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Hey guys, welcome to What's the 
Call? 

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The podcast where sports meets 
side eye. 

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We're here to breakdown the 
matches, the meltdowns and the 

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moments that make us pause and 
say, what was that call? 

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I'm Theo, I'm Andrea, and we're 
glad you're here. 

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Whether you're sports obsessed 
or just here for the drama, 

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there's a seat for you 
courtside. 

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So let's dive in. 
We've got a guest today who has 

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been everywhere in tennis media,
covering every major on the 

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calendar, doing on court 
interviews, commentary, 

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features, social content and Co 
hosting the Love All podcast 

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alongside Kim Kleister's. 
She genuinely understands how 

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tennis media works from the 
inside, and she's not afraid to 

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talk about it. 
Blair Henley, welcome to What's 

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the Call? 
Oh. 

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My gosh, thank you for having 
me. 

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I feel like the sound of your 
voice was just like so great. 

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I feel like I'm in the movie 
theater. 

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Thank you for having me on the 
podcast. 

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Thank. 
You. 

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That's a huge compliment. 
OK, so before we get into 

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everything, I just want to hear 
about your origin story. 

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How you know your goal in the 
tennis media landscape came to 

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be? 
I usually describe it mostly as 

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just the hand of God because I 
never could have predicted that 

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I would have ended up doing what
I do now. 

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I started off writing about 
tennis sort of on a whim. 

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My husband was playing 
professional baseball at the 

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time, and we moved 16 times in 
about 3 years. 

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And so it was very hard to have 
a normal job. 

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I sort of taught tennis 
everywhere we went, but, you 

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know, it was everything was very
temporary. 

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And so I thought to myself, even
though I had no actual formal 

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training -1 newspaper writing 
class in college, it's like this

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is my chance to start writing, 
doing tennis, writing if I want 

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to. 
I was doing it for free. 

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I remember in one of the first 
tournaments I ever covered in 

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Delray Beach, I had a seasoned 
reporter who, in the middle of 

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the very small press room, kind 
of chewed me out for writing for

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free. 
And I think that's one of the 

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tough things when you're first 
starting and trying to make a 

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name for yourself for a lot of 
whether it's, you know, 

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podcasters, journalists, 
sometimes you have to take a 

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little bit of a risk and put 
yourself out there. 

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And you might not be making the 
big bucks off the bat, but you 

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have to somehow find a way to 
get your foot in the door. 

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And I understood her point of 
view. 

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I get it. 
If you're being paid to write 

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and somebody else is doing it 
for free, that's not good for 

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the economies of scale. 
But regardless, her point was 

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taken. 
But I felt like that's what I 

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had to do to get get some 
experience. 

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And so I was doing some tennis 
reporting from home. 

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I would watch matches and write 
match reports. 

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And that was sort of what 
started things for me. 

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And then when my husband 
finished playing baseball, he 

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had to go finish school. 
And so I'm thinking, you know, 

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what the heck am I going to do? 
Because we didn't know where he 

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was going to end up. 
And there was a tennis website 

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that was actually based in 
Houston called Tennis Now. 

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And they brought me on and they 
had a pretty significant YouTube

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following. 
They still do today. 

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And so they had a, a studio. 
I was able to get my feet wet 

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doing things in front of the 
camera, which I always love. 

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Like I love being in plays as a 
kid. 

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I, I like sort of the 
performance aspect of it. 

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And so again, they, to their 
credit, sort of allowed me to 

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cover whatever I wanted to 
cover. 

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And really the ball started to 
get rolling in 20. 

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Let's see was it 20/13/2014 when
I applied for Wimbledon 

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credentials thinking no shot in 
a million years and they 

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approved little old tennis now 
FERC media credentials at 

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Wimbledon. 
And so I went to my boss and I 

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was like hey, so I did a thing I
applied for us to get Wimbledon 

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credentials and somehow they 
said yes. 

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And again, to my boss's credit, 
he found a way to get me there. 

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And that's one of the coolest 
things about tennis, I think 

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still to this day is once you 
sort of meet, you know, people 

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in different pockets of the 
industry, it's such a small 

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world. 
So, you know, I still keep in 

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touch with some of the people 
that I met in that media room. 

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And then again, one thing led to
another. 

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I was doing this stuff on 
YouTube for tennis Now and then 

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in 2015 at the US Open. 
They were real desperate for an 

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MC on court 17 which is still to
this day one of my favorite 

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stadiums. 
I assume you've been to the US 

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Open I've been to. 
The US Open I can't say I 

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remember Court 17, but. 
Fair enough. 

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Well, I do feel like at some 
point in the future, Court 17 is

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destined to be renamed after 
someone for something because 

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Court 17, you're like, where is 
that? 

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In the parking lot? 
Like where is Court 17? 

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But it's a really cute like 3500
seat stadium and they needed 

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NMCI was also the DJI played the
music I and and never forget. 

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It was my first my first again. 
I was doing everything for the 

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first time. 
I had no supervision. 

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I am so thankful to them in 
hindsight that they trusted me 

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to do this because it was the 
best way to learn. 

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I had no idea what I was doing, 
but I had to figure it out 

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because it was a televised 
court. 

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We had everything was on TV, but
never forget Fergus Murphy, who 

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I know and love at this stage of
my career, a really well known 

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chair umpire who from his chair 
yelled over at me, sitting like 

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I sat out in the open air. 
I sat in this one little sliver 

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of shade on Court 17 with my 
little iPod that I he would turn

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up and down. 
And he's like, can you please 

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with his, you know, Irish 
accent, can you Please wait till

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I call the score to turn on the 
music? 

