Painting Lines - A Tennis Podcast

This week Aidan and Erik give a recap of this year's ATP Finals in Turin. This tournament which features the top 8 players in the world was the final chance for the highest ranked players to prove why they belonged at the top this year. For some they truly showed out, such as Taylor Fritz making a run to the championship and boosting his ranking to a career high number four. For others they struggled, with players like Carlos Alcaraz and Danil Medvedev shockingly not making it out of the group stage. The discussion covers all this and more in a very fun conversation. Be sure to check back next week for another episode!

This week Aidan and Erik are excited to welcome Ivan Yatsuk to the podcast. Ivan is a former high level division 1 college Tennis player, playing at both the University of South Florida and Northwestern. After graduating, Ivan and his colleagues started a tennis recruiting website called recruited.pro, which is changing the game for college tennis recruiting. The conversation first delves into Ivan's tennis background, before jumping into the business side of recruited.pro and the unique service it offers up and coming tennis athletes. It's a fun one, and be sure to check back next week for another episode!

This week Aidan and Erik give a recap of this year's Paris Masters which took place this last week. With some top players like Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner out, this was an opportunity for a new champion to emerge, and this became even more open after the early elimination of players like Danil Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz. As the final Masters 1000 of the season, this tournament was the last chance for top players to show out and collect a big title before the season was finished, and while some players floundered, others seized their chance. Be sure to check back next week for another episode!

This week Aidan and Erik discuss the Vienna Open and Swiss Indoors tournaments which occurred over this past week. While neither tournament featured huge names like Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, or Novak Djokovic, they still were high caliber tournaments and chances for players to show their level as this season comes to a close. Shockingly, we saw very few super high seeds end up in the final rounds of these tournaments, with favorites like Andrey Rublev and Alexander Zverev missing out to younger talent. With tons of new names to discuss, it was definitely exciting. Be sure to check back next week for another episode!

This week Aidan and Erik discuss the three tournaments that occurred just after the Asian Swing's conclusion at the Shanghai Masters. The top talent was split, with most of the top 5 taking a break and not playing, while other players in the top 20 attempted to secure a 250 victory either in Kazakhstan, Belgium, or Sweden. With players like Tommy Paul and Grigor Dimitrov going at it in Stockholm, other tournaments found much more shocking players in later rounds, such as Roberto Bautsita Agut winning in Antwerp. The discussion covers each of these tournaments and considers the implications of a much older player winning a tournament at this point in his career.

This week Aidan and Erik give a recap of the 2024 Shanghai Rolex Masters. From some shock upsets through the first few rounds, to the elimination of Carlos Alcaraz, to another matchup between Danil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner, this tournament gave a lot to talk about. While the final couple of rounds went about as expected, this tournament leaves a lot to look forward to in the final couple of months of the 2024 tennis season. Be sure to check back next week for another episode!

This week Aidan and Erik delve into the history of the Shanghai Rolex Masters, the newest Masters 1000 event on the ATP schedule. From its origin on the calendar in 2009, to past winners such as Djokovic, Murray, and Federer, this episode explains why this event is a significant part of the ATP calendar. They also give a recap on the winners of last week's tournaments in Beijing and Tokyo, and look at how those players may build into this week in Shanghai. Be sure to check back next week for another episode!

This week Aidan and Erik discuss the first week and a half of the Asian swing, with some exciting tournaments happening last week in Hangzhou and Chengdu, while we are currently in the midst of the Tokyo and Beijing Opens. The discussion covers the shock win by Marin Cilic, the success of Chinese players so far in these events, and the players in both Japan and China this week, with far more of the high ranked players appearing in Beijing compared to Tokyo, with surprising results as well. Be sure to check back next week for another episode!

This week Aidan and Erik discuss the Laver Cup, an annual event featuring top ATP players in a team tennis exhibition that pits the European players against players from the rest of the world. Led by captains John Mcenroe and Bjorn Borg in their final year as the laver cup captatins, we saw some of the world's best duke it out and the tournament came down to the wire. The discussion covers both the basics of what the laver cup is, who participated, and the end result, as well as going over some of the specific matches that stood out from the tournament. Be sure to check back next week for another episode!

This week Aidan and Erik take the off week to give their responses to some of the comments they have received on social media posts. From discussing fun nicknames to considering the place of Tennis in the Olympics, these comments give a fun perspective on what other tennis fans think about some of the painting lines posts. A fun discussion about comparing different tennis eras also ensues. Be sure to check back next week for another episode!