Tennis Asia Podcast

Eddie and Lia review the performance of the Asian players at the Qatar Open, including the return of Chinese star Qinwen Zheng from injury. Also discussed are Elena Rybakina, Alex Eala, and Janice Tjen, as well as the resurgent Thai player, Sawangkaew.

Eddie and Alastair run through Tennis Asia's Top 5 men of the year. Who made the cut and who just missed out? Watch and listen to find out!

Eddie and Alastair review a great end to the year for rising Indonesian star, Janice Tjen, who won her first WTA singles title in Chennai, and even won the doubles title alongside compatriot Aldila Sutjiadi. It was very much a fitting end to a remarkable year for the Jakarta native. Thailand's Lanlana Tararudee and Taiwanese player Joanna Garland also impressed with semifinal runs. Elsewhere Alex Eala finished off her season in Hong Kong with an exciting loss to eventual champion Victoria Mboko, and Coleman Wong came up short at the Seoul Challenger with a loss to Japanese player Sho Shimabukuro. Alastair offers some interesting and at times amusing insights into what was a very successful tournament in Seoul!Also discussed are the remaining ATP Challenger Tour events coming up, including those as far afield as Pakistan and Bahrain!

Eddie and Alastair discuss the US Open men's single draw, particularly the prospects for the Asian players such as Coleman Wong, Bu Yunchaokete, Jerry Shang, Alexander Bublik and Shintaro Mochizuki.

Eddie and Alastair host a special edition of Tennis Asia Podcast focusing on 23-year-old Janice Tjen from Indonesia. After graduating from Pepperdine University in the US, Janice went professional in June last year when she had no WTA singles ranking. Incredibly, a little over a year later, she's just entered the world's top 150, becoming just the third Indonesia player to do so. Not only that, she has made the qualifying draw for the 2025 US Open, giving her a chance of qualifying for her first major tournament and following in the footsteps of Indonesian tennis legend, former world no. 19 Yayuk Basuki.

Eddie and Alastair preview the men's and women's draws for the upcoming 2025 French Open. How will the Asian players do? Will Zheng Qinwen repeat the performance in Paris from the Olympics last year? Will Naomi Osaka go on a run? Can Alex Eala get a win on her slam debut? And does Kei Nishikori have any chance against Carlos Alcaraz?

Eddie and Alastair review a remarkable Miami Open from a Tennis Asia perspective. Alex Eala, the 19-year-old from the Philippines, more than justified her wild card by going all the way to the semifinals. She beat three slam winners in Ostapenko, Keys and Swiatek in straight sets, making history for her country and sending her flying up to no. 75 in the WTA rankings.Coleman Wong of Hong Kong also made his history of his own by winning his first-round match in Miami and then beating no. 13 seed Ben Shelton in a remarkable match. Meanwhile, on the ITF Tour, the former world no. 19, Chung Hyeon, won his third title of 2025, propelling him back into the world's top 500 for the first time in almost 3 years. Could we see him back at the top level again?

On Episode 24 of the Tennis Asia Podcast, we review a very successful week for three teenage players on the professional circuit, namely 15-year-old Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi and 17-year-old Manas Dhamne, both from India, and 17-year-old Wakana Sonobe of Japan. Maaya, who recently joined the Rafa Nadal Academy, came through qualifying to reach the semifinals of the WTA 125 event in Mumbai, while Manas Dhamne won his first professional title, becoming the second youngest Indian male to do so. Indian tennis journalist, Haresh Ramchandani, was at the event in Mumbai and he joined Eddie to give us the lowdown on these talented prospects as well as Indian tennis as a whole. Meanwhile, Sonobe qualified for the WTA 500 event in Abu Dhabi and won her first-round match, just after lifting the girls singles trophy at the Australian Open. The future of Asian tennis is looking bright!

It's episode 22 of the Tennis Asia Podcast, and we cover an eventful week and a half, including the ATP tournament in Hong Kong where Kei Nishikori made his first final in 6 years, Jerry Shang retiring due to illness, Hyeon Chung winning his first title since 2019, Naomi Osaka making the final in Auckland but sadly retiring, Aoi Ito winning her first WTA 125 title only to come up short in Melbourne, and a look ahead to the Davis Cup ties featuring Japan, Korea and Chinese Taipei.

Tennis Asia Podcast gives the rundown of our top 10 players from Asia in the 2024 season, featuring men and women from the singles and doubles circuits. Who will make the top 10 and who just missed out? Listen/watch to find out!

-Zheng Qinwen finishes runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka but puts in an excellent performance. It turned out to be enough for her to qualify for the WTA Finals in Riyadh, making her the second Chinese player to do so after Li Na. -Meanwhile, Japanese youngster Aoi Ito qualifies for Osaka and reaches the quarterfinals with excellent performances over Kenin and Cocciaretto. -Also discussed are WTA Ningbo, ATP Almaty, as well as upcoming ATP Challenger events in Asia.

Episode 16: It was a superb week for Chinese tennis as Bu Yunchaokete became the first Chinese man to reach the semifinals of the China Open in Beijing, with big wins over Musetti and Rublev. Alcaraz and Sinner played a superb final. -Zhang Shuai remarkably reached the quarterfinals after ending her 24-match losing streak. Zheng Qinwen is also in the quarters. -Kei Nishikori made the quarters in Tokyo but loses out to Rune. And some disappointment for Naomi Osaka. -A look ahead at Shanghai Masters. Jerry Shang vs Alcaraz awaits. -WTA 125 in Hong Kong and Challenger roundup.