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Like when I tell you I had no 
idea what I was doing. 

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But again, it was the best 
possible way to learn. 

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And that's kind of how I got my 
feet wet in the MC world. 

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And live hosting, which I found 
is so different from anything 

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you do in a studio. 
I think live hosting is just 

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really a skill set in and of 
itself. 

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I've had to really work at that 
part of things because just 

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trying to engage a live crowd is
so much different than doing 

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something in a studio. 
So I've had a lot of work to do.

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Thankfully. 
Hopefully none of that is on 

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camera. 
The encore stuff that I did at 

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the very beginning back in 2015,
but I think I've come a long way

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so. 
I feel like, yeah, the sort of 

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live and seeing, you know, it 
must be so different because you

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have to read the energy from the
crowd as well, and also the 

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energy from the player, like you
have to think on your feet. 

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Yes, I think that was one of the
first things I learned was that 

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sometimes you pause and you 
expect a response from the crowd

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and they don't always give it. 
And if you pause and there's no 

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response, it's real awkward. 
And so one thing that I've sort 

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of, again, developed in my style
over the years is doing less 

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pausing unless I am asking 
directly for a response. 

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All right, you know, I have one 
more question left to ask all of

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you. 
Are we ready for some tennis 

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today? 
And it's like a direct request 

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for energy from the crowd. 
I don't expect the crowd to give

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me energy because there is 
nothing worse than being like, 

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who's ready for some tennis 
today? 

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And it's like crickets. 
So again, these are things you 

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don't know until you try them 
and until you're out there 

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feeling really uncomfortable. 
So you just sort of, I think 

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everybody develops their own 
personal style. 

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And so did you have a moment 
where you know, early days where

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you're like, wow, this is 
something that I can do 

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professionally, like I. 
I hoped I could do it 

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professionally after I had that 
initial opportunity. 

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And thanks to my boss at the US 
Open, who's still my boss at the

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US Open? 
Michael Fiore. 

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He's the director of 
entertainment for giving me a 

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shot when I had very little on 
paper to prove that I could do 

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it. 
After I did that first US Open, 

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I absolutely thought to myself, 
yes, please, this is the dream. 

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I loved this, you know, so much 
to be able to be involved in the

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tennis world. 
I mean, I grew up playing my 

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dad's director of tennis at a 
club, just retired finally at 

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what, 71 or two, finally called 
it a day. 

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But still, again, you know, I 
spent most of my childhood at 

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the tennis courts and played 
college tennis in the US. 

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And to be able to work in tennis
when it again, it is so small, 

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which it's one of the great 
things and also one of the 

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frustrating things about it. 
I was so thankful for that. 

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And then I was thinking, OK, how
am I going to turn this into 

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more? 
And so huge credit to some of 

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the events like Delray Beach 
that hired me again with very 

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little on my resume. 
Newport, who I still work for 

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today. 
I would do anything for that 

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team. 
You know, I, I am so thankful to

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the people who helped me along 
the way, who said yes along the 

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way. 
And that's why I try, you know, 

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now not, not to say that I have 
that that power, certainly not 

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at this point in my career. 
But I have a lot of respect for 

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people who are trying to do 
something a little bit 

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different. 
And I always try to support that

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and encourage that if I can, 
because I know what it feels 

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like to be the new kid. 
Thank. 

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You so much for coming on 
because Theo and I, you know, 

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we've been lifelong tennis fans 
and we decided like, why don't 

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we start this podcast from the 
perspective of a tennis fan fan.

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Yeah. 
But it's so great to hear from 

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you because I feel like, you 
know, you. 

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It feels like a journey that 
maybe you didn't expect to be 

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on, but now it's, you know, 
like, you're such a force. 

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And, yeah, like the tennis 
meeting. 

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Queue That's such a nice way to 
describe it. 

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I, I don't know that I feel that
way. 

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I still think that's the one 
thing about freelancing is that 

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you never really feel like 
you've made it because you might

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have this job this week, but are
you going to have that job that 

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week next year? 
Who's to say you have no idea? 

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You have no idea if if 
somebody's going to decide to go

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in a different direction or 
listen, as a female in this 

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industry, I'm also very aware 
that I have a shelf life and I 

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know at some point they're not 
going to want me to be on camera

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anymore. 
Like I, I like to think I have a

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few more years, but I as a 
result, I put in the work to do 

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a lot more commentary over the 
past few years because I wanted 

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to make sure that was sort of an
area of my resume that I had 

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done less and I wanted to make 
sure I had that skill set as 

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well. 
So there were, you know, no 

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holes in the resume. 
So and in part because I have to

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make sure I don't have all my 
eggs in the on court hosting 

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basket because what happens if 
something changes or or you 

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know, I don't know, maybe 
tournaments aside, they don't 

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need that anymore. 
You have no idea. 

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And so there's constantly a 
feeling of maybe not being as 

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settled as I might like. 
And I try to, I try to remind 

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myself how important contentment
is and just enjoying the day. 

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But the reality of being a 
freelancer is you always have to

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be reminding people like, hey, 
I'm here, don't forget about me.

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What are you thinking for next 
year? 

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And and that could be that that 
could be exhausting. 

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It's good and bad. 
It it keep keeps you on your 

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toes. 
But sometimes you're like, oh 

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man, I wish I could take a deep 
breath, you know? 

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Yeah, totally. 
And I feel like also tennis is 

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changing so much and media and 
social media and, you know, the 

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place that tennis is like taking
and the sports in general like 

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is, is, is really, I think sort 
of an inflection point. 

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Absolutely. 
I mean, when I first started, it

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was sort of at the very 
beginning of the social media 

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and tournaments having a social 
media presence. 

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It was it was sort of at the 
very beginning of that wave. 

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And you know, in Delray Beach, 
for instance, they let me do a 

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Mario Kart segment with Stevie 
Johnson, who at the time looked 

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like Luigi, Jordan Thompson, who
looks like Mario and and Yoshi 

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00:12:00,480 --> 00:12:05,240
Nishioka, who was Yoshi. 
And and I'm like, I would like 

225
00:12:05,240 --> 00:12:07,880
to do this like Mario Kart. 
And we have our three 

226
00:12:07,880 --> 00:12:10,960
characters. 
I had like full like headgear 

227
00:12:10,960 --> 00:12:16,160
costumes, the white gloves. 
I like commandeered a golf cart 

228
00:12:16,160 --> 00:12:18,880
from the city of Delray Beach 
offices. 

229
00:12:19,520 --> 00:12:22,760
I made I, I got cones from the 
Police Department, so they would

230
00:12:22,760 --> 00:12:24,520
have to like weave in and out of
these cones. 

231
00:12:24,760 --> 00:12:29,200
All of this to say, I from the 
very beginning loved the idea of

232
00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:32,920
showcasing players in a way that
people hadn't seen before. 

233
00:12:32,920 --> 00:12:36,560
And now it's it happens. 
Now, not not only is every 

234
00:12:36,560 --> 00:12:39,040
tournament doing it, but the 
tours are doing it. 

235
00:12:39,040 --> 00:12:42,920
You have overtime, who's in the 
mix, podcasts in the mix. 

236
00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:45,360
It's, it's all we see now, which
I think is great. 

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00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:49,760
I think, you know, I, I always 
say that you can really love how

238
00:12:49,760 --> 00:12:53,720
somebody hits a forehand or a 
backhand, but most people are 

239
00:12:53,720 --> 00:12:57,120
going to decide who their 
favorites are for reasons other 

240
00:12:57,120 --> 00:13:00,000
than how they hit a forehand. 
It's going to be because of 

241
00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:03,600
their personality or because of 
where they're from or because 

242
00:13:04,040 --> 00:13:07,120
they saw some funny clip and 
thought they were hilarious. 

243
00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:09,480
You know, it's, that's the sort 
of stuff that really endears 

244
00:13:09,480 --> 00:13:13,200
people to a player for life. 
And so thinking that I could 

245
00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:17,040
help portray that, especially in
the early days was so much fun. 

246
00:13:17,040 --> 00:13:19,120
And now it now it's a thing. 
Now everybody does it. 

247
00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:22,800
But at the beginning, people 
looked at me like I was bananas 

248
00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:26,160
for some of the stuff that I 
wanted to do 'cause I'm like, 

249
00:13:26,160 --> 00:13:28,560
listen, I mean, the worst they 
can say is no. 

250
00:13:28,560 --> 00:13:31,480
That's kind of my, my life motto
is the worst they can say is no.

251
00:13:31,480 --> 00:13:34,160
I'm gonna ask. 
Amazing. 

252
00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:36,960
I feel like yeah, those are my 
favorite clips, like fun clips 

253
00:13:36,960 --> 00:13:40,360
from tournaments. 
I was watching the prank now at 

254
00:13:40,360 --> 00:13:47,040
the room open where they kind of
accidentally drop like a 3000 

255
00:13:47,040 --> 00:13:51,120
year old heirloom or yeah, and 
it's and the players reactions 

256
00:13:51,120 --> 00:13:53,520
are incredible. 
Yeah, that's that's by far my 

257
00:13:53,520 --> 00:13:55,800
favorite content. 
I I think about tennis when I 

258
00:13:55,800 --> 00:13:58,080
was younger and it was a 
different, totally different 

259
00:13:58,080 --> 00:14:01,320
world. 
It felt like, yeah, much more 

260
00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:06,480
serious, like, like there is a, 
you know, like you had to be 

261
00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:10,400
like a very baby, an older, more
knowledgeable fan. 

262
00:14:10,400 --> 00:14:12,520
It was not like the statistics 
and that, you know, there's not 

263
00:14:12,520 --> 00:14:16,520
as much like fun around, 
especially the sport and the 

264
00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:17,960
media around this part. 
Yeah. 

265
00:14:18,360 --> 00:14:19,400
And that and that's really. 
Cheap. 

266
00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:21,840
Yeah. 
I mean, at Indian Wells this 

267
00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:27,040
year, the ATP brought me in to 
do a a few of these segments 

268
00:14:27,040 --> 00:14:29,360
that they were calling courtside
confessions where we were 

269
00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:31,440
literally, and we were just kind
of walking around. 

270
00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:33,440
Most of the time it was that 
green space or walking in 

271
00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:37,200
circles. 
And they said, listen, don't 

272
00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:39,040
talk about tennis. 
You know, you can sort of talk 

273
00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:41,160
about tennis adjacent things, 
but we don't want to know the 

274
00:14:41,160 --> 00:14:43,720
nuts and bolts. 
Go for the personality. 

