Black Spin Global: The Podcast

Lucy and Eugene – in full 4K-colour-glory, for the very first time (head over to our YouTube channel)– talk all things clay-court season so far and much more.

We get into Frances Tiafoe bagging his second ATP Tour title after an epic weekend in Houston.

Alycia Parks reaching the third round in Madrid under the guidance of her father and coach Michael Parks. 

We shine a light on Elias Ymer, the first Swede to be invited to Harvard Business School, who had a good week in Marrakech after coming through qualifying. 

A lot went down in Charleston where Sachia Vickery, Hailey Baptiste, Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens all featured (shout out to the winner Ons Jabeur, our North African sister). 

We spend time talking about the stacked Porsche Tennis Grand Prix field in Stuttgart with Coco Gauff (no longer working with Diego Moyano), Parks and Emma Raducanu – read our guy Tumaini Carayol’s article on the event’s limited field.

Ben Shelton, aka the “Human Highlight Reel”, continues to wow the crowds in his first full season on the tour where he’s enjoying seeded-player privileges.

Queen Serena Williams gets a shout out after her pregnancy announcement, we also give Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard props for winning his first Challenger Tour title. 

And finish up with our opinions on Rafael Nadal and his injury woes, Novak Djokovic being allowed in America and the ATP’s plans to adopt electronic line calling across all events from 2025.

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*This episode was recorded on Wednesday 3 May

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Lucy and Eugene talk about what they’ve been up to, including applying for Wimbledon 2023 accreditation, interviewing Erick Mathelier (Furi Sports co-founder) and also touch on Wimbledon’s decision to lift the ban on Russian and Belarusian players.

Alycia Parks’ stunned in Lyon beat top seed Caroline Garcia in the final to claim her biggest title to date (WTA 250). Since then she’s been experimenting with her set-up – was working with Jarmere Jenkins during the Sunshine Double as well as strength and conditioning trainer Josh Evenden.

Coco Gauff’s been going along nicely – reached a few quarter-finals, won a couple doubles titles with Jessica Pegula too including Miami where Taylor Townsend and Leylah Fernandez were fellow finalists.

Robin Montgomery secured her first win on the WTA Tour in Miami and then faced Madison Keys in the second round where she put up a good fight. Clervie Ngounoue won the prestigious girls’ event in Indian Wells. Ngounoue also won the doubles event with partner Qavia Lopez.

Arthur Fils is about to crack the top 100 after making back-to-back semi-finals at ATP 250 level – picked up some big wins en route including one over Stanislas Wawrinka. Young Frenchman is such a joy to watch.

Christopher Eubanks was the story in Miami and is now a top 100 player for the first time after a career fortnight at the Masters 1000 event where he reached the quarter-finals after coming through qualifying. Was very emotional after the win that confirmed his place in top 100.

Frances Tiafoe reached his first Masters 1000 semi-final in Indian Wells – didn’t drop a set en route before going down 5-7, 6-7 to eventual runner-up Daniil Medvedev. Jill Smoller also has him signing all the endorsement deals too and rightly so.

Felix Auger-Aliassime, defending champ in Rotterdam, reached the quarters – lost to eventual champion Medvedev. Went on to reach the semis in Qatar the following week where he lost to Medvedev again who went on to win the tournament.

Gael Monfils returned to the tour in the US after seven months away due to a foot injury. Lost in the first round in Indian Wells and was forced to retire from his first-round match in Miami due to a wrist injury.

To close, we quickly preview clay-court events in Charleston, Houston, Estoril and Marrakech.

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Lucy and Eugene say good riddance to the 2023 Australian Open but not before giving props to maiden Grand Slam winner Aryna Sabalenka and 10-time AO champion Novak Djokovic.

We discuss Ben Shelton's dream debut – the 20-year-old reached the quarter-finals and showed his match-toughness coming through a couple of five-setters. Shelton is now a top 50 player – No 44 in the current rankings.

