Tennisnerd - Talking tennis with industry pros and enthusiasts

Christopher Clarey is a tennis writer with decades of experience of interviewing and reporting on the best players in the world. He is a New York Times bestselling author with the book The Master, about Roger Federer's astonishing career. Now he has written The Warrior: Rafael Nadal and his Kingdom of Clay, a book that is a biography of Rafa, but also of the tournament and place where he won 14 of his Grand Slam titles, Roland Garros. Read more about The Warrior. Purchase The Warrior.

Henrik Wallensten, Davis Cup stringer, racquet tester, and tennis journalist, joins the pod again to talk about the latest experiments and the never-ending racquet tinkering madness. Are you looking for a new racquet or string? Check out our page about recommended racquets or strings on Tennisnerd.net. And don't forget our exclusive deals and discounts.

Pro player and YouTuber Karue Sell is back on the podcast to talk about his latest adventures on the Challenger Tour and coming back from his recent injury. We also get into his racquet change and the YouTuber life. Karue is, as always, entertaining and refreshingly straightforward. If you are not already subscribed, you can check out his YouTube channel here.

I summarize an interesting week on the tennis tours and we get into some gear and tennis tech as well.

Conor Niland is a former tennis player from Ireland who reached 129 in the world during a career with some strong highlights and lowlights, all captured beautifully in his book, "The Racket. We talk about the book and his life on tour, starting as a College player and ending up playing Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open (and with pretty much everything in between). The Racket is a fascinating read, giving you a deep look into life on the professional tennis tour and I very much enjoyed my conversation with Conor.  

I summarize the week of the Monte Carlo Masters, talk about pro player strings and tensions from the tournament, and look ahead at the coming week. In a few days, there will be a normal guest episode, don't worry :) Ps. There is a video version of this solo pod on the YouTube channel. Ds. If you are curious about the strings and tensions, here is the link to that post.

Since we got good feedback on the first solo pod, I recorded a quick one from my hotel room with a preview of the Monte Carlo Masters and some gear talk. I hope you enjoy it. Don't miss our recent ATP string tension video, where we analyze some pro-player string tension trends. And as always, there is plenty of new content on tennisnerd.net Don't forget to play some tennis!

Lavie Sak is the founder of ADV, which makes excellent tennis bags and accessories. But Lavie's passion is not only creating tennis products; he is also keen on giving back to the sport he loves. He is involved in Tennis Cambodia and talks about his experience on the lower rungs of professional tennis and how help is needed to get the sport to grow in developing countries.

Desperation? Inability to find guests? The height of narcissism? No, we have some excellent episodes coming your way. But I wanted to give myself a Monday morning challenge and do a solo podcast talking about some recent tennis news, but also getting into pro player gear and upcoming reviews. If you don't mind a solo pod from time to time, let me know on socials. Also, if you hate it.

My buddy and fellow tennis nerd, Henrik Wallensten, joins the pod again to discuss the latest gear, his current racquet experiments and give a review of the Asics Gel Res X among other things.

In this conversation, I talk about the new Pure Drive 2025 with Olivier Carlier, Group Marketing Manager for Tennis Racquets, and Maxime Olejniezak, Product Line Manager for Tennis Racquets for Babolat. We discuss the history, innovations, and future of this iconic racket. The conversation covers the evolution of the Pure Drive, its significance in the tennis world, and the latest advancements in technology and design. The team shares insights on player feedback, target audiences for different models, and the importance of accessories and strings. They also touch on their personal tennis journeys and the excitement surrounding Babolat's upcoming anniversary.

Neya is a beloved influencer/content creator based in Melbourne who has developed a strong passion for tennis and is sharing her journey to improve in the sport. Earlier this year, she went to the Australian Open and shared some interesting opinions about the event. I got to know Neya during the Tennis Warehouse partner summit, and I find her to be a refreshing and engaging voice. You can check her out on Instagram as @supertoneyan

Giri Nathan is a tennis journalist working on his first book, "Change-over, A Young Rivalry and a New Era of Men's Tennis," detailing the growing rivalry between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. In this episode, recorded at the end of December 2024, we talk about that in-depth but also cover other players on the men's tour getting into their gear and more. You can find out more about the book here: https://bit.ly/TNchangeover

Patrice Chabrel is a senior product manager at Tecnifibre with many years of experience in the racquet industry. In this episode, we talk about the new Tfights and more! Lots of insight to be gained for tennis nerds here :)

Nikola Aracic from Intuitive Tennis is back on the podcast and this time, we focus on his recent series about finding his next racquet. Choosing a new racquet can be a very frustrating process and Nikola is feeling it! We get into ways to make the process smoother, some tips and tricks, discuss racquets overall, get into doping on the pro tour, and look ahead at the 2025 tennis season. You can check out his content on YouTube or get exclusive access to his membership content. Use the code TENNISNERD10 for 10% off. You can find other Tennisnerd Deals here.

