Just Slap Tennis

We decided that we are going to start posting our Tracksuit Rundown on other platforms, not just YouTube. These are weekly episode where we discuss the most notable tennis current events. In this week's Tracksuit Rundown: 0:00 - Intro 1:19 - Miami Open Recap 9:21 - Estoril Open Drama 16:45 - Monte-Carlo Masters Predictions 27:49 - Point of the Week JOIN OUR DISCORD: https://discord.gg/kKm7KbC5Wy Links To Just Slap Tennis Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justslappodcast/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7w5zXroZIXThPJMpxHmEjM For business inquiries please email: contact@justslaptennis.com

In this episode Alex sits down with the #1 ranked Junior (ITF) tennis player in the world, Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez. This episode was filmed during the Eddie Herr International Championships at IMG Academy, which was Rodrigo's last junior tournament of his career before fully transitioning to the ATP tour (pro circuit). In this episode we discussed: 0:00 - Intro 1:06 - Eddie Herr International Championships 2:54 - Hobbies and Free Time 6:05 - Next Steps 6:53 - Playing Top ATP Pros 8:11 - Areas of Development and Strengths 10:44 - Enjoying Tennis 11:24 - Being at the Forefront of Mexican Tennis JOIN OUR DISCORD: https://discord.gg/kKm7KbC5Wy Links To Just Slap Tennis Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justslappodcast/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzwDSZkBACxU0cTSP0_OKzQ For business inquiries please email: contact@justslaptennis.com

In this episode Alex sits down with Margie Zesigner -- head of Girls/Women's Tennis at IMG Academy. In this episode, Margie and Alex discuss: 0:00 - Intro 3:40 - Purpose Through Coaching 8:27 - How to Ensure Athletes Develop Holistically 11:00 - Advice on dealing with early success and pressure 24:38 - Practice vs Competition Players 28:00 - The Importance of a Team in Tennis 31:35 - The Most Impressive WTA Player.... 39:00 - The Future of IMG Women's Tennis JOIN OUR DISCORD: https://discord.gg/kKm7KbC5Wy Links To Just Slap Tennis Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justslappodcast/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzwDSZkBACxU0cTSP0_OKzQ For business inquiries please email: contact@justslaptennis.com

In this 50th episode special, Steven and Alex sit down and talk to the brilliant Katrina Adams. Katrina tells us her story from the very beginning. She recounts how she began tennis in West Chicago and the lessons she learned as she moved up through high school, college, and into the pros. After her pro career Katrina maintained her love and passion for the game and helped build up the sport off of the court. She was appointed as CEO, President and Chairman of the USTA and made history by becoming the first African American, youngest ever, and first individual to be appointed for two terms in the organization's history. Finally, we discuss Katrina's current focuses, which include being the Executive Director of the Harlem Junior Tennis & Education Program and her recent book, Own the Arena. Huge thank you to Katrina for her time and for sharing her wisdom and experiences with us. We hope you enjoy! YOU CAN PURCHASE OWN THE ARENA HERE: https://www.amazon.com/Own-Arena-Match-Points-Winning/dp/0062936824 https://www.harpercollins.com/products/own-the-arena-katrina-m-adams?variant=39342110113826 JOIN OUR DISCORD: https://discord.gg/kKm7KbC5Wy Links To Just Slap Tennis Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justslappodcast/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/justslappodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Just-Slap-Tennis-109994734919454 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7w5zXroZIXThPJMpxHmEjM For business inquiries please email: contact@justslaptennis.com

