WTA Tour Analysis: Breakout Winners After the Australian Open

Kate Rhodes-Chadder (00:00.578)
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Hello Chalkdusters we're here again to discuss the ins and outs and excitements and disappointments of the WTA Tour as it stands this week. Hello, I'm DTM. Good to be here. And I'm Katie. Thanks for coming back. The week after a grand slam, a lot of players rested and we are resting ourselves.

Yes we are, are here talking to you on location in Jolly Spain. Well, Jolly Wet Spain actually, if we must be honest. But I'm sure by the time next week's podcast drops, it will be beautiful again. So we better start with the action from three events, starting with Abu Dhabi this week, the start of the Middle East swing. Yes.

That was the biggest of the three events this week, wasn't it? It was a WTA 500 event, 500 points up for grabs and a surprise winner, a qualifier named Sara Bejlek spelled B-J-L-E-K, but I think it's Bejlek Another Czech is a Czech, just 20 years of age, won two qualifying matches, won every match, including the final against number 10 in the world, Alexandrova

Today 7661. really? That was fantastic. That was a good topple match. Qualifier beating Andreeva. Yes and she's gained those 500 points have propelled her over 60 places in the world and she started just inside the top 100 and now she's shot up the rankings and she's inside the top 40. Amazing. She's from Czechoslovakia.

Kate Rhodes-Chadder (02:03.401)
and I think she's around 38th in the world now. Amazing. And she beat my tip, I was thinking Clara Towson would have a good run and she did indeed get to the semi-finals. But she lost to Bejlek 7-5 in the third set. So that was a really close match. But everyone in the top half took advantage because Belinda Bencic pulled out a late withdrawal, which meant that

The number one seed was no longer in the event, which made a clear pass. So the bottom half went to seeding. Alexandrova was the number two seed, but she didn't win the singles. She won the doubles. did she? Well done her. But well done to Bay Jic. Bejlek Good for her. I love her underdog winning. that's fantastic. Being rocketed up the charts. Quite a short...

in height stature player but a left-hander who plays what tennis people sometimes call a lot of slice. So they like to say slice and dice which basically just means a bit like your backhand sometimes she messes the opponent up just by playing short slices and it caused a lot of problems this week. But unusually now you tell me that if you're shorter in stature

your serve isn't going to be very good and your serve is the most important point of the match. So she seems to be getting around that problem. Yes, she won her matches this week, but remember none of the top players were in attendance. So I mentioned Alexandrova Verne and Bencic, both around 10, 11 in the world. Both had lost early in the Australian Open. So in comparison with the big guns playing in Melbourne.

This was an opportunity for someone to make hay while both the sun shone in Abu Dhabi, but also while the big names weren't there. So sometimes scheduling, which we'll talk about when we come on to the other events this week, scheduling makes a big difference if you want to maximise your points. Playing when other big names aren't playing, obviously, is one way of being, you know, the potential of doing well. He's great at it, clearly. Absolutely.

Kate Rhodes-Chadder (04:26.123)
The early loss in one tournament actually has an advantage in the next tournament because you've got time to get there and you might have time to get there where other players might not either have time or the desire to get there. We've had a look at that and we'll have a chat about that later. Yes, and so Abu Dhabi was also really great for Olivia Nicholls. I mentioned doubles last week. Olivia Nicholls is our top doubles player us Brits

and she got to the final with her Slovenian partner and unfortunately they just lost a very tight final to Aleksandrova and Joint who are singles players who just almost a rookie pairing really and Olivia Nichols will be gutted because the difference in prize money between winning the doubles and losing was £9,000 so as a pair they would have won £44,000

But as runners up, they got £27,000. I have to share that. So those good with the mass, the difference was about £9,000. So if you're playing in your clubs in coming weeks, have probably indoor at the moment, given it's February, but imagine playing a tiebreak and putting £9,000 on one tiebreak. That's a lot of pressure. And for someone who's only won, you know, just under a million dollars for nearly 10 years work.

quite a big pressure tie break and unfortunately they lost it. still good points and just outside the top 20 in the doubles rankings. And just beginning of the season for her, have got to support our Brits and have some high hopes for her this year. Yes, look out for her, especially at the big Grand Slams, the doubles, Olivia Nichols either in the women's doubles with her, the Mihalikova partner.

That's easy for you to say. Or the mixed doubles where she tends to with possibly another British man, maybe Neil Skupski. It just depends. But she's done well this week getting to the final. So the other two events were both 250 events. And those that have been following the news are sure to be aware that two Brits, one in Ostrava, Czechoslovakia, and one in Transylvania, at the Transylvania

Kate Rhodes-Chadder (06:53.072)
Open in Romania, both got to the final. Katie Volta and Emma Raducanu So we're going to talk a little bit about scheduling. So I have been saying for a while that it's far better to get to the latter stages of the WTA 250 event, far better than losing in the first, second, third rounds of these bigger events, because in terms of points,

What you take away from getting to a final or even winning a 250 event is superior to winning a couple of matches at a big event but then losing. That's why you've been saying to, I mean if she was listening, which maybe she is, we just don't know if she was listening, you've been saying to Emma, Emma go and grab some points at some 250 events rather than trying for the bigger events and losing early.

