Behind the Racquet Pod

Mike (Cation) here. I've known Michael Kosta since I started working in tennis, right out of college, when Craig Tiley asked me to be the public address announcer for the University of Illinois Men's Tennis team, in 2001. He and Amer Delic came in to work on a pre-match CD of music, and we talked, and I immediately started pushing for him to join our radio morning show from time to time, because he was just hilarious. 25 years later, and Kosta has achieved some incredible things, with multiple comedy specials, and now as a correspondent and host on the Daily Show. And now, as he promotes his new book Lucky Loser, we have our first interview together in 22 years. Enjoy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This podcast drops as Federico Gomez is just about an hour away from his first Australian Open appearance, taking on Joao Fonseca in the first round of qualies here on a Tuesday in Melbourne. His route is an unusual one, having gone through a junior college to Louisville to the business world path, before breaking out in 2024 with three challenger titles, creeping closer and closer to the top 100 for the first time in his career. More coming up next week! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Johannus Monday enters 2025 at 371 in the world, but as we know on the BTR Pod, the ranking very rarely tells the full story. The 6'6" lefty has evolved immensely over the last five years, and ended the 2024 season with three straight 25K titles, and a semifinal at the Knoxville Challenger. That was a special one for him, as it was a few months after he graduated from the University of Tennessee. We talk about he went from an unheralded prospect out of Hull, to one of the most feared players out of the collegiate system in the last few years. He joins Jake Fearnley, Nishsesh Basavareddy, Eliot Spizzirri and others from the 2024 class making their mark at the highest level. We go over those humble beginnings, how he got to Tennessee, that incredible 2024 class, and what he, and Mike, think he needs to do to be the best version of himself. His goals will surprise you. More from Melbourne next week! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Canadian Davis Cup Champion Gabriel Diallo joins Mike on the pod this week. The 23 year old provided another big jump in the rankings in 2024, moving in to the top 100 on the back of his first ATP Final in Almaty. We discuss his beginnings, his quite international background, the college days at Kentucky, and how he's focusing on process over results. More next week with Jamie Loeb talking to Hayley Carter! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nate Lammons is one of my favorite people to run in to at every tournament. He's down to earth, not impressed by pretense, and just a good human to be around. He also happens to be one of the top 20 doubles players in the world. We chopped it up about his rise to that level, and some of the top doubles topics right now, including the US decision not to play Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek during Davis Cup this year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learner Tien is 18 years old, has a record of 53-9 this year, which now includes a total of 7 titles, including his third challenger title on Sunday in Fairfield, California. We had a chat on Monday before the tournament had begun in full, and then we spoke again AFTER he won the title in 39 minutes and 07 seconds, 6-0, 6-1 over Bernard Tomic. Record setting on that one, becoming the shortest completed Challenger Final in history. We talk about goals, THAT winning streak, and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ethan Quinn is 20 years old, ranked 246 in the world, out of Fresno, California. He won the NCAA Singles title at Georgia in 2023. On the eve of US Open qualies, he sat down with Mike to discuss his path out of Fresno, why he's a 40 year old in a 20 year old body, the slow and sometimes difficult progression in the pros, and his journey in to hip hop. More (hopefully) next week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week's guest is Nishesh Basavareddy, a 19 year old from Carmel, Indiana, currently ranked (as of July 29, 2024) 296 in the world. He's reached two Challenger Finals (Fairfield 2023 and Bloomfield Hills 2024) in his very young career, helped lead the Stanford Cardinal the last two seasons, and was ranked as high as #5 in the world as a Junior. We talk his transition towards the pros, how he developed his pure ball striking, and his relationship with Rajeev Ram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lots to recap here, in this pod recorded slightly before the women's final at Wimby. We discuss -The slowing of the grass courts -Paolini is great, but she shouldn't have two straight GS finals -Panic at the (Challenger) Disco -Wild Cards tbd at the Open. Guess yours! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cooper Williams is an 18 year old originally from New York City. He's currently ranked 1250 on the ATP Tour, but this summer he will no doubt see a massive jump in that part. It's inevitable. He's a former junior world #3, and was a top 10 collegiate talent this past spring at Harvard. That includes an Australian Open doubles title with Learner Tien. This summer is an important one for Cooper, as he explores the professional tour and sees where he fits in. We certainly expect some big things, and it was great to have him join us on the pod to talk about his transition in to college, what he expects this summer, and shockingly, what Noah meant to his career! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marcus Willis is a 33 year old from Slough, Great Britain, ranked 116 in the world. He is a 5 time (at this moment) Challenger doubles champion. Once, he made it to the second round of Wimbledon. Those two sentences don't begin to sum up the man with some of the best hands in tennis. Marcus sat down with Mike and Noah to talk about THAT run to Wimbledon, THAT episode with the RC Cola and a snickers bar, and also how those big moments have been mixed with some really trying times, both externally, and some self made issues. As you'd expect with a Brit once nicknamed Cartman, there's a lot of hysterical stories, some introspection, and we get it all on this week's BTR Pod. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

First, unfortunately, Mike's mic shut down in recording, so as the least important person on the pod (Noah and Tristan agree on this)..his voice will sound shaky today. Tristan Boyer is a 23 year old out of Southern California, ranked 231 in the world. In a few weeks, he'll play in Roland Garros qualifying for the first time in his career, just his second career grand slam appearance (after the US Open Qs last year). Just over one year ago, he was ranked 1500 in the world heading in to the green clay Challengers in the states, and reached the Savannah final to really start his professional career. We talked with Tristan about his more unique training in South American, his departure from Stanford, and what he's focusing on as his career gets underway in earnest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Noah is back from his honeymoon, so we do a catchup on some recent topics Namely the potential tour restructure. What does it mean for the Challengers? We get a honeymoon recap from Noah, how to best interact with fans, Danielle Collins, and a resurgent Rafa and what that means. More with Tristan Boyer next week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thanasi Kokkinakis sat down with Mike after winning the Elizabeth Moore Sarasota Open, his 6th Challenger Title. We talk about his return to the top 100, and guaranteeing himself a spot in the French Open main draw with a week on an injured foot. He battled tough conditions, tough opponents, and the weight of that main draw throughout the week, and is now headed on his European summer trip. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Miguel is now 36 years of age, and remains very much in the discussions at the slams as a top 75 doubles player. The former Texas Longhorn talks about his long career as a doubles specialist, what made that decision for him, and how he views the long history of Mexican tennis. We also get in to some of the ATP Player Council politics, namely how doubles gets more eyes (and money), where the ATP is on a domestic abuse policy, and whether Latin America will be getting a Masters Series event. More next week! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jill Craybas had an incredible playing career, as a top 40 player in both singles in doubles, a WTA singles title, 5 doubles titles. She's most well known for a win over Serena at Wimbledon in 2002. Since her career ended in 2013, she's become a fantastic commentator at the Slams, as well as for both the ATP and WTA. This week, she'll be one of the courtside reporters for TennisTV. We chat about her playing career, and how she's brought her inquisitive nature to her reporting and commentary work! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

First, apologies for some of Mike's audio issues in this one. Unfortunately, the wifi in his hotel this past weekend caused a few issues so we're going to ignore the fact that he sounds worse than normal, which is saying a lot. Here are Eliot's deets: Age: 22 Rank: ATP 721, ITA (College) #1 Hometown: Greenwich, Connecticut 2023 Collegiate Player of the Year, finishing #1 in singles, #2 in doubles He will definitely hop in as a Challenger level player quickly once he turns pro at the end of the year. More coming up next week! Also, happy birthday to the lil fella. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aleks Kovacevic sat down with Mike before the Dallas Open to discuss finally hitting top 100 after his run through qualies and in to the 2nd round of the Australian Open. At the time of publish, Kova is back outside of the top 100, at 102, after losing some points from the Cleveland Challenger title one year ago. But hitting 85 was just one step on his journey. He's a University of Illinois graduate, his game is gorgeous, and he's got a new coach to help him get to that next level. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

