The 2023 Wimbledon Championships gave us some amazing moments, and a new King and Queen of Centre Court.

Carlos Alcaraz became the first man outside of the Big 4 to win the Wimbledon men´s singles title since 2002. Meanwhile the Czech Republic´s Marketa Vondrousova was the first unseeded player to win the women´s title in the Open era.

It was a great year for GB tennis too, with 3 British Wimbledon titles, and in today´s episode we speak to two of the Champions! World men´s doubles number 1 Neal Skupski chats to the panel about winning the doubles title with partner Wesley Kooloff for the first time.

GB´s Gordon Reid also joins the show to talk about his 5th Wimbledon men´s wheelchair doubles title with Alfie Hewett, and that incredible crowd on Court number 1!

Joining CTC Host Dan Kiernan to discuss all of the storylines from this year´s Championships are:-

• Denmark´s Davis Cup Captain and 2012 Wimbledon Doubles Champion, Freddie Nielsen
• Canadian WTA player Gaby Dabrowski who has been as high has 4 in the world doubles rankings
• GB´s Emily Webley-Smith who has been on the women´s tour for more than 20 years.

A brilliant episode! Enjoy!

Links & Resources

• Control the Controllables website 
• Follow Control the Controllables on Instagram
• Find out more and get tickets for the Lexus British Open Wheelchair Championships
• Find out more about SotoTennis Academy:  Website | Instagram |Twitter | Facebook

Dominic Iannotti is a current world No. 3 tennis player. His career has taken him from his home in Prestwick, Scotland to Australia, Ecuador and around Europe representing the Great Britain Learning Disability National Squad.

Dominic was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome at 4 years old and has been playing elite level tennis since he was 14.

Now 25, Dominic has recently been both training and coaching at SotoTennis Academy in Spain. In June he competed at the 2023 Virtus Global Games in France, winning the Bronze medal in Men’s Singles, and three Gold medals in the Team Event, Men’s Doubles, and Mixed Doubles for GB.

In today´s episode Dominic tells us all about:-

• How he has managed his life with Aspergers..
• The life he has created for himself, and the amazing opportunities Learning Disability Tennis has given him.
• His advice to parents and others that are starting out on this journey
• His hopes for Intellectually Impaired Tennis to be included in the Paralympics and so much more....

Be ready to be inspired and share the word of Learning Disability Sport, and all that it gives to so many.

We´re just a few hours away from the beautiful green grass of Wimbledon being on our screens.

It´s our favourite Grand Slam here at Control the Controllables, and we´ve brought back our awesome panellists to chat through what we can expect at SW19 this year!

Will Djokovic make it 24 Grand Slam titles? Can Iga win back to back Slams despite not getting past the last 16 here before?

Who are the in-form challengers and who should we be looking out for? Our panel also give their inside knowledge of how the courts are playing at Wimbledon and who´s game they think it will favour.

Joining CTC Host Dan Kiernan on this years Wimbledon Preview Panel are:-

• Denmark´s Davis Cup Captain and 2012 Wimbledon Doubles Champion, Freddie Nielsen
• Canadian WTA player Gaby Dabrowski who has been as high has 4 in the world doubles rankings
• Piotr Sierzputowski is coach to USA´s Shelby Rogers, and guided Iga Swiatek to her first Grand Slam back in 2020.
• Kieron Vorster is Liam Broady´s S&C Coach, and has also worked with Tim Henman and Wayne Ferreira.
• GB´s Emily Webley-Smith who has been on the women´s tour for more than 20 years.

A great listen!

David Hodgetts´ tennis story is one that many players can relate to. From a talented junior who dedicated his life to becoming a pro tennis player, the rigours of tennis took their toll, and by 19 he´d fallen out of love with the sport and made the decision to stop playing.

To help him overcome the feelings of failure and losing his identity, David found a new focus: to build an international coffee shop brand.

