The Sit-Down

A year ago, Ignacio Buse was outside the world’s top 100. Now ranked inside the top 30 with two ATP titles to his name, the 22-year-old is giving Peruvian fans plenty to celebrate. Only the second man from his country to win a tour-level hard-court title and the third to reach the ATP’s top 30, Buse joined Matt in Beijing during his first visit to China. The Lima-born rising star reflects on his breakthrough season, the growing attention and what his success means back home. He also shares how his tennis journey began and looks to the future as an Australian Open main-draw debut awaits in 2027.

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After a professional playing career that took her into the world’s top 40, Nicole Pratt was determined to give back to the sport that had given her so much. In the second instalment of a two-part interview, Pratt tells Viv and Matt why coaching was a natural next step. Having guided the likes of Casey Dellacqua and Daria Saville – and now Kimberly Birrell and Storm Hunter – she reflects on how those professional relationships developed into lasting friendships. That camaraderie extends to her role as coach of the Australian Billie Jean King Cup team, where Pratt is passionate about building a high-performance culture founded on respect, honesty, trust, authenticity and professionalism. She also discusses the nuances of coaching male and female players and – in an emotional moment – reflects on how tennis has shaped her life. 

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Ranked outside the top 100 in 2025, Kamil Majchrzak has charged into the world’s top 50 in the best season of his tennis career. The biggest breakthrough came in s-Hertogenbosch when the Polish player claimed a first ATP singles title at age 30. In an unforgettable run, he claimed upset wins over players including Felix Auger-Aliassime, Daniil Medvedev and Alex de Minaur. With Majchrzak in Brisbane for the Davis Cup World Group 1 tie, Tennis Australia writer Liam Petterson took the opportunity to learn more about Majchrzak’s remarkable rise, the inspiration behind it – and how a tennis career that has taken him around the world almost began by chance.

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Nicole Pratt’s tennis journey began on a homemade court in country Queensland, complete with a hitting wall, built by her dad with a bulldozer. From those beginnings came an Australian Open junior champion, top-40 player and WTA champion. In Part 1 of twin episodes of The Sit-Down, Pratt joins Viv and Matt to revisit her fascinating playing journey. She recalls her early experiences at the AIS, winning the Australian Open girls’ title and making a dramatic technical change soon afterwards. There are also memories of facing Serena Williams on her US Open debut, competing against so many greats of the game, and why winning her first WTA title proved a bittersweet milestone. Pratt also reflects on finding some of her best tennis later in her career, the qualities that sustained her and the evolution that would eventually shape her next chapter as a coach to the Australian Billie Jean King Cup team and current players Kimberly Birrell and Storm Hunter.

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Host handles:
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The Sit-Down is on location in Brisbane, where producer Rhys de Deugd is joined by Australian coach Mark Draper at Pat Rafter Arena. The timing was perfect, given the two players Draper currently works with – Rinky Hijikata and Adam Walton – were both selected in the Australian Davis Cup team that defeated Poland. A Tennis Australia National Academy coach for 15 years, Draper loves being able to give back to players trying to get the best out of themselves, knowing from experience how difficult it is to make it at the highest level. His own playing career reached a high point in 1998, when he qualified for the Australian Open and Wimbledon and climbed to world No.152, around the same time younger brother Scott was enjoying some of his best results on the ATP Tour. Growing up in Brisbane, Draper’s development was shaped by Australian tennis legend Mal Anderson, whose influence also helped inform his approach to coaching. It’s a philosophy Draper describes as evolving into “talking a little less, listening more, and letting the player take control of their careers”.

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This week we bring you an episode from the vault featuring American youngster Alex Michelsen. In late 2024 he sat at a career-high world No.41 ahead of his campaign at Next Gen ATP Finals, joining Viv and Matt during a rare break at home in California to discuss his meteoric rise. Michelsen began season 2024 ranked 97th and soared thanks to reaching two ATP finals — Newport and Winston-Salem — and winning more than 30 singles matches, including against top-10 opponent Alex de Minaur in Los Cabos. Now, the 22-year-old is on the brink of the top 30 after breaking through for his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the US Open, where he ultimately fell to France’s Tiafoe in a match that ended with one of the 2026 tournament’s most iconic moments. (Episode originally published 16 December 2024)

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This week Viv caught up with Dane Sweeny at the US Open during the Australian’s breakthrough run to the third round of a Grand Slam. His second-round win over 13th seed Lorenzo Musetti, and the prize money boost accompanying his best Slam performance, has been career-altering, boosting the 25-year-old’s belief that he belongs at the top level of the sport. This latest performance, coming after qualifying for the main draw at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, was unthinkable when he walked away from the game in mid 2024 “hating tennis” and unsure if he would return. Yet he soon began to miss it and returned – with a greater focus on gratitude, mindfulness and discipline – to completely alter his career trajectory and tennis story. Coupled with his rise to the cusp of the top 100, Sweeny has been winning fans over, especially in New York, with his athletic, dynamic style and fighting spirit.

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This week’s guest on The Sit-Down is longtime tennis editor, writer and historian Suzi Petkovski, former editor of Australian Tennis Magazine which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary. Petkovski spent 10 years at the country’s preeminent tennis publication and has continued covering the sport as a freelancer and historian. In Part I of this two-part episode, Petkovski reflects on discovering tennis as a child in Melbourne, falling in love with and later working in the sport, the big names and storylines she covered during her time at the magazine, and the importance of record-keeping and archives to tell the stories of the sport. Look out for Part II – an Australian Open-themed episode – which is due to come out in the build-up to AO 2027.

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Host handles:
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This week we bring you another Grand Slam special edition of The Sit-Down – one focused on the US Open, where qualifying for the 2026 tournament begins today. Over more than two years of episodes, guests have reflected on their greatest career highlights, many of which have unfolded in New York. It’s where Lleyton Hewitt won his first Grand Slam doubles title (2000) and singles title (2001) and where, 10 years later, Angelique Kerber stormed into her first major semifinal when ranked 92nd, setting her on a path toward three Grand Slam titles and the top ranking. It’s where Lindsay Davenport and Kim Clijsters broke through for the first of several Slams – and faced each other on the same courts – and where 1996 finalist Michael Chang came within one point of becoming world No.1. We also revisit a chat with Corey Gauff, the father of women’s star Coco who explained the thinking behind sitting away from her entourage during the North American summer of 2023, which she capped with victory at Flushing Meadows.

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Host handles:
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Tennis has been a constant throughout Barbara Schett’s life. Like many before her, she began playing against a wall before her talent was spotted and channelled towards the professional game, where she debuted as a 14-year-old at her home event in Kitzbuhel, Austria. Schett’s career peaked during a memorable WTA era; she finished 1999 inside the top 10 along with Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, Serena and Venus Williams, Mary Pierce, Monica Seles and Amelie Mauresmo. She fondly remembers that era – and facing those icons – as well as reaching the 1999 US Open quarterfinals and stunning then-world No.2 Venus in the first round of Roland Garros in 2001. That same year she reached the AO mixed doubles final with Josh Eagle, who later became her husband and saw her move to Australia. She now divides her time between Queensland and Europe, remaining connected to the sport through her successful commentary career and role as WTA tournament ambassador in Linz.

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Host handles:
@Viv_Christie
@MattyAT

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