31-year-old Robert Galloway is a top 50 doubles player from South Carolina. His path took him a different route than most. He was at the peak in the 12s, stepped away from the game, and found his way back as a college star at Wofford University. As a doubles specialist straight out of college, it's a long, hard road to the top 50. Robby G takes us through his journey, with some detours as we discuss the Australian Open, the Zverev player council issue, and much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Only a month in to the year, we get back after it. Lots to get to, here's a rundown. Open- Mike's AO 12:00- Noah Returns to Professional Tennis 28:35- Australian Open Recap; We're in Good Hands 43:50- Quick outlandish predictions from Mike and Noah; Ethan Quinn and Tommy Paul 48:00- Sascha Zverev Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Karue Sell is a force to be reckoned with. After a successful junior career, and collegiate career, he took a year off, got to about 350 in the world after returning to tennis, stepped away from playing, became Naomi Osaka's hitting partner, founded mytennishq.com with his friend Gui, coached Marcos Giron, and now has restarted his playing career, winning a title in his second tournament back. This week, he joins us to talk about how your perspective changes as a coach, his massive success online and what that means as he resumes his playing career, and what can change to make tennis a smoother ride. Don't forget, on Friday, he's competing with Clay Thompson, Bradley Klahn, and Marcos Giron in a exo on mytennishq.com! Watch and subscribe for free! 00:00 Introduction and Background 03:00 Taking a Break from Tennis 06:00 Returning to Compete 11:00 Balancing Coaching and Playing 13:00 Growing My Tennis HQ 16:00 Challenges of Creating Content on the Road 20:00 Future Goals for My Tennis HQ 22:00 Promoting and Growing Tennis at Lower Levels 30:00 Using Platforms to Grow the Sport 33:00 Upcoming Tournaments and Collaboration Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have a lotttttt to get to, so here are some chapter notes: 0:00 Mike beats Noah in Fantasy 3:30- Noah catches us up on where he's at tennis wise 10:30- Who does Noah most want to play 18:30- The Premiere Tour and why it's likely a disaster 25:45- Mike is headed to Australia and is dealing with existential dread 36:09- Mental Health, Constant Pressure, and No Breaks 41:30- Enjoying the Passage of Time More with a Special Guest on Wednesday/Thursday! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zach moves to ~139 in the rankings with a 10 match winning streak. This is a nice addendum to our full podcast, which is the previous one in your feed! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zachary Svajda is 20 years old from Southern California, currently ranked 170 in the world. This fall, he won the Cary Challenger, and this past Sunday, he won the Tiburon Challenger for the second straight year. We talk about his upbringing, his decision to go pro instead of going to college; his strong connections with Roger, Novak, Steve Weissman, and Rick Buchta; and that incredible ball-striking ability. Hopefully, more coming up from Fairfield this week! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brian Koppelman is a DEVOTED tennis fan, but you'll know him best for his involvement as Executive Producer and Showrunner for the Showtime series Billions, writer of Ocean's Thirteen and Rounders, and the director of the 30 for 30 episode "This Is What They Want", about Jimmy Connors. He sits down with Noah to chat about Billions, his tennis love, and so much more. Mike was unfortunately on air at the time, so he had to feed Noah questions about his literal favorite film, Rounders. Tomorrow we'll have a quickie with Abdullah Shelbayh, and Freddie Nielsen joins us next week! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lots to hit on this week: -Coco's win and its impact in the states -Novak remains way beyond the rest -Ben gets beat up, and it's completely unnecessary -Is the Halep suspension the tip of the iceberg? More next week! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bryan Shelton is best known at this moment as Ben Shelton's Coach and Father. We chat about Ben's progress, where he can go, how far he's come, and how Bryan and his wife Lisa balanced athletics with "real life" for their two kids. Bryan is the only coach to win NCAA titles on both the men's and women's side, at Georgia Tech (women) and Florida (men). And, yes, a HECK of a player himself, reaching 55 in the world, with two ATP titles. I'm really appreciative of Bryan's time, as he likes to keep the focus on his son, as well as his daughter Emma. More from New York next week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lots to catch up on from the last month. What a week in Cincy, with Coco taking the title, and THAT MATCH. We go in depth on Coco and her impact. We also try to tackle how to shorten the season, and is there a need for a COMPLETE revamp of how we do the rankings? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 27 year old Atlanta resident woke up from a well deserved nap to join us on Wednesday night, and go through how his life has changed in the span of 3 weeks with a first ATP title in Mallorca, and a spirited run to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. We go through how he's processing it, the reaction at home in Atlanta, what's changed in his game, and yes, the most remarkable celebrities that reached out. Lots to cover, so dive in! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 18-year-old defeated Yuta Shimizu on Sunday in Chicago to win his first Challenger title, and moved inside the top 200 for the first time. Along the way, he also defeated Li Tu, Aleks Kovacevic, Kei Nishikori, and Jerry Shang. Heckuva week. Chat with Chris Eubanks coming later this week! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Legit question, does anyone read this? Mike and Noah recap Christopher Eubanks' remarkable win in Mallorca, and then launch in to Wimbledon. The weather has been rough, the courts have been slow, and why the heck was Kontaveit not honored properly? Mike is off to Taylor Swift before the Chicago Challenger. More next week! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Noah spent the last several days fully analyzing the latest "part" of Break Point. He breaks it down for us, strengths and weaknesses, and we list who we think are the biggest misses from the "profiles" so far. We do a quick analysis of the differences of qualifying at Wimbledon, versus ACTUAL Wimbledon. And then, we get in to the meat of of our pod, a rare interview with Alex Bolt. The 30 year old is currently ranked 342 in the world while coming back from injury. He's using a protected ranking this week in Wimbledon qualies, where we hope he finds some joy. In 2019, at Wimby qualies, he played what some say was the match of the century so far, with Jannik Sinner. We talk about that, his break from tennis early in his career to play footie, and much more. Bolty is a quiet guy, and we're incredibly appreciative of his time and his willingness to chat. More next week, before Mike heads to Taylor Freaking Swift. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alright, LOTS to get to. Mike and Noah discuss the big topics post RG, including Novak, Iga, Sabalenka's fake indignation, Miyu Kato, new #1 Austin Krajicek, and more... Then, we get in to Mike's talk with Blair Henley, who did some commentary at the Tyler, Texas Challenger. Finally, dubs specialist Alex Lawson joins Mike and Blair for giggles. More with Alex Bolt on Monday! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nicolas Moreno De Alboran defeated Mikhail Kukushkin in 3 grueling sets on Sunday in Tyler, Texas to win his second career Challenger title. Before he had to run to catch a flight, he chats with Mike about what it means to get a title on home turf, be at a new career high (142), and how he solved the riddle of Kukushkin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike sat down with Mark Lajal after he won his first Challenger title at the UAMS Health Little Rock Open. The 20 year old became just the second Estonian to win an ATP Challenger title, behind Jurgen Zopp. We talked about what this means at this stage of his career, handling expectations, and, yes, his hair. More this week from Tyler, Texas Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

18 year old Alex Michelsen (pronounced like the golfer) joins Mike on the eve of the Little Rock Challenger, where he'll attempt to have a decent week to get in to Wimbledon qualies. He's already reached a Challenger final in Rome, has wins over former top 10 players Pouille and Sock, and is ready to enroll at the University of Georgia in the fall. We talk about his confidence, his on court improvement, and what he likes to do off the court. And yes, we talk about how he's processing the college decision as a potential top 250 player. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Rafael Nadal announcing he would miss Roland Garros, and (likely) shut it down at the end of 2024, Noah and Mike are joined by Bjorn Fratangelo and Bradley Klahn, two American veterans who are in the back end of their tennis careers. We talked about how they viewed the retirement question, what they thought about Rafa's comments about enjoying one last run, and how challenging it is to retire on your terms if you're NOT Rafa or Roger. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lots to catch up on for the boys this week. We start by answering Noah's question on whether the Alcaraz upset Monday shows that we haven't been respecting "The Big 3" enough. Are Carlos and Iga "Generational Talents?" Expectation, success, and hyperbole all on display lately. We also hit the blatant sexism in Madrid, and Mike pleas with the new owners of the Western and Southern Open to keep it in Cincy. Next week, we'll announce a giveaway of a Daniil Medvedev used ball from the day he became #1 in the world! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Patrick Kypson reached his second Challenger semifinal in 4 weeks in Savannah, and in doing so, he earned the USTA's reciprocal wild card to the French Open. But he had to sweat on Sunday, as Tristan Boyer could have surpassed him had he won the Savannah title. We chat with him about what it means to win the Wild Card at this stage in his career, and his favorite pastime, smoking meats. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zizou Bergs is a 23 year old from Belgium who won the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger on Sunday in straight sets over Tung-Lin Wu. During the event, he didn't lose a single set, while clinching his fifth Challenger title. It was an emotional moment for Zizou, who recently lost his grandfather. We talk about the week ,his style, and what this one means to him. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 26-year-old from Atlanta sits down with the boys post Miami to talk about the process of getting to the top 100 for the first time in his career after his quarterfinal run. A huge achievement, so we discuss how it happened philosophically, and technically. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jamie Loeb rejoins the show to gives us the full details of what financial inequalities look like at the lower levels of tennis, after Denis Shapovalov helped bring it to light in his recent article. We got in to the intricacies of what that looks like at tournaments that have both men's and women's events at the Challenger level, and how some of the finances break down, and why. We also explored some other reasons WHY the financial inequities might be happening, and most importantly, Mike's daughter Marnie hops on to ask some questions of the Dynamic Jew-o. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Grant Chen is now the Head Coach for the men's tennis team at SMU. He came to Dallas after a legendary run from the team manager for UCLA, all the way to Associate Head Coach. He also helps run the Dallas Open, and multiple USTA Pro Circuit events at the Styslinger Altec Tennis Complex in Dallas as well. Further, he's about as connected as anyone can be. You'll see him in the box from time to time for Grigor Dimitrov, he's tight with John Isner, and many others. So Mike sat down with him to find out what makes him go, how he's gotten to this point, and what tennis means to him. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mackenzie "Mackie" McDonald is 27 years old from Northern California, ranked 53 in the world as of March 6th. He was the NCAA singles and doubles champion at UCLA in 2016, winning the doubles with Martin Redlicki (a former BTR Pod guest, now coaching at Oklahoma State). Mackie joined us from Indian Wells, with the draw coming out later today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike here- This pod got DRASTICALLY delayed (totally on me), but this pod was recorded in Melbourne immediately following qualifying, as Alexis was headed towards the airport. The guy is an incredibly hard worker, super positive, and it was fun learning a little bit more about what took him to NC State (not a traditional tennis powerhouse), and has him inside the top 200 in the world. More next week! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey all- In between interviews with Ernesto Escobedo, and Alexis Galarneau, the boys reconvened to chop up the American men at the AO, why the TV coverage was down, and the horrific record tennis is starting to set on domestic violence. More next week! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Have to preface all of this by noting that this was recorded the day after Neto qualified in Australia. As a result, it's important to note that it does not have any details regarding this week's Davis Cup news with regard to the Mexican Tennis Federation. He was honest and forthright about his decision and why, and clearly is at peace with the decision he's made. More coming up next week, including an interview with Canada's Alexis Galarneau. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Top 100 star Ben Shelton gave his thoughts on his whirlwind year, his three straight titles to end the year, his offseason, his girlfriend Anna, and Mike gets emotional because that's what you do at the end of the year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Quite an end to the year, although did the year ever really "end" A slew of exhibitions, Davis Cup distractions for the US, and really questionable (at best) words from a few top male stars. More next week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike here. I sat down with Ben immediately following his victory in straights over Christopher Eubanks to talk about playing against his close friend, his expectations for this stretch of tennis, and where he thinks he's most improved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The always mature Sam Riffice joins Mike during his run to the semifinals in Fairfield, California. They talked about his childhood in Sacramento, his strong family structure, and what he's learned from his fiance, Cici Bellis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices