Category: Podcast

Based on my download numbers, a shocking number of you are regular listeners of the Tennis Abstract Podcast. Thanks! I rarely look at my stats, because I’m more focused on optimizing for a podcast that I personally find interesting and enjoyable to create than on maximizing the size of the audience. That said, I think (I hope?) those two goals overlap.

With this year’s podcasting in the books, I dug into the logs for the last 12 months to see which episodes drew the most listeners. I don’t have any way of tracking how much of each episode you listen to, so it’s possible that I’m learning more about which topics are most popular, not the content itself. Also, some people tend to download and listen long after episodes are released, so while none of the last few episodes made the 2019 top-ten list, they would likely climb higher if I updated this list in another month or two.

I recorded a total of 40 episodes this year. Here are the top ten episodes of 2019, ranked by number of downloads:

1. Ep 76: US Open Recap
2. Ep 75: US Open Preview
3. Ep 74: More Aggression For Medvedev, More Control For Madison Keys
4. Ep 70: Djokovic, Federer, Simona, Serena, and a Wimbledon Finals Weekend to Remember
5. Ep 56: Gender Differences in Surface Differences
6. Ep 54: Miami At the Half-Way Point
7. Ep 55: Miami Titles for Barty and Federer
8. Ep 53: Indian Wells in Review
9. Ep 52: The Unpredictable WTA of Osaka, Stephens, and Sasnovich
10. Ep 51: 100 For Federer, and 50.4% for Kyrgios

Nine of these ten episodes were recorded with Carl Bialik, of the Thirty Love podcast, and the tenth–episode 52–was recorded with Jeff McFarland of Hidden Game of Tennis.

Check back in a few weeks for more episodes!

Episode 79 of the Tennis Abstract Podcast features Paul Timmons (@PaulT_Tennis), author of the My Tennis Adventures blog, about many of the problems facing professional tennis–and some obvious fixes that no one seems interested in making.

We start with the failures of the ITF to provide a logical structure for up-and-coming players, including gender inequality that makes it much more difficult for women to make a living at the equivalent of the ATP Challenger level. We discuss how some national federations are centralizing when they should be localizing, and how match-fixing is inevitable when live data provides so much of the sport’s revenue. We also touch on several up-and-coming players, the likely next men’s major winner, and why the Davis Cup Finals–for all its flaws–is superior to the upcoming ATP Cup.

Thanks for listening!

(Note: this week’s episode is about 65 minutes long; in some browsers the audio player may display a different length. Sorry about that!)

Click to listen, subscribe on iTunes, or use our feed to get updates on your favorite podcast software.

In Episode 78 of the Tennis Abstract Podcast, I am joined by Peter Wetz, making his third appearance on the show. Peter and I take a deep dive into the first edition of the new Davis Cup Finals, talking about Rafael Nadal’s dominance in both singles and doubles, the surprise heroics of Vasek Pospisil, and why the #2 singles players may be the key to a side’s success.

We also take a close look at the format, considering various ways the tournament–and especially the qualification rules–could be tweaked, and what effect that will have on the doubles. Almost every aspect of the event has been controversial, but we can’t help but admit that it made for entertaining tennis that we’re looking forward to seeing again next year.

Thanks for listening!

(Note: this week’s episode is about 75 minutes long; in some browsers the audio player may display a different length. Sorry about that!)

Click to listen, subscribe on iTunes, or use our feed to get updates on your favorite podcast software.

Episode 77 of the Tennis Abstract Podcast is an interview with Erik Jonsson (@erktennis), of Tennisportalen and the Source podcast, about last week’s ATP NextGen Finals, which included up-and-coming Swedish star Mikael Ymer. We talk about the stunning rise of Jannik Sinner, the progress shown by Alex De Minaur, and we consider the advantages and disadvantages of a whole slew of the rule innovations that are employed at the NextGen event in Milan.

We also delve into Mikael Ymer’s potential, whether older brother Elias could still become a top-100 player, and if there is any reason why so many prominent umpires hail from Sweden. Finally, we chat about Erik’s Tennis Hipster Handbook, and we wonder whether it’s possible to follow tennis anymore without Twitter.

