Tennis Unfiltered

Calvin Betton is in Winston-Salem, the penultimate stop on his North American tour, while James Gray is sitting on his suitcase at home, waiting for a flight... paid for by members of the Tennis Unfiltered Supporters Club! Thanks to the TUSCers, James is heading to New York to make daily podcasts exclusively for members of our Patreon.

To avoid missing out on our US Open coverage, head to: https://www.patreon.com/TennisUnfiltered

Meanwhile, here's what James and Calvin discussed in this week's free pod:

- Arthur Fils is hitting his straps with a first-ever Masters 1000 title, beating Frances Tiafoe in a ding-dong final that ended remarkably quickly for a three-set match - but maybe that is how the paper-thin Frenchman has to play in order to maintain condition at big tournaments

- Coco Gauff overcame her sometime doubles partner Jessica Pegula to win in Cincinnati for a second time: only Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka have managed that in the Open Era

- The controversial mixed doubles championship has kicked off in New York

- Jannik Sinner, Jack Draper, Joao Fonseca and a whole host of other men have pulled out leaving the singles wide open - and we even think Carlos Alcaraz might not play

And loads more!

Remember, the only way to listen to our US Open coverage is to sign up for the our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TennisUnfiltered⁠
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Thank you to the literal hundreds of you who have signed up for the Tennis Unfiltered Supporters Club. TUSCers have enabled James to secured (budget) accommodation in New York and he will be wheels up to the US in just a few days' time.

If you want to hear daily podcasts with James and Calvin from the US Open, enjoy ad-free listening to the weekly podcast, get extra pods outside of the slams (like this week's one about the rise of Boris Becker), just tap here: www.patreon.com/tennisunfiltered

In the meantime, on with the podcast!

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George Bellshaw is on a ferry to Finland so misses out this week, while Calvin Betton tunes in from Cincinnati after zipping down from Montreal. What jet-setters we all are!

They discussed...

- Ben Shelton's serve is absolutely popping to help him "defend" the Canadian Open title (in a different city)

- Iga Swiatek is looking red hot too as she calls out the haters after winning her first title since September last year

- Venus Williams gets hammered in the singles again

- The US Open mixed doubles wildcards are confirmed and we go inside the qualification system that the doubles specialists have to go through

- Novak Djokovic is struggling in the heat, vomiting on court en route to defeat

And SO much more
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Tennis Unfiltered Supporters Club members are listening to this podcast ad-free! You could be too, and all you have to do is sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/tennisunfiltered

(TUSCers also get an extra podcast every week, access to daily slam coverage, and great group chats with the lads and other TUSCers. Give it a whirl.)

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OFF-COURT NEWS

- Jannik Sinner is out of the Cincinnati Masters with a knee injury, raising concerns about the US Open

- Emma Raducanu has already confirmed she will miss Flushing Meadows as part of her continued recovery from a stress fracture

- Serena and Venus Williams will play doubles together for the first time in years at Cincinnati, presumably preparing for a US Open reunion

- Coco Gauff addresses the WTA trans policy (with her usual eloquence)

WTA TORONTO

- Aryna Sabalenka's poor run of form continues with a last-16 defeat to Ekaterina Alexandrova

- Jessica Pegula and Mirra Andreeva also lose early

- Alexandra Eala goes on another raucous run but this time she is stopped by Belinda Bencic

- Iga Swiatek is marching through the draw and it looks like Francisco Roig is having the desired effect

- Elena Rybakina is still in but looking increasingly rusty on serve

ATP MONTREAL

- Jack Draper is left in tears on court after struggling with his arm again against Terence Atmane

- Cam Norrie saves match points against Alex de Minaur but then is stopped comprehensively by Arthur Fils

- The youngest line-up ever in the quarter-finals includes 8 players born in the 2000s for the first time

- Rafa Jodar is on the verge of breaking a long-standing Boris Becker record

FUNDRAISING

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We love making Tennis Unfiltered, and the Tuscers enable us to make even more. Anyway, on with this week's podcast...

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There's no Calvin Betton this week owing to a variety of circumstances, so it's just James Gray and George Bellshaw - but there was no shortage of topics to discuss...

- Carlos Alcaraz has a new (questionable) haircut... but the real news is that he will be joined at the Cincinnati Masters by Novak Djokovic

- The 24-time slam champ confirmed his participation, a growing trend that sees players more likely to miss than attend these flagship ATP events which begs the question...

