WTA Insider Podcast

Garbiñe Muguruza shows no signs of slowing down after winning Wimbledon, losing just one game to No.2 Simona Halep to win the Western & Southern Open. The title vaults the talented Spaniard to No.1 in the Porsche Race to Singapore Leaderboard, up to No.3 in the rankings, and makes 2017 the first multiple-title season of her career. 

Courtney Nguyen sits down with the Cincy champ after a tremendous week that saw her come back from match points down early in the tournament and beat Madison Keys, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Karolina Pliskova, and Halep for her 1st title on American soil. 

 

Grand Slam finalist, former Top 5 player, Fed Cup champion, Olympic medalist, three-time doubles Slam champion, and now, World Doubles No.1.

That's a pretty good resume, Lucie Safarova!

On Monday, the 30-year-old joins her compatriot Karolina Pliskova, as the two Czechs to top the doubles and singles rankings, respectively. In fact, it's the two players representing the Czech Republic have simultaneously occupied the top spot.

Courtney Nguyen sits down with Safarova during the Western & Southern Open to discuss her rise to doubles No.1, her successful partnership with the woman she's overtaking, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, and she shares some childhood memories with her new partner for 2017, Barbora Strycova.  

Canned goods? Really, Bara?

There isn't a job in tennis that Anne Worcester hasn't had. Whether it was her early days at IMG, her four years helming the WTA Tour as the first female chief executive of a professional sports organization, or her last 20 years as the tournament director of the Connecticut Open in New Haven, Worcester has seen women's tennis grow through multiple lenses.

Courtney Nguyen sat down with Worcester at Wimbledon to discuss her trailblazing career in tennis, why she chose to leave her top post at the WTA in 1997, the current obstacles in marketing women's sports, and where she hopes to see the sport go in the future. 

Subscribe to the WTA Insider Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn or any podcast app of your choice. Like what you hear? Be sure to leave us a review on iTunes.  Follow WTA Insider on Twitter @WTA_insider and follow all our work at www.wtatennis.com.

   

 

No.37 Julia Goerges is in fine form these days. Since the start of June, the 28-year-old has made the final in Mallorca (grass), Bucharest (clay), and Washington DC (hard). This week she opened her campaign at the Western & Southern Open with a straight set win over No.10 Agnieszka Radwanska, her first win on hard court over the Pole. It's all shaping up nicely for Goerges, who is trying to secure a Top 32 seed this week for the US Open. 

Courtney Nguyen caught with Goerges after her win over Radwanska to discuss her fine form, her revamped serve, and all the hard work and perspective that has made her "a dangerous package". 

Subscribe to the WTA Insider Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn or any podcast app of your choice. Like what you hear? Be sure to leave us a review on iTunes.  Follow WTA Insider on Twitter @WTA_insider and follow all our work at www.wtatennis.com.

Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina have continued their winning ways in 2017. After a 2016 season that saw them win Olympic gold for Russia and then cap off the season with their first title at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, The Russian pair have qualified once again Singapore. 

David Kane caught up with the "MakaLena" ahead of their title run at the Rogers Cup to discuss what makes them such a successful doubles team -- turns out they don't even really practice doubles! -- and what they're looking forward to on their return to Singapore.

Subscribe to the WTA Insider Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn or any podcast app of your choice. Like what you hear? Be sure to leave us a review on iTunes.  Follow WTA Insider on Twitter @WTA_insider and follow all our work at www.wtatennis.com.

Martina Hingis and Chan Yung-Jan -- or Latisha to her friends -- are one of the first teams to qualify for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. The Swiss-Chinese Taipei duo were fierce rivals across the net from each other last season, but paired up in February and haven't looked back. They've captured five titles so far, including two of the three Premier Mandatories in Indian Wells and Madrid, and looking forward to a return to the Lion City.

David Kane caught up with Martina and Latisha to break down their successful pairing. 

Subscribe to the WTA Insider Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn or any podcast app of your choice. Like what you hear? Be sure to leave us a review on iTunes.  Follow WTA Insider on Twitter @WTA_insider and follow all our work at www.wtatennis.com.

Elina Svitolina surged back into the lead on the Porsche Race to Singapore Leaderboard in style, becoming the first woman to ever win three Premier 5 titles in a single season by winning her tour-leading 5th title of the season at the Rogers Cup. The 22-year-old Ukrainian dropped just one set in Toronto, beating Daria Kasatkina, Venus Williams, Garbiñe Muguruza, Simona Halep, and Caroline Wozniacki in Sunday's final. 

David Kane has a quick chat with an exhausted Elina after her title-run to discuss her season so far and where she gets her trademark competitiveness. 

Subscribe to the WTA Insider Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn or any podcast app of your choice. Like what you hear? Be sure to leave us a review on iTunes.  Follow WTA Insider on Twitter @WTA_insider and follow all our work at www.wtatennis.com.

Elina Svitolina surged back into the lead on the Porsche Race to Singapore Leaderboard in style, becoming the first woman to ever win three Premier 5 titles in a single season by winning her tour-leading 5th title of the season at the Rogers Cup. The 22-year-old Ukrainian dropped just one set in Toronto, beating Daria Kasatkina, Venus Williams, Garbiñe Muguruza, Simona Halep, and Caroline Wozniacki in Sunday's final.  David Kane has a quick chat with an exhausted Elina after her title-run to discuss her season so far and where she gets her trademark competitiveness.  Subscribe to the WTA Insider Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn or any podcast app of your choice. Like what you hear? Be sure to leave us a review on iTunes.  Follow WTA Insider on Twitter @WTA_insider and follow all our work at www.wtatennis.com.

Why is Elena Vesnina the only WTA insider you need? Because we didn't get an invitation to the Wimbledon Champion's Dinner and we certainly would never have been allowed to beam out the trappings of that good life over Instagram Live. 

David Kane catches up with the Russian after her first round win at the Rogers Cup to talk about her experience of attending the glitzy gala as a Wimbledon doubles champion, the tricky nature of being a traveling Russian, and looking back on a season chock full of amazing memories. 

Subscribe to the WTA Insider Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn or any podcast app of your choice. Like what you hear? Be sure to leave us a review on iTunes.  Follow WTA Insider on Twitter @WTA_insider and follow all our work at www.wtatennis.com.

Madison Keys took home the title at the Bank of the West Classic, defeating CoCo Vandeweghe to win her first title of the year, first hard court title, and first title on home soil, all in just her second tournament since undergoing a second wrist surgery after the French Open. It was quite a week. 

Courtney Nguyen sits down with Keys after the final to reflect on her injury-marred season and how her successful week in Stanford validated all the hard work and tough decisions she's had to make in a season that had her fighting off pain and lingering doubts.