Ben Johnson is a videographer and creative director who found his way back to tennis some years back. Last year, he started The Tennis 101, which has risen to viral success on TikTok and Instagram. We talk about his journey in tennis, his love for filmmaking and editing, what racquet he should switch to, and much more.

Will Boucek is the founder of The Tennis Tribe and a doubles specialist and analyst. Boucek scouts and coaches elite doubles players to perform better and worked with team US and the USTA at the Olympic Games. How do we grow the game of doubles, and what can club players do to play better doubles? We talk about all that and more in this episode.

Oscar Torres used to play professional tennis but now works as a performance coach, training pros and amateurs. He also creates instructive and entertaining content on Instagram @oscartorreslab In this conversation, we get into his pro career but also bigger topics like the state of tennis, what needs to be done for it to survive long-term, what we can learn from other sports, the struggling format of professional tennis and much more. I am keen to hear your opinions on these topics in the comments on Instagram or YouTube. Thanks for listening. Any subscribe, like, or follow helps the podcast and is much appreciated.

This is Sarah's second time on the podcast. The last time we talked, she was working on founding a tennis company, and now it is here! Richsport sells colorful and fun tennis accessories and merch. If you're curious about their products, this podcast works better on YouTube, but if audio is your thing, you can check out their website. I wish Sarah and Nicole all the best with their new venture. Ps. I really like the overgrips myself, and I am pretty picky! Ds.

Beckett Chung is one of the founders of Tenncom Media, where he reviews gear and creates video content with his business partner Simon Cuell. Check out Tenncom on YouTube for a taste of their refreshing and engaging style. Beckett knows a lot about racquets and strings, so we delve into that. Before this recording, we spent a week with Tennis Warehouse, testing some exciting gear for 2025, so we also look ahead at next year.

Henrik is back on the podcast to discuss the Gear of the Year 2024. We focus on racquets but also mention strings and shoes towards the end. It's a nerdy pod, but hopefully, you can get something out of it. Full video with footage on the Tennisnerd YouTube channel.

Coach Conor Casey used to play professional tennis and write for sitcoms. Now, he entertains and informs a growing audience with funny and relatable tennis content on his Instagram account @tenniscoachconorcasey

Fabio Molle is the founder of Functional Tennis, the largest tennis-related account on Instagram with 1 million followers. Functional Tennis is also famous for the Saber, a training racquet with a 37 sq inch head size which has been seen in the hands of top pros. He also runs a podcast with many interesting guests, like top pros and coaches. We talked about his background in tennis, pros and cons with running an ecommerce business, creating tennis products and much more. Check out the Saber

Dan Wolken is an award-winning columnist for USA Today who has covered sports for over two decades. He is also a dedicated tennis player. He has written a book about Coco Gauff called "Cocomania," and we talk about the book, Coco,  the state of tennis and even get into racquets and strings towards the end. Check out Dan's book on Amazon

Legendary coach Rick Macci is back on the podcast, and this time, we discuss the US Open 2024, how a player develops a style, the importance of going for your shots, junior tennis development, and lots more.

Global business manager Dennis Fabian and Global product manager, Maximilian Bauer from HEAD join me to discuss the new HEAD Extreme racquets, their upcoming releases, and much more. I hope you enjoy the podcast. There was a lag when recording this remote podcast, I hope it doesn't affect your listening experience too much. Thanks, as always, for listening.

Peter Clarke is a former professional tennis player who retired in 2007 and was ranked in the top 250 players in the world. He has recently launched the impressive Coachlife platform, where coaches for the top players in the world deliver in-depth lessons about technique, mindset, nutrition, match play, and more. I have tried the Coachlife platform, and it is an excellent tool for inspiration and improvement. Use the code TENNISNERD10 to get 10% off. 

Jose Hernandez Fernandez (also known as Bebo) is an ex-pro player from the Dominican Republic who retired from the ATP Tour in 2020 and has since coached. He achieved success with WTA top 40 player Yue Yuan earlier in 2024 when she won her first WTA title and reached the quarter-finals of Indian Wells. I know Bebo personally, and for this podcast, we got to sit down in person and talk about his life on tour, the successes and struggles of being a tennis pro, growing up in the Dominican Republic, and what tennis organizations can do better to improve the situation for aspiring professional players.

