Doubles Only Tennis Podcast

The US Open just announced its entry list for the 2025 Mixed Doubles Tournament. In case you missed it, they've made significant changes to the event this year, which I discussed with Dan Kiernan and many players at Indian Wells back in March on the podcast.

This episode, recorded on Instagram Live with Philip from Tweener Head Tennis, includes my initial reaction to the entry list and a deeper discussion surrounding mixed doub...

For the first time in a while, a strategy episode! I'm celebrating the launch of the new Tennis Tribe Memberships. Learn more here.

The margins in tennis are incredibly small, with the Roland Garros finals being decided by just a few points across all four finals. Effective strategies can make all the difference in gaining a few extra points, resulting in a win or a loss. In this episode, I cover three areas that might be holdi...

Sander Arends, Luke Johnson, and Coach Calvin Betton offer a behind-the-scenes look at their preparation between matches during their French Open quarterfinal run.

They shared thoughts on their R3 victory, off-day schedule, pre-match routines, and more.

• How they reset mentally after the momentum shifted in their R3 match
• Coach Calvin's approach to supporting from the player box without micromanaging
• The importance of team iden...

Nicole Melichar-Martinez, ranked #21 on the WTA doubles tour, shares insider perspectives on partnership dynamics, tournament conditions, and the future of doubles.

• The clay season in Europe offers beautiful cities, but she isn't a fan of the extended tournaments
• Which tournaments treat the doubles players well, and which ones need improvement
• WTA now conducts post-tournament surveys to gather player feedback
• Her take on the 2...

Craig Veal shares his experience coaching three top-40 WTA doubles players: Desirae Krawczyk (#14), Olivia Nicholls (#32), and Teresa Mihalikova (#34). Currently in Paris, preparing his players for the upcoming French Open, Craig and I discussed how he manages multiple players while sharing strategy insights, and more.

• Craig's coaching philosophy centers on "coaching people first, tennis second," which has led to ...

John Parsons from the No-Ad No Problem Podcast brings his expert knowledge of college tennis to the show. We break down the NCAA Sweet 16, discuss the broader college tennis landscape, and explore how it can increase its television presence. We dive into the lessons college tennis can learn from beach volleyball's TV success and explore how the sport could experiment with formats to become more broadcast-friendly.

• College t...

Luke Johnson is currently ranked #40 in ATP doubles and is coming off his biggest career win at the ATP 500 tournament in Barcelona with partner Sander Arends. I spoke with him earlier this week about his recent success, doubles strategy, and more.

• How he and Sander's complementary playing styles create an effective partnership
• Advantages to using different returning styles and court positioning
• The journey of rising through ...

Erin Routliffe, the #3 ranked WTA doubles player, unpacks her recent title run in Charleston with Jelena Ostapenko and shares insights about navigating the 2025 season so far.

• How her off-season injury affected her at the start of the year and how Gaby Dabrowski supported her
• Experience playing doubles with Ostapenko and winning in Charleston
• Differences between playing with Ostapenko versus her regular partner Gaby Dabrowski
• Plans...

In this special episode on the state of doubles and the professional doubles debate, I speak with ATP & WTA Coach, Dan Kiernan. Dan is the coach of Gaby Dabrowski, Michael Venus, and Nikola Mektic, and has been on the show several times before (below).

In this conversation, we examine the future of doubles from multiple perspectives and challenge current assumptions about the format's viability.

• Reactions to the idea tha...

Ellen Perez is the #17 doubles player on the WTA tour. I spoke with her at Indian Wells on an off day after her 2nd round win with Jelena Ostapenko. We discussed their partnership, working with coach Rennae Stubbs, US Open Mixed changes, and more.

• Working with Rennae Stubbs and understanding strategic shot placement
• Ostapenko's funny on-court nature
• Partnership changes early in the 2025 WTA doubles season
• Goals for the rest of...

Andrea Vavassori is the #9 doubles player on the ATP Tour and won the 2024 US Open Mixed Doubles title with Sara Errani. He also reached the final of the men's doubles at the Australian Open earlier this year.

I spoke with him at Indian Wells this year about those achievements, his vision for the future of doubles, the controversial US Open mixed doubles changes, and a lot more.

• Potential innovations for mixed doubles includ...

Demi Schuurs and Asia Muhammad join the show for their 3rd and 2nd times respectively (listen to the previous episode with Demi | episode with Asia).

This team just won the BNP Paribas Open and I chatted with them after their second-round victory at Indian Wells just before practice on their off day. We discussed their impressive run to that point in the tournament, how their partnership formed, what's working so well, and more...

Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten are the #1 doubles team on the ATP tour, having captured two of the last three major doubles titles including Wimbledon 2024 and Australian Open 2025. I spoke with them in Indian Wells a few days before the start of the BNP Paribas Open.

In this conversation, we discuss their practice routines, their partnership, the state of ATP doubles, and more.

• Detailed breakdown of their practice sessions, i...

Kimberly Birrell is the #76 singles player on the WTA tour and reached the finals of the Australian Open in mixed doubles a few months ago. I spoke with Kim after her round-one victory in Austin Texas at the ATX Open. We discussed her recent Australian Open performance, how she's improved her game as her career has developed, and more.

• Kim's experience playing AO mixed with doubles veteran JP Smith
• Singles vs doubles mi...

Heather Watson is a Wimbledon mixed doubles champion. Maia Lumsden is the #72 doubles player on the WTA Tour. I spoke with them in Austin after their round one win at the ATX Open. We spoke about the match, the playing conditions, and more.

• Heather's plans for doubles and why she wants to play more
• How Heather prepared for the 2024 Olympics where she reached the quarterfinals in the women's doubles draw
• Maia's goals...

An exploration of the ongoing debate surrounding professional doubles and its future. In this episode, I directly address the recent comments about doubles from Andy Roddick and Jon Wertheim on the Served Podcast, ignited by Reilly Opelka. I also created a separate video addressing the issue (see links in show notes below).

I believe one of the problems we face is that there has been an echo chamber culture around the doubles debate...

Rob Galloway is a top 30 doubles player on the ATP Tour. He made the finals of the 2025 Dallas Open with Ariel Behar. Rob's great story shows the importance of hard work and mindset to improve in doubles.

In this conversation, Rob shares.

• Early obstacles and his decision to pursue a professional career
• The transition from college to pro tennis
• The significance of staying healthy and having a growth mindset as a player
• Mixed dou...

Jamie Murray is a 7-time Grand Slam Doubles Champion and a former world #1 with 34 career men's doubles titles. I set up a 15-minute interview with Jamie during the Dallas Open and we didn't talk about any of that. We also didn't discuss strategy, tactics, or mindset for improving your doubles game. I never asked about his story, or mentioned his brother Andy or his mother Judy.

Instead, we talked about how to grow pr...

Robert Cash and JJ Tracy are two rising doubles stars on the ATP Tour. They reached the semifinals of the Dallas Open, propelling their rankings inside the top 100 for the first time. College teammates at Ohio State, the chemistry between them is obvious when they play.

I chatted with them after their quarterfinal win in Dallas about college tennis and a lot more.

• The serve dominance in their quarterfinal win
• Discussing their Dall...