I would assume Jon doesn’t intend to do it. But it is too glaring to ignore. Two examples: the interview with the UMass student who had her matches “erased” (not the technical term) for trivial infraction of NCAA rules. Jon offered cringe worthy left hand compliments after the student set out the whole history quite succinctly. Something like [wow, I didn’t even have to ask you questions to extract the story. I am amazed you have such a big brain. But it gives me less time to talk- even though you are on my podcast to tell your story]. Another example: the interview with Chanda Rubin. I heard and felt subtle condescension and unwillingness on Jon’s part to just be the interviewer and stop showing his own insecurities. Jon, it all hurts your own cause. Seek some help. I like the fact that you have a lot of experience following tennis, but you are now with the old folks who have their bastions of privilege. Get a clue if you want to move past the outlets that are misogynistic, racist, and classist. But I don’t think you can. I will not be listening in the future, though this makes me sad. Because I really want to hear what some of your guests want to say, but not at the cost of hearing them speak through a toxic fog of ESPN’ish white maleness. However much there are some attempts at saying “ it ain’t so”. Yes it is so.

Weller Adams was a bore. He had MAYBE one so- so story about bailing out a player from jail. The rest was very dated. His comments about the male locker room and Andy Murray being the lone player who’s interested in combining women’s and men’s events sounded boorish and chauvinistic. It hit a nerve. And his comparison of playing professional tennis to commuting to a desk job was condescending and very small minded. Sorry ... the truth hurts.

Hello Jamie and John, Thank you so much for your wonderful podcasts and enthusiasm towards the wonderful sport of tennis! Although I am 47 years of age, I am fairly new to the world of podcasts thanks to my wife. She put this app on my phone for me! I am from Ireland, but live in Wisconsin for the past 18 years, and proud to be a US citizen. I have been an avid tennis fan my whole life thanks to my Dad. My Dad’s doubles partner at his local club in Ireland is actually umpire Fergus Murphy’s Dad! My hero’s is Rafa, and prior to Rafa, Agassi, Becker and McEnroe. I would love to hear Petr Korda on your show as I was so impressed with Sebastian at RG. He has a great personality and just looks the part. I have fond memories of his dad bouncing across Rod Laver arena with a teddy kangaroo handed to him at the trophy ceremony after his victory over Rios. He was a beautiful player, and gave Sampras a tough match at Wimbledon if I remember correctly. I would also love to hear some of the umpires interviewed who oversaw some of the more recent tennis finals such as Rafa v Djoker at the infamous Aussie Open Final. Would love to hear their thoughts looking over these wonderful matches from their high chair. Thanks again for all you do guys. Keep up the great work!!!!!

This is a great podcast! My only critique is that the ads are thrown in there and not set up by Jon. he should build in the breaks to his discussions so we’re not bombarded by loud advertisements.

I enjoy the show, but the criticism of Djokovic and the Adria Tour makes an assumption that players and coaches who tested positive contracted the virus at that event. Given the incubation period, isn’t it possible that they had it before the event started and contracted it elsewhere? I agree the crowd behavior and partying was irresponsible.

Amazing content for those that love the game of tennis, but a great listen for anyone interested in the role of sports and the athletes that play them in society generally. The recent interview with James Blake—both disturbingly depressing and surprisingly uplifting—was one of the best discussions I’ve heard on the current state of race and police relations in our country.

BOILER UP! Good honest conversation!

Really enjoy the interviews on this podcast. They are very interesting and different than the mainstream. However, I do feel that sometimes John tries to be a little to ‘buddy buddy’ with his guests and it come across as ‘fake.’ That being said, John is an excellent host.

If Wertheim didnt feel the need to interrupt the guests and have to name drop and pretend to know everything, this could be a better show.

Thanks for having her on. It's now Sept. '19 and I really missed her at the US Open, so I came here to listen. Ana's one of a few players that are so reserved and quiet except when they're competing. I loved her heart on the court.

