Tennis Unfiltered

George Bellshaw, Calvin Betton and James Gray unpick another "complicated" week of tennis news - because nothing is ever straightforward in this sport! They discussed... - A date has been confirmed for a new "Battle of the Sexes” with Aryna Sabalenka vs Nick Kyrgios set for 28 December in Dubai - Elena Rybakina wins the WTA Finals and is then determined to embarrass WTA boss Portia Archer over her role in banning coach Stefano Vukov - Aryna Sabalenka loses another big final and ends up in tears - Jack Draper says players need to stop talking and start doing over complaints on the gruelling tennis schedule - Novak Djokovic wins title No 101 in Athens, ripping off his shirt in celebration and becoming the oldest man to win a title in 48 years. It took him all of three gruelling hours against Lorenzo Musetti - whom he then told at the net that his defeat was meaningless and the Italian would still qualify for ATP World Tour Finals because Djokovic was pulling out - Learner Tien beat Cam Norrie in a fine Metz final to claim his first career title and confirm a top 30 debut. Breakthrough player of the year? - And finally, many congratulations to Ons Jabeur, who has announced that she is expecting a baby boy in April Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome back to Tennis Unfiltered, the weekly podcast about tennis that does not hold back. Host James Gray risked his marriage this week by taking two hours out of his holiday to do the podcast, logging on from Athens to discuss the last seven days of tennis with Calvin Betton, Paris Masters-winning coach, and tennis writer and broadcaster George Bellshaw. Here are the stories they discussed: Jannik Sinner won his fifth Masters title and returned to world No 1, for a week at least with Carlos Alcaraz set to overtake him again next week. It also took Sinner to exactly 10,000 points for the 2025 season despite having served at three-month ban in the middle of it. Sinner beat Felix Auger-Aliassime (the indoor GOAT) in the final, having battered Alexander Zverev in the semi-final for the loss of just one game. Carlos Alcaraz meanwhile was knocked out by Cam Norrie, who maintains an impressive record against the Spaniard. But Norrie was beaten by Valentin Vacherot, who followed up his Shanghai title with proof that he is no flash in the pan, and moves into the top 30 in the world for the first time. In the best social media beef of the week, Zizou Bergs managed to catch both Reilly Opelka and Nick Kyrgios in a web of their own egos. The WTA Finals kicked off over the weekend in Riyadh, albeit not in particularly grand style. Coco Gauff was beaten by Jessica Pegula and served 17 double-faults, which meant missing more than a quarter of her second serves, and was broken nine times in all. It begs the question, do year-end finals ever really produce the best tennis? Plus Gauff claimed the WTA is “more interesting” because it has more grand slam champions, while Alcaraz and Sinner clean up on the men’s side Three breakout stars won titles on the WTA Tour in the meantime: Janice Tjen of Indonesia; Canada’s Victoria Mboko; and a 17-year-old from Austria named Lilli Tagger with a one-handed backhand and a grand slam winner in her box Rohan Bopanna has announced his retirement after 20 years on tour at the age of 45. He won 26 tour-level doubles titles, including the 2024 Australian Open doubles. That also took him to world No 1 at the age of 43, the oldest man ever to do so. He won 539 tour-level matches, won titles with 15 different partners and also picked up a mixed doubles grand slam title at Roland Garros in 2017. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Calvin Betton joins from Paris to talk to James Gray about most things (not everything) that has been going on in tennis this week. George Bellshaw is off sick and we send him our best! In his absence, they talked about… - Saudi Arabia's ATP Masters 1000 tournament, now finally confirmed, with a start date expected in 2028 and a one-week, non-mandatory format.  - Analysis of Jannik Sinner's win in Vienna, beating Alexander Zverev in the final. - Sinner also pulled out of the Davis Cup Finals this week, citing prep time for Australia, which went down badly in Italy. There were controversies surrounding player selections for the Spanish and Austrian team too - The Paris Masters has moved to La Defense Arena in Nanterre in western Paris, a spectacular new 16,500-seater venue - Joao Fonseca won the biggest title of his career in Basel And much, much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Calvin Betton in Vienna joins James Gray and George Bellshaw in London to look back at a week of 250s and exhibitions, plus another one falls off the coaching roundabout. They discussed... - Daniil Medvedev ended an 882-day title drought and triumphed for the first time since Rome 2023 by winning the Almaty Open. He now has 21 career titles in 21 different cities. - Felix Auger-Aliassime beats Jiri Lehecka to win Brussels - FAA landed 83 per cent of his first serves in the final, and registering a 9.4 serve rating on Tennis Insights - and Casper Ruud wins Stockholm with a smaller racket by beating Ugo Humbert. - Jannik Sinner won the Six Kings Slam and $6m, but did not seem that bothered about it all - Novak Djokovic talked about his future saying: “Longevity is one of my biggest motivations. If you see across all the global sports, LeBron James he is still going strong, he is 40, Cristiano Ronaldo, Tom Brady played until he was 40-something years old, it is unbelievable." - Holger Rune suffered a serious injury on court in Stockholm this week, rupturing his Achilles tendon and faces months on the sideline - Jack Draper started a storm on Twitter by talking about fatigue and injuries, with Taylor Fritz getting involved too - James Trotman has left Team Draper, saying he can’t square the circle of family life and weeks on tour, leaving new addition Jamie Delgado as sole coach - Leylah Fernandez wins Japan Open, beating in the final 18-year-old Tereza Valentova - Elena Rybakina won the Ningbo Open and is in a very intense battle for the last spot at WTA Finals with Mirra Andreeva… - Emma Raducanu has ended her season early after battling illness in China, and will miss tournaments in Tokyo and Hong Kong as a result. In more positive news, she has signed a new contract with Francisco Roig, the Spanish coach formerly of the Nadal camp whom she has had on trial since July. (James wrote about this for The i Paper, read it for FREE here: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/emma-raducanu-rocky-year-reasons-for-optimism-3982254?utm_campaign=PNITUx1xSr1ai7e&ito=gifted_article&data-target=gifted_article&utm_source=XJPLeh5koSHChZEU) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the Beatles almost sang, we’re BACK… in the UK! Remember, if you want a question answered, you can DM us @tennisunfilteredpod on Instagram or email us on tennisunfiltered at gmail dot com **** This week, he's jet-lagged and jaded, but Calvin Betton is back from his sojourn in the Far East, George Bellshaw is bang up for his head to head and James Gray is just trying to keep everyone calm. Here are the stories they discussed… 00:00 Welcome back to Tennis Unfiltered 01:27 Your questions answered 23:43 Valentin Vacherot made history as the lowest ranked Masters champion ever, beating his own cousin Arthur Rinderknech in the Shanghai final having knocked out Novak Djokovic in the semi-final - and Rinderknech revealed afterwards that he had thought about quitting tennis only a few months before, but was helped through his rough patch by coach Lucas Pouille 40:28 For his own part, Djokovic was a surprise entrant in Shanghai and was pushed to his limit by Yannick Hanfmann, Jaume Munar and Zizou Bergs before Vacherot finished the job in the last four 51:15 Coco Gauff triumphed in Wuhan, a rare one-week Masters, but her run to the title hardly felt impressive given the players she beat, including 11 breaks of serve in two sets against Jasmine Paolini and then a more credible win against former doubles partner Jessica Pegula 58:51 Aryna Sabalenka had been unbeaten at the event since 2018 but she was downed by Pegula in the semi-finals, but not before the Belarusian had sewn up year-end world No 1 for the second time in a row 01:03:07 Jack Draper has appointed Jamie Delgado, a former coach of Andy Murray, to work with him ahead of the 2026 season - but long-time coach James Trotman is very much still involved, and simply wants to travel less on the main tour 01:04:46 Goncalo Oliveira, a Portuguese-born player who represents Venezuela, has been banned for four years after testing positive for methamphetamine last year. He claimed that a girl he met in a bar in Mexico, who did testify at the tribunal, had taken drugs that evening and contaminated him through kissing - but the director of the lab that tested the samples said that there was between “four and 36” times too much methamphetamine in his system to have been transferred by kissing 01:07:27 Under a trial scheme, the ITIA are offering up to $5k in costs to players who want to test supplements or medication at a Wada lab, or to investigate meds contamination. The package also includes a degree of free legal support and confidential third-party counselling. And the PTPA already offers free support from two law firms. The