In this episode Alex sits down with former #24 in the world, American tennis player -- Christina McHale. Christina discusses her recent retirement and her plans moving forward now that she has stepped away from the pro tour. She discusses her current endeavors and her interest in tennis media. Alex and Christina also delve into Christina's tennis career, where Christina provided insight into what it was like being a top rank pro tennis player on tour. She recounted some of her major matches, such as her 2016 battle against Serena Williams at Wimbledon, and tells us about how she would handle the different pressures and challenges of being a pro athlete traveling the world. A huge thank you to Christina for coming on the podcast. We hope you enjoy the episode! Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 2:48 - Post Retirement Plans 11:20 - Christina's Tennis Career 17:30 - Playing Serena Williams at Wimbledon 21:28 - Navigating Pressure and Challenges as a Pro 25:05 - Tennis Finances 32:50 - Coaching in Pro Tennis 36:20 - Building Relationships While on Tour 43:45 - Personality Traits Developed Through Tennis 49:30 - Dealing with Hate on Social Media CHRISTINA MCHALE SOCIAL MEDIA: Instagram: @christina_mchale Instagram link: https://www.instagram.com/christina_mchale/?hl=en BECOME A MEMBER AND GET ACCESS TO SPECIAL PERKS: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzwDSZkBACxU0cTSP0_OKzQ/join JOIN OUR DISCORD: https://discord.gg/kKm7KbC5Wy Links To Just Slap Tennis Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justslappodcast/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/justslappodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Just-Slap-Tennis-109994734919454 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7w5zXroZIXThPJMpxHmEjM SONG USED FOR INTRO: "Warm Feelings" -- Kevatta For business inquiries please email: justslapbusiness@gmail.com

In this episode Steven and Alex sat down with the brilliant Dr. Ioonna Felix. Dr. Felix is a board certified sports and orthopedic physical therapist. She has experience as Site Manager at Hospital for Special Surgery (having led multiple clinical teams and rehabilitative/performance services) and has recently been brought on as Regional Director for the Eastern Section USTA.  Dr. Felix delves into some of the most common tennis injuries both professional and amateur tennis players face throughout their tennis careers. Discussing common injuries like the tennis elbow, she provides insight into how tennis players can avoid such common injuries and what players should do in order to properly rehabilitate the injury once it's there. Dr. Felix also delves into how tennis has shifted from a physical performance and injury prevention perspective. She explains how top players like Novak Djokovic are able to maintain such high performance at an older age and remain relatively injury free.  BECOME A MEMBER AND GET ACCESS TO SPECIAL PERKS: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzwDSZkBACxU0cTSP0_OKzQ/join JOIN OUR DISCORD: https://discord.gg/kKm7KbC5Wy Links To Just Slap Tennis Social Media:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justslappodcast/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/justslappodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Just-Slap-Tennis-109994734919454 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7w5zXroZIXThPJMpxHmEjM For business inquiries please email: justslapbusiness@gmail.com

Happy New Year everyone!! In this episode, Steven and Alex sit down and discuss Alex's experience playing tennis with John  McEnroe. Alex and Steven also discuss the recent Roger Federer Wimbledon story and the passing of tennis legend, Nick Bollettieri.  JOIN OUR DISCORD: https://discord.gg/kKm7KbC5Wy Links To Just Slap Tennis Social Media:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justslappodcast/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/justslappodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Just-Slap-Tennis-109994734919454 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7w5zXroZIXThPJMpxHmEjM For business inquiries please email: justslapbusiness@gmail.com

In this episode, Steven and Alex sit down with former junior #1 and University of Pennsylvania graduate, Dima Shatalin. Dima and Alex knew each other since a very young age and grew up training at the same academy. Dima excelled at the sport as soon as he picked up a racquet and quickly became on of the best junior tennis players in the world. At only 12 years old he signed a 3-year deal with Nike, receiving thousands of dollars and free gear. He has played and beaten some of the top players that we see today on tour (e.g. Tsitsipas). Dima talks about his journey as a top junior tennis player and describes some of his experiences with pros who are now in the top 10. He tells us about his struggles with injuries and how that impacted his tennis career early on. Dima has a unique perspective on tennis because of his incredible experiences, so he sheds light on the mental aspect of the sport and what it takes to be a top player.  JOIN OUR DISCORD: https://discord.gg/kKm7KbC5Wy Links To Just Slap Tennis Social Media:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justslappodcast/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/justslappodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Just-Slap-Tennis-109994734919454 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7w5zXroZIXThPJMpxHmEjM For business inquiries please email: justslapbusiness@gmail.com

