Serve and Return Podcast: Tennis, Racquet Sports & More

Episode 8 - Joel Drucker and I discuss tennis from the 1970s to the present day. Major topics of discussion include:

- Tennis now, the recent UTR events and the upcoming(?) US Open.
- Roger Federer, Serena Williams, the Olympics and the near future.
- How the surfaces and playing styles have changed and become more similar in recent years: and how that has aided accumulation of Grand Slam title totals for today's greatest players.
- Can you really compare players from different eras?
- Joel Drucker's book, How Jimmy Connors Saved My Life - plus Connors' 1991 US Open SF run.
- Rivalries - Connors, McEnroe & Lendl and Seles / Graf.
- Quick look at Chris Evert, Tracy Austin, Jimmy Arias, Yannick Noah, Andre Agassi.


Joel Drucker can be found here:

http://joeldrucker.com
http://thetennischannel.com/joel-drucker

Twitter:
@joeldrucker

Have a suggestion for a Serve and Return Podcast guest? 
email Chris at [email protected]

Chris' book - 14 Great Coaches: Learn Their Lessons, Improve Your Coaching, Have A Lasting Impact 
https://www.amazon.com/14-Great-Coaches-Lessons-Coaching/dp/1546856625/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Serve and Return Website:
http://serveandreturnpodcast.buzzsprout.com

Twitter:
@serve_returnpod

Episode 7 - Amy Lundy and I discuss her background as a journalist and tennis player and we touch upon a wide-range of issues concerning the sport of tennis including:
- Tennis in the pandemic age and the near future.
- Golf's highly-rated charity event and is tennis missing an opportunity.
- Live tennis, the US Open and World Team Tennis.
- The serve and volley style of play: What happened to it and can this style of play return?
- The Tennis Congress.
- Amy's favorite tennis players.
- Will American men's tennis reach great heights once again?
- Dream match-ups between past and present all-time greats.
Navratilova - Williams, McEnroe-Nadal, etc.


Amy Lundy's writing can be found here:

https://fivethirtyeight.com/contributors/amy-lundy/
https://lastwordontennis.com/author/amylundy/
https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/25707471/australian-open-2019-was-serena-singled-us-open-final

Amy Lundy on Twitter:
@AmyLundyDahl

Have a suggestion for a Serve and Return Podcast guest? 
email Chris at [email protected]

Chris' book - 14 Great Coaches: Learn Their Lessons, Improve Your Coaching, Have A Lasting Impact 
https://www.amazon.com/14-Great-Coaches-Lessons-Coaching/dp/1546856625/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Serve and Return Website:
http://serveandreturnpodcast.buzzsprout.com

Twitter:
@serve_returnpod

Episode 6 - Interview with Australian writer Peter Underwood, author of The Pros: The Forgotten Era of Tennis.

Peter and I discuss the pre-Open era when professional tennis players were prohibited from playing in tennis' high profile events such as the Grand Slam tournaments (Australian, French, Wimbledon, US Championships) and Davis Cup. During this era, these tournaments were reserved only for "amateurs" players who made money from "under the table" payments and minor sponsorships.

From the 1920s through 1968 the select few who had the opportunity to play professional tennis made a living by playing head-to-head barnstorming tours traveling from city to city and by playing a small number of professional tournaments like the US Pro, Wembly Pro, and French Pro.

Peter Underwood brings to life stories featuring Bill Tilden, Don Budge, Bobby Riggs, Jack Kramer, Pancho Gonzalez and the great Australians Lew Hoad, Ken Rosewall, and Ron Laver.  Additionally, we talk about how and why the tennis world finally united to bring professionals and amateurs together to start the Open era in 1968 which lead to the tennis boom of the 1970s.

Have a suggestion for a Serve and Return Podcast guest?
email Chris at [email protected]

Chris' book - 14 Great Coaches: Learn Their Lessons, Improve Your Coaching, Have A Lasting Impact
https://www.amazon.com/14-Great-Coaches-Lessons-Coaching/dp/1546856625/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Serve and Return Website:
http://serveandreturnpodcast.buzzsprout.com

Twitter:
@serve_returnpod

Episode 5 features Wally Green, a celebrity /pro table tennis player, coach, and co-founder of SPIN New York 23, a table tennis themed cafe on 23rd and Park Avenue in Manhattan.

Wally talks to me about his rise from growing up under very challenging circumstances in a Brooklyn housing project to discovering table tennis at the age of 19 and subsequently training in Germany at a specialized school for table tennis players & then training with the highest level pro players of that nation.

We discuss how Wally found his niche in the American table tennis scene by playing with a personality and street attitude that differentiated him from almost any other player.  Wally's unique approach led to sponsorships and a collaboration with Rock Star Games to develop their Table Tennis video game. Wally went on to became a co-founder of SPIN New York 23, located in the Flatiron district of Manhattan. While at SPIN, Wally has played table tennis with pro tennis players such as Gael Monfils and Venus Williams while the world's tennis stars come to NY for the US Open...Green has even given Venus a table tennis lesson where he found that Venus' perfectionism and competitiveness carries over from racquet to paddle!

