Wta Insider Podcast

How dominant is Ash Barty right now? Who left a lasting impression in Melbourne? What does it all mean for the remainder of the spring hard-court season? WTA Web Editor Alex Macpherson joins the podcast to break down the 2022 Australian Open. 

Ashleigh Barty capped off a perfect fortnight in Melbourne by becoming the first homegrown singles champion at the Australian Open, capturing her third major title with a straight-set win over Danielle Collins in the final.  The World No.1 joined the podcast after a whirlwind media tour in Melbourne to explain why her Melbourne run was different from her first two major wins and what's next after a dominant start to the year.

After a short hiatus, the WTA Insider Podcast is back! WTA Web Editor Alex Macpherson joins the podcast to ring in the new 2022 WTA season. We break down the key takeaways from the first two weeks of the season, dive deep into the draw for the Australian Open, and analyze the favorites, dark horses, and match-ups that matter.

Iga Swiatek captured her second title of the 2021 season and third overall with a stunning week at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, defeating Karolina Pliskova 6-0, 6-0 in the final to capture her first WTA 1000 title. The 19-year-old saved match points in the third round and went on to tally two Top 10 wins to book her own spot in the Top 10 for the first time in her career. Swiatek joined the podcast after her dominating final performance to reflect on a week of winning ugly that ended with perfection. 

Aryna Sabalenka won her 10th career title at the 2021 Mutua Madrid Open, defeating World No.1 Ashleigh Barty 6-0, 3-6, 6-4 to capture her first title on clay. As a result, the 23-year-old will rise to a career-high No.4 in the rankings and zoom up to the No.3 position on the Porsche Race to Shenzhen Leaderboard. Only Barty and Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka have earned more points this season. Sabalenka joined the podcast after her Madrid win to discuss her magical week, why she needed it, and what she expects with Roland Garros around the corner. 

World No.1 Ashleigh Barty tallied her 11th career title and a tour-leading third of the season at the 2021 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, rallying from a set down in her last three matches to take the title in her tournament debut.  Barty reflects on the success of her long overseas trip so far, which has seen her win titles in Miami and Stuttgart and race to No.1 on the Porsche Race to Shenzhen Leaderboard. 

Petra Kvitova captured her 28th career title at the 2021 Qatar Total Open, defeating Garbine Muguruza 6-2, 6-1 in the final. With the win, Kvitova won her first title since 2019 Stuttgart and tallied her tour-leading 20th victory in Doha.  Kvitova joins the podcast to break down the keys to her Doha title run. The Czech star also discusses her two Wimbledon titles and explains why her 2014 title run may have been career-defining. 

Iga Swiatek captured her first hardcourt title and second career title, winning the 2021 Adelaide International with a 6-2, 6-2 win over No.2 seed Belinda Bencic in the final.  Everything came together perfectly for Swiatek in Adelaide, where she steamrolled through the field to drop just 23 games over five matches, finishing her successful week by winning her final 18 service games.  Swiatek joins the podcast from Adelaide to reflect on what went right in Adelaide and explain how her mind, which craves logic and rationality, can produce a game that is so unpredictable.

Naomi Osaka captured her fourth major title at the Australian Open, defeating Jennifer Brady 6-4, 6-3 to win her 2nd title in Melbourne. Osaka has now pulled off the New York-Melbourne double twice in her young career, and she will leave Australia riding a 21-match winning streak.  Osaka joined the podcast by phone from Melbourne to reflect on her win and look ahead to her prospects at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. 

Aryna Sabalenka can't lose. The 22-year-old Belarusian finished the 2020 season with back-to-back titles and she kicked off her 2021 season with another, defeating Veronika Kudermetova 6-2, 6-2 to win the Abu Dhabi WTA Women's Tennis Open. Her winning week extended her career-best winning streak to 15 matches, secured her third consecutive title and ninth of her career, and will propel her to a new career-high ranking on Monday at No.7. That's not a bad week of work. Sabalenka joined the WTA Insider Podcast from Abu Dhabi and reveals how losing her father put her tennis in perspective and how she plans to deal with the heightened expectations as she heads to the Australian Open as the hottest player on tour.