Hope you guys enjoy this first live Just Slap Podcast episode. We hope to do more of these in the future. In this episode we are took a deep dive into Wimbledon 2022 and all major events that happened in the last three weeks.  Topics discussed:  1. Rybakina wins Wimbledon... Russian achievement?  2. Kyrgios vs Tsitsipas drama  3. Fritz lucky loser? 4. Kyrgios-Djokovic bromance  5. Lleyton Hewitt Hall of Fame Induction  Links To Just Slap Tennis Social Media:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justslappodcast/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/justslappodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Just-Slap-Tennis-109994734919454 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7w5zXroZIXThPJMpxHmEjM For business inquiries please email: justslapbusiness@gmail.com

In this episode Steven and Alex sit down with former ATP ranked 21 in the world, Taylor Dent. Taylor tells what it was like growing up in an extremely athletically gifted and successful family and how being the son of professional tennis players (Grand Slam champion and finalist) set the tone for his approach to tennis from a very young age. Taylor delves into his professional career and journey as a pro, explaining some of the developments he made in his game along the way. He reveals the toughest players he has faced on tour and how he adapted to the many ways the sport was involving throughout his career. Lastly, Taylor delves into his transition into coaching and gives us insight into what building his own academy and tennis club -- the Birch Racquet and Lawn Club -- was like.  Timestamps: 0:00 - intro 02:05 - growing up in a tennis household 08:55 - record for fastest serve at Wimbledon 14:05 - toughest opponent on tour 15:40 - how is tennis evolving 18:30 - who is the next big name? 21:00 - deciding to open up an academy 28:45 - style of coaching 31:50 - is college tennis good for American tennis? 35:34 - playing at the Olympics 39:07 - rapid fire questions Links To Just Slap Tennis Social Media:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justslappodcast/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/justslappodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Just-Slap-Tennis-109994734919454 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7w5zXroZIXThPJMpxHmEjM For business inquiries please email: justslapbusiness@gmail.com

In this episode Steven and Alex sit down with Princeton University Men's Tennis coach, Billy Pate. Billy has been involved in college tennis for 27 years, which included two years as an assistant coach at Notre Dame and ten years as a head coach at University of Alabama.  In the episode Coach Pate tells Steven and Alex how he got involved in college tennis and why he didn't fall in love with the job right away. He talks about recruiting for Princeton Univeristy and how it is different from recruiting for other Division 1 schools. Lastly, coach Pate discusses the direction college tennis is heading in and gives young aspiring college tennis players advice on their journey ahead. Links To Just Slap Tennis Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justslappodcast/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/justslappodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Just-Slap-Tennis-109994734919454 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7w5zXroZIXThPJMpxHmEjM  For business inquiries please email: justslapbusiness@gmail.com

In this episode Steven and Alex sit down with former #33 ATP ranked player in the world, Alex Bogomolov Jr. Alex first talks about his introduction to the sport and what it was like being coached by his father, who was one of the best coaches in the Soviet Union having coached top players in the world like Kafelnikov and Medvedev. Alex then goes into talking about the beginning of his pro career and how he was deciding to go between college and pro. He describes the ups and downs of his career and how during his journey to the top  there were a few times when he believed he wasn't going to make it. Lastly, Alex tells us plenty of stories about his life on tour and gives us insight into what really happened when people weren't on the court. Links To Just Slap Tennis Social Media:   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justslappodcast/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/justslappodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Just-Slap-Tennis-109994734919454 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7w5zXroZIXThPJMpxHmEjM For business inquiries please email: justslapbusiness@gmail.com

In this episode Steven and Alex talk about the recent misbehavior that has been happening on court the past few tournaments. They specifically talk about Nick Kyrgios getting fined at Indian Wells and Miami Open, compare it to the Sascha Zverev situation in Acapulco, and discuss whether or not Kyrgios' Miami Open fine was appropriate.   Steven and Alex also talk about Iga Swiatek's current dominance, Ashleigh Barty retiring on top, and Carlos Alcaraz winning his first Masters 1000 title. Steven brings up the question of whether or not Carlos Alcaraz is the new Rafael Nadal and they both imagine what would happen if Rafael Nadal decided to coach Alcaraz. Links To Social Media:   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justslappodcast/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/justslappodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Just-Slap-Tennis-109994734919454 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7w5zXroZIXThPJMpxHmEjM  For business inquiries please email: justslapbusiness@gmail.com