Thanks for listening!

(Note: this week’s episode is about 65 minutes long; in some browsers the audio player may display a different length. Sorry about that!)

Click to listen, subscribe on iTunes, or use our feed to get updates on your favorite podcast software.

Episode 76 of the Tennis Abstract Podcast, with Carl Bialik of the Thirty Love podcast, reviews the memorable US Open men’s final, featuring a resurgent Daniil Medvedev and a resilient Rafael Nadal, both of whom emptied their tactical toolboxes in Sunday’s five-hour marathon. We cover Nadal’s path to the all-time grand slam lead, whether Medvedev can become the tallest #1 of all time, and whether fellow first-time semi-finalist Matteo Berrettini is in the same league as the Russian.

On the women’s final, we consider whether Serena Williams offered a fair assessment of her own game, and just how high champion Bianca Andreescu can climb. We also touch on Taylor Townsend’s strategic flexibility and Naomi Osaka’s step backward.

Thanks for listening!

(Note: this week’s episode is about 70 minutes long; in some browsers the audio player may display a different length. Sorry about that!)

Click to listen, subscribe on iTunes, or use our feed to get updates on your favorite podcast software.

Episode 75 of the Tennis Abstract Podcast, with Carl Bialik of the Thirty Love podcast, starts by previewing the new Tennis Abstract player pages, which you can expect to see roll out over the next few days. Look forward to tons of new stats, plus new ways of looking at traditional numbers.

Most of the episode is devoted to our US Open preview. We consider much Novak Djokovic’s chances are hurt by the draw, in particular his likelihood of facing Daniil Medvedev again in the quarter-finals. We highlight some notable early-round matches in both the men’s and women’s draws, and talk in further depth about Coco Gauff, Sloane Stephens, Serena Williams, Karolina Muchova, and Su-Wei Hsieh.

Finally, we touch on the lingering Serena/Ramos controversy (the focus of an upcoming Thirty Love episode) and which players were worth watching in last week’s qualifying rounds.

Thanks for listening!

(Note: this week’s episode is about 64 minutes long; in some browsers the audio player may display a different length. Sorry about that!)

Click to listen, subscribe on iTunes, or use our feed to get updates on your favorite podcast software.

Episode 74 of the Tennis Abstract Podcast, with Carl Bialik of the Thirty Love podcast, resumes last week’s conversation about Daniil Medvedev’s tactical choices, now that he took down Novak Djokovic with big second serving en route to his first Masters title. We also consider whether Medvedev’s generation is more aggressive than the ones that came before, notwithstanding the Russian’s predilection for 30-stroke rallies.

We also consider the decisions that led to a best-ever title for Madison Keys, a player who thrives with high-risk, powerful shotmaking, but dialed things back a bit in Cincinnati. We wrap up with an overview of my new Match Charting Project-derived stat leaderboards and a first-hand glimpse of the new WTA event this week in the Bronx.

Thanks for listening!

(Note: this week’s episode is about 63 minutes long; in some browsers the audio player may display a different length. Sorry about that!)

Click to listen, subscribe on iTunes, or use our feed to get updates on your favorite podcast software.

Episode 73 of the Tennis Abstract Podcast, with Carl Bialik of the Thirty Love podcast, digs into the unique tactical approach of fast-rising Daniil Medvedev, whose inside-out backhand offers an unusual look to the rest of the tour. Medvedev reached the Montreal final last week but failed to make a dent against Rafael Nadal.

We continue on the subject of ATP tactics, looking at the importance of point-finishing skills, the declining role of surface speed, and whether the current crop of young players is less surface sensitive than their predecessors.

We also celebrate the return of Bianca Andreescu to the winner’s circle, mull over how Serena Williams will fare at the US Open, and ask whether our current approach to forecasting tournament results is giving the 23-time slam champion her due.

Thanks for listening!

(Note: this week’s episode is about 60 minutes long; in some browsers the audio player may display a different length. Sorry about that!)

Click to listen, subscribe on iTunes, or use our feed to get updates on your favorite podcast software.