Finally, we discussed Wally's trip to North Korea to play a tournament match where, although he lost, he won over both his opponent and the crowd.

Wally Green generally can be found on social media at Wally Green NYC.

Twitter:
@wallygreennyc

SPIN New York 23 Website:
https://wearespin.com/location/new-york/

Have a suggestion for a Serve and Return Podcast guest?
email Chris at [email protected]

Website:
http://serveandreturnpodcast.buzzsprout.com

Twitter:
@CTrieste2 OR @ serve_returnpod

On this 4th episode of the Serve and Return Podcast, author and veteran sports journalist Cecil Harris talks about great black tennis players, the business of tennis, and why more young black males have not been inspired by the success of Serena and Venus Williams, James Blake, and Arthur Ashe.

Players and subjects discussed include:
- Althea Gibson and her ground-breaking success at the US Championships
- NYC ticket tape parade held in Althea Gibson's honor
- Arthur Ashe's triumph over Jimmy Connors to win '75 Wimbledon
- Ashe's relationship with John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors while serving as Davis Cup Captain
- Success of Mal Washington and James Blake
- Scoville Jenkins' successful transition into college coaching
- The rise and stall of Donald Young
- The financial stress and business of trying to succeed on the pro tour

You can learn more about Cecil Harris here:
https://twitter.com/CecilHAuthor
https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/university-of-nebraska-press/9781496214652/
https://www.amazon.com/Different-Strokes-Serena-Unfinished-Revolution/dp/149621465X

Have a suggestion for a Serve and Return Podcast guest? 
email Chris at [email protected]

Website:
http://serveandreturnpodcast.buzzsprout.com

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/serve_returnpod

On episode 3, I talk to Olga Harvey about how she progressed from growing up in Moscow, Russia to studying and playing tennis at Cornell University to later working for New York Junior Tennis & Learning and then the Women's Sports Foundation. An enthusiastic tennis player and advocate for the underrepresented in athletics, Olga Harvey serves on the USTA Eastern Board of Directors and as a member of the Diversity & Inclusion National Committee. In this episode hear more form this Cornell University athletic hall of fame member and how her tennis favorites include Gabriela Sabatini, Andre Agassi, and nose bleed seats and late nights at the US Open.

You can find Olga Harvey online here: 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/olga-harvey-54183112/

Have a suggestion for a Serve and Return Podcast guest? 
email Chris at [email protected]

Website:
http://serveandreturnpodcast.buzzsprout.com

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/serve_returnpod

Welcome to Episode 2 featuring our guest Mitch Kutner, president of the International POP Tennis Association. 

On this episode we talk about the rich history of POP Tennis, the major rebranding of Paddle Tennis to POP Tennis in 2015-2016, and why POP Tennis is a great sport for those who are transitioning into tennis, transitioning away from tennis, and for those who just love POP Tennis and find that it becomes their favorite sport.

POP Tennis has a few variations of play but at the recreational level it can be played just about anywhere that you can play tennis. Many major tennis equipment suppliers and manufacturers sell POP Tennis paddles and portable nets and the modern game of POP Tennis uses the green-dot tennis balls and the blended 36 x 60 lines found at many tennis clubs and on many public courts.

You can find Mitch Kutner here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitchkutner

Here is the POP Tennis website: 
https://www.poptennis.com

Have a suggestion for a Serve and Return Podcast guest? 
email Chris at [email protected]

Website:
http://serveandreturnpodcast.buzzsprout.com

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/serve_returnpod

Welcome to Episode 1, featuring our guest Tom Battaglia. Tom is the head men's and women's tennis coach at FDU-Florham, Owner/Director of Crestmont Indoor Tennis Club, and Director of Tennis at The Maplewood Club. Tom is a USPTA Elite Professional and USTA Zonals and National Coach.

On this episode we talk about how in high school Tom transitioned from wrestling to tennis, how and why he entered college tennis coaching in addition his club teaching and ownership. We also talk about what Coach looks for in a player while recruiting for FDU-Florham, why kids should play college tennis, his admiration for Andre Agassi, his experiences at the US Open and with the Net Generation and much more.

You can find Tom Battaglia online here: 
https://fdudevils.com/staff-directory/tom-battaglia/231

You can find Tom Battaglia on Facebook here: 
https://www.facebook.com/fdu.tennis

Have a suggestion for a Serve and Return Podcast guest? 
email Chris at [email protected]

Website:
http://serveandreturnpodcast.buzzsprout.com

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/serve_returnpod

Hosted by Chris Trieste the Serve and Return podcast will explore a wide range of topics and issues in and around tennis. Our guests will include coaches, athletes, authors, industry leaders and fans. At times, we will delve into racquet sports such as Pickleball and Pop Tennis.