I summarize an interesting week on the tennis tours and we get into some gear and tennis tech as well.

Conor Niland is a former tennis player from Ireland who reached 129 in the world during a career with some strong highlights and lowlights, all captured beautifully in his book, "The Racket.

We talk about the book and his life on tour, starting as a College player and ending up playing Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open (and with pretty much everything in between).

The Racket is a fascinating read, giving you a deep look into life on the professional tennis tour and I very much enjoyed my conversation with Conor.

I summarize the week of the Monte Carlo Masters, talk about pro player strings and tensions from the tournament, and look ahead at the coming week. In a few days, there will be a normal guest episode, don't worry :) Ps. There is a video version of this solo pod on the YouTube channel. Ds.

If you are curious about the strings and tensions, here is the link to that post.

Since we got good feedback on the first solo pod, I recorded a quick one from my hotel room with a preview of the Monte Carlo Masters and some gear talk. I hope you enjoy it.

Don't miss our recent ATP string tension video, where we analyze some pro-player string tension trends. And as always, there is plenty of new content on tennisnerd.net

Don't forget to play some tennis!

Lavie Sak is the founder of ADV, which makes excellent tennis bags and accessories. But Lavie's passion is not only creating tennis products; he is also keen on giving back to the sport he loves. He is involved in Tennis Cambodia and talks about his experience on the lower rungs of professional tennis and how help is needed to get the sport to grow in developing countries.

Desperation? Inability to find guests? The height of narcissism? No, we have some excellent episodes coming your way. But I wanted to give myself a Monday morning challenge and do a solo podcast talking about some recent tennis news, but also getting into pro player gear and upcoming reviews. If you don't mind a solo pod from time to time, let me know on socials. Also, if you hate it.

My buddy and fellow tennis nerd, Henrik Wallensten, joins the pod again to discuss the latest gear, his current racquet experiments and give a review of the Asics Gel Res X among other things.

In this conversation, I talk about the new Pure Drive 2025 with Olivier Carlier, Group Marketing Manager for Tennis Racquets, and Maxime Olejniezak, Product Line Manager for Tennis Racquets for Babolat.

We discuss the history, innovations, and future of this iconic racket. The conversation covers the evolution of the Pure Drive, its significance in the tennis world, and the latest advancements in technology and design. The team shares insights on player feedback, target audiences for different models, and the importance of accessories and strings. They also touch on their personal tennis journeys and the excitement surrounding Babolat's upcoming anniversary.

Neya is a beloved influencer/content creator based in Melbourne who has developed a strong passion for tennis and is sharing her journey to improve in the sport. Earlier this year, she went to the Australian Open and shared some interesting opinions about the event. I got to know Neya during the Tennis Warehouse partner summit, and I find her to be a refreshing and engaging voice. You can check her out on Instagram as @supertoneyan

Giri Nathan is a tennis journalist working on his first book, "Change-over, A Young Rivalry and a New Era of Men's Tennis," detailing the growing rivalry between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. In this episode, recorded at the end of December 2024, we talk about that in-depth but also cover other players on the men's tour getting into their gear and more.

You can find out more about the book here: https://bit.ly/TNchangeover