Michael Mmoh, who was hours away from leaving the country, reached the third round and recorded the biggest win of his life in the process – four-set victory over 13th seed Alexander Zverev. Shout out to Zack Evenden for giving us the backstory to that first-round win.

Frances Tiafoe (and that incredible fit!) also reached the third round – fell to Karen Khachanov. There isn’t a look Big Foe isn’t able to pull off. Tiafoe is also at a career high 15 in the world rankings after his solid start to the season.

Felix Auger-Aliassime, who was not playing his best tennis, still managed to reach the fourth round, before falling to Jiri Lehecka. He was the last man standing as well if we’re buying into the “Netflix curse” (listen up for our Break Point takes).

Coco Gauff reached the second week – lost to Jelena Ostapenko in the round of 16, but did win all her matches in straight sets up until then. Her second-round match against Emma Raducanu had everyone very excited about the future/before and after.

Madison Keys lost to two-time champion Victoria Azarenka in the third round. Despite not protecting her semi-final points from last year, Keys seems to be in a good place after her solid start to the year after moving house.

Ranah Akua Stoiber had a breakthrough tournament reaching the last four in the girl’s competition (her first Grand Slam semi-final). The 17-year-old Brit looks like an exciting prospect.

Elsewhere, Mikael Ymer reached a Challenger final in Belgium, Arthur Fils, 18, reached a Challenger final in France, following his first title in Portugal earlier in the year.

And to close, we talk about events happening in Thailand and Lyon where Heather Watson, Alycia Parks and Jasmine Paolini are all in action.

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Lucy and Eugene, joined by Myles David, get to know the Tuned Into Tennis founder a bit better as he shares his early memories of the sport and tells us why he started the platform.

We share our thoughts on Naomi Osaka's amazing pregnancy news (Lucy suspected it). The four-time Grand Slam champion says she plans to return to action in 2024 and we cannot wait to see her back.

Dive into all the action of 2023 so far and talk Australian Open draws....

Coco Gauff secured the ASB Classic title in Auckland without dropping a set. What can we expect from the seventh seed who starts against Katerina Siniakova in Melbourne?

Taylor Townsend, unbeaten on the doubles court after winning the Adelaide titles (1 with Asia Muhammad and 2 with Luisa Stefani) is a wildcard and takes on fellow Frenchwoman Diane Parry in the first round.

We give our takes on the United Cup. Frances Tiafoe and Madison Keys, America’s No 2 players, both went undefeated (Keys is back inside the top 10 as a result and Big Foe is back up to his career-high ranking of 17). Keys, an AO semi-finalist last year, is seeded 10th and starts against Anna Blinkova. Tiafoe is seeded 16th and opens against Germany’s Daniel Altmaier.

Sloane Stephens, now working with Fransisco Roig (Rafael Nadal’s former alternate coach), is still searching for her first win of 2023 after first-round exits in Auckland and Hobart. Stephens, a semi-finalist in 2013, faces Anastasia Potapova.

Jasmine Paolini has a 1-2 record heading into Melbourne after losing out in qualifying in Adelaide and in the second round (main draw) in Hobart. The Italian has a tough opener against 18th seed Liudmila Samsonova.

Felix Auger-Aliassime lost in the first round in Adelaide to Alexei Popyrin. From there the Canadian went straight to Melbourne to prepare for the first Slam of the year where he is seeded sixth and  starts against compatriot and PTPA co-founder Vasek Pospisil.

Mikael Ymer has four wins under his belt ahead of the AO after making the quarter-finals of Adelaide 2 – beat Emil Ruusuvuori and Mackenzie McDonald en route. The Swede faces 31st seed Yoshito Nishioka in round one.

Christopher Eubanks put in some good work in Auckland, beating the 2020 champion Ugo Humbert in round one after coming through qualifying. Wildcard Eubanks faces South Korea’s Soonwoo Kwon in the first round.