275
00:14:44,320 --> 00:14:47,560
Would I have? 
If you had told me 10 years ago 

276
00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:53,800
that one day I would be on an 
ATP social channel asking Zizu 

277
00:14:53,800 --> 00:14:58,720
Bergs about twerking, I would 
have thought you were crazy. 

278
00:14:58,960 --> 00:15:02,600
So it's really come such a long 
way, even with the tours 'cause 

279
00:15:02,600 --> 00:15:07,000
there is a time where where that
was sort of seen as maybe not 

280
00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:11,680
fit for, you know, the, the 
prestige of one of the tours. 

281
00:15:11,680 --> 00:15:14,200
But the fact that they've 
realized that that's the kind 

282
00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:17,120
kind of thing that really 
resonates with, I mean, who does

283
00:15:17,280 --> 00:15:19,440
who doesn't like to see a tennis
player try to twerk? 

284
00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:23,520
But that it it just resonates 
with the wide audience. 

285
00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:26,600
They still have the highlights 
for people who are just 

286
00:15:26,600 --> 00:15:29,160
interested in the tennis. 
But I think it's nice to have 

287
00:15:29,520 --> 00:15:31,120
both sides because I'm a tennis 
star too. 

288
00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:34,720
Like I like the tennis nuts and 
bolts as well, But I just think 

289
00:15:34,720 --> 00:15:38,280
the fun stuff is a great time. 
And so I love that that the 

290
00:15:38,280 --> 00:15:40,440
tours are are in on the fun as 
well. 

291
00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:43,840
Definitely. 
And so for your anchor 

292
00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:49,000
interviews where you know it's a
close match you've prepared, but

293
00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:51,280
you don't know what the final 
result will be like, what's 

294
00:15:51,320 --> 00:15:53,640
what's going through your mind 
in that moment and how do you 

295
00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:57,360
approach that? 
Well, spare a thought for the 

296
00:15:57,360 --> 00:16:00,360
matches that go to seven, six 
and the third or seven, five and

297
00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:03,360
the third or six, four and the 
3rd when you because that 

298
00:16:03,520 --> 00:16:08,320
usually means that I, at least 
for me that I have rethought the

299
00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:11,840
questions about 7 different 
times because the narrative of 

300
00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:14,360
the match has likely changed 
several times. 

301
00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:17,560
So, so definitely the the tight 
matches in the third are the 

302
00:16:17,560 --> 00:16:21,320
most labor intensive. 
Like if I have a day where, you 

303
00:16:21,320 --> 00:16:25,600
know, usually kind of my process
is after the first set is over, 

304
00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:30,000
I start to think about a plan A 
for what I want my questions to 

305
00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:32,360
be. 
So I always go in with a plan A 

306
00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:37,640
I am so say it's a, you know, 
straight set match my plan AI go

307
00:16:37,640 --> 00:16:39,960
in with. 
But now at this point in my 

308
00:16:39,960 --> 00:16:44,520
career, if the player gives an 
answer to the first question 

309
00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:49,000
that opens a door to talk about 
something completely different 

310
00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:52,760
than I was originally planning, 
I will walk through that door. 

311
00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:55,920
There was a time where, you 
know, at the very beginning, Oh 

312
00:16:55,920 --> 00:16:59,280
my gosh, it was petrifying 
walking out there where I was 

313
00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:01,800
like nothing was diverting me 
for my plan A. 

314
00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:04,839
Like they could have said, I saw
an alien last night and I've 

315
00:17:04,839 --> 00:17:07,200
been like, OK, and what's your 
plan after the match? 

316
00:17:07,200 --> 00:17:10,000
How are we warming down? 
So I used to be much more 

317
00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:12,400
robotic. 
And I think the more you do it. 

318
00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:16,839
And I think when I've observed 
the best interviewers, they 

319
00:17:16,839 --> 00:17:20,040
listen to the answer instead of 
just sort of automatically 

320
00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:21,880
thinking about what they're 
going to ask next. 

321
00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:24,599
They listen to what the player 
says or whatever, whoever the 

322
00:17:24,599 --> 00:17:29,600
subjects might be, and they they
go based off of what the answer 

323
00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:30,880
is. 
And so I think the best 

324
00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:34,520
interviewers do that. 
And I have tried myself to do 

325
00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:37,680
that as much as I can. 
Obviously it's tough because 

326
00:17:37,680 --> 00:17:42,440
often times you're working with 
TV and you don't have 8 minutes 

327
00:17:42,440 --> 00:17:44,760
to work with, you know, not Jim 
Courier. 

328
00:17:44,760 --> 00:17:48,120
I love when the Australian Open 
gives Jim like a straight up 

329
00:17:48,120 --> 00:17:54,880
talk show on Rod Laver Arena. 
That's amazing and he does the 

330
00:17:54,880 --> 00:17:58,280
most with that. 
But most of the time we do not 

331
00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:01,200
have that luxury to sort of 
let's just see where it takes 

332
00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:02,880
us. 
Let's just dive in and, and 

333
00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:05,040
follow along with where the 
player wants to go. 

334
00:18:05,960 --> 00:18:08,600
Yeah, the the time, the time is 
hard, but that's sort of my 

335
00:18:08,600 --> 00:18:10,680
process. 
I go in with my plan A and then 

336
00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:13,920
we we see where it takes us. 
And I feel like I can always 

337
00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:16,920
tell when an interviewer is like
trusting their own instincts and

338
00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:20,240
not, you know, not to up here, 
but just like exactly as you 

339
00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:22,920
said, like really listening to 
what the player is is saying. 

