach since 2010, working with beginners and intermediate players. As far as tennis nerding goes, he has 16 years of stringing experience.

We get into his work on the grassroots level of US tennis and how to get more people to enjoy the sport we all love.

Timestamps

00:00 Intro and Alex’s background in tennis
05:26 Making tennis more accessible
11:23 Working with brands as a content creator
24:15 Watching tennis is connected to the player - Alex and Rafa
31:30 Tennis is doing well
35:58 Racquet talk
44:01 Social media addiction
52:37 Day job and grassroots
59:11 Tips to find more partners to play tennis with
1:03:51 How Alex stands out in the social media world

Ryan Burbary is the founder and owner of Velociti Tennis. Velociti tennis is a new tennis brand with a one of their products being the first bio-degradable tennis string in the world. It is called Catalyst and after testing the string I had to reach out to Ryan and talk about it. Ryan grew up in tennis stores and strung his first racquet when he was 12. A true tennis nerd!

You can try the Velociti Catalyst here: https://velocititennis.com/ Use the code TENNISNERD to get a discount.

Time stamps

00:00 Intro
00:40 Growing up inside a tennis store
02:17 How did the Velociti journey start?
09:24 Gauges and colors
14:50 Online vs Pro Shop when it comes to gear
21:48 String packaging
27:07 Sustainable tennis balls
36:51 Does being from Colorado influence you more towards nature and the environment?
42:16 Growing up in a tennis shop
53:54 Racquets are getting better
1:13:33 It’s a mental sport
1:18:52 Choosing the right racquet for your game
1:36:30 The future for Velociti and Ryan

Star coach Rick Macci returns to the podcast to discuss his current coaching projects, the hot topics on the ATP and WTA tours, and much more.

Timestamps

00:00 Intro
05:19 What are the key ingredients for a tennis player to make it as a pro?
08:02 A varied game on the WTA Tour
12:14 When should you start addressing the mental game of tennis?
16:08 Hitting and playing is a different sport
18:18 Alcaraz's end of the season
23:02 Djokomination
24:30 The shining starts of American tennis
31:22 Which players can dominate in years to come?
35:11 Rune and Becker
37:26 Coco Gauff
40:54 Pros vs Trolls
44:44 What’s Rick Macci up to? Coaching philosophy and more
55:50 Coaching communication

Eliza Wastcoat is a digital strategist and tennis nerd who creates engaging stories on her Instagram account @itselizasworld. Everything from tournament news, player profiles, trends, and more.

Time stamps

00:00 Intro
00:30 Getting into tennis later in life
06:29 How can tennis attract more people?
11:00 Bringing out tennis personalities and tennis etiquette
29:00 Breakpoint, good or bad?
40:15 Eliza as a commentator?
43:25 The Ultimate Tennis Showdown
52:14 Eliza’s tennis goals
54:05 Does doubles deserve more love?
59:32 Growing up in a sports fan household
1:02:54 From UK to LA
1:12:11 Dealing with Besserwissers on social media
1:22:20 Is the angle the issue?

Simon Freund is a professional tennis player and content creator. He details his journey on the Futures tour on his channel and has a growing audience. He is now sponsored by STIGA, who has just entered the racquet space. We talk about his career as a player and a content creator but also about improvements to tennis, the lack of prize money, and much more.

Timestamps

00:00 Intro
01:39 Does doubles deserve more love?
03:24 Conditions on the Futures tour
05:35 The ball debate and always adjusting
10:12 Planning tour travel
13:30 Switching to a new STIGA racquet 
22:00 Being a pro player and YouTuber
26:45 Tennis has a marketing problem
33:51 The prize money is…
44:27 Players need more support
58:55 Dealing with injuries and defeats
1:09:18 Coach or coordinator?
1:15:15 How Simon got into tennis
1:19:35 Ending the season on a positive
1:26:03 Nutrition

Rachel Stuhlmann is a leading tennis influencer with well over 300k followers on Instagram. She played for the Missouri Tigers in college and had a top hundred NCAA ranking. She is now working on multiple projects to develop a stronger interest in the sport. Sadly, we had to record this podcast on Zoom, but the quality will be better for the next podcast!

Time stamps

00:00 Intro
01:00 30 days at home in a year of traveling
04:41 Being a triplet
07:48 How is tennis doing vs pickleball in the US?
12:50 Rachel’s tennis career
16:47 Does tennis bring the right mindset into business life?
18:29 Next steps
21:28 The connection to St Louis
23:10 Managing influencer life

Chris Edwards is the Director of Web Content for Tennis Warehouse and a play-testing legend on the team. This is his second time on the podcast. We get into his recent switch to the Prestige Classic 2.0.

Timestamps

00:00 Intro and recent switch to Prestige Classic

09:46 Summarizing 2023

25:13 The importance of details

34:52 String choices

40:14 Looking towards 2024

45:58 Should you get a difficult or easy racquet to help you improve?

49:02 Good racquets for the one-handed backhand

54:33 Favorite shoes

56:40 Favorite strings

1:08:57 Dampener or no dampener

Gill Gross is a broadcaster for Tennis Channel, US Open Radio, Cracked Racquets, and UC San Diego. He runs his own YouTube channel where he deep-dives into tennis matches with his Monday Match Analysis. We had a long and in-depth chat about tennis and media, storytelling in tennis, the importance of your coaching team, and predictions about players like Alcaraz, Auger-Aliassime, Tsitsipas, Kyrgios, Djokovic, and Nadal.

Timestamps

00:00 Intro
01:16 Gill’s background as a journalist and tennis player
08:35 Keeping up with the tennis world is not easy!
16:10 Putting coaches into the spotlight to sell the sport
26:25 The match is a story, commentating on live tennis
40:44 The importance of focus and coach consistency
58:12 Auger-Aliassime’s 2023 and future
1:07:09 Tsitsipas 2023 and future
1:14:23 The importance of the team and routines
1:22:41 Nick Kyrgios 2023 and future
1:29:41 Players vs social media
1:47:58 Alcaraz in 2024
1:54:39 Novak in 2024
1:58:26 Rafa and US tennis in 2024