Julia Goerges has announced her retirement, ending a 15-year career that that saw her break into the Top 10, make a Wimbledon semifinal, capture seven WTA singles titles, and stand shoulder-to-shoulder alongside Germany's Golden Generation of talent, with Angelique Kerber, Andrea Petkovic, and Sabine Lisicki. Goerges leaves behind a legacy of professionalism and respect that left an indelible mark on the WTA locker room, as evidenced by the outpouring of well-wishes from her colleagues and friends. Goerges joins the podcast to reflect on her decision to hang up her trusty Babolat racquets, detail what it was like playing in the long shadow of Stefanie Graf, and why her straight-shooting ways left a mark on the tour's younger generation.

Aryna Sabalenka came back from the brink at the J&T Banka Ostrava Open to become the first player to sweep the singles and doubles titles at a Premier-level or higher since 2016. After being five points from losing in her first two rounds of the tournament, Sabalenka dominated down the stretch, defeating Victoria Azarenka to win her 7th WTA singles title, and then teaming up with Elise Mertens to capture the doubles title.  Sabalenka joins the podcast after her successful week to reflect on what she learned from her slow starts and what she needs to do to apply this successful tour-level formula to the Slams. 

The youngest Roland Garros champion since Monica Seles. The most dominating Roland Garros title run since Stefanie Graf. The first Grand Slam singles champion from Poland.  19-year-old Iga Swiatek checked off quite a few boxes in Paris, where she lost just 28 games to capture her first major title.  The thoughtful teenager joins the podcast to reflect on her triumphant fortnight, reveal the keys to her nerveless play, and what her future holds.

Simona Halep extended her winning streak to 14 matches by finally capturing the one big clay-court title that has eluded her. The World No.2 came through in her third final in Rome to win the Internazionali BNL d'Italia for her third title of 2020 and 22nd title overall. Halep joins the podcast to reflect on her seven-year journey in Rome, the site of her breakout tournament in 2013, and looks ahead to Roland Garros. 

Naomi Osaka became the youngest woman to capture her third major title since 2008, rallying from a set and a break down to defeat Victoria Azarenka in the final of the 2020 US Open. Osaka joins the podcast to reflect on her 11-match win-streak in the New York bubble, the keys to her title run, and how she hopes her concurrent activism will impact the sport and the world at large. 

On this episode we continue our series on the 50th anniversary of the Original 9, who came together on September 23rd in 1970 to sign a one dollar contract with promoter and World Tennis Magazine founder Gladys Heldman to form the first women's professional tour, a precursor to the WTA which would be formed three years later in 1973. Today, thanks to our friends at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, we are excited to share a wonderful radio interview with Gladys Heldman herself, which was done during her induction to the Hall of Fame in 1979. As Billie Jean King has said, “Without Gladys Heldman, there wouldn't be women's professional tennis. She was a passionate advocate for women tennis players and, as the driving force behind the start of the Virginia Slims Tour in 1970, she helped change the face of women's sports."

Victoria Azarenka ended a 12-month winless drought in style at the 2020 Western & Southern Open, not only capturing her first main draw match win since the summer of 2019, but her first title since 2016 and her first title since returning to the tour as a mother.  Azarenka joins the podcast to reflect on her resurgent week in New York, why she came close to retirement in January, and why, no matter whether she's winning or losing, we just can't stop talking about her. 

Simona Halep and and Jennifer Brady join the WTA Insider Podcast to reflect on their successful season restarts, which were punctuated by title runs at the Prague Open and Top Seed Open in Lexington, respectively.  World No.2 Halep extended her winning streak to nine matches after coming through a pair of early scares in Prague to win her 21st career title.  American Jennifer Brady captured her 1st WTA Title in dominant fashion, rolling through the Lexington field to win the title without losing a set and being broken just three times all week.  For both Halep and Brady, their title runs last week simply underlined their fabulous starts to the season. Not even a five-month shutdown could derail their progress. 

Billie Jean King will never stop fighting. As part of the WTA's month-long celebration of LGBTQ Pride Month, the WTA Legend and founder joins the podcast to reflect on how far the tennis LGBTQ community has come and where it still needs to make further inroads. King also discusses her recent conversation with Roger Federer on the topic of tennis unity, what it was like to juggle her tennis career with her advocacy, and what she hopes today's generation of WTA players understands about the tour's groundbreaking history.