Ground Pass: A Tennis Podcast

Linda Noskova won Wimbledon, and we couldn't name a single storyline for her. Alex Eala and Coco Gauff lost and stayed everywhere. This week we sit with the gap between results and recognition: how a champion can go unnoticed, how one outfit can outrun a match, and why the players worth knowing sometimes slip right past casual fans. Plus the last Brit standing, a shakeup on the Lost Boys list, and the WTA Finals landing somewhere you can actually afford. If tennis fame confuses you, this one's for you.

Links:

Pick up your Summer shirt here - https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/shop
Interview with Naomi Osaka’s creative director - https://open.substack.com/pub/groundpass/p/how-naomi-osakas-kill-bill-kimono?r=47h9qh&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=post%20viewer
Ellie Majelly on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/elliemajelly
Tournament guide link - https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/tournament-guides

Chapters
00:00 Intro - and twinning accidentally
02:02 Wimbledon Recap - starting with an apology
03:07 Alex Eala has the best fans and Bad Bunny Concerts
08:45 Naomi Osaka's breakout Wimbledon
12:53 Iva Jovic is baby Pegula
20:13 Coco Gauff v Muchova was the best match
22:02 Who is Linda Noskova?
34:10 Was the Men's tournament a dud
35:18 Athur Fery's fairytale run
39:29 Felix Auger-Aliassime on the rise
46:18 Jannik Sinner Wins Wimbledon
51:54 Cruz Hewitt and Junior tennis
55:06 Hall of Fame Open - James Watt wins in doubles
57:17 WTA Finals coming to Indian Wells
59:40 Coming up next on Ground Pass
01:05:20 Whoops - Player of the Fortnight!!!!

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Alex Eala beat Iga Swiatek, hit the Wimbledon rocket ship, and became the story of Round Three. Ava was on the grounds to watch it happen. Anastasia was catching the ESPN version from a 101 degree New York, where the broadcast was still busy with Serena.
That gap is the episode. Because while the Serena updates ran the home feed, the real breakout was a 20 year old who plays with no fear at all. The two of them dig into why Eala is not a fluke (she nearly beat Krejcikova here last year), why the Swiatek win was smart rather than lucky, and the bigger thing underneath it: a fearless young generation taking grass while the established stars problem solve inside their own heads. It feels like a torch changing hands. Plus the 7:15 roof rule that quietly reshapes every night match, and the single most Wimbledon crowd moment of the week.
It opens with Eala in one line, emotional and fierce at once, and goes from there.

Links:

Buy the last hat here - https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/shop/p/ground-pass-tennis-hat
Tournament guide link - https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/wimbledon-guide

Chapters:
00:01 Weather and Wimbledon Vibes
03:20 Wimbledon Round Three Recap
05:41 Serena Williams: The Ongoing Story
15:14 Alex Eala defeats Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon
18:49 Jasmine Paolini smiling again at Wimbledon
19:58 Roman Safiullin sneaking through the Wimbledon draw
22:32 American Players Rising on Grass
26:28 Taylor Fritz's Chaotic Match and Pressure
28:43 Iga Swiatek's Forehand and Mental Challenges
31:57 Exciting Fourth Round Matches Ahead
36:15 Wimbledon vs. US Open
40:26 Outro

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Want to Support Ground Pass - https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/support

Ground Pass Shop - https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/shop

Where You can Find us Online:

Substack - https://groundpass.substack.com
Website - www.groundpasspodcast.com
Email - groundpasspodcast@gmail.com

Threads: https://www.threads.net/@ground_pass
Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/groundpass.bsky.social
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ground_pass
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@GroundPass
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@groundpasspodcast
X: https://x.com/groundpasspod

Disclaimer: This video does not contain a paid for advertisement. PR samples are denoted by the term ‘ad - gifted’. Links containing ad affiliate links are denoted by a '*'. This means that if you click on an affiliate link, go through to the retailer and purchase an item, we will receive a small percentage of your purchase. Check out our website for a full disclaimer: https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/about
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Round Two gave us the comeback we wanted and then the bracket took it right back. Grigor Dimitrov redeems last year's Centre Court heartbreak against Mensik, and the draw immediately pairs him with Berrettini, the other great comeback story, in Round Three. We get into why tennis is such an emotional and mental sport, the intangibles that don't show up on the stat sheet, Coco Gauff refusing to lose, and Anisimova's breathing reset you can watch in real time. Then we close with a real argument for why The Queue, the £33 ground pass, and the free Lavazza might make Wimbledon the fairest ticket in sports. A feel-good day the draw wouldn't let us keep.

Links:

Michael Zheng awesome save - https://www.instagram.com/reel/DaRN6WTsh18/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
Buy the last hat here - https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/shop/p/ground-pass-tennis-hat
Tournament guide link - https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/wimbledon-guide

Chapters:
00:00 Wimbledon round 2 Recap
01:55 Grigor Dimitrov gets his redemption
06:45 Matteo Berrettini's Heartbreak and Redemption
11:56 The Mental Game of Tennis
23:32 Qualifiers making deep runs
28:07 Surprising Performances on Grass
35:14 Round 3 Matches to watch
46:12 The Queue Experience at Wimbledon
57:04 Tournament Vibes and Accessibility
01:02:43 Outro

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Want to Support Ground Pass - https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/support

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Where You can Find us Online:

Substack - https://groundpass.substack.com
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Email - groundpasspodcast@gmail.com

Threads: https://www.threads.net/@ground_pass
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Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@GroundPass
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X: https://x.com/groundpasspod

Disclaimer: This video does not contain a paid for advertisement. PR samples are denoted by the term ‘ad - gifted’. Links containing ad affiliate links are denoted by a '*'. This means that if you click on an affiliate link, go through to the retailer and purchase an item, we will receive a small percentage of your purchase. Check out our website for a full disclaimer: https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/about
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Serena's return pulled every headline at Wimbledon, and it earned it. But round one had a second story running underneath, and nobody was flagging it. Ana and Ian recap a first round where grass humbled the favorites, the broadcast could not stop replaying the slips, and the players still advancing kept sharing one thing: they came up through American college tennis. Serena gets the spotlight. Maya Joint, Michael Zhang, and a wave of college-trained players get the results. It starts as a recap and turns into a question about who the sport chooses to show you versus who is actually winning. No jargon, no gatekeeping, just the fan side of a very strange first week.

Links:

Buy the last hat here - https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/shop/p/ground-pass-tennis-hat
Tournament guide link - https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/wimbledon-guide

Chapters:
00:00 Wimbledon Round One Recap
00:52 Editing Note
01:25 Intro
04:53 Serena Williams did not disappoint
16:27 Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek have tough round 1s
21:19 Novak Djokovic versus the Crowd
23:58 Grass is a trecherous surface
26:44 Ben Shelton is Upset and Michael Zheng has arrived
34:29 The British Tennis problem

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Want to Support Ground Pass - https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/support

Our New Merch is LIVE!!! Ground Pass Shop - https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/shop

Where You can Find us Online:

Substack - https://groundpass.substack.com
Website - www.groundpasspodcast.com
Email - groundpasspodcast@gmail.com

Threads: https://www.threads.net/@ground_pass
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Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@GroundPass
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Disclaimer: This video does not contain a paid for advertisement. PR samples are denoted by the term ‘ad - gifted’. Links containing ad affiliate links are denoted by a '*'. This means that if you click on an affiliate link, go through to the retailer and purchase an item, we will receive a small percentage of your purchase. Check out our website for a full disclaimer: https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/about
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why does the same tournament charge different ticket prices for the men's and women's draws? Why can you bet on a match you're not allowed to stream? And do you really need seven subscriptions to follow the sport? Chris Eubanks joins Anastasia to decode the tennis media maze from the ground up, no jargon required. We map the six organizations that run tennis, sort out which channels and app actually matter, and look ahead to what the sport could look like by 2031. It's a logistics episode that turns into a confidence builder. By the end, the messiness stops feeling like a wall and starts feeling like a door you already know how to open.

Links:

Financial Times Article - https://www.ft.com/content/abaa919c-4bc1-47e7-a785-8d468f219afe?syn-25a6b1a6=1
Buy the last hat here - https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/shop/p/ground-pass-tennis-hat
Tournament guide link - https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/wimbledon-guide

Chapters:
00:00 Welcome to Ask Chris... Tennis Media Landscape
05:14 How is Tennis Organizations are broken up?
14:06 The fragmentation of Tennis Media
24:30 Challenges in Tennis Media Discoverability
27:05 The Dilemma of Doubles Coverage
32:29 The Tennis Betting site have the matches
35:26 The Nauance of Tennis Commentary
40:14 The Art of Television Presentation
42:10 Bringing Fresh Perspectives to Tennis
44:42 Media Trends and Innovations in Tennis
48:41 The Future of Tennis Organizations and the possible tech company take over
54:16 Commentary Neutrality and Audience Engagement
55:46 Chris Eubanks on Wimbledon Storylines
58:44 Outro

💬 Don’t forget to give us a leave is a 5 ⭐️ rating and drop us a comment

Want to Support Ground Pass - https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/support

Our New Merch is LIVE!!! Ground Pass Shop - https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/shop

Where You can Find us Online:

Substack - https://groundpass.substack.com
Website - www.groundpasspodcast.com
Email - groundpasspodcast@gmail.com

Threads: https://www.threads.net/@ground_pass
Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/groundpass.bsky.social
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ground_pass
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@GroundPass
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@groundpasspodcast
X: https://x.com/groundpasspod

Disclaimer: This video does not contain a paid for advertisement. PR samples are denoted by the term ‘ad - gifted’. Links containing ad affiliate links are denoted by a '*'. This means that if you click on an affiliate link, go through to the retailer and purchase an item, we will receive a small percentage of your purchase. Check out our website for a full disclaimer: https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/about
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.