Yes, and even the WTA 125 events, the rankings of the players that play in those events will tend to be between 80 and 200. And even the WTA 250 events, the top seeds may well not even be ranked in the top 30. So Emma Raducanu was actually seeded number one in Transylvania this week, and her ranking going into the week was about 30.

and Katie Boulter, because of her injuries last year, hardly playing, she dropped outside the top 100. She was going into the week about 117. Wow. And both having great weeks. So we'll start in Ostrava, Czechoslovakia, and again, an indoor event, so quite unusual, but no outdoor conditions to play havoc. So someone like Katie Boulter has a very

I'm going to use the word precise. Every every ball toss on the serve is precise to some degree, but she has a very high ball toss, very tall lady, young woman, and sometimes she loses consistency on a ball toss because of the wind, etc. outside. Right. And that can play havoc with a serve, whereas indoors, conditions. So that is an

Kate Rhodes-Chadder (09:15.817)
An advantage to a lot of players, but she also likes the faster conditions and she's got a big gain. particular advantage for her then. And again, none of the big names there and she took advantage and she got through to the final and she played another lady who has been ranked outside the top 100. In fact, she was 190 odd in the world only about 12 months ago, Tamara Korpatsch

So a very winnable final. And even though it went three sets, Bolta won the last two sets very easily, one, six, two. Very good. So yet another of those games I like to watch where she lost the first set and then won consecutive two and three. Which is quite common, more common than you'd think. Yeah, we looked at the stats about when a player wins the first set, what percentages go on to win in straight sets? And it's only in the 60.

60 percent so it's roughly two-thirds so of the remaining third of matches that go three sets it's very even so generally if it goes to three sets the player who's won the first set wins half the three set matches and the player who's won the second set wins the other half of the three set matches so it is not something to

get too upset about losing the first set is what we're saying. No, she did serve for the first set. I was watching it five-four up and for some reason she seemed to go AWOL for about four games and then got her head together and hardly lost another game. Well done Katie, another Brit done good. So she shot back into the top hundred on the back of those 250 points. Oh that's lovely. She's now in the early 80s, about 84th in the world. Good for her.

She's a player who was ranked as high as 26, 27 in the world only 18 months ago or so. So she can get back into the top 50, I'm sure, quite quickly. But in terms of scheduling, February after a Grand Slam is a good time to earn points. And there are certain points in the season where the opportunities to do well as a slightly lower ranked player are fairly well known.

Kate Rhodes-Chadder (11:38.188)
This period between Australia and really the hard-court, American hard-court season in Miami in early March is quite an opportunity really. So let's talk about the third of the tournament and then we can talk about the scheduling because that is dear listener. I found it anyway fascinating. Yes, okay well Cluj, I'm not too sure on the pronunciation but

in Romania, must be well known to the Romanians out there, CLUJ. It's got an airport, there you go. That's where they hosted the Transylvania Open and again indoors. an indoor court and as I said Emma Raducanu was seeded one and she lived up to her seeding, got to the final, played a marathon semi-final against a Ukrainian

woman who's been in the news for covering her face in dazzly sort of styles and... The woman who was very heavily tattooed? Yes, but she had lots of glittery face and very passionate about sort of fighting the cause of the Ukrainians. course you would be, wouldn't you? And she pushed Raducanu for about three hours, but Raducanu finally got over the line.

But unfortunately coming into today's final, she was a spent force. Yes, she must have been exhausted. And she said afterwards that she hadn't been well. Now I'm interested by, I mean, I'm interested by haven't been well in that when I'm not well, I can't get out of bed. I can't get out of the, I could maybe get out of bed and get in a taxi, but I'm not sure I could get out the taxi at Cluj, the taxi that has taken me to Cluj. I'm not sure I could get out the shower and put my tennis kit on.

I so she says I'm unwell. She's obviously really well. I don't know. Yeah, I mean, well enough to win on Friday over three hours and then really struggled today. Lost the first eight games, six love, two love down. Won a couple of games, but then it was all over within 15 minutes. Sorana Cerstea is a longstanding Romanian, so she was desperate to win. She's 35 years of age.

