The Racquet Rundown

With the 2026 tennis season underway, we discuss the year that was in 2025 and what it means moving forward on the ATP Tour and beyond in the new year.

2025 brought about perhaps as eventful a fall post US Open season as we've had. The usual fatigue still loomed, sprinkle in a Shanghai Cinderella story, and fittingly, another riveting Alcaraz Sinner clash in a year defined by the New 2 to close the season.

In perhaps a career best performance, Carlos Alcaraz rampaged through the field in the big apple to bag his 6th major and 2nd US Open title and return the the top of men's tennis. We talk about the brilliant Alcaraz performance in the final against Jannik Sinner as well as winners and losers from the 2025 US Open.

A little bit of everything on this one with talk about new look Cincinnati and its results, US Open's mixed doubles tournament, and a breakdown of the recently unveiled US Open 2025 draw.

A Toronto and Montreal masters with many familiar faces missing from action ended in absolute fireworks at the finish line as on the men's side Ben Shelton took home his first big title ahead of most of tennis' biggest stars reconvening in the new look Cincinnati masters ahead of the year's final major.

Jannik Sinner finally was able to strike back after a 5 match skid at the hands of Carlos Alcaraz, handing him his first defeat in over 3 months and his first defeat at Wimbledon in 3 years. Having conquered the grass at Wimbledon Sinner reclaims his best in the world status and will head back to the hard courts as the favorite again for the year's final major. Will he be challenged or will it be more of the same for the current hard court king?

There was a lot of turmoil early in the men's tournament but one way or the other, the usual suspects have made their way to the semifinals at Wimbledon with a repeat appearance from the prior major of Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and Novak Djokovic alongside what has felt like an overdue Taylor Fritz final weekend push for Taylor Fritz. We breakdown how we see the weekend's activities going between the semis and ultimately who takes the title on Sunday.

Wimbledon 2025 kicked off with a bang and absolute carnage to the seeds within the first 2 rds. We discuss our takeaways and implications with some of the craziest couple of opening days at the championships since 2013.

While we were given the time able to separate ourselves from the wave and grandeur of the Roland Garros final, the grass tuneups came and went and now, the tour heads to the All England Club for the 3rd major of the year at Wimbledon. We know our contenders. We know the form players. We know our challengers. Ready? Play.

Our breakdown on the 1st ever Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner slam final that delivered one of the great sporting moments of our lifetimes. Quite simply one of the greatest matches ever played, maybe the greatest single match comeback ever, and certainly the best match since the inception of this podcast.

The last 4 are in between Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, and Lorenzo Musetti. These were our predicted semifinalists and it seems as if the prelims are cleared and through a relatively straightforward road here, we now have the cream of the crop to do battle for the Coup des Mousquetaires with some tantalizing final weekend matchups.

A tournament started in celebration of the old guar, today sees two of the stalwarts thwarted in spirited fashion. One of which was the swan song of one Richard Gasquet. Elsewhere, 2 set leads fell like there was no tomorrow and in the bottom half, the 3rd quarter rightfully became the Musetti quarter. We break it all down, here on the Racquet Rundown with our returning guest Evan.

A lot more clarity here heading to Roland Garros 2025 as opposed to a year ago in many ways with a pretty clear cut set of contenders with Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, and Taylor Fritz headlining their respective quarters. Them among other formidable contenders will look to lock horns for the right to hoist the Coupe des Mousquetaires in 2 Sundays.

Through Rome this year, the clay court season has seen a revolving door of champions including not only your usual suspects, but those just outside tier 1 like the Scandinavian duo of Ruud and Rune making moves. A certain world no 1 Sinner will also be added to the mix in due time, promising for an intriguing run up to Roland Garros

The 2nd leg of the Sunshine Double in Miami saw many surprises from day 1 and that carried through all the way through to the final with Jakub Mensik clinching an unforgettable first title downing his hero, Novak Djokovic in beyond impressive fashion.

We had 2 men on the ground in the desert as Jack Draper stormed through the Indian Wells draw and make a statement and cement himself as a contender for all the big titles moving forward. Also a short rundown the Miami draw as the 2nd leg of the Sunshine Double kicks off.

Golden Swing and the other February mainstay events in the Middle East and Rotterdam were the tennis hipster's dream and in tandem with the Sinner WADA verdict, plenty to chop up ahead of our sunshine double episode.

