Tennis Weekly

It was a big day for Carlos Alcaraz and Elina Svitolina in Melbourne where both made their first ever Australian Open semifinals. Alcaraz produced a dominant display to defeat home hope Alex de Minaur in straight sets as Svitolina upset No.3 seed Coco Gauff in just 59 minutes. Alcaraz is still on track to become the youngest man to complete the career grand slam should he win on Sunday and based on his form his semifinal opponent Alexander Zverev will have to produce the performance of a lifetime to prevent the Spaniard from making another grand slam final. Zverev won his semifinal mainly thanks to his impeccable service display hitting 24 aces and 1 double fault to down next gen player Learner Tien in 4 sets. Svitolina will go on to face Sabalenka who dismantled 18 year old Iva Jovic in straight sets in sweltering conditions in Melbourne. Sabalenka has now made the semis or better at the last 8 grand slams and 14 of the last 17.

Chris and Kim also talk tennis’ bad boy Nick Kyrgios who was spotted partying on two consecutive nights before his AO Mixed Doubles Round 2 loss with Leylah Fernandez. They question if it is time for Tennis Australia’s support of Nick to stop after such a display. Also up for discussion is player privacy after Coco Gauff was filmed smashing a racket after her semifinal loss and made it clear she felt there was not somewhere private apart from the locker room for the players to go.

Finally they give a collect-a-set update where three players are still in the running to win the official AO cap thanks to our sponsor AO Travel & Experiences.

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Australian Open 2026 rolls on and Tennis Weekly is back with Joel and Chris for your Day 9 recap. On the men’s side, Jannik Sinner delivered a serving masterclass in Melbourne, firing 19 aces and reminding everyone why he’s the man to beat as he sets up a mouth-watering Australian Open quarterfinal against Ben Shelton. Can Shelton’s crowd-surfing energy and net-rushing chaos trouble the ice-cold Italian? Lorenzo Musetti also cruised past Taylor Fritz in straight sets to complete a full set of Grand Slam quarterfinals. Is he cementing himself as a bonafide Top 5 player on the tour? We’re asking the question — and previewing what awaits against a well-rested Novak Djokovic (just don’t look at H2H Musetti fans).

Over on the women’s draw, Iga Swiatek makes light work of Maddison Inglis… but not without sparking a full-blown scheduling debate behind the scenes as her day match request was denied. We ask the question - should players be able to dictate when they play? We also look ahead to Iga Swiatek vs Elena Rybakina in one of the standout quarterfinals of Australian Open 2026. Plus: Jessica Pegula knocks out defending champion Madison Keys (and wins an apple pie with cheddar bet), Juan Carlos Ferrero takes up golf coaching (because why not), and we preview a brutally hot Day 10 in Melbourne.

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We are getting to the business end of the Australian Open and Day 8 brought statement wins for the top Men’s seeds with Alcaraz, Zverev and de Minaur winning in emphatic style. Particularly impressive was home hope Alex de Minaur who took out his Roland-Garros conqueror Alexander Bublik in style, winning emphatically 6-4 6-1 6-1. The big question on Australia’s lips is can he do the impossible and take out World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals to make his first slam semi. Also causing a shock in a rematch from last year was Next Gen favourite Learner Tien who bageled Daniil Medvedev as he made it to his first quarter-final and as the youngest since 2015 to do it at Melbourne Park..

On the women’s side Coco Gauff rallied past tricky customer Karolina Muchova to make another quarterfinal in Australia where she will face off against veteran of the game Elina Svitolina who got the better of Mirra Andreeva in the night session, Svitolina has gone 9-0 in 2026 after ending her season following her first round defeat at the US Open last year. In the first match on Rod Laver, Sabalenka won her 20th consecutive tiebreak at grand slam level to oust teenage sensation Mboko but will have to do it again when she takes on another teen sensation Iva Jovic in the last 8.

The team are also joined by their by David MacCallum, Director & General Manager of STH Group, the company responsible for all things AO Travel and Experiences. He joins the pod to tell Chris and our listeners more about their exciting offering and how you can secure the best AO Experience for 2027.

AO Travel & Experiences
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It was a scorcher in Melbourne and Tennis Weekly is back to break down one of the most dramatic days of the Australian Open so far. From heat rules and lucky escapes to shock withdrawals and eyebrow-raising scheduling decisions, there was much to discuss for Joel and Chris.

On the men’s side, Jannik Sinner flirted with disaster as cramping threatened to derail his campaign, before the heat rule – and a timely roof closure – gave him a lifeline. Wimbledon déjà vu, anyone? Novak Djokovic hit a major milestone with his 400th Grand Slam win, but not without controversy, as another reckless ball strike narrowly missed a ball kid. We also say goodbye to Stan Wawrinka at Melbourne Park and ask the big question: are we all seriously underestimating Ben Shelton’s decent form?

Over on the women’s draw, Iga Swiatek survived a wild, three-breadstick rollercoaster. Naomi Osaka’s injury withdrawal sends shockwaves, while the awkward Madison Keys vs Jessica Pegula clash comes with an apple pie and cheese forfeit twist with Joel and Chris debating just exactly would it taste any good?!. Plus, we preview Day 8 and question why Sabalenka vs Mboko isn’t under the lights on Rod Laver Arena.

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Day 6 in Melbourne didn’t disappoint with Carlos Alcaraz entertaining the crowds with magician in the making Coretin Moutet and Daniil Medvedev becoming the first player this year to win from 2 sets to 0 down to set up a mouthwatering rematch against his 2025 conqueror Learner Tien. Aussie home hope Alex de Minaur continued to impress as he took out Frances Tiafoe in the night session but will face a tougher test against in the battle of the Alexanders when he plays Bublik in Round 4.

On the women’s side Iva Jovic got the biggest win of her career when she took out Jasmine Paolini to make her first fourth round and fellow teenagers Mirra Andreeva and Victoria Mboko will join her in the second week in Melbourne. Trying to stop the rise of the teenager will be Aryan Sabalenka who faces Mboko in a mouthwatering clash of experience vs youth. She had a tough time against Potopova but survived in two tight tiebreak sets to progress. Also less than convincing was Coco Gauff who rallied to defeat countrywoman Hailey Baptiste in three sets.

Also on the discussion table are the soaring temperatures expected in Australia on Saturday and the change in schedule to move matches forward. Joel and Chris discuss if this is the right move and if it is fair for all the players…

AO Travel & Experiences
Learn more and book your tickets through AO Travel & Experiences at ausopentravel.com

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Purchase Tennis Weekly Merch through our Etsy store including limited edition designs by Krippa Design where all proceeds go towards the podcast so we can keep doing what we do!

REVIEWS

***Please take a moment to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your pods. It really means a lot to us at HQ and helps make it easier for new listeners to discover us. Thanks!***
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