Kate Rhodes-Chadder (14:03.695)
It's her last year on tour, which she's stated. And we spoke a little bit about her and the frosty handshake with Naomi Osaka only a couple of weeks ago. did. we've got these two are, Emma Raducanu has Eastern European background. her father's Romanian. So she speaks Romanian. She spoke some Romanian to the crowd this week. I loved it. That went down really well. And so then you've got effectively two Romanian people.

in the final, so that was exciting. Yes and Cirstea was the number two seed. She's a very loved tennis player, been around clearly over 10 years longer than Radhikarni playing on the tennis circuit and she got a lot of sympathy. talked about the reasons why she was annoyed with Osaka calling out between her serves.

sort of talking out loud. Yeah. And she had the sympathy of the tennis community really. And that's why Asaka apologized and hasn't been seen since on the court. But Cirstea is one of those good, feel good stories. And you could tell she lost three games in the semifinal, two games in the final. And she really had highlighted this week. She was a machine. she will...

be one of those players that the tour will miss and her fellow pros will miss. her whole family were there. She was hugging her sister and other family members. And so that was great as well for her. So then imagine the scene, dear listener, who you've got Raducanu. She's spent three hours winning the semifinal on the Friday. Today she spent...

70 minutes and she's self-confessed not been well all week. Then coach, parent, whoever organizes her schedule comes and says well done Emma that's all good now pack your bags or I'll pack them for you jump in the cab because we're off to Doha which is next week's

Kate Rhodes-Chadder (16:28.432)
WTA 1000 tournament, so a thousand points up for grabs there. That's a big tournament. Now then, I did a bit of research on the travel schedule to get, I gave her a couple of hours to get some snacks, something to eat, drink, relax. And I said, if we're going to leave by 10 tonight, can we get to Doha and when?

And it was, of course you can get there, but you have to go via either Budapest or Bucharest. Wow. Yes. You are likely to have missed the connector to Budapest or Bucharest tonight. So you probably have to wait till the morning, then take your flight from Transylvania to Bucharest or Budapest and then go to Doha. That's going to take about

if all the connections work really well between seven and a half and nine hours, but you've missed your starting, so you're going to have to start in the morning. So that's a long time and you're not going to get there in the morning without fairy dust or a private jet, which is, did check out how much that was going to cost and it was 40,000 euros. So someone of Emma Raducanu's earning power, especially off court. Yes.

her and her team possibly would get a private jet. They might invest in that, especially if, you know, I've dragged myself out of bed and not very well anyway, and you just throw the money, throw some money at it and go. But if you weren't of her sponsorship deal credibility, then if you're a common or garden tennis professional, that's going to be expensive. Well, not too expensive.

but it's going to take a long time and it's going to be exhausting and when you arrive you are not fully refreshed. Well these are some real examples of players flying from Melbourne. Yes. It doesn't really matter where they flew to. Most will head towards the Middle East at some point but Rybankina obviously the winner took a private jet. We saw the photographs. Well I was amazed by the photographs that she had her racket behind her.

Kate Rhodes-Chadder (18:51.031)
They weren't in the hold. Svitolina semi-finalist and husband were husband in business class on a flight. Yeah. Not a private jet. So 10 places in the rankings difference. But Svitolina has just got back inside the top 10, half a million, three quarters of a million getting to the semi-finals with Australian Open, multi-million.

pound earnings, it just shows you in terms of... I question whether that's about money though, because you and your team going in first class or business, Melbourne to Doha, will cost... I'd be interested to know about the comparisons with the PJ, the private jet, given that you don't have to pay per person for that. it might be close. They might have gone...

normal carrier pigeon style for another reason. And Elisa Mertens and her coach who's also her partner her boyfriend, they were sat in Economy. Oh well that's just jolly sensible isn't it? I think they were at the front of Economy so they have the extra legroom like I do but just interesting someone ranked in the 20s, someone ranked sort of so sort of number three in the world, number 10, number 20.

It might be about affordability, about attitude, might be about scheduling as in the timing. Interesting. I also know top little tiny piece of intel for you is that I believe, I'm right in saying, Elisa Merten's sister is a pilot. yes, so she might have. Well, I don't know which airline she's a pilot for. We did have that chat, didn't we? Actually at Wimbledon with her

team. Yes we did. Because we sat with her team in the corner. If you go to Wimbledon on the outside courts you can get very close to the team if you're there early can't you? Yeah. And we sat behind a few players coaches. In fact last year I sat with Barbara Kreitschikova's team for the first round match which was raining, the court covers were on and off and she was on a

Kate Rhodes-Chadder (21:18.21)
outside court, court 17 or 18, think was court 16 or 17, there's three in a row out the back, not a show court at all, and she was drawn to play Kudama Tova round one, and nothing expected of either of those players. And Klychikova went all the way, having won that match, all the way through and won Wimbledon. But the first round I was chatting with some of her team and we had

about half an hour and they were quite happy to chat and tell me all about what Barbora had been up to, including in Madrid, because we'd been to Madrid in the spring and they were telling me that she'd been on a plane and caught a very nasty bug and that had set her back for several weeks. And you just don't know that, but she tried to play through that illness. So going back to Radhikarni, some players do try and...

