Born and raised in Paris, France, Alizé Lim took a most unusual path to the WTA Tour, as her parents insisted on education, so she didn't truly turn pro until she was 20 years old. She spent 7 years on the tour with very little support, and in 2014 got to 135 in the world and appeared in 4 French Open main draws. In 2014 she played Serena Williams in the first round on Court Philippe Chatrier. Her career was marred by injuries and we talked in length about how tough the tour is.

She is now the host of Tennis Channel's new show Academy Life, where she visits and trains at the premier tennis academies in the world. We had a world class chat.

We discussed some of the differences in the academies, as Alizé visited Mourataglou Academy, Nadal Academy, Tipsarevic Academy, and Magnus Norman's Good to Great Academy outside of Stockholm, Sweden.

We talked about the news that Amelie Mauresmo was named tournament director of Roland Garros, replacing Guy Forget and talked about the future of French women's tennis, and Alizè shared that she is actively coaching her boyfriend, basketball great, NBA all star and champion Tony Parker.

Recorded 12/9/21 and released 12/10/21

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Rohan Bopanna has had a action packed and coffee filled life in tennis. We discussed how his family was in the coffee business, and how he was essentially taught tennis by his father, who was self taught. He explained how he was not a good junior, and how he didn't get good until he was 21. He got to 3 in the world and won 19 tournaments over 2 decades. His path to pro tennis should be a Bollywood smash hit, and we discussed this incredible story in length.

Now an elder statesman on tour, we talked about his thriving coffee business, Maverick and Farmer, and how he is the ATP TOUR's defacto coffee guru. Rohan and I discussed the Australian Open's Covid vaccine stance, Davis Cup , and quite a few hot button tennis topics.

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The good doctor with a penchant for tennis, and more specifically, play testing and dissecting tennis shoes- Dr Zach Thomas took an hour out of his schedule to chat with me about all of the latest and greatest-and not so great tennis shoes of the moment. We talked ON Running, Nike Adidas Lotto, Diadora, and even Wilson's newest shoe. Was a great chat.

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Todd Martin left Northwestern University after his sophomore year and got to 4 in the world. He won 8 tournaments and beat Pete Sampras to win Queens Club, and Alberto Berasategui to win Barcelona. He reached the finals of the Australian Open and the US Open and semi'd Wimbledon twice, and we discussed it all. .

Now the head of The Tennis Hall of Fame , we discussed the initiatives the Hall of Fame took to get through the pandemic, and why they believe they have the best grass courts in the USA.

Recorded and released on November 2. The Craig Shapiro Tennis Podcast is powered by Sergio Tacchini.

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Michael Davies' TV credits include Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Wife Swap, The Talking Dead, and most recently, Jeopardy, to name a few. Along with Roger Bennett he is hosts the renowned soccer podcast and tv show, Men in Blazers. He is a tennis man with a unique story , and we had an incredible chat, dipping from entertainment to the fuzzy yellow ball.

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Former World #4, elite coach, and ESPN broadcaster Brad Gilbert and I talked about the passing of Andre Agassi's dad, Mike Agassi. We discussed the US Open in length, including Emma Radacanu, Leylah Fernandez, Novak Djokovic, and Daniil Medvedev. We chatted about casper Ruud, and Botic Van de Zandenschulp. his most interesting times at the BNP Paribas Open.

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South African tennis legend Christo van Rensburg has had an incredible life in tennis. He made his Davis Cup Captaincy debut recently and we discussed his #1 player Lloyd Harris in length. We talked in length about the attributes that make elite players and why he thinks Lloyd is going to rise to the top of the ATP rankings.

A late bloomer, he told me his phenomenal story of learning tennis and becoming a pro tennis player almost as an afterthought, and learned which Hall of Famer is his best friend.

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Mischa Zverev joined me from his apartment in Monte Carlo in advance of his trip to New York for the US Open. We discussed his brother Sascha Zverev's domination of the field on his way to winning Olympic gold, and why he won the tournament. We talked about the proliferation of uber fans in tennis, as well as the myriad of obligations he has now as he is managing Sascha's career.

We discussed his life in tennis, from being an elite junior to moving through the pro ranks, and how he has kept serving and volleying all the way through his career. He talked in length about what it is like to face Roger, Rafa, and Novak, and we discussed what his brother brings to the table and why he can be #1 in the world. He told an incredible story about going into a full body cramp for 7 hours, and discussed prize money inequality on the ATP Tour.

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I rediscovered Meike Babel vis a vis her social media networks, and immediately knew I wanted to interview because I liked her coaching style. I remembered her when she came on the pro tennis scene and she has had an incredible life in tennis. She grew up with tennis pro parents near Frankfurt, Germany, allegedly stole a tennis racquet as an infant, and played her junior tennis primarily in Germany. She played money tournaments and club matches on her way to pro tennis. We had a tremendous chat about her time as a pro player, and how she battled depression on tour. She shared her thoughts on Naomi Osaka's situation and gave her perspectives about Coco Gauff and countrywoman Angie Kerber.

Meike Babel explained how she stopped playing after battling injuries, and ended up coaching college tennis, first at Tulane University and then for 18 years at Vanderbilt University. We talked in length about her time in college tennis, and why she loves college tennis. Now a teaching pro in Denver, Colorado she can be found at meikebabel.com and her youtube channel is a must.

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In 1984 Leif Shiras made front page news across the globe when he upset Ivan Lendl at Queens Club. He rode that wave of notoriety all the way to the final, where he lost to John McEnroe in three sets. He reached 31 in the world, got to the Rd of 16 at Wimbledon, and was a member of the US Davis Cup Teams in 89 and 91 under coach Tom Gorman. He is a longtime broadcaster, currently a fixture on Tennis Channel, and we had a phenomenal chat. We discussed the grass court season thus far, and looked at the Wimbledon draws.

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