The Sit-Down

Ranked outside the top 100 in 2025, Kamil Majchrzak has charged into the world’s top 50 in the best season of his tennis career. The biggest breakthrough came in s-Hertogenbosch when the Polish player claimed a first ATP singles title at age 30. In an unforgettable run, he claimed upset wins over players including Felix Auger-Aliassime, Daniil Medvedev and Alex de Minaur. With Majchrzak in Brisbane for the Davis Cup World Gro...

Nicole Pratt’s tennis journey began on a homemade court in country Queensland, complete with a hitting wall, built by her dad with a bulldozer. From those beginnings came an Australian Open junior champion, top-40 player and WTA champion. In Part 1 of twin episodes of The Sit-Down, Pratt joins Viv and Matt to revisit her fascinating playing journey. She recalls her early experiences at the AIS, winning the Australian Open gir...

The Sit-Down is on location in Brisbane, where producer Rhys de Deugd is joined by Australian coach Mark Draper at Pat Rafter Arena. The timing was perfect, given the two players Draper currently works with – Rinky Hijikata and Adam Walton – were both selected in the Australian Davis Cup team that defeated Poland. A Tennis Australia National Academy coach for 15 years, Draper loves being able to give back to players try...

This week we bring you an episode from the vault featuring American youngster Alex Michelsen. In late 2024 he sat at a career-high world No.41 ahead of his campaign at Next Gen ATP Finals, joining Viv and Matt during a rare break at home in California to discuss his meteoric rise. Michelsen began season 2024 ranked 97th and soared thanks to reaching two ATP finals — Newport and Winston-Salem — and winning more than 30 s...

This week Viv caught up with Dane Sweeny at the US Open during the Australian’s breakthrough run to the third round of a Grand Slam. His second-round win over 13th seed Lorenzo Musetti, and the prize money boost accompanying his best Slam performance, has been career-altering, boosting the 25-year-old’s belief that he belongs at the top level of the sport. This latest performance, coming after qualifying for the main dr...

This week’s guest on The Sit-Down is longtime tennis editor, writer and historian Suzi Petkovski, former editor of Australian Tennis Magazine which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary. Petkovski spent 10 years at the country’s preeminent tennis publication and has continued covering the sport as a freelancer and historian. In Part I of this two-part episode, Petkovski reflects on discovering tennis as a child in M...

This week we bring you another Grand Slam special edition of The Sit-Down – one focused on the US Open, where qualifying for the 2026 tournament begins today. Over more than two years of episodes, guests have reflected on their greatest career highlights, many of which have unfolded in New York. It’s where Lleyton Hewitt won his first Grand Slam doubles title (2000) and singles title (2001) and where, 10 years later, An...

Tennis has been a constant throughout Barbara Schett’s life. Like many before her, she began playing against a wall before her talent was spotted and channelled towards the professional game, where she debuted as a 14-year-old at her home event in Kitzbuhel, Austria. Schett’s career peaked during a memorable WTA era; she finished 1999 inside the top 10 along with Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, Serena and Venus Willi...

With the 2026 National Indigenous Tennis Carnival concluding on the weekend, we’re releasing an interview with Evonne Goolagong Cawley, the Aussie legend who supported the creation of the annual event in Darwin. Goolagong chatted with Casey Dellacqua at last year’s Night of Champions in Melbourne, reliving the journey to career heights including seven Grand Slam singles titles and the world No.1 ranking. Celebrated for ...

Having already played 19 tournaments in the first seven months of 2026, Tristan Schoolkate decided it was time to return home to “get out of the hamster wheel”. Joining Viv and Matt from Brisbane during a training block, Schoolkate said he’d enjoyed the chance to reset and refresh before heading to North America, one of his happiest hunting grounds. It’s where he won his first Grand Slam match at the 2024 US...

Two years ago, Viv sat down with Barbora Krejcikova on the eve of Wimbledon 2024 – a tournament the Czech star went on to win for her second Grand Slam title after Roland Garros in 2021. We’re bringing that episode back given Czech tennis is again at the forefront of the game, thanks to Linda Noskova’s triumph at the All England Club and last week’s tournament in Prague, where crowds packed the stands in ano...

Last week, Craig Tiley finished up after more than 20 years with Tennis Australia, where he began as Director of Player Development, then became Australian Open Tournament Director, and later CEO. He joined Viv and Matt in Pod Laver Arena to reflect on the countless highlights and memories in that time, including the exponential growth of the AO, the rise of Australian champions and the legacy he leaves as he departs Australia to b...

Acclaimed film director Zach Heinzerling joined Viv and Matt this week to discuss Rafa, the four-part documentary series which premiered on Netflix on 29 May. Rich with extensive archive footage, rare interviews with Nadal’s inner circle and fresh insights on the significant moments which defined Nadal’s storied career, the series almost never happened. Just days into filming, the Spaniard suffered a serious injury that...

In the second part of our interview with Todd Woodbridge, we focus on the Australian legend’s Wimbledon memories and milestones. The storied tournament is where Woodbridge achieved some of his greatest career highlights, from winning the 1993 men’s doubles title – the first of five in a row with Mark Woodforde – to triumphing in nine of 10 men's doubles finals, plus reaching the singles semifinals in 1997. T...

In this special edition of The Sit-Down, we delve into our archives to revisit our guests’ favourite Wimbledon moments. We hear from Brits Tim Henman and Katie Boulter, who have thrived on home support at the All England Club and, in Henman’s case, have a spectators' vantage point named in his honour. We chat to Australian legends Pat Cash, Lleyton Hewitt, Mark Philippoussis and Pat Rafter about what it was like to feat...

Joanna Garland’s profile exploded at AO 2026 when she won through to the final of the 1 Point Slam at Rod Laver Arena, beating Alexander Zverev, Nick Kyrgios, Maria Sakkari and Donna Vekic along the way. She sat down with Viv and Matt to relive what was one of her greatest professional tennis experiences, and how things shifted for her in the aftermath. In this candid interview, Garland also shares stories from developing her...

In an episode we released almost two years ago, Viv sat down with then 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva ahead of Wimbledon 2024. She was one of the stars of the moment, having just reached her first Grand Slam semifinal at Roland Garros and rising to the brink of the top 20. Shortly after, she captured her first career WTA singles title in Iasi, then won an Olympic silver medal in doubles at the Paris 2024 Games. In this interview Andree...

This week, 22-time major doubles champion and Olympic gold medallist Todd Woodbridge joins us in the studio to take us back to where his love-affair with tennis began. A prodigious junior, Woodbridge quickly enjoyed success as a pro, cracking the top 20 in singles while also becoming one of the greatest doubles players of all time. After the highs of Grand Slams, tour life, Olympics and Davis Cup, Woodbridge transitioned to the med...

This week we’re joined by Paul Kilderry, Tennis Australia’s Director of Professional Tennis who was at Roland Garros as several Aussies scored career breakthroughs in Paris. There’s also plenty to look forward to with the grasscourt season approaching, a time when Aussie players traditionally thrive. Yet this was also a chance to reflect on Kilderry’s own tennis journey, which saw his family relocate to Flor...