Jannik Sinner kicked off his 2025 in the best possible fashion as his Australian Open title defense hammers home his spot atop the tennis world and the game's current undisputed hard court king. We unwrap his statement finals win and look ahead to the impending indoor and middle east stretch as January wraps up.

Recapping the overarching themes each of us took away throughout the 2025 Australian Open which saw many many new and old faces making a statement out of the gates at the year's first major. We also give the rundown on the men's semifinals and preview the final between Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev.

Ahead of the year's first major, we unpack a super intriguing draw and make our predictions for how we see the Happy Slam unfolding at AO 2025

2024 marks the end of the professional careers of multiple key figureheads and architects of the greatest era of men's tennis over the course of the last 2 decades. Join us as we pay tribute to the legendary careers of Dominic Thiem, Andy Murray, and Rafael Nadal as the curtain comes down on their time on tour.

Yet again in 2024, Jannik Sinner is the last man standing as he takes home a 2nd major of a sparkling 2024 and cementing his place as the world number 1. Elsewhere, it was a huge US Open for the Americans this US Open with many clinching career best results, potentially setting them up for strong closes to the year and beyond.

The year's final major is upon us and we have a draw. We unveil our predictions for how we see the tournament going while also taking stock of all of the game's top contenders.

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The most prolific rivalry in the history of men's tennis will see yet another installment on Phillipe Chatrier. Back at the scene of the crime where it all started, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will lock arms for a record extending 60th time in what could still yet turn out to be another historic and memorable clash as they each approach the back 9 of their respective careers.

Week 1 at Wimbledon in 2024 has already seen a record 10 2 set comebacks in just the first week along with some fantastic tussles already for our current top 3 sprinkled in for each to advance to week 2. We look ahead to week 2 with several tasty rd of 16 matchups on tap.

A slightly delayed look at the Wimbledon draw give us an opportunity to discuss a chaotic round 1 that had a little bit of everything and a boatload of 5 setters.

After being delayed a week due to technical difficulties, we get to recapping the back half of the French Open and Carlos Alcaraz's dramatic victory. Additionally, with the first week of grass court action seeing new entries into the winner's circle in Alex de Minaur and Jack Draper, we preview the prospects of all the grass' biggest contenders.

Late night mania to wrap up week 1 of this year's Drench Open featuring scheduling chaos and the top seeds inching closer to their respective collision courses.

Amid the headliner of Nadal Zverev, the first round at Roland Garros is in the books with a lot of noteworthy action across the grounds, particularly from the old guard with more to come in the upcoming rounds.

Despite the buildup to this year's French Open being anything but typical, we try our hand at correctly predicting what has the potential to be the most wide open major and edition of Roland Garros in ages.

Catching up on clay action since Monte Carlo including some new additions to the winners' circle as well as Rafael Nadal's return. Additionally, we discuss the uncertainty around the top of the men's game ahead of Roland Garros and the mounting amount of names set to retire within the next year.

Stefanos Tsitsipas' big week in the principality couldn't have come at a better time with the Greek coming into the event reeling and starved of big wins but if there ever was an antidote for Tsitsipas, it has proved to be the clay of Monte Carlo as he goes home with a 3rd title in Monaco.

Jannik Sinner continues piling up the accolades to start 2024, bagging his 2nd Masters title in Miami in emphatic fashion. With the 1st quarter of the 2024 tennis season in the books, we look ahead to clay season and its most elite contenders.

Carlos Alcaraz completes his revenge tour in the dessert, re-entering the winner's circle and defending his Indian Wells title.

Semifinals are set in the dessert as Sincaraz VIII headlines the action alongside Daniil Medvedev and Tommy Paul for a spot in the final.

Ahead of the year's first Masters 1000 title and the proclaimed, "Fifth Slam," in Indian Wells, we talk contenders while catching up on the South American Golden Swing and the biggest winners from February on the ATP Tour.

Breaking down the Australian Open Final and the implications for the champion, Jannik Sinner. Also highlighting other notable performances from the fortnight.

There will be a new Australian Open champion in 2024 as it's Sinner vs Medvedev for the Australian Open title. Two worthy finalists with plenty on the line in the first Australian Open final to not feature a member of the big 3 since 2005.