340
00:18:23,640 --> 00:18:26,400
And So what do you do when a 
player isn't doesn't really give

341
00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:30,080
you that much to work with? 
It's tough. 

342
00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:37,480
I, I feel like often times the 
only fix for that is time and 

343
00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:41,640
more doing more interviews with 
that player, spending more time,

344
00:18:41,640 --> 00:18:45,080
you know, seeing that player in 
player dining. 

345
00:18:45,080 --> 00:18:48,080
For instance, I'll, I'll give 
you an example like Alejandro 

346
00:18:48,080 --> 00:18:53,480
Davidovich Vukina, such a 
colorful player, such a fun 

347
00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:58,480
personality, doesn't give a ton 
in the post match interview. 

348
00:18:58,480 --> 00:19:01,280
I have such respect for players 
who are speaking in their 

349
00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:04,960
second, sometimes third language
in those post match interviews. 

350
00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:11,320
So that also is difficult for 
for players for sure, But I in 

351
00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:15,240
knowing what his personality is 
like and in wanting the crowd to

352
00:19:15,240 --> 00:19:18,760
see that as well. 
Like I if he's playing games 

353
00:19:18,760 --> 00:19:22,080
with his team in player dining, 
like in Dallas this year, I just

354
00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:25,680
walked right up, asked him what 
they were playing, asked who was

355
00:19:25,680 --> 00:19:29,560
winning at, you know, again, 
just trying to essentially 

356
00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:33,960
relationship build so that there
is when you get out on a court, 

357
00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:36,440
which can be depending on the 
player's personality and 

358
00:19:36,440 --> 00:19:39,800
intimidating place to be, 
You're, you're, you know, in a 

359
00:19:39,800 --> 00:19:42,320
stadium, eyeballs are on you. 
Sometimes there's an echo. 

360
00:19:42,600 --> 00:19:45,960
Sometimes, like at the US Open, 
people aren't paying attention. 

361
00:19:46,240 --> 00:19:49,840
So sometimes you can hear like 
the buzz of the crowd and you're

362
00:19:49,840 --> 00:19:51,440
like, is anybody hearing what 
I'm saying? 

363
00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:54,840
Maybe not, but you have the TV 
audience as well. 

364
00:19:54,840 --> 00:19:58,480
And so having the relationship 
with the player and building the

365
00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:03,280
trust can often help. 
Pull a little bit more out from 

366
00:20:03,280 --> 00:20:07,080
the players who maybe aren't as 
comfortable in the post match 

367
00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:09,640
interviews. 
And so sometimes I just have to,

368
00:20:09,680 --> 00:20:11,880
I kind of take it as a personal 
challenge. 

369
00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:16,080
If there's a player, I'm like, 
well, we got 10 words today out 

370
00:20:16,080 --> 00:20:19,720
of three questions. 
But again, sometimes it's their 

371
00:20:19,720 --> 00:20:23,560
comfortability levels, sometimes
it's their comfortability with 

372
00:20:23,560 --> 00:20:26,960
English, and sometimes it's a 
personal thing. 

373
00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:30,440
And so I do my best to make them
feel as comfortable as possible,

374
00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:33,200
even if it's off court, to sort 
of build that relationship. 

375
00:20:34,640 --> 00:20:35,920
Amazing. 
Yeah, because that was one of 

376
00:20:35,920 --> 00:20:38,320
my, one of the questions I 
wanted to ask you is like your 

377
00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:40,680
relationship with Francis Tiafo 
and a lot of the American 

378
00:20:40,680 --> 00:20:43,760
players is very well documented 
and sort of like, you know, and 

379
00:20:43,760 --> 00:20:45,720
you've answered this, but like 
how important is that 

380
00:20:45,720 --> 00:20:50,120
relationship to you? 
And at the same time, I know 

381
00:20:50,120 --> 00:20:52,600
that you are now commentating as
well. 

382
00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:56,280
How do you sort of like, manage 
that relationship while still 

383
00:20:56,280 --> 00:21:00,040
being, you know, like an 
objective, not wanting to say 

384
00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:03,280
something that might hurt them 
or offend them in some way 

385
00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:07,760
because inevitably that might 
happen. 

386
00:21:08,360 --> 00:21:13,040
Yeah, I've actually talked to 
Chris Eubanks about this because

387
00:21:13,040 --> 00:21:15,880
he obviously, I mean, he has 
this to the NTH degree. 

388
00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:19,360
He's he's much closer with many 
of those players than than I am.

389
00:21:19,360 --> 00:21:22,000
And, and I like to think I have 
good relationships with many of 

390
00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:24,000
them. 
But when you go from being a 

391
00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:27,400
player to being a commentator, 
and I think it is sometimes a 

392
00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:31,280
tough line to straddle because 
the viewers appreciate honesty. 

393
00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:34,440
They appreciate the ability to 
to deliver the facts. 

394
00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:39,880
And I think I think that really 
is the key right, is sticking to

395
00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:43,960
the facts and not editorializing
too much. 

396
00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:48,000
And if anything, to me, it 
should be a bonus because you 

397
00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:51,000
can give the facts on what 
you're seeing on the court, but 

398
00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:53,440
you also have the added context 
of knowing what their 

399
00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:57,000
personality is like, potentially
knowing what their coach's 

400
00:21:57,000 --> 00:21:59,280
personality is like or what 
they've been working on on the 

401
00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:01,600
practice courts. 
I think it's a net positive. 