- When will someone turn around and say "let's get rid of the Canadian Open"?

- Marketa Vondrousova's full judgment is out... and it does not look great for the Czech player, who will surely appeal her four-year ban from the sport to the Court of Arbitration for Sport

- Alexandra Eala comes back the next day a set down to beat Jessica Pegula and win the biggest title of her career in Washington...

- ...before Rafael Jodar falls short of what would have been his, beaten in straight sets by Taylor Fritz

- Kristina Liutova is the youngest player in the WTA top 500 but is now a 250 champion at the age of just 16, coming behind in a tight final to claim her maiden title

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A link to the story re: the PTPA threatening to sue Andy Roddick is here: https://x.com/KaplanSportsBiz/status/2084257820149457262
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Calvin Betton, George Bellshaw and James Gray are back with another look at the week in tennis. This week: the doubles fightback starts in Washington, more Masters 1000 withdrawal fallout, the 2028 Olympic schedule is announced, the most epic Davis Cup finish ever, and three new tour title-winners.

Here's what they discussed

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Washington tournament owner Mark Ein has been doing the media rounds this week (including a stop on Ben Rothenberg's Bounces), and it caught our ear when he declared himself a doubles superfan.

Ein says Washington has gone as far as almost any tournament to promote doubles, including proactively engineering eye-catching pairings rather than leaving it to chance

His pitch: nothing beats watching top players mixing it up in doubles on a 1,500–3,000 seat side court, right on top of the crowd.

He acknowledges the counter-argument other tournaments make that doubles soaks up a lot of prize money, but argues the format needs to "add unique value" to earn its keep.

Washington will live mic doubles players again this year, the third year running.

Tournament director Valerie Tetreault has called for change after both Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic pulled out of the Canadian Masters 1000, a repeat of last year, when both skipped Toronto.

Tetreault is disappointed but understanding of the players' need to prioritise health given the schedule.

Her broader point is that repeated last-minute withdrawals from Masters 1000s raise a real issue for the sport, since fans "rightfully expect to see the world's best compete."

She's calling for adjustments to better protect the integrity of Masters 1000 events.

The 2028 Olympic tennis event, to be held in Carson, near where the Williams sisters grew up in Compton, will start just three days after the Wimbledon men's final.

Kicks off the Wednesday after Wimbledon, running as a 10-day event

Mixed doubles starts July 19, singles draws begin July 20, doubles from July 21

Will top players get involved in the mixed? Not likely

World No. 1043 Ammar Alhogbani was serving for the match against Malaysia when he was violently sick on the baseline, and then a monsoon hit at 5-3, 40-15 in the third set.

Play resumed seven hours later. Alhogbani came back and won it

Saudi Arabia are promoted to World Group 2 in the most dramatic fashion imaginable

Kitzbuhel: Quentin Halys

Wins his maiden title at 29. Once a highly-rated junior with four Grand Slam finals (singles and doubles), he never translated it into a senior career until cracking the top 100 four years ago - and has now broken into the top 50.

Estoril: Luca van Assche / Titouan Droguet & Kyrian Jacquet

An all-French sweep: Van Assche took the singles, while Droguet and Jacquet won the doubles as alternates — including a first-round win over Calvin's pair Luke and Jan.

Prague: Lilli Tagger

Beat Daria Snigur 7-6, 6-2 to win the title, becoming the youngest player in the top 50 at 18 and the first player born in 2008 to win a WTA title.

Also beat home favourite Barbora Krejcikova in the semis. Won the girls' French Open title last year.

Austrian, trained at the Schiavone academy near Milan and coached by Francesca Schiavone.

Hamburg: Tamara Korpatsch

Beat Hungary's Anna Bondar 6-3, 6-3 to become the first German champion in Hamburg since Steffi Graf in 1992. Germans had gone 0-4 in finals there since.

Born in Hamburg. Her dad was a truck driver and the pair used to tour ITF events around Germany in a borrowed camper van to save money

EXTRA, EXTRA

Australian Open caps cheap tickets after overcrowding problems

US Open mixed doubles entries have been announced so far, but could change before the deadline

Jiri Lehecka has snapped up Fred Fontang as coach, freshly departed from Felix Auger-Aliassime's box

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