Fast forward a few years and David sold his Triple Two Coffee business to Cooks Global Foods which runs more than 140 coffee stores around the world.

Listen to him chat to CTC Host Dan Kiernan about his journey from player to young entrepreneur of the year, and how he credits his success to the skills he developed playing tennis.

Episode Highlights:-

• Similarities between sport and business
• The influence of Coaches and Mentors
• Managing people and building a culture
• What does "making it" mean?
• Overcoming dark moments after tennis and finding a new focus.
• The importance of doing things which makes you happy
• The transferable skills he developed during his tennis days which he thinks has given him the edge in business.

Links Mentioned in this Episode

• Check out Triple Two Coffee
• Learn more about SotoTennis Academy: Website | Instagram |Twitter | Facebook
• Follow Control the Controllables on Instagram: @ctc.podcast
• Listen to our episode with British Coaching legend John Hicks

It was another French Open for the history books this year, as Novak Djokovic became the first man to win 23 Grand Slam titles.

His win at Roland Garros also means he´s the first man to win each Grand Slam three times.

In the women´s, Iga Swiatek lifted the trophy for the third time in four years. But there was also plenty of drama, stories, and inspirational moments in Paris this year.

From the French crowd´s booing of Taylor Fritz, Elina Svitolina´s incredible run just 8 months after giving birth, Alcaraz cramping, to Japan´s Miyu Kato being controversially defaulted in the women´s doubles, then going onto win the Mixed Doubles.

Joining CTC Host Dan Kiernan to unpack all of this and give their expert opinions and insights is our French Open panel:-

• Denmark´s Davis Cup Captain and 2012 Wimbledon Doubles Champion, Freddie Nielsen
• Canadian WTA player Gaby Dabrowski who has been as high has 4 in the world doubles rankings
• Piotr Sierzputowski is coach to USA´s Shelby Rogers, and guided Iga Swiatek to her first Grand Slam back in 2020.
• Kieron Vorster is Liam Broady´s S&C Coach, and has also worked with Tim Henman and Wayne Ferreira.
• GB´s Emily Webley-Smith who has been on the women´s tour for more than 20 years.

Another must listen full of insight, inside knowledge, expert advice and a few laughs as well! Read full shownotes here.

As the clay court season comes to an end, it means we´re just a few weeks away from the next Grand Slam of the year (and our favourite), Wimbledon. 🌱🇬🇧

In today´s episode we talk to someone who knows the tournament more than most. Andrew Jarrett was the Referee at Wimbledon for 14 years between 2006 and 2019.

A former player from Derby, Andrew represented Great Britain in the Davis Cup, and was a coach before becoming a world-renowned referee, and the face we were so used to seeing on the side of Centre Court!

Andrew´s now written a book called ‘Championship Points’ all about his years at Wimbledon and his career in tennis, and chats to us about some of the highs and lows including:-

• How his playing days helped him in his later careers.
• Fearing for his safety in Nigeria.
• How he felt playing the first ever live Davis Cup singles match for Great Britain.
• Why he didn´t sleep much during the Wimbledon fortnight!
• The headaches and hard work involved in creating the Order of Play
• His take on Kato´s default at the French Open and more...

Read full show notes here.

Order a copy of ‘Championship Points’ here.

The 2023 French Open is underway in Paris, without Rafael Nadal in the draw for the first time in 19 years.

Who is going to make the most of his absence to lift the men´s trophy? Will Iga Swiatek defend her womens title? Or could we see Sabalenka win her 2nd Grand Slam of the year?

We have a packed panel of coaches and players joining CTC host Dan Kiernan to give their expert opinions on all this and more:-

• Denmark´s Davis Cup Captain and 2012 Wimbledon Doubles Champion, Freddie Nielsen
• Canadian WTA player Gaby Dabrowski who has been as high has 4 in the world doubles rankings
• Piotr Sierzputowski is coach to USA´s Shelby Rogers, and guided Iga Swiatek to her first Grand Slam back in 2020.
• Kieron Vorster is Liam Broady´s S&C Coach, and has also worked with Tim Henman and Wayne Ferreira.
• GB´s Emily Webley-Smith who has been on the women´s tour for more than 20 years.