trial is going to run until the end of next season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Calvin Betton, George Bellshaw and James Gray are all back to discuss the last week of action in tennis, as the Far East swing continues apace and the weather really starts to bite... Jannik Sinner wins the title in Beijing, incredibly his first non-slam title of the year, but then limps out of the Shanghai Masters with severe cramps At least he didn't get coded for lack of effort, like Daniil Medvedev did in Beijing the week before... Gael Monfils is to retire at the end of next season, bringing to an end the golden generation of French players that included Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Alexander Zverev calls out tournament directors for making all surfaces the same to benefit Alcaraz and Sinner Amanda Anisimova wins in Beijing to continue her sensational 2025 Sonay Kartal shocks Mirra Andreeva to secure her first ever top-10 win Coco Gauff and Belinda Bencic get into it during a bad-tempered last-16 match Heather Watson is taking a forced break from tennis until February 2026 And more! You can also watch a version of the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpO0ako_jKQ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

George Bellshaw (from London) and Calvin Betton (from Shanghai) call in to have their say on all things tennis from the last seven days, with James Gray trying to marshal the troops. They discussed... Carlos Alcaraz wins the title in Tokyo, himself taped up from an earlier injury, against Taylor Fritz who was also carrying a leg problem. They both join Daniil Medvedev, Lorenzo Musetti and Jakub Mensik in the physio room, as the last stretch of the season starts to bite. Novak Djokovic is fit though, and has signed up to play Emma Raducanu blows match points against Jessica Pegula in Beijing Roger Federer talks court speeds Boris Becker on winning Wimbledon at 17 PLUS your questions answered on the BATS, the Californian takeover, coaching individual sports and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Calvin Betton, George Bellshaw, Molly McElwee and James Gray all have their say on the last week of tennis including... Italy win the Billie Jean King Cup for the second year in a row, led by Jasmine Paolini and powered by "good vibes" Great Britain reach another semi-final without No 1 Emma Raducanu and, despite winning the first set of both singles matches, are beaten 2-0 by the United States Taylor Townsend gets in trouble over her criticism of Chinese cuisine in Shenzhen https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2025/09/17/tennis-player-involved-in-us-open-racism-row-mocks-chinese/ The other American Taylor - Fritz - and Alex de Minaur starred for Team World as they beat Team Europe in San Francisco to claim the Laver Cup 15-9, but did anyone notice or care? Bjorn Borg has been diagnosed with an "extremely aggressive" form of prostate cancer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

George Bellshaw and James Gray answer your questions from the Instagram mailbag, before being joined by Calvin Betton from Chengdu to look back at a dramatic week of Davis Cup play-offs in Poland, Spain and beyond. Great Britain are back in the elite of the Davis Cup for next year, but can they actually win it? How many "hairs" does Holger Rune REALLY have on his chest? The USA are out, but was that much of a shock? Belgium have been doing a madness in Australia... ...while Australia captain Lleyton Hewitt has been doing a madness in Malaga And loads more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The US Open 2025 is in the history books and all we can do now is talk about it. George Bellshaw and Calvin Betton join James Gray to do exactly that, focusing on finals weekend after Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka both won their second titles at Flushing Meadows. Was Sinner vs Alcaraz inevitable? And what does that say about men's tennis right now if it was? (James also wrote about this for The i Paper, read it for FREE at the bottom of these notes.) Did George approve of Aryna Sabalenka's celebration? And how did the USTA get the trophy ceremony quite so wrong? How did Skupski-Salisbury NOT beat Granollers-Zeballos in the men's doubles final? And much more! Alcaraz vs Sinner is getting boring - tennis needs a third wheel: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/alcaraz-vs-sinner-getting-boring-tennis-third-wheel-3904393?utm_campaign=PNITUx1xSr1ai7e&ito=gifted_article&data-target=gifted_article&utm_source=XJPLeh5koSHChZEU Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Calvin Betton is back in the UK and joins George