South African tennis legend Christo van Rensburg has had an incredible life in tennis.  He made his Davis Cup Captaincy debut recently and we discussed his #1 player Lloyd Harris in length. We talked in length about the attributes that make elite players and why he thinks Lloyd is going to rise to the top of the ATP rankings.
A late bloomer, he told me his phenomenal story of learning tennis and becoming a pro tennis player almost as an afterthought, and learned which Hall of Famer is his best friend.  
The Craig Shapiro Tennis Podcast is powered by Sergio Tacchini.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

South African Davis Cup Captain and World #19 Christo Van Rensburg

Welcome to The Craig Shapiro Tennis Podcast , where I speak with the most interesting people in the sport. This is the show for tennis insiders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sports

Since 1974, Ubaldo Scanagatta  has been among the most significant Italian tennis broadcasters and journalists on the planet. When Novak Djokovic mimicked his glorious Italian accent the tennis community was alerted in mass to this man, however for 40 years,  Ubaldo, with Rino Tommasi and Gianni Clerici were the voices of Italian tennis, creating lingo and lexicon, for example a “Veronica”  and a “Circoletto Rosso”, and we discussed it all. It was tremendous fun, and absolutely fascinating.
His media outlet, UBI TENNIS is prolific in tennis, and his website is offered in Italian, Spanish, and English. 
Ubaldo and I discussed Sinner's injury and Giorgi's retirement, as well as Berrettini's injury problems.  He talked about the success of Italian tennis and the young junior Federico Cina. He gave a thorough explanation of Tennis Australia's fight against the Saudi incursion, as well as the current situation with Novak Djokovic. 
Ubaldo discussed the history, and current state of tennis media. 
Recorded 5.15 Released 5.19 The Craig Shapiro Tennis Podcast is Powered by Diadora Scopesports.io is the official Fan Club platform 

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Italian Journalist Ubaldo Scanagatta Talks Tennis with Craig Shapiro

I sat down with Grigor Dimitrov in his hotel in Rome just a couple days ago and Grigor discussed his feelings about the future machinations of The ATP Tour and the players' disdain of the long tournaments, his Lacoste deal, the sore subject of his Vapor 9s, his racquet secrets, and his beginnings in Bulgaria. 
Recorded 5.8 Released 5.10 
The Craig Shapiro Tennis Podcast is Powered by Diadora Scopesports.io is the official fan club Platform of the show.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Grigor Dimitrov Talks Tennis with Craig Shapiro

With pro tennis at an ominous crossroads, the great Stan Smith and I had an important chat that was a mix of a walk down memory lane as well as a pointed conversation about tennis' potential next steps. Stan opined on the USTA's budget cuts as well as the impending Saudi incursion into our sport, and what it means for the smaller tournaments like Bastaad, Gstaadt, and Vienna. And to that point we talked about The Ojai and how important that small tournament was to his career. We discussed college tennis and how the new rules regarding NIL are hurting the competitiveness of many schools. We talked about his documentary, Who Is Stan Smith, and it's theatrical release next week. 
Recorded and Released on 5.26
The Craig Shapiro Tennis Podcast is Powered by Diadora Scopesports.io is the official fan club platform of the podcast 
 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hall of Famer Stan Smith Talks Tennis with Craig Shapiro

The Hall of Famer Rosie Casals and I had a world class chat, as it was a real honor to have the former world #3 and one of The Original 9 players that created the WTA on the show. Rosie talked about what it was like growing up in tennis in San Francisco was like, and how Billie Jean King showed her how to become a more disciplined athlete, and how the Virginia Slims media training was pivotal in the formation of the WTA. She shared her front row experience before, during, and after The Battle of The Sexes, and it was an incredible history lesson. 
She was plain speaking and shared her views on the current state of the WTA as well as the budget cuts made by the USTA, and how the players need to do a better job promoting the WTA and the tournaments. Class was in session. 
Recorded 4.17 Released 4.23
The Craig Shapiro Tennis Podcast is Powered By Diadora Scopesports.io is the official fan club platform of the podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hall of Famer Rosie Casals Talks Tennis with Craig Shapiro

Like many players on tour, John Millman has had an incredible journey in tennis. The youngest of 5, he was snubbed by Tennis Australia as a junior and used that as motivation to grind, and he went to Europe as an 18 year old. It wasn't until after his 2nd shoulder surgery that he cracked the top 100.  In 2018 he beat Roger Federer in the 4th round at the US Open and that October he was 33 in the world. 
We talked about his career, and what retirement has been like. 
He sat on the player council at the ATP, and we discussed the crunch time decision that tennis faces in the coming weeks with regards to the PIF. 
Recorded 4.17 Released 4.18
The Craig Shapiro Tennis Podcast is Powered by Diadora
Scopesports.io is the Official Fan Club of The Podcast  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

South African Davis Cup Captain and World #19 Christo Van Rensburg

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