Tennis balls have been in the spotlight lately, with multiple complaints about quality and consistency from pro tennis players. Why is this happening, what has been done to improve the situation, and what can be done in the future? Mauro Pinaffo is HEAD's Senior Global Product Manager for Tennis and Padel balls and gives us all the answers and some interesting stats and details about tennis balls you might not know.

Tim Puttock is back on the podcast! This time, we talk about upcoming Prince releases, their product portfolio, strategy and the recently reviewed Phantoms. Tim has a wealth of experience as a racquet engineer and I think there is a lot to learn from this conversation.

Michael Joyce reached a career-high of ATP #64 and transitioned to a very successful coaching career. He worked with Sharapova for 7 years before her retirement and coached players like Pegula, Azarenka and Keys. Now, he works with American WTA-talent Ashlyn Krueger. Michael is also one of the featured coaches in Coachlife, a new platform focused for players of all levels to improve their tennis. Get 10% off using TENNISNERD10.

Eric Lee is the co-founder of the hyped-up string brand Toroline. He used to play D1 college tennis and started the company alongside other strong tennis players to challenge the string market with softer, more colorful string options. They have been on a strong path in 2023/2024 with the success of pro player/content creator Karue Sell and their custom poly hybrid venture called Omakase. In this episode, we talk about their journey, racquet nerding, the string market, and the jungle of options for the consumer.

I have been a fan of the AI-driven software Swingvision since I first tried it in 2021. Apple has featured it in its famous Keynote speeches, named it "App of the Day," and given it an Apple design award. Ex-pros Andy Roddick and James Blake have been early investors, and there are also backers like Jason Liu from Strava and Albert Lee from MyFitnessPal. I was excited to sit down with Swupnil Sahai, the CEO and co-founder, to discuss Swingvision's journey so far and its future.

Luca Berg from the YouTube channel Rackets&Runners joined me on the podcast to talk about gear. His detailed and organized racquet reviews for tennis and pickleball are rapidly growing his fanbase. We had a great conversation about gear and the world beyond.

Nikola Aracic from Intuitive Tennis returns to the podcast to talk about the remaining GOATs (Rafa and Novak), why heavy racquets can be bad for you, why underarm serves are disrespectful and much more. Time stamps 00:00 Intro 00:35 Rafa's last rumble, Novak's superpower and the player's right to  emotions 34:05 Bublik and disrespectful and pointless shots like the underarm serve. Highlights culture on TennisTV. 58:16 The viewability of tennis, bad angles, shadows, lack of options 1:14:00 What is the white racquet? Nikola's hunt for strings from the 90s and how his racquet preferences affect his game 1:32:19 Heavy racquets are not for everyone, but for some. Strings and more…

My friend and doubles partner, Daniel Rutkowski, who has been on the channel many times, joined me to discuss competitive tennis and the things many players struggle with, such as match tightness, negative self-talk, changing patterns, and dealing with pushers, etc. Daniel was a strong junior player who left tennis for years and now has been back to competitive tennis with success in German league play and several titles on the ITF Masters Tour. This is a shorter podcast, but we will be back with the longer format next week.  

Dennis Fabian is the Global Business Manager at HEAD, where he works on tennis and pickleball. In this episode, he talks about new strings and racquets, gives tips on how to avoid tennis elbow, categorizes the different racquet lines, and much more.

Experienced Davis Cup string and racquet play-tester Henrik Wallensten is back on the podcast to discuss his latest bouts of racquet madness. If you are lost in the racquet jungle, this episode might make you feel less alone...

Craig Shapiro is a bit of a media icon on the tennis scene. He has been around the tour since the 90s when he traveled as Andre Agassi's personal racquet tech. He runs an excellent podcast.  He has just returned to New York from the Sunshine Double, so we are going to talk about his experiences there, his career in tennis and much more. Time stamps 00:00 Intro 01:00 How much tennis do you watch? 03:52 How is tennis doing as a sport? 14:31 The origin story 23:14 The Craig Shapiro Podcast 30:23 Interviewing pro tennis players can be tricky 37:05 Summarizing the Sunshine double and looking forward to the clay 54:38 Rafa's return and clay rulership 1:01:17 Tennis elbow 1:08:07 The State of Tennis