Jon Wertheim is one of the best writers in the business and he clearly enjoys getting to engage players, commentators and other industry guests. The players are the least interesting or at the very least they're the most variable...

I have been listening to his podcast for some time and am a huge tennis fan. Great topics. I just wish he produced more frequently.

The strength of this tennis podcast is the subject matter expertise of the host and the big names he's able to bring on. I wish the audio quality was better for the out-of-studio phone interviews (the recent Kevin Anderson one sticks out in my mind as particularly difficult to understand), but I imagine that is the (forgiveable) tradeoff made in securing interviews with busy pro athletes, coaches, and commentators traveling the globe and squeezing in an interview from the practice court. I appreciate that Jon tends to take a cup-half-full perspective on the game and regards the historic performances of the Big 4 as something to celebrate, not complain about. I find the quality of this pod varies a lot and depends on the quality of the guest being interviewed. Jon and Jamie are always good, but sometimes the big names they interview are not as articulate or thoughtful as the slightly lower profile people they bring on. Favorite guests/episodes include: Nicole Gibbs, Michael Kosta, David Epstein, Martin Blackman, and Mike Bryan. Probably my favorite surprise moment was Michael Chang retelling the Sampras/Corretja match from the perspective of someone who stood to benefit in a big, historic way from Sampras losing. Least favorite moment was when Jon tried to equate Tiger Woods' comeback with Petra Kvitova's. Jon's typical sensitivity and sound judgment were way off that day: Back surgeries not withstanding, many of Tiger's problems were self-made; Petra was a crime victim. Her reaching the 2019 Australian Open final is the bigger and better story.

I love tennis and consume anything that has to do with it. I’ve tried to enjoy this podcast but the audio is generally terrible. Jon’s questions are often strange and have little to do with tennis. Kvitova on Tiger Woods. Huh? I really don’t care what her thought are on that. He tries to be funny and because of how the interviews are done there is often awkward pauses and sciences. And if that weren’t all, the tepid limp reaction to the Gimelstob events caused me to loose all respect. I don’t think I’ll be listening again.

It’s generally a good podcast with host obviously loving the sport! I had one issue is bringing other sports to the questions! We don’t need comparisons to Tiger Woods it’s a different sport! I asking Petra Kvitova about the masters was useless! Stick to our sport! But I like the great sports guests another idea is getting a real tennis player as cohost producer has no clue about professional Tennis beyond club Tennis nothing against her just a thought Tennis Analysts

This is generally a good listen with an interesting lineup of guests, but the coverage of the Gimelstob scandal was beyond disappointing. This is a huge story, and the way it was handled provides more evidence of how incestuous the relationship between broadcasters and players is in the US. Listen to The Tennis Podcast’s coverage — they don’t shy away from commenting on the disarray of the ATP tour.

So often enjoy these talks on tennis matters. Real pros and great guests

Kudos to Kevin Anderson for taking on sustainability opps in tennis. Get the sponsors on board (BNP Parisbas, JP Morgan, and Emirates Airlines) to take the lead. Corporate Social Responsibility is a big buzz phrase with millennials. It’s good business and good for the environment. Thank you for bringing up this topic.

I heard a 3 minute buildup of getting Evert on the show and then it sounds like she’s talking from a tin can!

Poor audio too often mars good interviews. The Chris Evert interview is impossible to hear. One interviewee called in while he was driving. Get your guests in a studio!!!

It would’ve been nice if you explained the new format for Davis Cup. You make the assumption we, the listener, already know. I still don’t know how it’s going to work. This was similar to the Ryan Harrison podcast

The Tennis podcast is great, and this is also good. Wertheim sometimes is a bit more blunt than you expect, but he really is into tennis ... good guests and interesting commentary.