Staying in Auckland, wildcard Ben Shelton, playing in his first tournament outside the US, upset seventh seed Sebastian Baez 7-6, 6-1. The 20-year-old begins his AO campaign against Zhizhen Zhang.

New name to look out for 28-year-old Frenchman Laurent Lokoli who came through qualifying. His father Dominique (French-Congolese dual national) played professional football for Paris St Germain and Auxerre in the 70s and 80s. Lokoli faces Goffin in round one.

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Episode was recorded on the Friday before the Australian Open

Lucy and Eugene, joined by friend of the pod Tumaini Carayol, recap the epic 2022 season.

We share our favourite Black Spin Global moments – including getting accreditation for grass-court events (courtesy of the LTA), our Eastbourne experience made extra special thanks to Jarmere Jenkins on Serena Williams's return (where Lucy got her journalism game on) and our day at Wimbledon.

Retirement talk after legends Serena, Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga all called time on their incredible playing careers.

Some of faves had career-best years... Coco Gauff (year-end finals qualifier in singles and doubles) reached her first Grand Slam final and ended the year inside the top eight in singles and got to No 1 in doubles after winning three titles with Jessica Pegula.

Felix Auger-Aliassime won four singles titles (including three in row in October), reached No 6 in the world and qualified for the year-end finals and helped Canada win the Davis Cup for the first time in their history.

Frances Tiafoe reached the last four at the US Open, made two finals (Estoril and Tokyo), secured Team World’s first ever Laver Cup title and finished the year inside the top 20 for the first time.

Ben Shelton turned pro after before the US Open. The 2022 NCAA champ ended the year at a career-high No 97 after going on a Challenger Tour tear winning three titles in a row.

Alycia Parks *cracked the top 100 after we finished recording* got big wins in Ostrava en route to the quarter-finals as a qualifier and won the doubles title with Caty McNally.

Honourable mentions for Taylor Townsend who returned to action after maternity leave and reached the US Open doubles final among other highlights, and Angella Okutoyi, the first Kenyan to win a Grand Slam at any level after securing the girls’ doubles title with Marie Nijkamp.

We also talk about what are we looking forward to in 2023? And share some predictions ahead of the 2023 season and much more.

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*Episode was recorded just before the World Cup round of 16*

We recently caught up with friend of the pod Jordaan Sanford.

Jordaan’s been super busy working as a body double for one of the lead actresses in the television drama series ‘All American: Homecoming’ on The CW.

As well as putting her groundstrokes to good use, the Baylor University alum and ardent storyteller also serves as a technical advisor on the show. She breaks it all down for us.

We also talk about her important role at the USTA Foundation where she’s been tasked to help grow their social media presence among other things.

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Frances Tiafoe and Felix Auger-Aliassime picked up pivotal wins to secure the title for Team World for the first time in five attempts!

The match everyone was anticipating was the Friday night doubles with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal taking on Tiafoe and Jack Sock. The Americans got the win for Team World and Tiafoe was subjected to racist abuse on social media afterwards which was completely out of line!

On the Sunday, Auger-Aliassime dispatched the Novak Djokovic in straight sets to put Team World in a winning position and just one match victory away from winning the Laver Cup for the first time.

Enter man of the moment, Big Foe who lost the first set to Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-1 but rallied back in now typical fashion, taking the second-set tiebreak and closed out the decider to secure the title and his second win over the Greek in a row (third overall).

"Greek Yoghurt" controversy… people were losing it on social media and criticising Team World’s behaviour during the Tiafoe-Tsitsipas match. Mic’s picked up Tiafoe, surrounded by Americans on the bench, saying he wants “that Greek yoghurt”.

Other bits…
Davis Cup – Ymer brothers picked some good wins for Sweden – Mikael beat Italy's Jannik Sinner and Diego Schwartzman of Argentina. Elias picked up an impressive win over Argentine Sebastian Baez.

