Black Spin Global: The Podcast

Lucy and Eugene talk Indian Wells and Miami, Q1 of the season and everything that has happened in between. Hear our take on Simona Halep 'bussin’ case' and her immediate return to action at WTA 1000 (all while the suspended Mikael Ymer is still retired). Angella Okutoyi of Kenya is Olympics-ready after winning the African Games – where she picked up her first-ever top 100 win – provided she cracks the top 400 in the WTA rankings by the cut-off period. Great Britain's Jay Clarke continues to build momentum after an eventful 2024, racking up wins on the ITF circuit in both singles and doubles. Vogue cover girl Coco Gauff, now 20, had a lot of ‘fans’ talking about her game during the Sunshine Double. We get into the unfair criticism that flies around on social media. Keep commenting, liking, sharing and subscribing – we appreciate you all!

Lucy and Eugene are joined by “best friend” of the pod Tumaini Carayol for this latest episode. We sing Jasmine Paolini’s praises after our Italian-Ghanaian sister’s dream week in Dubai – the WTA 1000 champion is now a top 20 player. Staying in Dubai, Coco Gauff handled herself with grace in a very teachable moment for umpire Pierre Bacchi. Naomi Osaka’s right where she needs to be in her comeback after a good showing in Qatar. Lime-bike-rider Heather Watson’s been grinding and checking off wins on the ITF circuit and the main tour. Gael Monfils is showing us he still has it at 37 and receiving his flowers in the process. Arthur Fils is over in South America getting reps in on the clay and building character – we share our thoughts on the Golden Swing. Felix Auger-Aliassime is starting to look like himself again as he looks to climb up the rankings. Frances Tiafoe, still finding his feet with new coach Diego Moyano, says tennis is the hardest sport in the world. Keep commenting, liking, sharing and subscribing – we appreciate you all!

Lucy and Eugene give winners Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner their props for securing the women's and men's titles respectively. Coco Gauff made it to the last four and looked good doing so in her amazing New Balance fits, Jasmine Paolini reached the second week at a Grand Slam for the first time, Alycia Parks and Sloane Stephens also had good runs. On the men's side, Ben Shelton and Felix Auger-Aliassime reached the third round and both played eventful five-setters down under, while Frances Tiafoe, Arthur Fils and Christopher Eubanks all fell in round two. Shout out to girls' doubles champions Tyra Caterina Grant and Iva Jovic who made sure we were "leaving here with something"! Keep commenting, liking, sharing and subscribing – we appreciate you all. #BlackSpinGlobal

Happy New Year people! Lucy and Eugene get into the latest from down under on the eve of the Australian Open. Coco Gauff successfully defends her Auckland title, Taylor "Three-Peat" Townsend wins again in Adelaide with new partner Beatriz Haddad Maia and Naomi Osaka makes a winning return after 15 months away. Also, salute to the WTA and ATP for the new match-scheduling regulations announcement. AO draw (selected) – Jasmine Paolini is seeded for the first time at a major, two-time champ Osaka draws 16th seed Caroline Garcia in a blockbuster first-round and fourth seed Gauff could meet Alycia Parks in the third round. Seeds on the men's side (Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe and Felix Auger-Aliassime) all have tricky openers, Gael Monfils could play fellow father Andy Murray in the second round. Keep commenting, liking, sharing and subscribing – we appreciate you all. #BlackSpinGlobal

Lucy and Eugene close out 2023 with a player who had a milestone-filled season on the ATP Tour. Christopher Eubanks tells us how his thought process changed after cracking the top 100 during the Miami Open (where a certain Jamie Foxx flew in to watch him), his whirlwind grass-court campaign that included a first ATP title in Mallorca and that run to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon. Eubanks also gives us insight into his work with the Tennis Channel and the importance of having a current player’s perspective in the commentary booth. We discuss the Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) and its role in attracting a new audience, match start-time preferences and much more. Merry Christmas! Keep commenting, liking, sharing and subscribing – we appreciate you all!

Lucy and Eugene – donning their “Call me Champion” tees – are finally joined by latest friend of the pod Uche to recap the 2023 season. We share our thoughts on the ATP Next Gen Finals (shouts out to runner-up Arthur Fils) and ask where the WTA’s equivalent is? Get excited about four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka’s imminent return as well as Rafael Nadal’s. Look back at memorable moments from all the majors (the WTA provided in a big way), as well as favourite matches, pay homage to the players who reached career-highs (the list is extensive), lowlights talk (mainly Mikael Ymer retiring). Look ahead to 2024 and share our outlandish takes for the season ahead. And to close we get to know Roger Federer stan Uche a little bit better. Keep commenting, liking, sharing and subscribing – we appreciate you all. #BlackSpinGlobal