402
00:22:01,600 --> 00:22:03,800
I guess is, is probably what I 
would say about that because 

403
00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:07,080
there's so much context you can 
give by having those 

404
00:22:07,320 --> 00:22:10,160
relationships that and, and I 
think the players also 

405
00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:13,400
understand that we have a job to
do even in a post match 

406
00:22:13,400 --> 00:22:16,640
interview. 
If I, you know, if a player 

407
00:22:17,080 --> 00:22:21,600
demolishes A racket and that was
a a key turning point in the 

408
00:22:21,600 --> 00:22:24,200
match or something like that, 
and you know, say they still won

409
00:22:24,200 --> 00:22:28,320
the match, I will probably ask 
about that moment. 

410
00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:30,200
And I think that they 
understand. 

411
00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:32,600
I think a lot of it's in the 
phrasing, but for the most part 

412
00:22:32,600 --> 00:22:35,920
they get that we also have a job
to do like. 

413
00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:38,520
Does that happen often where 
there are players and you see 

414
00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:41,080
them like in the tournaments and
in the dining rooms and, you 

415
00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:43,800
know, like they're, yeah, 
they're totally different to how

416
00:22:43,800 --> 00:22:46,480
they're portrayed on camera and 
on even on board? 

417
00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:50,520
I, I like to, if I can, I like 
to give specific examples and, 

418
00:22:50,520 --> 00:22:54,280
and a player who I've seen have 
a ton of growth over the past 

419
00:22:54,280 --> 00:22:59,400
year is Haley Baptiste, who is 
definitely on the Shire side, 

420
00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:04,240
maybe wasn't as comfortable with
the media side of things and now

421
00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:07,240
has had results where she's had 
to become more comfortable with 

422
00:23:07,240 --> 00:23:09,840
the media side. 
And I have found that sometimes 

423
00:23:09,840 --> 00:23:14,400
players are more or less 
comfortable in certain settings,

424
00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:17,280
like a studio can be very 
intimidating. 

425
00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:20,520
You have all these lights, you 
have all these cameras, you have

426
00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:23,760
a literal spotlight on you on 
the desk. 

427
00:23:24,120 --> 00:23:27,080
She was not as comfortable with 
that in Australia. 

428
00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:32,760
We then Kim Kleisters and I for 
our podcast, we talked to her 

429
00:23:33,120 --> 00:23:38,200
just last week and in that 
podcast context, she was 

430
00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:41,840
unbelievable and was able to 
show sort of the personality 

431
00:23:41,840 --> 00:23:45,920
that I've seen from her behind 
the scenes because she is so 

432
00:23:46,280 --> 00:23:49,680
funny and quick witted and she's
a good storyteller. 

433
00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:53,280
And so I think a lot of it is 
just reps for the players 

434
00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:57,680
getting used to that, especially
if your personality is not, you 

435
00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:00,960
know, Francis Tiafo level 
extrovert. 

436
00:24:01,240 --> 00:24:04,560
If if you are not a Francis 
Tiafo extrovert, you are 

437
00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:06,840
probably going to have to get 
used to that. 

438
00:24:06,840 --> 00:24:10,960
Like you see it in, you know, 
Eva Jovic, who has, has done a 

439
00:24:10,960 --> 00:24:15,120
ton of media in the last year 
and I think it's excellent at 

440
00:24:15,120 --> 00:24:20,000
it, but has has had to sort of 
get used to what that's like 

441
00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:22,800
and, and what the questions are.
And the fact that honestly, I 

442
00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:25,880
think probably the best advice I
would give any player going into

443
00:24:25,880 --> 00:24:29,800
an interview is you can answer 
any question you want. 

444
00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:32,960
I could ask you, you know, 
what's the color of the sky? 

445
00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:36,160
And you could say, well, 
actually, you know, I just loved

446
00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:39,880
how soft the grass felt on my 
feet earlier today. 

447
00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:43,160
Like you can take it in any 
direction that you want. 

448
00:24:43,160 --> 00:24:47,200
So media training, I love 
watching and listening to 

449
00:24:47,200 --> 00:24:49,480
interviews early on in a 
player's career where you can 

450
00:24:49,480 --> 00:24:51,800
tell that maybe they haven't had
as much media training and 

451
00:24:51,800 --> 00:24:53,680
they're a bit more candid in 
them. 

452
00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:56,760
But at the same time, you I 
sometimes think like, Oh my God,

453
00:24:56,760 --> 00:24:58,960
someone should be telling them, 
you know, like maybe this isn't 

454
00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:01,240
the most considerate thing to 
say right now. 

455
00:25:01,240 --> 00:25:04,200
So it's like there's a balance 
between, like, being overly 

456
00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:07,560
media trained but also being 
authentic and real and, yeah, 

457
00:25:07,600 --> 00:25:10,800
connecting to, you know, you're 
listening to the public, yeah. 

458
00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:18,560
And also realizing that being 
personable and relatable and 

459
00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:22,360
saying yes to some of the things
that might seem silly on the 

460
00:25:22,360 --> 00:25:25,400
surface, but that are actually 
relatable because that's what 

461
00:25:25,400 --> 00:25:27,080
everybody's watching on social 
media. 

462
00:25:27,920 --> 00:25:30,960
It can mean actual dollars for 
players. 

463
00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:33,720
That that sometimes is what 
makes me scratch my head. 

464
00:25:33,760 --> 00:25:37,160
You know, again, with maybe some
of the players who are less 

465
00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:40,880
forthcoming with their 
personality, I'm like this. 