Bellshaw and James Gray to review the US Open semi-finals and look ahead to a weekend of finals. They discussed... Novak Djokovic says he can't beat Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner at a grand slam any more Jannik Sinner beats Felix Auger-Aliassime, but are we going to see the Canadian follow up on his strong run? Can Amanda Anisimova get under Aryna Sabalenka's skin again? Should Naomi Osaka have made it back to the final? And who will win the men's doubles? And so much more! Check out our men's final Twitter spaces: https://x.com/UnfilterTennis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The usual suspects look back at the US Open quarter-finals... Novak Djokovic takes down Taylor Fritz for the 11th time in a row, becoming the oldest man ever (Open era) to reach the semi-finals of all four grand slams in a single year. He says he was ‘lucky’ to win and did at one point complain to the umpire about spectator noise, but nevertheless set up a blockbuster semi-final against Carlos Alcaraz, after the Spaniard eased past Jiri Lehecka. Can he beat Alcaraz 3 times in a row and extend his 5-3 head-to-head? In the top half, Jannk Sinner battered fellow countryman Lorenzo Musetti, losing just five points in first five games, and will now face the tournament's surprise package Felix Auger-Aliasime. Aryna Sabalenka got a walkover into the semi-finals after Marketa Vondrousova was forced to withdraw, and will face a 2024 US Open rematch against Jessica Pegula who breezed past Barbora Krejcikova, who struggled badly on serve And finally, Amanda Anisimova avenged her Wimbledon final humiliation at the hands of Iga Swiatek, calling it ‘the most meaningful victory of my life’. She will face Naomi Osaka, who beat Karolina Muchova, played brilliantly and looks utterly relaxed. Dare we say it: Naomi Osaka is back? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray and George Bellshaw are back as the US Open locks in its quarter-finalists. Naomi Osaka hammers Coco Gauff but was it closer than the scoreline suggested? Taylor Townsend's run is over - in the singles at least - after failing to convert eight match points in the second-set tie-break against Barbora Krejcikova Felix Auger-Aliassime is back in the US Open last eight for the first time since 2021 Sinner vs Alcaraz is still on and looks inevitable Follow your fantasy team here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZeTX3XeWLVICU_sSsf9Z-KOkNsE6ne6BGInPGmfbm1g And remember to send your questions to tennisunfiltered at gmail dot com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

'Chunky' George Bellshaw and James Gray go through the last 32 of the US Open with only 22 of 64 seeds now remaining. Emma Raducanu was thrashed by Elena Rybakina, her third such chastening grand slam exit of the year. Where does she go from here? Ben Shelton retired in tears after injuring his left shoulder in a fall against Adrian Mannarino Taylor Townsend 'has a job to do' and keeps on doing it, while Jelena Ostapenko scrambles to save her reputation PLUS: Djokovic injury concern; Shapovalov draws quality out of Sinner; Gauff vs Osaka is locked Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

George Bellshaw is back off his cruise and relishing dry land - and US Open drama! He joins James Gray to look back at a controversial second round of action. Jelena Ostapenko is forced to deny allegations of racism after calling Taylor Townsend "not educated" and "no class" after a fractious second-round match Jack Draper pulls out of the second round with an arm injury (just a week after playing in the mixed doubles exhibition) Coco Gauff beats Donna Vekic having been sobbing into her towel during the first set - and says it was a vulnerable moment that she was able to "reset" from Stefanos Tsitsipas warns Daniel Altmaier for hitting a string of underarm serves against him that he will keep trying to hit him - but nevertheless the Greek is out PLUS How are you faring in Fantasy Tennis Unfiltered? Check out the league table here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZeTX3XeWLVICU_sSsf9Z-KOkNsE6ne6BGInPGmfbm1g Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