Cameron Price is an aspiring professional tennis player and a coach at the Delgado & Lee Pro Tennis Academy. After having heart problems in October 2022, he is back to playing tennis, coaching, and competing in tournaments. While away from the sport, he promised himself that when he could play again, he would document his tennis journey and share everything he learned. Now, you can learn about Cameron's pro journey on his YouTube channel. Cameron has built a Notion template for ambitious tennis players, which you can find at tennisplayeros.com Time stamps 00:00 Intro 00:28 Documenting the pro journey 04:14 Strengths and weaknesses as a player 07:30 Coaching vs Playing 17:30 Health and tennis 20:16 Being a “Youtuber” 27:33 Racquet and strings 33:05 From gear to mental performance 42:21 Tennis personalities and the story of a match 46:41 Serve bots and the contrasting surfaces 51:23 Heart problems leading to self-reflection 58:40 Screen time and social media

Thomas Alm is a Swedish coach with 25 years of experience coaching professional tennis players. He can be called the David Goggins of tennis, as he is an ultra-marathon runner and is all about going all-in. Professional tennis is all about winning after all. Time stamps 00:00 Intro 00:27 What's up in your life? 02:55 The importance of personal chemistry between player and coach 05:51 Tennis coaching culture and finances 11:49 What went wrong with Swedish tennis? 18:42 The money on the pro tour 24:24 Physical vs Mental coaching 32:06 Celebrity coaching and other approaches 43:24 Making technical changes as a pro 47:24 Dealing with losses 53:24 The importance of data in tennis 1:01:10 Are people softer today? 1:06:18 Passion for running

Allen is an Australian tennis enthusiast and the creator of the YouTube channel AC Tennis. His channel focuses on in-depth racquet reviews and comparisons. He's been playing tennis since he was 5 years old and loves everything related to tennis gear. Time stamps 00:00 Intro 00:45 The Happy Slam 07:25 Allen's tennis schedule 11:16 How did you improve? 15:43 The racquet review process 19:51 How good is the new Blade V9? 34:23 Match racquets 56:19 Swing weights and quality control 1:05:50 Blade V9 vs the World of 98s 1:13:09 Racquet brands, updates and cosmetics 1:20:42 Tennis ball problems 1:26:43 The weirdness of pro racquets 1:36:24 The one-hander and the future of tennis

Philip Fama is a coach, player and content creator with his brand called Tweenerhead. He reached out and wanted to discuss the tennis ball problem, and I thought, why not do it as a full podcast and also talk about other thing about tennis? We had a great conversation, and Phil's passion for the sport we all love truly shines through. This is what the podcast is about, our love for tennis and how we make it stronger as a sport. Timestamps 00:00 Intro 01:02 The tennis ball issue 11:11 Tennis is a gear-driven game, for better or worse 16:04 The best tennis balls 26:08 What changed tennis 32:14 A demanding sport for new players, hence…new racquet sports! 38:13 Is Tennis doing well? 43:58 Working in a tennis shop 46:48 Back to competitive play 57:06 The sometimes sad grind of the tennis tours

In this episode, I'm joined by Ashley Neaves, also known as “The Tennis Mentor.” Ashley is an award-winning coach who works with everyone from kids to recreational to high-level competition players. He creates content on social media and recently released a course with Liam Broady's coach, David Sammel, called Bulletproof at the Baseline. Time stamps 00:00 Intro 01:56 Hanging out with the pros in 2023 04:03 Testing racquets on a smart court 06:17 Tennis is exciting. How do we market it better? 13:07 Working with Felix Mischker, Tennis Brothers 17:49 How to get new players to enjoy tennis 25:51 The Four Pillars of Tennis 31:00 The tennis nerd gets a great tip 39:24 Playing competitions 44:55 Ashley's talented tennis brothers 50:18 What is Bulletproof at the Baseline? 53:52 Your journey with YouTube 59:10 Plans for 2024

Today, it is something for you gearheads. Beckett Chung is a fellow tennis nerd reviewing racquets and talking about gear-related topics on his channel Tenncom. He is very knowledgeable, so check it out! Time stamps 00:00 Intro 01:27 Tennis in Canada 03:00 Beckett's gear journey 08:50 The quality control conundrum 13:43 Our spec range and racquets 21:01 Testing products you don't enjoy 29:21 Grail racquets and Federer's personal frame 35:30 Talking to the racquet brands 42:50 Older racquets vs new 50:34 What racquet feels the best right now? 55:14 The right racquet for the right style 1:02:06 Understanding your specs 1:09:30 Next-level nerdiness 1:15:25 The curse of being a play-tester 1:18:56 Surprising racquets 1:24:09 A Tennisnerd signature racquet