Jon, How many (men’s) matches in the last 10 years have spilled over 30 games total in the final set at these events? I don’t know, but I’d hazard a guess that it’s under 20, out of roughly 3,690 matches, which is one half of one percent. What bothers me about this particular debate is we are talking about world class athletes. Athletes who know full well the format of play they are playing at these events. There is a finish line, it’s called break serve and hold and the match is over. I heard you and Jamie say that the Anderson v. Isner fifth set wasn’t about the Tennis...I remind you that Boris Becker had often been quoted about the fifth set not being about the tennis, but about which player wants the victory more. I realize I’m paraphrasing here, but the general concept is clear. They train for this. Now the fact that John Isner has been invoked in two notable extended Advantage sets is no fluke. His serve is powerful, accurate, very reliable and often bounces out of opponents hitting zone. Anyway, love the podcast.

Love listening to this show on my way to work. Particularly perspectives from the lesser known players and non players (but avid fans). Maybe recommendation when possible on tennis movies, books and essays?

Jon is the Terry Gross of tennis interviews. Gets great guests and asks smart questions.

This podcast is my water cooler talk with friends who share my passion for tennis, right down to the smallest details. I live, breathe, think pro tennis, yet am not a player myself. Jon and Jamie chat weekly about the topics I want to know about-considering I follow the sport via media and not chatting with players at the club. Jamie asks, with good reason, to rate the podcast. This is how podcasts get noticed. For some unknown reason- the option to review just popped up on my phone. Happy to oblige. 5 stars. Great commentary from legends to journeymen. Please, interview Lindsay Davenport on her iPod playlist! And keep up the great work.

I love the interviews Jon gets for the podcast. It’s a great way to learn more about the rising stars as well as compelling interviews with the coaches, media, and legends. I recommend listening to the end, Producer Jamie Lisanti’s recap, questions, and analysis are spot on and a thoughtful way to close each episode.

If you’re a tennis geek, you want to get into the weeds and learn as much as possible about the sport. BYB is one of my two favorite podcasts on the game that helps me do just that. Jon Wertheim and producer Jamie Lisanti bring in great guests, from players to commentators to famous fans of the sport. Jon Wertheim is a solid interviewer and one of the best thinkers in tennis. Strokes of Genius, his book on Federer and Nadal, and their brilliant 2008 battle at Wimbledon is a must read, btw. I’m really glad Jamie Lisanti is getting some on-air time on the podcast. She’s smart and thoughtful. Highly recommended!

I love this podcast! John always leads intelligent and insightful interviews. John and Jamie’s wrap up at the end is a smart addition and rounds out the show nicely. I only wish the show was more frequent. I would listen to this daily if it was available.

Great podcast for the tennis fan that moves beyond the results of the week and more examines Tennis culture and newsmakers. Jon W is one the more thoughtful sportscasters out there. He really understands the past, current and future zeitgeist incredibly well and asks questions built upon that foundation. Why is this so serious, it’s a fun podcast.

Love the guests and questions. How about Jimmy Connors, Jim Courier or Jimmy Arias as a guest. Or all 3 Jimmeys

John Wertheim brings a wide variety of guests to interview. He asks exciting and varied questions. He probes and gets lots of inside info. Jamie is new to the sport and is fun to hear her opinions as well. Sometimes he should offer a bit more exposition for some listeners who might not be familiar with famous incidents in the sport. Go listen to all episodes!

I’ve enjoyed every episode (listened to all of them!). Great for tennis fans and sports fans alike.

Wertheim interviews interesting guests. I especially enjoy his interviews with non-tennis athletes who have an interest in tennis. I always enjoy his thoughtful opinions on the game. Recent podcasts featuring his producer have been welcome additions. I like the banter and alternative opinions.

Solid podcast, hands down best tennis podcast. Appreciate Jon’s tennis insights and especially love reports before, during, and after the majors.

Always an enjoyable listen.

So glad that the smartest man in sports loves tennis so much. Well done Jon

Excellent interviews, insider information, and analysts. Thank you Jon!

Only issue: This was hard to find. Tag it better? I'd heard about it, but when I searched tennis podcasts and then SI podcasts it was not in either results.