Lucy and Eugene look back at the weekend where we had involvement in four finals in one day. Shout out to Ben Shelton, Gael Monfils and Felix Auger-Aliassime for entering the 2023 winner’s circle. Antwerp runner-up Arthur Fils has the attention of a lot of people, not just new coach Sebastien Grosjean. We share our thoughts on the chaos in Cancun at the WTA Finals – Iga Swiatek storming the field, Coco Gauff getting her first wins at the “showpiece" event and Ons Jabeur making a brave statement. Also, we reflect on the Paris Masters and look ahead to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. Show notes in full at blackspinglobal.com Keep commenting, liking, sharing and subscribing – we appreciate you all. #BlackSpinGlobal

Lucy and Eugene catch up on all the goings-on since the US Open. Shout out to the LTA! Jasmine Paolini has been killing it and is at a career-high ranking (30), US Open champion Coco Gauff reached the semis in China but how many people knew that? And Ben Shelton’s phenomenal debut season continues as he makes deep runs in Asia. Also, Serena Williams received well-deserved fashion recognition, Naomi Osaka and Wim Fissette are back working together and Maria Sharapova made a good point about tennis’s inability to market itself. Head over to blackspinglobal.com for show notes in full. #BlackSpinGlobal

On this special celebratory episode, we catch up with friend of the pod Jarmere Jenkins, who is part of the Coco Gauff coaching set-up. During our WhatsApp call, we spoke about going way back with the Gauff family, joining the team earlier in the season, Pere Riba’s incredible attention to detail, putting in work after Wimbledon, Gauff's milestone moments in Washington and Cincinnati – including that three-set victory over world No 1 at the time Iga Swiatek – and of course the amazing US Open triumph. Keep commenting, liking, sharing and subscribing – we appreciate you all! #BlackSpinGlobal

Lucy and Eugene sit down with coach John Williams for a fascinating one-hour chat. A master of fitness, with over 20 years' experience, John’s impressive CV includes working with the likes of junior US Open champion Grace Min, former junior world No 1 Donald Young and now Cincinnati doubles champion Taylor Townsend. We find out how he got into the fitness space, tennis serendipitously calling upon his expertise, the importance of psychology in training, different approaches towards training female and male athletes, the importance of levelling up and much more. Keep commenting, liking, sharing and subscribing – we appreciate you all! #BlackSpinGlobal

Lucy and Eugene share their thoughts on the hard-court season so far. Celebrate Coco Gauff securing her first WTA 500 crown in Washington, Germany’s Noma Noha Akugue [Naija girl] going all the way to the final on the clay in Hamburg on her WTA Tour debut, and Arthur Fils making a run to the semis, taking out Casper Ruud in the process. Among other things, we also get into Venus Williams wowing in the US, the Vanity Fair feature and difficulties of following tennis on television. Head over to blackspinglobal.com for show notes in full. Keep commenting, liking, sharing and subscribing – we appreciate you all! #BlackSpinGlobal

Eugene and Lucy are joined by The Mentor aka That Guy Tumaini Carayol to talk all things Wimbledon or "Wimbly" [sic] 2023! Among a host of things, we get into Mikael Ymer’s harsh 18-month ban, Naomi Osaka giving birth, Clervie Ngounoue crushing it in the Girls’ event, Christopher Eubanks reaching the last eight and share our personal highlights from an amazing two weeks at SW19. Head over to blackspinglobal.com for show notes in full. Keep commenting, liking, sharing and subscribing – we appreciate you all! #BlackSpinGlobal

Clervie Ngounoue is the Girls’ champion after seeing off Nikola Bartunkova in straight sets in Sunday's final out on Court 12! The 16-year-old American did not drop a set all tournament. Class act! During recording, top seed Carlos Alcaraz and second seed Novak Djokovic were scrapping it out on Centre Court in the men’s final. (Shouts out to Carlitos) In the women’s final, our North African sis Ons Jabeur was unable to get over the line against Marketa Vondrousova. Big congrats to the low-key Czech. Interview snippets from Ngounoue’s press conference. And that’s a wrap, guys. Thanks for riding the Wimbledon 2023 wave with us!

Madison Keys falls to second seed Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 4-6 in what was by far her toughest test on grass this year. Sabalenka is playing some good ball at the moment and it was an experience witnessing her ferocious power and incredibly audible grunting on No 1 Court. Keys was upbeat in press afterwards, which was very nice to see. Christopher Eubanks’ dream run is over after another five-set epic against third seed Daniil Medvedev – 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, (4)6-7, 1-6. Eubanks made a nervy start but boy did he find his groove in sets two and three and went to six-all in the fourth but was unable to close out the match in the tiebreak. So immensely proud of Eubanks after this fortnight and excited for his future. Elsewhere, in the Girls’ draw Ranah Stoiber and Clervie Ngounoue are both through to the quarter-finals after impressive straight-set wins. The girls will be in action on Thursday. Interview snippets from Eubanks and Keys included.

Christopher Eubanks is a Wimbledon quarter-finalist after taking down fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in five entertaining sets. The American who had the Gauffs cheering him on from his box, spoke in press about the people who have influenced his career. Daniil Medvedev, the third seed, is his next opponent. Madison Keys is also into the last eight after coming back from a set and 1-4 down against 16-year-old Russian qualifier Mirra Andreeva. Keys is now a two-time Wimbledon quarter-finalist after her appearance in 2015. In press, the American was bombarded with questions centered around Andreeva which was a little jarring. Elsewhere, in the Girls’ draw Ranah Stoiber and Clervie Ngounoue are both through to the third round after getting straight-sets wins today. Interview snippets from Keys and Eubanks included.

Chrostopher Eubanks’ dream Wimbledon run continues after seeing off Christopher O’Connell in three tiebreak sets. The American spoke about his new-found affection for grass in his press conference while his fourth-round opponent, fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, revealed what he knows about Eubanks’ game. Madison Keys continues to cruise through the draw and upped her level against Marta Kostyuk in another straight-sets victory. Keys, who seems to be playing better than she did in Eastbourne, faces 16-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva next in what has the potential to be a quality match. Elsewhere, there was disappointment for Frances Tiafoe who had to play over two days due to the rain. The 10th seed eventually fell in straight sets to 21st seed Grigor Dimitrov. Understandably dejected in press afterwards, Tiafoe spoke honestly about not feeling any extra pressure following his rise up the rankings. Interview snippets from Eubanks, Tsitsipas and Tiafoe included.

Madison Keys books her spot in the third round with a businesslike performance, while Christopher Eubanks scores the “biggest win” of his career to secure his place in the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time. Meanwhile, Mikael Ymer gets into another five-set tussle for the second day in a row but falls short after cooking Eugene in the opening set. Interview snippets from Keys’ and Eubanks’ pressers included.

Mikael Ymer and Frances Tiafoe book their spots in the third round in different fashion. While Arthur Fils, Alycia Parks, Michael Mmoh, Sloane Stephens and Ben Shelton all suffer second-round defeats. Interview snippets from Ymer and Tiafoe pressers included.

Sloane Stephens, Frances Tiafoe, Madison Keys, Ben Shelton and Christopher Eubanks all bagged impressive wins to book second-round spots. While George Loffhagen, Jasmine Paolini and Heather Watson put in decent efforts before falling at the first hurdle. Interview snippets from Stephens, Shelton and Eubanks pressers included.

Alycia Parks v Anna-Lena Friedsam American looked impressive – first serve was firing and net-play was super clean which frustrated Friedsam who was visibly rattled towards the closing stages of the match. Parks has Ana Bogdan next who upset 15th seed Liudmila Samsonova. Michael Mmoh v (11) Felix Auger-Aliassime Massive win for lucky loser Mmoh who played an incredible match against a hampered but solid FAA who actually hit more winners during the tight four-set contest. Mmoh plays German qualifier Maximilian Marterer next. Eugene did go to FAA’s press conference where he spoke about his knee issue Laurent Lokoli v Casper Ruud Very entertaining match after a one-sided opening set, Lokoli fought his way back into it and took the second. Big congrats to qualifier Lokoli though who definitely won some new fans on Wimbledon debut. (7) Coco Gauff v Sofia Kenin Unexpected loss for the sixth seed (our pick for the women’s title). Qualifier Kenin came in hot and played extremely well. Gauff’s errors, on both wings, ultimately cost her and she alluded to that in her post-match press. Venus Wiliams vs Elina Svitolina Five-time champion hurt the same knee that caused her trouble in Birmingham against Camila Giorgi but pushed through. Ended up losing 4-6, 3-6, which was a respectable scoreline and she was in good spirits in press afterwards where Lucy asked her about her new coach Hugo Armando. Mikael Ymer v Alex Molcan We did not get to catch any of Ymer’s first-round match as it was going on at the same time as Mmoh, Gauff and Venus, but stats-wise his performances on day one – 39 winners vs 16, 81% 1st serve points won, 95% net-points won. Could get ninth seed Fritz next. Tuesday’s schedule Sloane Stephens vs Rebecca Peterson (moved from Monday) Heather Watson vs (10) Barbora Krejcikova George Loffhagen vs (6) Holger Rune (25) Madison Keys vs Sonay Kartal (10) Frances Tiafoe vs Wu Yibing Arthur Fils vs (31) Alejandro Davidovich Fokina Christopher Eubanks vs Thiago Monteiro (32) Ben Shelton vs Taro Daniel