Previewing the 2024 Australian Open Semifinals between Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner as well as Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev fresh off a monumental upset of Carlos Alcaraz.

Recapping week 1 at the Australian Open including one of the great days in recent grand slam history in Day 5. Also looking ahead to the back end of the tournament as Novak Djokovic eyes #25 attempting to hold off an impressive young charge at this year's tournament.

1st round action in the books in Melbourne, headlined by Novak Djokovic's longest ever slam 1st round match in an unexpected treat of a match with the 18 year old Dino Prizmic.

Predicting the 2024 Australian Open. Happy AO y'all.

As the 2024 tennis season draws closer, we preview who are poised to be the biggest winners in 2024 amid several other fascinating storylines including Rafael Nadal's return and the Next Next Gen's continued development.

Recapping Novak Djokovic's season crowning and record breaking 7th World Tour Finals title along with all the other happenings from this year's edition of Turin. This episode also highlights the major strides Jannik Sinner has made in these remaining 3 months of 2023 including a tremendous run in Turin and Davis Cup.

The field is set for the World Tour Finals in 2023, promising all types of mouthwatering matchups as the 8 best players on the ATP Tour aim to end the season strong. In other news, Novak Djokovic continues adding to the ever-growing collection of records and milestones to his name.

Catching up on all we've missed since the US Open, giving a rundown on tennis' return to China and some projections for the end of 2023 and the season ahead.

We breakdown the implications of another historic fortnight and grand slam season by Novak Djokovic and also take a look at some of the biggest takeaways from the 2023 US Open.

Predicting what promises to be a very exciting final major of the year at the US Open in New York with a potential all important Alcaraz Djokovic rematch looming for all the marbles in 2023.

A rundown of all the action from our home tournament in Mason, Ohio in what turned out to be a very topsy turvy week, but ended in the best way possible with Djokoraz IV for the title.

We discuss the back end results of the Rogers Cup as Jannik Sinner prevails for a maiden Masters crown and we preview a tantalizingly stellar Western and Southern Open draw with a detailed breakdown.

Reviewing early round action at the Rogers Cup including the return of Carlos Alcaraz for the first time since Wimbledon, as well as a myriad of upsets around the grounds.

Discussing notable takeaways from all the post Wimbledon action from all around the globe including Umag, Kitzbuhel, Hamburg, Atlanta, and Washington DC and also previewing the Rogers Cup action in Toronto.

Our wait for a classic all time level match in 2023 was well worth it as the 2023 Wimbledon final lived up to all the billing and more. We react to the match and unpack some of the biggest takeaways for both Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic among others as we leave grass season in the rearview.

Recap of men's semifinal action at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships and looking ahead to the highly billed final between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.

Analysis on the quarterfinals and we preview and predict the two men's semifinals ahead of what promises to be a mouthwatering final weekend at Wimbledon.

As quarterfinal matchups begin to take shape, we take a look at the true contenders for the Wimbledon title this year as we head towards the business end of the tournament.

In this episode we preview some of the week 2 action ahead at Wimbledon and also discuss some of the biggest stories through day 6 of the tournament including Matteo Berrettini's return to his best.

A rundown of the action through Day 4 at the All England Club including a titanic 2nd Round match between Andy Murray and Stefanos Tsitsipas and much more

Reacting to the action at the All England Club through Day 3 including several large upsets and also looking forward to what Day 4 will hold.

Musa, Ryan, and Akhil give their predictions on how they think this year's Wimbledon Championships will unfold and also give their thoughts on the action from day 1 at the tournament.

Novak Djokovic makes it 23 in Paris in historic fashion, claiming sole ownership over the slam race and will now head to the grass a strong favorite yet again. Musa, Ryan, and Akhil discuss the implications of Djokovic's win and also preview the upcoming grass court season.

The match we all wanted the moment this draw was made is here. Hosts Musa, Ryan, and Akhil offer up their insights and predict a winner of this generational battle that could very well decide who wins the tournament ahead of the mouthwatering clash between the two best players in men's tennis/

In this inaugural episode, Cincinnati hosts Akhil, Musa, and Ryan break down a seemingly wide open French Open 2023 mens singles draw minus Rafael Nadal and give their insight into tournament favorites, sleepers, and busts through their expert analysis.