George Bellshaw is all at sea - literally - while Calvin Betton is in NYC (that rhymes!) and James Gray is trying to wrangle them together from London. In a unique "voicenote" format, the Tennis Unfiltered crew unpick... Daniil Medvedev's Bonzi-infused meltdown earned him a massive fine, a first-round defeat and a fair bit of flak - but did he deserve it? Carlos Alcaraz has got a buzz cut and a new vibe, but he still had hair when he was trying to win the mixed doubles (and failing) Venus Williams is a 45-year-old wildcard, but she was beaten by Karolina Muchova. Was it really worth it? More "as live" podcasts will return later in the tournament! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Calvin Betton calls in from North Carolina before Molly McElwee joins from Barcelona as James Gray holds the good ship Tennis Unfiltered together from home in London. They discuss... Carlos Alcaraz wins all five games of the Cincinnati Masters final before Jannik Sinner is forced to retire due to illness. Sinner was in tears afterwards and was clearly hampered before shaking hands with Alcaraz. He said: “I tried to come out and make it at least a small match but I couldn’t handle more.” The Alejandro Davidovich Fokina verdict we've all been waiting for? “A Monday final at 3pm in August in Cincinnati, after the whole Toronto–Cincinnati swing, with so many retirements and players dead tired… something needs to change.” Earlier, 23-year-old qualifier Terence Atmane - without any clothes or shoe sponsor, or an agent -  reached the semi-finals with wins over Flavio Cobolli, Joao Fonseca, Taylor Fritz and Holger Rune. The man with an IQ of 158 is the 7th lowest ranked player to reach masters 1000 semi, and apparently also has one of the biggest Pokémon card collections in France The US Open Mixed Doubles kicks off... (!) Kyle Edmund has retired Iga Swiatek hammers Jasmine Paolini, her sixth consecutive win over the Italian Emma Raducanu loses narrowly to Aryna Sabalenka and talks to Tumaini Carayol about dating, therapy, the US Open legacy and how her stalking ordeal changed her life: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/aug/15/i-am-tough-emma-raducanu-on-legacy-of-her-us-open-win-stalking-ordeal-and-why-therapy-wont-help-her Monica Seles speaks out about neuromuscular disease: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/articles/c99mg51032ko Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Gray joins George Bellshaw and Calvin Betton for another episode of Tennis Unfiltered, picking their way through the big topics and issues from the last week of tennis Cincinnati Reflections: Calvin shares his experiences and observations from the Cincinnati tournament, discussing the revamped site and player feedback. Another new star is born: Is Vicky Mboko, the 18-year-old Montreal champion, about to "do an Andreescu"? Vukov is back: A candid discussion on the WTA's handling of Stefano Vukov's ban and subsequent return to the sport. (More here: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6542878/2025/08/08/elena-rybakina-coach-suspension-lifted-stefano-vukov-wta/) US Open Prize Money confirmed: Calvin and George debate the implications of the latest prize money announcements and the ongoing arms race among grand slams. And finally... Here is that piece from Matt Lambwell on the weird and wacky US Open... https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/tennis/article-14986287/Tennis-richest-prize-fund-listers-influencers-galore-reality-dating-YouTube-years-US-Open-promises-wildest-wackiest-yet.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Tennis Unfiltered, James Gray, Calvin Betton, and George Bellshaw answer your questions on court speeds, the current state of tennis, the Masters events, player celebrations, and the ethics of interviewing controversial figures. The conversation also touches on... - Emma Raducanu's new coaching decision, bringing on board Francisco Roig - Alexander Zverev begs Toni Nadal to come and coach him after a productive week at his academy, even on court with Rafa - Dan Evans starts a fight with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina while Ben Shelton starts a fight with Flavio Cobolli - Eugenie Bouchard retires - Novak Djokovic the minimalist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Support the podcast by subscribing to NordVPN. Make sure you use this link to get our special offer and so they know you came from here! Four months extra, discounted rate and a 30-day moneyback guarantee: https://nordvpn.com/tennisunfiltered In this episode of Tennis Unfiltered, host James Gray and guests George Bellshaw and Calvin Betton discuss the latest happenings in the tennis world. They delve into Jannik Sinner's controversial decision to rehire his fitness coach Umberto Ferrara, Cam Norrie's impressive comeback, and Stefanos Tsitsipas' return to working with his father after parting ways with Goran Ivanisevic. The trio also covers Emma Raducanu's recent performances and win over a slightly spiky Naomi Osaka, Daniil Medvedev's dramatic match point against Corentin Moutet, and Venus Williams' enduring (!) talent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices