Ground Pass: A Tennis Podcast

Two 1000s ran back to back with no gap, so this episode is a two-parter. We recorded it during the Cincinnati men's final, with the score running underneath us the whole time.
Act one is Cincinnati. Arthur Fils and Frances Tiafoe met in the first ATP Masters 1000 final between two Black players. Anastasia finally tells the story of how the King of New York nickname started on Court 12 in 2023 and how it got away from her. Nick makes the case for Sara Bejlek, who is twenty, left-handed, and beat three major champions on her way to the semifinals. And we get into Brandon Nakashima, who made a final in January, got forgotten, then made two more deep runs in three weeks.
Act two is New York. Jannik Sinner is out. Jack Draper is out. Carlos Alcaraz is back from a wrist injury and playing mixed doubles with Serena Williams. And Fan Week starts Monday, which is free, and which has quietly become the entire US Open for a lot of fans who cannot afford the main draw anymore.
We also cover Kei Nishikori's last US Open, who to watch in qualifying, what a grounds pass actually costs now, and which ESPN tier gets you the match you want instead of the one a network picked for you.

▶ Our US Open Guide - https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/us-open-guide

Chapters:
00:15 Introduction
03:01 Why Arthur Fils is the King of New York
06:13 Cincinnati Open mini recap
08:21 Serena Williams and Venus Williams back playing doubles
11:09 Sara Bejlek reemerges
13:51 Brandon Nakashima back on the rise
16:08 A look at the Cincinnati Men's finalists
19:55 A look at the Cincinnati Women's Finalists
29:45 The US Open Starts Now
34:19 Qualifiers to watch at the US Open
40:00 Top names in US Open Mixed Doubles
43:08 Jack Draper and Jannik Sinner out of the US Open
48:30 Our US Open Guide is Live

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Website - www.groundpasspodcast.com
Email - groundpasspodcast@gmail.com

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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
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Coco Gauff shouted out Christian's Court in a press conference this week, and that moment says a lot about who tennis lets in and who is actually growing it.

Links:
Send us a voice memo - https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/voice-memo
Christian’s response to Coco Gauff - https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbsGM4zOUTt/?igsh=MXB0b3NsMzRiZTdudA==
Christian’s article on Anisimova - https://www.si.com/onsi/serve/news/why-anisimova-reunited-with-her-coach-after-brief-split

Christian is in Toronto for the Canadian Open and he joins the podcast to give us the on the ground feels of the tournament in Toronto. Eala-mania is in full effect. The tournament is selling branded chicken adobo and the Filipino fans packed the stands bring the best vibes at a tennis tournament he has ever seen. We talk about Alex Eala’s run at the Canadian Open, Coco Gauff’s form and that moment in her press conference that has changed things for all of us new media creators in tennis. Anisimova coaching changes and Diana Schnaider and Naomi Osaka looking good.

On the men's side in Montreal: no Sinner, no Alcaraz, no Djokovic, and a real question about whether the two-week Masters format is worth what it's costing.

Plus a Ground Pass exclusive with Taylor Townsend on why she entered singles only in Canada, and a look at our conversation with Matt Futterman on why he called tennis The Cruelest Game.

The full Futterman interview is on Substack tomorrow: https://groundpass.substack.com/?utm_campaign=profile_chips

Chapters:
00:00 Welcome Christian's Court to the podcast
05:15 How the Canadian Open is structured
11:51 Alex Eala takes over Canada and their food court
17:17 Alex Eala keeps winning
29:19 Gauff, Anisimova, the rest of the WTA tour
44:56 The ATP in disarray, but is it really?
01:03:00 The WTA new Media deal

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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
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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.

Alex Eala won the DC Open by going through Qinwen Zheng, Leylah Fernandez, Naomi Osaka, Elina Svitolina, and Jessica Pegula, and became the first Filipino player to win a WTA singles title. This one is a solo pod, recorded late after a work day, about what that week actually looked like from the ground.
Inside: the TikTok about Eala's Miami run that started This Week in Tennis, the strange gap between a huge fanbase and a thin trophy case, the rain delay that wiped a set and handed her a clean slate on Monday, and Pegula's very generous explanation of why that slow lefty serve is so hard to attack.
Then the bigger argument. The Tennis Channel desk sitting out in the open, an hour of Naomi Osaka just hanging out with fans, an ice cream truck a few feet away, and what that says about where the sport feels healthiest right now. Plus Fritz on the safety break, Rafa Jódar on the weekly reset, and the Canada attendance question.
Also, Ground Pass is credentialed at the US Open. That happened because of weeks like this one.

Links:
Ground Pass on Substack - https://groundpass.substack.com/
- Ground Pass Shop: https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/shop
- Jessica Pegula's final press conference: https://youtu.be/WfBxCkkasok?si=-AaRA6-RZozkgki0
- PTPA article: https://awfulannouncing.com/tennis/ptpa-threatens-defamation-lawsuit-andy-roddick-served.html

Chapters
00:00 Alex Eala wins the DC Open
06:30 The TikTok that started This Week in Tennis
09:20 "Who's this girl?" and the fandom question
13:10 Head down, no celebrating, until the handshake
14:20 Eala on how steep it gets at the top
18:20 The rain reset and a brand new match
21:40 Pegula explains why the slow lefty serve works
28:40 Taylor Fritz on the safety break
31:40 Rafa Jódar on resetting after every week
33:40 Ground Pass is credentialed at the US Open
35:20 Just fix the bathrooms
39:40 The Osaka cookout
43:00 The PTPA story someone should report
44:40 Sinner, Djokovic, and the Canada question

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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
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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.

We are live from the DC Open. The only tournament where you can record a podcast in the middle of the grounds and a player might pull up in the background.

Watch our first dispatch from the grounds: https://youtu.be/xbFo_LAHqkc?si=HlCS40XTU3EIjIfR

Anastasia and Ava are on the grounds in Washington, credential mics on and with players walking by in the background. This one covers why DC's crowd is unlike anywhere else on tour, the case for combined events, Venus Williams one year after her comeback, Andy Murray showing up early to hit with Jack Draper, and the doubles story the tour would rather not talk about.

Links:

Pick up your Summer shirt here - https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/shop

Chapters:
00:00 Intro - Live from DC
03:11 A Case for Combined events
05:40 The only crowd on tour that looks like this
08:45 Add the DC Open to your must visit list
13:18 A summer gem of a tournament
14:42 Venus Williams, one year later
17:24 Andy Murray really missed tennis
26:14 The doubles crisis
29:09 Singles vs doubles, a beef is brewing

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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

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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.

Nobody becomes a tennis fan from a highlight reel. This week, Ryan Ng of 40 Love Studio joins Anastasia to talk about the storytelling gap in tennis: the quirky grassroots characters going uncaptured, the six years Ryan spent off the court after the yips took his forehand, and the almost-9-million-view video that started with a friend asking why tennis scoring has a point called love. Plus a quick spin through the week: Tsitsipas wins Gstaad and earns a Lost Boys list revisit, Bernard Tomic and his devoted Bernies, and the ATP's reported plan to shrink doubles, which raises the question this whole episode is about. Do you grow a sport by cutting the field, or by telling the story?

Links:

Pick up your Summer shirt here - https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/shop
Lost Boys - https://youtu.be/9maE1Nb8e3o?si=6TmlZx-C7i9KgTfe
Bernard Tomic Wiki - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Tomic
Bernard Tomic acceptance speech - https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbAL2ZmNpMT/?igsh=cXQ1MTYzZ3J1Ynhi
Bernard Tomic Ode to Tomic - https://www.instagram.com/p/DbAEUqzADB4/?igsh=bWtnaGxzbTh2dTZl
Casper Ruud’s Wedding video - https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZuzslTD-lr/?igsh=MWJxZ3RiYXR4YjJjdg==
Forty Love Studio - https://www.instagram.com/fortylovestudio?igsh=NjN3Y3doNWVnaDc3
OFF SEASON: DALLAS - https://youtu.be/uSvdHBs0bPM?si=PDVLrtCDT1bqR-7M

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
02:35 A Quiet Tennis Week on Purpose
04:07 Tsitsipas wins a tournament
07:40 Bernard Tomic and his Fans
10:00 Tennis Wedding Week
11:34 The Tennis Royal Wedding - Tommy Paul and Paige Lorenze
13:19 The Other Weddings
14:30 Carlos Alcaraz at the World Cup
15:54 Interview with Ryan Ng of Forty Love Studio
39:57 The Importance of Storytelling in Tennis
44:04 Excitement for the DC Open
47:14 Closing Thoughts and Future Plans

💬 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

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.