Hear their picks for the mens and women´s title at this years event, as well as their ‘dark horses to watch’. The panel also discuss whether the Masters events leading up to the French Open are working for players and spectators, now that they are two weeks long. 

Enjoy all the excitement from Roland Garros and don´t forget to check back in at the end of the fortnight for our French Open Review!

Read full show notes here.

If you´re a tennis fan on Twitter, you´ll probably have come across The Tennis Talker. 

With more than 350,000 tweets and 14,000 followers to date, Chis Goldsmith, aka the Tennis Talker has become an authority on tennis, particularly amongst British tennis fans. 

He tweets daily news, views and results from the ATP, WTA and ITF circuits, and is often the first source of tennis news and scores for tennis followers. 

A big tennis fan himself, little more has been known about Chris..until now! Find out more about the man behind the tweets in today´s episode with Dan.

Read full show notes here.

Links Mentioned in this Episode:- 

• Follow The Tennis Talker on Twitter: @TheTennisTalker
• Listen to Episode 142: Fran Jones - Northern Grit
• Listen to Episode 188: Pat Cash - Wimbledon Men´s Champion 1987
• SotoTennis Academy: Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook
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Connect with us : Website | Instagram | Email us

In today´s episode we´re talking to 1987 Wimbledon Men´s Singles Champion Pat Cash.

Pat is one of the legends of Australian tennis and was a huge fan favourite around the world in the 80´s and 90´s. Known for his black and white chequered headband, he´s widely regarded as one of the greatest serve-and-volley players of all time. 

Since retiring from pro tennis, Pat has become a respected commentator and analyst, sharing his expert insights with audiences around the world. He talks to us about the highs and lows of his career, gives his thoughts on tennis today and tells lots of stories. A brilliant listen!

Read full show notes here.

Episode highlights include:-

• What he told himself before serving for the Wimbledon title.
• He tells us about one of the biggest highlights of his career - 1984 Super Saturday at the US Open! 
• How he dealt with depression during and after his career.
• Taking on a 14-year-old Rafael Nadal on clay.
• Did a Hungarian Princess really offer him a gift of $1 million?
• What he wants to be remembered for.

Control The Controllables has been awarded Best Tennis Podcast for the second year in a row at the 2023 Sports Podcast Awards!

A massive thank you must go to YOU, for listening to and supporting Control the Controllables. If you took the time to vote for us, we are so grateful! 🙏

Today we´re talking doubles, after the debate over whether it should continue at the professional level reared its ugly head again. American tennis player Reilly Opelka this week suggested tennis should ‘get rid of doubles’ in a post on instagram.

CTC Host Dan Kiernan is currently at the Miami Open for the "Sunshine Double" and sat down with a few people who´ve experienced both doubles and singles on the tour over the past 20 years:-

• Former World Number 1 doubles player and 7 time Grand Slam champion Jamie Murray
• Former ATP singles player Noah Rubin
• ATP Doubles Coach Calvin Betton

Are doubles players failed singles players? Do singles players deserve more than the current 80% distribution of wages? Where is the value in having doubles a part of the Tour, was Reilly correct? Does doubles have a problem, or is it a marketing problem? The panel discuss all this and more.

Dan also shares some of his experience from the last few weeks at the Indian Wells and Miami ATP/WTA 1000 events, and the differences and similarities between these tournaments and the ITF Pro Circuit Events. Not an episode to be missed!

We´re very excited to have been nominated for ´Best Tennis Podcast´ by the Sports Podcast Awards for the second year in a row! 🎧

Your amazing support last year helped us win Best Tennis Podcast and we´d love it if you could spare some time to vote for us again!!

Head here to register and vote before April 6th! Thank you! 🙏