These past weeks saw another off court face-off in the tennis world. Dominic Thiem, world no.3, made some comments about lower ranked players and ended up questioning their professionalism, making it look like he believed everyone started on the same foot. He has made comments now explaining himself, but sadly the PR damage was done. Ines Ibbou, and Algerian female player ranked around the 600's made an open letter video explaining her situation and many more others' struggles, asking simply for some respect. 

I fully agree with that stance she takes in the letter, as I go on an explain how I had a dream of becoming a professional tennis player too, but sadly that is not what God had in store for me and many obstacles proved themselves insurmountable. However, I will continue to love the game forever, and this podcast is proof that I still want to be involved in it however I can!

Peace. 

It all started with a tweet. Roger Federer was "wondering" whether the ATP and WTA, the two professional tennis associations for men and women, should merge into one body. This sounds like a great idea, fun and progressive. But wait; does it really? Should one stop to think about it a little bit, it turns out the whole history surrounding it, plus major issues regarding gender (i.e. women in sports) are not as easily brushed aside simply by a merger. Consequences could be greater than we think. So we must think about it. And decision makers should follow up after this big revelation.

This week from Monday until today, Thursday, a tennis tournament was held. But how? Everything is closed due to the Coronavirus outbreak!! The answer: VIDEO GAMES!!! The gaming world is very dear to me. I love gaming, and I love tennis games. This tournament is in a rough stage, but I believe there is a major opportunity there to reach a new market. In this episode I comment on what I think was good about the Mutua Madrid Virtual Pro, and what I thought was not so good. 

You can also watch the short review I made of the game,c called Tennis World Tour, on Facebook /tennisandbagels or on Insagram IGTV @tennisandbagels!

Follow my podcast and my profiles on Facebook and Instagram for content weekly :D

In this episode I finally reach the dawn of the Open Era, the one we live in and watch today on our televisions and computers. I talk about the consequences the war had in the world of tennis, albeit briefly, and in SW19. Finally, I reach the period where tennis giants such as Margaret Court, Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, and Roy Emerson make their appearances and start setting their all-time records. Hope you enjoy!

Follow me on Instagram: @tennisandbagels

Like my Facebook page: /tennisandbagels

This podcast is an informative episode about the history of the most famous tennis tournament in the world: Wimbledon, The Championships. Here, I describe and comment a little on the most influential people in the history of the Grand Slam, such as players and founders.

Wimbledon is arguably the single most prestigious tennis tournament in the world, and it's history spans now across 3 different centuries, and there is where the very sport of tennis as we love today, was born. 

I had to leave out too many great information, but I tried to focus on a timeline of major events and players that made Wimbledon and tennis wha they are today.

Grab some strawberries and cram, and hope you enjoy this episode!

This episode was a little rushed in, so sorry if the quality isn't as great! This match is considered by many as the best match of all time. It was certainly one of the greatest, no doubt about it, not just because of great tennis, but because of what it meant at the time: the establishment of Nadal as a force to be recognized in tennis not just on clay, and the end of Federer's complete dominance of the tour and a 5 year streak of winning Wimbledon.

A match for the ages!

In this episode, I talk about and rank my top 5 WTA players who are active still. There is still so much more about them, it was already difficult to keep this episode under an hour!

Throughout, I also make comments on a few differences between the WTA and ATP tour, and leave my suggestion that there could be a tournament like the Elite Trophy and a revision of the rankings system in the ATP tour.

What are your favourite players?

Thanks for listening, liking and sharing!

This is my list of my *favourite* (not the players I think are the BEST) players on the ATP tour! I drop a big bomb at the end, I know the last guy I talk about is a big opinion divider.

I am going to make more lists, now that the Coronavirus, or COVID-19 outbreak has caused the cancellation, of many tournaments, and will likely continue to cause more.

I also mention 2 specific accounts on twitter for you to follow - related to tennis, obviously lol. 

Here they are:

@kristieahn - hilarious comments and savage tik toks (which are also super relatable as a tennis player)

@stanwawrinka - hilarious photos and challenges

Horrible things are happening. The disease shouldn't be as deadly as it has been, and the best way to avoid more bad numbers and bad news is to make sacrifices. These included cancelling a large chunk of the tennis season. Trying to be a little positive, I focus my attention on what the news might mean for the tennis world, and how unbelievably bored a lot of us are right now that we are trying our best to stay at home. 

An epidemic of boredom is a small price to pay in order to keep the outbreak under control.

In other news, how the heck does Roland Garros expect to happen in September? Nothing makes sense. Ah, the French.

Because of the Corona Virus, or COVID-19, Indian Wells, which had issued new health guidelines to prevent the spread of the virus, now won't be held this year anymore. Miami says they'll go on, but at this point, uncertainty is the rule, not the exception. And this will likely affect other tournaments and sporting events - mainly the Tokyo Olympics. I think all eyes will be turning there really soon if the crisis doesn't get under heavy control and fast. Hopefully there will be some tennis, and Indian Wells will be the only casualty, but especially now we cannot know for sure.