play through it. It just can't these days. You just can't get away with it. It's amazing. I do remember that you were chatting with them and I was watching the court coverers and I was giving them marks out of 10 every time the rain started and they'd run and they'd get the courts covered and then the rain would stop and then they'd think it was fabulous. The funny thing, I found it really amusing because it's very

equal opportunities. So you get these little sweet little 16 year old girl and then and then five hulking great rugby player blokes are also 16, 17 whatever they are and it's because it's equal opportunities they all run on and they and it starts to rain and they all pull pull pull pull and because it has to be cut the the cover has to go equally so if the lesser the least strong one who might be a boy

But anyway, it just didn't seem to be those in Wimbledon last year. And there she was. And she every single time blessed her. And she never got the thing. And they always had to come get some help. So I don't know why they didn't just stick her in the middle or get her to do the organizing as opposed to the actual pulling of the thing. anyway, we digress, dear listener. But I was fascinated by the court covers last year.

Kate Rhodes-Chadder (23:38.605)
And it was early in the schedule as well, was the Monday and the Tuesday and therefore I probably hadn't practiced enough. I mean, I know they practice. We can talk more about Wimbledon once we get to... Yeah, sorry, we're digressing. I have to mention a few more details on the sort of lower ranked players. We've talked a little bit about the flying from one country to another overnight. And it really is an issue more for those players who are...

not direct entry. So if your ranking is high enough, you get direct entry into the event. So those like Raducanu who have direct entry into Doha, they know they're playing in the first round. And what day is that? And that will be Sunday, Monday. And the scheduling of the tournament organisers will recognise the fact that Raducanu has played a final with Cirstea They're both due in Doha to play a first round match, but I'm pretty sure they'll be

in the second batch of first round matches. So they're going to be there Sunday morning to play in Doha. That's a good thing because you're not going to get there. I mean, they're playing about nine o'clock from nine o'clock British summer time. So they start play about nine and go through till one or two o'clock in the afternoon. So I suspect they'll be playing Monday, which will allow them to travel. But for those players who are outside direct entry for Doha,

And it was roughly, if you were ranked sort of 50 or higher, you're having to qualify. my lord. We saw a couple of namesakes. We've mentioned Katie Boulter, namesake of yours, Katie. Yes. Also a very memorable tennis name, Katie Volleynets playing in Ostrava Do think she became a tennis player because of her surname? Yeah, Volley.

Nets is, I don't know, but she lost to, so the two Katie's played each other in a semi-final. Yeah. But the day before Katie Volleynets played Alicia Parks and I'm quite interested in Alicia Parks because she's one of the few players on the tour that have adopted DTM's two first serve strategy more often than not. She's a big tall, big hitting American.

Kate Rhodes-Chadder (26:00.992)
and she often hits the two first serve policy. good. She has been listening to this pod. Well done. Unfortunately... dear. In her quarter final with Volleynets Yes? Her ace count was 10, but the double fault count was 13. Well, she's learning. She's young. So the DTM strategy that she adopted means working on. OK.

but she had to leave Ostrava Thursday after losing to Katie Volleynets in Czechoslovakia mid-afternoon. Right. And she was on court at nine o'clock in Doha the next morning. The transfer, I I did the working out of that, well that is possible, but with transfers it's tight. I sometimes wonder whether we don't get told, you know when they say

that so-and-so's pulled out or so-and-so's ill. I've never heard them say they missed their flight. No. So she played the qualifying in Doha, which was Friday, Saturday. So it started Friday, carries on Saturday. I'll explain the qualifying in a little bit more detail. But just to finish the Alicia Park story, she got on court in Doha and unsurprisingly lost the first set.

and then she didn't have time to tie up a shit. Please bless her. I'm thinking is she going to just kind of bomb it and kind of have a rest but no she managed to win that match in three sets and she's won today as well so she's and just you know giving context in terms of money what

Is it worth getting a flight? We've all got a rough idea of how much a five, six hour flight might cost from Czechoslovakia to Doha. Well, by touching down in Doha, if she'd lost that first match, she would have taken away $6,000. By winning it on Friday, she got $11,000. And she won her next match. So by getting into the main draw, she's now up to $18,000 guaranteed.

Kate Rhodes-Chadder (28:25.086)
So that flight, probably through the night or certainly sleeping on the plane to some degree, has earned her the difference between nothing and $18,000. And clearly some points coming her way. Do you not get any points for qualifying? If you win matches in qualifying you get points, it's sort of 20 or 30 points.

Increments of 10 points. But it's more the financial gains that significant. lot of... reputation, you seem as a credible competitor. Yes, and we've mentioned a few of the more, what I'll call the senior citizens on tour, who are all in their 30s. A funny visual for me. They will go to events, Pavlochenkova is one at the moment, in her mid-30s, struggling for wins.

She's not winning any matches at all at the moment. But she'll go because her ranking gives a direct entry. Right. And it's a bit like a year to just take the spoils, regardless of how much she wins in terms of matches, guaranteed $18,000. So I'm going to go. OK. So you should always spend your last year just skiing through the season, grabbing points. Yes. And prizes. So.

Other players to qualify who people will be aware of, Sonay Kartal a British player. She played in Abu Dhabi, lost to the eventual winner in the quarterfinals. A bit like our friend Alicia Parks, but not from Ostrava in Czechoslovakia. Kartal flew from Abu Dhabi to Doha, which is a much shorter flight. But she did that.

straight off the court, overnight, back on court, nine o'clock in the morning. And she also had a big long three setter, but got through it, won again today and has qualified for Doha. So, there were... Did she get a day off any time? I mean, did she get to go back to the hotel and unpack a bag or not? Yeah. She gets hours off in between, but I'm not sure full days off. But that's the life of a tennis player. And it's those players who are...

Kate Rhodes-Chadder (30:48.382)
in the rankings that are sort of not in the top 40 or not in the top 70 or outside the top 100, there are sort of thresholds where direct entry into either a thousand event or 500 event or 250 event, you're not quite there. You're on the threshold, so you have to qualify. And qualifying works exactly the same as main draw. The next batch of rankings get direct entry into qualifying. Right. So there'll be

32 players trying to qualify, they have to win two matches. That gets 32 down to eight and those eight players are the qualifiers. So you have to win two matches in qualifying. Now this week in Doha, the good news for the qualifiers was that two additional players were late withdrawals. So Paolo Badosa has pulled out...

Do we know why? Belinda Bencic has pulled out as she did this week in Abu Dhabi. Right. And they will either cite illness or injury. Because as we spoke about last week, the 1000 tournaments, they are contracted to go to a certain proportion of them, quite a high proportion of them. And if they're not ill, they're expected. So I've just got it here. So Paola Badosa has cited a right hip injury.

bless her. Barbora Krejcikova has pulled out with a left knee injury. So those withdrawals could be stated before the deadline. So torments have a deadline where if you withdraw beforehand due to illness or injury that's absolutely fine. Is that deadline gone now? And if you're and it's a few days before the tournament starts and then if you're after that

without knowing the precise ins and outs, but apparently the WTA tour are trying to tighten up and make it harder for players to withdraw very late, et cetera. But they've decided that there is sort of four, what they call amnesty withdrawals. So you can use up your four amnesty withdrawals, irrespective of the time, obviously before the match starts, but...

Kate Rhodes-Chadder (33:13.508)
irrespective of the time frame. So after the deadline, you've got four allowances and if you've used those up, then there are penalties, etc. And we talked about deduction of ranking points. And I think some of the players are obviously taking advantage of that. So we'll come on to Doha and the bigger names, who's there, etc.

And for your information listeners, we're recording this on a Saturday night after the close of play, but before Sunday. anything may change overnight, of course. Yes, I suspect Cirstea having won in Romania might want to celebrate and decide not to bother to go to Doha. And being her last year on tour, any penalties would be pretty meaningless for her. And I suspect she hasn't used up any of her four.

amnesty withdrawals anyway Raducanu has been ill all weeks, own words, we've talked about her is she going to go? I suspect she might pull out as well. out? I'd pull out and climb underneath a duvet with my tissues and watch Notting Hill again.

Oh, I think you could do better if not than heal. Isn't Bridgerton coming out again? Oh, yes. It's just the first, yes, series four just started. You're right. I'd be watching that back to back. OK, so we will talk Doha, the first WTA 1000 event, next. OK. Are we doing a jingle there? We could put a jingle in there. We'll try. Technically, we're trying to get better each week. OK, so Katie.

Who is the defending champion in Doha? For her first name or her second? Irina Anisimova. Very close. Amanda Anisimova is the reigning champion. It was her first big title in her career only 12 months ago. Just climbed off the tennis numpty first step.

Kate Rhodes-Chadder (35:28.667)
So she is in attendance and she's not defending her points and she's defending her title and she along with seven or eight of the top ten are in attendance. The two big names who have thrown in a withdrawal only before the deadline I think. Sabalenka.

Paolini So it began with P, Pugula. yes. So Sabalenka and Pugula are not playing and Benčić has pulled out the last two tournaments so she's not playing and she just crept back inside the top 10. But I don't think she will be now because she hasn't played last week defending her title in Abu Dhabi so she would have lost those 500 points. So I suspect just two of the top 10 as it stands.

as of Monday morning, but that leaves all the other names there. So, Iga Swaitek is the number one seed. Well, this is actually out of a Sunday morning because they've got a day to... Do they start playing tomorrow on Sunday or do they start Yeah, they start tomorrow. But the top eight seeds get a buy. Right, OK. So, all these top ten players will have a buy. So, they won't be playing until Tuesday or Wednesday. Finally, a good, night's sleep. I'm worried about their sleep.

Hence why the best players get the most advantages afforded to them. Of course, because the buy means they can have a good team. They've got the private jet. They've had the biggest rest. They've got the biggest teams. And with the exception of Rybakina they've probably got all the best clothing, etc. The luxuries. Rybakina, do you know last week...

So you guys listening to another podcast that was talking about that they were going for your next was going for luxury Luxury lounge wear or luxury? Athletics wear but they ended up with luxury laundry Really funny phrase they use but there you are they use that phrase or that was how they're No, Yonnex didn't use that phrase

Kate Rhodes-Chadder (37:58.734)
Their kit was referred to. That's how it was referred to and that's just made me laugh. I wasn't the only person who thought that she was in Peasants Weeds. Apparently it is a Japanese, Yonex Japanese brand. It's a Japanese thing. There's a name for it, which I forget, but it means we're not showy and we're really, the fabric and the material is really good.

didn't look really good, but apparently was good for wicking and it was good for all the other functions of a tennis player, except for looking quite nice. Yeah. Anyway, let's not go back to that. Okay. Well, Rybankina is the number two seed. She'll be in her Yonex kit and she'll be playing with a Yonex racket. Love to see if she goes for a B. She's running out and she's number two seed. So the reigning champion.

Amanda Anasimova is number three seed and she is in the top half. So she's got Iga Swaitec to get past to get to the final and in the bottom half is Coco Gauff So Coco Gauff is playing in Doha as is Mira Andreeva as is Jasmine Paulini. all our old friends are back. So quite an interesting

tournament and it's going to be really interesting to see if we're back in a blitz it because on form very similar surface, Doha is hard court, very similar speed, having watched some of the qualifying, probably not quite as fast as Melbourne but pretty fast hard court and so you can expect the big powerful hitters, assuming they get the ball in more often than they don't. And over the net.

and over the net, they're going to be hard to beat.

Kate Rhodes-Chadder (39:57.195)
Interesting. So I like Rybankina Rybankina for this because obviously now I'm obsessed with the travel and the comfort. And I think she's had a week to relax. She's got there slowly. She's probably been putting some better kit, I'm hoping. I will laugh myself silly when I see her popping in her orange Yonex kit, because it does exist. I have seen it.

and after some really good night's sleep and a bit of celebrating for her AO win, I'm feeling good for her. The only question, mark, is it's very hard to turn up after a big win and win again. So back-to-back wins are very rare on the tour, year in, year out in recent times. It does occasionally happen, but obviously the demand on the player once they've won

Grand Slam. Everyone wants their time. They're doing multiple press related, social media related events for their sponsors and I just think it's going to be quite hard for her to

be on it this week. She got to the quarterfinals last year. She's got a reasonable draw, but I think it wouldn't surprise me if she lost before the final.

Okay, but I think if I was her sponsor, I would certainly not put so much pressure on her that she was counterproductive for me by not winning. I mean, a sponsor, you want to be a supportive sponsor who helps you to win more, not helps you to sell more. Your next. Well, she's got a reasonable first couple of matches, but then she could have to play Mboko or Andreeva

Kate Rhodes-Chadder (42:02.072)
quarterfinals, Coco Gauff possibly in the semi-final and Anasimov or Iga Swaitek in the final. And I suspect that Rybakina will be happy to get and match her result from last year and then mentally...

she might tactically take it easy. So that doesn't mean she's going to just lose, but I think when push comes to shove, before the Australian Open, she lost to Muchova in a warm-up event. And clearly, come the Australian Open, I would say now that was a bit of a tactical loss. She lost in three sets to Muchova, but it was as if...

he wasn't going to bust a gut to win that tournament. She was going to save herself for the Australian Open. And I think if she's pushed in one of these rounds before the final, think Rybankina might come unstuck. So I would look to the top half and I think Amanda Anisimova has a very good draw.

Kate Rhodes-Chadder (43:19.543)
She's got a couple of easy matches in my opinion. Then she could play Svitolina in the quarter-final who will be tired. She's a mum. I don't think Svitolina will match her performance in the Australian Open at this event. So I can see Anisimova getting through to the semi-finals and she's got a good record against Iga Swaitec. She knows how to beat her. Although she lost the Wimbledon final, she subsequently...

beat her twice and I think she'll beat her for a third time if she gets to play her. So I wouldn't be surprised if Amanda Anisimova gets to the final again and doesn't play Alena Rybakina. So we'll see. Okay, you heard it here first, dear listener. So we've got our rankings watch.

We have and then we want to talk or I want to talk anyway, just a little bit about our Filipina rocket. Yes. Sorry, Filipina rocket. Yes, we'll save that for the end. So we'll just do some players who've surged up the rankings. This game set and surge. Who's that going to be this week? That's right. So the Americans are on the charge a little bit for those.

of you that aren't so familiar with some of the names outside of the top echelons. A lady by the name of Hayley Baptiste got through to the semi-finals in Abu Dhabi and pushed Alexandrova three closed sets. This is the same lady that pushed Coco Gauff to three sets in the Australian Open. And unfortunately, she doesn't really like the deciding set. So she had a match point to get into the final of Abu Dhabi.

But by getting to the semi-final, she's risen to 38th the world. Another player with a big serve. So I mentioned Alicia Parks and Haley Baptiste, two of the biggest servers. Both American. Both American, but they don't have the consistency or possibly the stamina of someone of Rybankina's class. Yet. Emma Raducanu has risen five places. So she's now 25th in the world after her run to the final.

Kate Rhodes-Chadder (45:42.934)
Katie Boulter I've mentioned is back in the top 100. Sorana Cirstea the winner. I you were going to have one each week. these five are on the I'm doing five? Yes. Sorana Cirstea, 35 years young, is now in the top 32. She's 31. So she'll get a seeding at the French Open as it stands. And the young Sarah Bejlek is up to 38. Ah, Bejlek, did so well in Abu Dhabi.

That's right. She's won 500 points. So she's up 63 places. So if we're going to name one, I'm going to name Bejlek. Yes, she's our player. Can I have her as a player of the week? She is the player of the week. OK, well done, Bejlek. And rankings reset. Game set and reset. Two players. Donna Vekic. dear. Now in danger of falling outside the top 100. She's 97.

in the world. She is a player who's been inside the top 50 for the last five years, if not longer. So for her to be threatened with losing her place in the top hundred is quite noteworthy. And a young American who burst onto the scene two years ago, she's still only 21, a lady called Aisling Kruger has really struggled the last

six to 12 months and she's fallen outside the top 100, she's 101st and she's been as high as 29 in the world. So for real tennis aficionados, those two names will mean something and they're both around 100 in the world which is a big drop for them. Okay. And here's someone from a bygone age really. Okay, go on. Vera Zvonreva Let me say this again.

Zona Reva, Vera Zona Reva. Now did she lose in the Wimbledon final? Yes, 16 years ago to Serena Williams. 2010, Vera Zona Reva got to the Wimbledon final and is highest number two in the world. And what's she doing now then? At 41 years of age. Well done lady. I thought she was more of a double specialist. Yeah. She was playing doubles.

Kate Rhodes-Chadder (48:12.119)
and getting to the latter stages in doubles events. But I saw her on the singles court. I sat down to watch some of the qualifying, as I said, yesterday in Doha, and I nearly fell over. 41 years of age, Vera Zvonreva playing one of our friends, Shuai Zhang. Shuai Zhang. And did she win? The Russian won. So she got through to today against Frech

who's been a seed at the Grand Slams. Magdalena Frech a Polish player who's been in the top 30, has on a rave and went to the head and won a game. What's she been doing other than playing doubles for the last 16 years? I think staying in and around tennis, but getting married and doing lots of family stuff. Oh, good woman! How impressive is that? To have a life and a tennis and then a bit more tennis and then a bit more life and...

And she must have heard about Serena Williams getting a possible invitation to some Grand Slams this year and thought, well, if she's going, I'm going, we can replay the 2010 finals. Well, we often hear, don't we? Williams has had a few wild cards in the last year or so, and she's the older sister. So she's over 45. Serena, I looked up, is 44 as we're speaking now. So there.

several years on from Vera Zvonreva but but they're also a bit more high profile kind of kind of supports the more mature female tennis player getting entry into events because they are still winning and she's proved it today so she's 580th in the world and is in the main draw in Doha this week so that's impressive if she goes on to win the event yeah she will be in our rankings watch next week

surging up but she's in the draw and she would have to beat Rybankina in the quarterfinals to have any chance of a thousand points. Well that is just a lovely story to end on. That's really it yes and we're going to finish with middle of this week. I did a blog. I did Five to Watch, the sort of next generation of

Kate Rhodes-Chadder (50:34.867)
There who are under 21, if not teenagers still, who are ranked inside the top 100, who I think are going to continue to rise and push to win titles, if not maybe in the next five years, as they get to that peak age between 24 and 28 that we spoke about. So some have got five years to get to that, so they've got to fill out, mature, finish growing in some cases. But I think these are players to watch in the sort of medium to long term.

And we started with a Filipina player. Filipina. She's Filipina and she's called Alexandra Eala That's right. And the wonderful thing about Eala is that she has just the biggest fan base on the planet. If you see press conferences which go on with Alcaraz, there's nothing.