Dr. Nivedita Uberoi Jerath and legendary coach Rick Macci are here to talk about mental tennis, mental health, motivation, and their new book, Billion Dollar Mind: A Practical Guide to the Game of Life. In this episode, we cover plenty of topics on and off the court related to how you can strengthen your mind. You will find plenty of powerful wisdom nuggets in this one. Check it out Billion Dollar Mind on Amazon Time stamps 00:00 Intro and Billion Dollar Mind 03:46 How Rick and Nivedita met 09:13 Healthy mind, healthy life 21:40 Building positive habits 25:55 The mental diet 31:56 Reversing a negative trend 40:40 Finding YOUR motivation 44:25 Improving your presence 50:34 The importance of role models 58:20 Where to get the Billion Dollar Mind 59:28 What did you learn from the process of writing the book?

Liya Davidov is a Digital Programming Coordinator for the Tennis Channel and writes for tennis.com. She used to play college tennis for New Jersey, still follows the sport closely on her social media channels, and has a strong passion for writing in and outside tennis. Time stamps: 00:00 Introduction to Liya, her work and tennis career 11:05 Doubles is underrated 17:07 Liya's tennis background 21:45 The difficulty and solitude of competitive tennis 27:08 Pickleball or Padel? 31:47 How much tennis do you watch? And who do you like to watch? 40:48 Tennis is in a good place, but what can we do better? 48:52 Liya's tennis schedule for 2024

Karue Sell is back on tour and on the Tennisnerd podcast for the third time. We talk about his return to pro tennis, life on tour, travel, what the ATP can do better, and, of course, his new racquet. You should check out his excellent YouTube channel My Tennis HQ, which gives some excellent coaching advice and other exciting content like match play footage from Karue and more. Timestamps 00:00 Intro 01:40 How important is fitness to your success on the court? 10:05 Scheduling and planning as a tennis pro 18:10 The travelling is… 23:25 Capturing the essence of tour matches on camera 37:30 Hey ATP, we don't like highlights 47:40 When is it time to bring a coach on tour?  56:52 Tennis is MMA with a ball 1:05:05 Everyone knows the choke! Mental tennis 1:15:53 Accepting your tennis journey 1:20:45 Using content creators to drive engagement for pro tennis 1:28:05 Karue's new racquet

Henrik Wallensten returns to the podcast to discuss the new Blades V9, Strikes, Speeds, tennis shoes, and more. When talking, Henrik is at the Davis Cup match in Helsingborg, Sweden, where he strings for the Swedish team. The first part of the podcast was done a bit impromptu on the run, and the sound of the first part on my end is so-so, but it improves in the second half when I am back in the "studio." 

Eliza returns to the pod! She is a digital strategist who comments on the tennis world on the rapidly growing account @Itselizasworld.  She now also has a YouTube channel called Liza West. Today, we will get into the ongoing Australian Open, tennis fashion and branding, and the bigger picture of what is happening in the tennis world. Time stamps 00:00 Intro 02:53 Australian Open moments so far 10:59 Ostapenko serving burgers 16:50 Exciting fresh faces in the draw 19:03 Sabalenka heading to the title? 23:06 What is Nike doing these days? 26:55 Not being able to buy the endorsed outfits 30:45 “Full-kit wankers” and rocking your on-court personality 36:36 Protecting your brand (IGA and LEGO) 43:10 Yonex and other colorful tennis kits 50:24 Balls at the AO 53:00 Sakkari in Grand Slams 55:38 The “glamour” of pro tennis life 58:31 Does Adrian Mannarino have a clothing sponsor? 1:02:35 The best-looking men's kit 1:05:15 The future of Andy Murray 1:12:36 The bothers of Berrettini 1:16:40 The Men's tournament 1:27:36 Zverev allegations 1:41:55 What is happening in Eliza's world? 1:43:45 The Cancun disaster and the WTA

Nikola Aracic is one the most popular online tennis coaches in the world with his brand Intuitive Tennis. He is refreshingly honest and straightforward and has become one of my favorite people in the world to talk about tennis with. This is his third time on the podcast and we get into various topics as highlighted in the timestamps below. Timestamps 00:00 Intro 00:46 What it requires to improve in tennis 19:05 Mental vs Technical skills 31:14 Coming to the court with different racquets 38:30 Racquets, racquets, racquets 1:14:11 Rafa's return and sports legend's desire to compete 1:29:16 Australian Open predictions 1:40:04 Technical improvements on the pro tour 1:54:19 Intuitive Tennis in 2024 2:01:00 Weird Swedish forehands 2:04:31 Kyrgios and lack of respect for the past 2:13:45 Is tennis in danger? How can we better market the sport?