FAA also beat Spain's Carlos Alcaraz and Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic to secure Canada’s place in the Finals. Gabriel Diallo (confident his Dad is from Senegal or Guinea TBC), a 20-year-old Kentucky Wildcats senior, also made his debut for the Canadians.

WTA – Naomi Osaka withdrew from her second round match in Tokyo due to illness. Not sure if she will play again this season.

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The final Grand Slam of the year did not disappoint. 

Frances Tiafoe made a historic run (Lucy has all the stats) to the semi-finals where he lost to eventual champion and world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz in five exhilarating sets. Big Foe, now a top 20 player for the first time, chalked off impressive wins against 22-time major champion Rafael Nadal and Andrey Rublev en route and had the NBA and former First Lady Michelle Obama cheering him on.

Coco Gauff reached the last eight in New York for the first time where she lost to in-form Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia. The American 18-year-old, now a top 10 player for the first time, outplayed compatriot Madison Keys in the third round and came through impressively against Zhang Shuai in round four. Lucy gives coach Diego Moyano his flowers.

Serena, in her final match as a professional, lost to Australia’s Alja Tomljanovic in an epic three-hour tussle. The 23-time Grand Slam champion had everyone believing after her incredible performance and three-set victory over second seed Anett Kontaveit in round two. The GOAT also played doubles with sister Venus for the first time in a long time in New York – they did lose in the first round but it was a very special night.

Taylor Townsend and Caty McNally came up short in the women’s doubles final, losing to seasoned campaigners Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova in three sets. Our girl Taylor was rightly talking her ‘ish’ after the match which left us all excited about her 2023 season.

There are also notable mentions for qualifier Christopher Eubanks who reached the second round, Grand Slam debutant Ben Shelton who gave a good account of himself, and juniors Victoria Mboko, Clervie Ngounoue and Ranah Akua Stoiber who all made deep runs.

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Charrisha Watkins, founder of Love In Tennis and now friend of the pod, links up with us for a collaborative episode. We talk college tennis at Gettysburg College; Tipsy Tennis and favourite drinks; favourite Grand Slams and much more.

As we were last on just after Wimbledon, we catch up with everything that has happened since then, paying particular attention to Serena Williams announcing her “evolution” away from tennis in that beautiful Vogue essay. We share our thoughts on the GOAT and the legacy she leaves behind.

We give huge props to Coco Gauff for reaching world No 1 in the doubles rankings after securing her second WTA 1000 title of the season in Toronto with Jessica Pegula. Madison Keys took out world No 1 Iga Swiatek in Cincinnati and went on to reach the semi-finals.

On the men’s side, Mikael Ymer reached the last four in Washington. Felix Auger-Aliassime made back-to-back Masters 1000 quarter-finals in Montreal and Cincinnati. We also share our thoughts on NCAA champion Ben Shelton who announced he is turning pro.

And to close, some on-brand – for the most part – US Open predictions.

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Lucy and Eugene are joined by friend of the pod Tumaini Carayol aka The Mentor. 
This episode is all about Wimbledon 2022! We celebrate girls’ doubles champion Angella Okutoyi who put Kenyan tennis on the map after becoming the first Grand Slam winner from the country. 
We also talk about the women’s and men’s finals, paying particular attention to Tunisia's Ons Jabeur and what her run means to Africa and the Arab world.
From a Black Spin Global perspective, icons Serena and Venus Williams both competed – Serena in singles and Venus in mixed doubles with Jamie Murray. Was nice to see Venus at the Centre Court centenary celebrations alongside all the legends but Serena's absence did not feel right. We discuss.
We give props to the wildly underrated Heather Watson, our guy Frances Tiafoe and the ever impressive Coco Gauff. Watson broke new ground at a Grand Slam after reaching the last 16 – she was also the last Brit standing in the women’s draw. Tiafoe, who was 0-2 on grass coming in, also put in a good showing and reached the fourth round for the first time. Gauff reached the third round in singles but went all the way to semi-finals in mixed doubles with Jack Sock.
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