Absolutely nothing compared to Eala's press conferences. I think I heard something like a YouTube press conference There was seven or eight thousand people watching the sinner Alcaraz press conference seventeen thousand Wow Watching Eala. She is Massive in the Philippines. She's gone by she didn't the only person who's ever gone into the top 50 in the from the Philippines she is

called, she has Matabang spirit. Matabang spirit is when you are strong and courageous and you will do almost anything for your country. And she left at she's 18 now 18. And she's 20. He's 20 now. Okay. And she was when she was 14. She left the Philippines for the Raffanadal Academy in Spain. And this was seen as

just to leave your beautiful country where you clearly don't ever want to leave because it's so wonderful. But to go to this at such a young age, to go along to play and learn and better yourself. This is the Matabang spirit. And then, of course, what happens is everywhere she plays, all the Filipinos go and watch her and scream for her and wave their flags for her. And she's really good to her.

Kate Rhodes-Chadder (53:00.146)
Fanbase she will spend time with them. She will go and talk with them and and and sign things and play and video Her fans are really really important to her. So she's got huge social media following attraction she Goes everywhere she goes they effectively her fan base make it a home game for her In Australia, we said that there was a some outside court in Australia court 17 or something

and they hadn't recognized at the AO that this was going to be a really, really big match for fans. And so they put her on this, know, Court 17, and there were thousands of people queuing to go watch this game. And they hadn't recognized, they hadn't realized what was going to happen. So that was, I just absolutely loved watching her win. And then I think the big game that she won,

which was the day you wrote that blog, wasn't it? And the following day, we kind of knew she was going to lose A, because she had played this huge game the day before, and she's also playing in the doubles, and B, because the player that she got beaten by was a big player. Yeah, she got to the quarterfinals, she lost to Alexandrova, the number two seed, but Eala is in the top 50, as you said, ranked about 40 in the world. She...

has a great hardcore game, burst on the scene about a year ago, 10 months ago she beat Iga Swaitec amongst others to get to the semi-finals in Miami. I love that you peel in with the actual facts. Carry on, Dan, tell us all about it. We started a series on the young players, as I said, and she happened to play that afternoon in the second round in Doha and she was playing Sassnovic.

and the match before literally had five men and a dog etc and it was an empty stadium and then Eala comes on and the crowd is centred. And poor Sassnowich who's a long-standing tour player, she wasn't getting heckled but every shot these Philippine

Kate Rhodes-Chadder (55:28.625)
for Filipina fans, there's no real etiquette. It's just we want Eala to win. they're screaming with delight when she's running around the court and retrieving drop shots or lobs. They're just getting involved in the point and the point's not even over. And they scream for the opposition's fault as well, which is sometimes... So we talked about the hindrance call for, you know, respect of Sabalenka a couple of weeks ago. Well, I felt like

the umpire could give a hindrance call to the crowd. But it was a bizarre match and Eala was 5-1 down in a deciding set and it was all over. And somehow the 12th man of the crowd, if you like, he just refused to lose and we talked about that spirit and the... And the strength, there's another Filipina word for... The determination. And she clawed it all the way back.

went to a tiebreaker and she won a thrilling tiebreak and if the crowd were kind of excited at start of the match they just were completely... were there and it was just all so exciting. It was as if she'd won the biggest tournament of her life. And then our website absolutely melted because... we tweeted to say we've written this blog about Eala not realizing that 150,000 Filipinos were going to go read it which was lovely.

and thank you very much if you're listening now. Yes, well done Eala, I think she's one to watch. She is, I've got four more youngsters in mind but I'm going to have to add Sara Bejlek, our players of the week, as she's 20 years of age so I'm going to make it six players. Oh yeah, okay.

Kate Rhodes-Chadder (57:19.194)
So yes, very exciting times for the women's game because not only are they emerging talent on the court, some of them have got big fan bases bigger than some of the established names. I did think that was just wonderful that they were really just going to town with the numbers that the men were having watching them. And so, but I think we need to make a bit more of a fanfare of your player of the week. We just gave her a little bit of a fizzle there.

Well, yes, she's come out of nowhere really. So I'm going to obviously do a blog about her and add her to the next generation. I think she is 20 years of age as well. really? What's her name? Sarah Bejlek Bejlek. Sarah Bejlek. Player of the week. Well done, Sarah. Round of applause. Yeah. So in the coming weeks, you can look out for all the details on their strengths.

and areas for improvement. What makes them such a good player now, but what could make them Grand Slam champions of the future? We're looking in detail at Mboko. We've done this week's blog on Eala. We're going to look at Ivo Jovic. Jovic, Australian. Another Czech, Lady Teresa Balantova. yes. Who is on the way up.

And Mira Andreeva, not forgetting Mira Andreeva, she's still just 19, I think, just coming up 19. So until then, dear listener, do enjoy the tennis, enjoy Doha. Doha, yes. Hopefully you can find a way of watching it. Yes. And we will try and enjoy the weather when it comes down here in Spain.

So thank you very much for listening. Please like, comment, subscribe, follow, ask us questions. You know we will answer anything you ask us. And thank you very much for listening. Mary, our biggest fan.

Kate Rhodes-Chadder (59:36.015)
Bye from me. And bye from me.