466
00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:43,880
This could mean actual dollars 
for you. 

467
00:25:43,880 --> 00:25:48,080
And, and again, not that it's 
all about money, but make hay 

468
00:25:48,080 --> 00:25:50,560
while the sun shines would be my
philosophy. 

469
00:25:50,560 --> 00:25:55,560
And and again, you can't make a 
player be something they're not,

470
00:25:55,560 --> 00:26:00,480
but being able to sort of lift 
the lid a little bit on maybe 

471
00:26:00,480 --> 00:26:04,520
sort of the on court demeanor 
is, is so incredibly valuable, 

472
00:26:04,520 --> 00:26:07,240
especially if you're not a top, 
top player. 

473
00:26:07,240 --> 00:26:11,480
Like I think about a player like
Zhizu Bergs who I hope will be a

474
00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:13,480
top tenner. 
I was, I was literally just 

475
00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:16,040
thinking of him as you said, 
that it was like, yeah. 

476
00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:21,000
But he, I mean, thanks to his 
personality and the fact that he

477
00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:25,720
has, has been really authentic 
on many different platforms. 

478
00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:31,240
He, you know, is the one 
producing the, the prank video 

479
00:26:31,240 --> 00:26:35,280
that, that featured every one of
the top players on the AGP and 

480
00:26:35,280 --> 00:26:39,760
WTA tours. 
So I, I feel like there's value 

481
00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:41,400
for a player. 
And again, you don't want to 

482
00:26:41,400 --> 00:26:45,400
expose yourself too much if you 
are not an open person. 

483
00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:48,240
You don't want to talk like I, 
I, I get all of that. 

484
00:26:48,240 --> 00:26:50,200
I just think there's a way to do
both. 

485
00:26:50,240 --> 00:26:53,560
I don't think you have to bury 
your soul, but I do think there 

486
00:26:53,560 --> 00:26:57,440
are little bits that you can 
give interviewers, outlets, 

487
00:26:57,440 --> 00:27:02,200
social media, fans on the court 
that can increase the value of 

488
00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:04,560
your personal brand. 
Definitely. 

489
00:27:05,320 --> 00:27:08,600
So who's your favorite player to
interview? 

490
00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:11,720
Oh gosh, my favorite player to 
interview. 

491
00:27:11,720 --> 00:27:17,440
I mean, probably my all time 
favorite is Raj good old, good 

492
00:27:17,440 --> 00:27:25,040
old Rodger Federer. 
He he is truly a Unicorn in that

493
00:27:25,680 --> 00:27:27,480
he just understands the 
assignment. 

494
00:27:27,480 --> 00:27:29,960
And Andy Murray was also like 
this. 

495
00:27:30,480 --> 00:27:33,520
There are there are several, I 
mean Novak, Novak as well, But 

496
00:27:33,880 --> 00:27:36,400
they understand what you're 
trying to get. 

497
00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:41,480
Even if even if you're bad at 
delivering the question, Rodger 

498
00:27:41,480 --> 00:27:45,840
knows what you want his answer 
to be and he can provide that. 

499
00:27:45,840 --> 00:27:48,280
And he's going to give you 
personal anecdotes and he's 

500
00:27:48,280 --> 00:27:51,080
going to give you specifics, 
which is one thing that I would 

501
00:27:51,080 --> 00:27:54,640
also always sort of advise a 
player to do if you can give 

502
00:27:54,640 --> 00:27:58,720
specifics, because a lot of 
athletes talk in generalities 

503
00:27:58,720 --> 00:28:01,920
and that's sort of the cliche 
stuff that can get boring and 

504
00:28:01,920 --> 00:28:03,800
wrote. 
It's like he's got an anecdote 

505
00:28:03,800 --> 00:28:07,360
on call for every question he 
gets, but he's, he's just 

506
00:28:07,840 --> 00:28:10,960
excellent in that way. 
And the last time I got to talk 

507
00:28:10,960 --> 00:28:14,640
to him was a couple years ago 
for a Wilson event in New York. 

508
00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:20,880
And at the end, like, I never 
take pictures with, we almost 

509
00:28:20,880 --> 00:28:24,000
never take pictures with people 
I, I interview unless somebody's

510
00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:26,560
like get in a picture just 
'cause I always feel 

511
00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:29,240
uncomfortable doing that. 
And somebody at this Wilson 

512
00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:31,040
event said Blair, you know, get 
in. 

513
00:28:31,040 --> 00:28:32,960
I was like, no, no, no. 
And then Rodgers, like, come on 

514
00:28:32,960 --> 00:28:35,040
in. 
So I was like, OK, OK, fine. 

515
00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:38,920
Rodgers says it's OK. 
And so I said, you know, we had 

516
00:28:38,920 --> 00:28:41,440
just finished this pretty Lang. 
I mean, it's like a good 15 

517
00:28:41,440 --> 00:28:44,360
minute Q&A. 
And I said, Rodger, I don't even

518
00:28:44,360 --> 00:28:46,880
have to be good at my job when 
I'm talking to you. 

519
00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:48,760
And he's like, I feel the same 
way. 

520
00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:52,520
I was like, thanks Raj. 
Charming, charming man. 

521
00:28:52,840 --> 00:28:57,240
But he just has a way of making 
you feel like you are the only 

522
00:28:57,240 --> 00:29:02,840
person in the room, which is, is
really truly the opposite of I 

523
00:29:02,840 --> 00:29:06,040
think so many famous people in 
general where you always feel 

524
00:29:06,040 --> 00:29:08,680
like they sort of have one eye 
on the door or one eye on the 

525
00:29:08,680 --> 00:29:11,560
clock. 
I, I think it's, it's so unusual

526
00:29:11,560 --> 00:29:15,760
to have someone who is really 
just present in the moment, even

527
00:29:15,760 --> 00:29:18,000
though, you know, they know what
time it is. 

528
00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:22,360
So you just learn to really 
appreciate that Grigor Dimitrov 

529
00:29:22,360 --> 00:29:27,000
is another one who always is so 
present and, and in the moment 

530
00:29:27,600 --> 00:29:31,800
and just kind and gregarious 
and, and fantastic. 

531
00:29:31,800 --> 00:29:35,280
There are a lot on the women's 
side who I enjoy it. 

532
00:29:35,280 --> 00:29:38,800
It's rare to have someone who 
I'm like, gosh, not them. 

533
00:29:38,800 --> 00:29:41,040
Again, that's a that's a rare 
feeling. 

534
00:29:41,720 --> 00:29:43,040
But do you? 
Do you have? 

535
00:29:43,080 --> 00:29:46,240
You don't have to say who, but. 
There are a few where I'm like, 

536
00:29:46,600 --> 00:29:52,160
I could take this or leave it, 
Yeah, but I do, as you know, I 

537
00:29:52,160 --> 00:29:54,520
don't know, maybe this is my 
background as a, you know, a 

538
00:29:54,520 --> 00:29:58,720
former college athlete. 
But I'm competitive and so I 

539
00:29:58,720 --> 00:30:03,720
want to be the one who gets a 
good clip with XY or Z player 

540
00:30:03,720 --> 00:30:06,360
who is notoriously tough to get 
a good clip with. 

541
00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:08,320
You know, I'm like, I want to 
get the sound bite. 

542
00:30:08,320 --> 00:30:11,800
So there is a little bit of a 
challenge involved in that, like

543
00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:15,800
how can I word it so that we can
get the good stuff. 

544
00:30:15,800 --> 00:30:19,280
So I like the challenge, but 
it's nice to have the ones who 

545
00:30:19,280 --> 00:30:21,680
are just really lovely mixed in 
as well. 

546
00:30:22,040 --> 00:30:24,240
Yeah, so easy. 
There's a lot of psychology 

547
00:30:24,240 --> 00:30:27,000
important as well, like reading 
the person and. 

548
00:30:27,240 --> 00:30:31,240
Yes and knowing you know, 
there's there's one player who 

549
00:30:31,240 --> 00:30:37,600
comes to mind who I really tend 
to be very complimentary off the

550
00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:42,880
top when I interview this person
because that is the way this 

551
00:30:42,880 --> 00:30:45,400
person likes. 
It is not something I do a ton 

552
00:30:45,400 --> 00:30:46,840
of. 
I don't ever want to seem 

553
00:30:47,440 --> 00:30:51,200
obsequious in any way. 
I want it to seem authentic. 

554
00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:55,640
But if I know that I can get a 
better answer if I am very 

555
00:30:55,640 --> 00:30:58,360
complimentary out of the gates, 
I'm going to be very 

556
00:30:58,360 --> 00:31:01,320
complimentary out of the gates. 
Yeah, I know that's, that's, 

557
00:31:01,320 --> 00:31:04,680
that's so interesting because I 
feel like I for me, what I love 

558
00:31:04,680 --> 00:31:06,720
about tennis is that it is an 
individual sport. 

559
00:31:06,720 --> 00:31:08,880
I love knowing like the 
different personalities and 

560
00:31:08,880 --> 00:31:10,720
getting to know these individual
players. 

561
00:31:10,720 --> 00:31:13,880
It's it's it's so fun. 
And a part of that is the encore

562
00:31:14,080 --> 00:31:15,960
interview. 
It's a huge part actually, 

563
00:31:15,960 --> 00:31:18,040
because I feel like you don't 
really watch the press 

564
00:31:18,040 --> 00:31:20,240
conferences, but the encore 
interviews you do. 

565
00:31:20,600 --> 00:31:23,560
Yeah, this is my Ted talk to 
anyone who will listen. 

566
00:31:23,560 --> 00:31:29,800
Is I, I feel like it's easy to 
sort of phone in the post match 

567
00:31:29,800 --> 00:31:34,520
interview, there are some very 
general questions you can ask 

568
00:31:34,560 --> 00:31:38,480
and you can check that box and 
you move on to the next match. 

569
00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:43,120
For a lot of people, that is the
only time they hear from a 

570
00:31:43,120 --> 00:31:45,960
tennis player is, is in that on 
court interview. 

571
00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:50,000
And so I am, I'm thinking, OK, 
if this is their only chance to 

572
00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:56,560
hear, you know, how great Matteo
Baratini is, I want to give them

573
00:31:56,560 --> 00:32:00,880
the opportunity with the the 
most thoughtful questions I can 

574
00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:02,720
provide. 
That's going to give as much 

575
00:32:02,720 --> 00:32:05,920
about their actual tennis and 
their personality as I can. 

576
00:32:07,800 --> 00:32:10,320
And so I guess it's like going 
back to my question about, you 

577
00:32:10,320 --> 00:32:13,720
know, like seeing the players in
real life, not just during 

578
00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:17,000
tennis matches and on court. 
Has there ever been a time where

579
00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:19,320
you've where a player has said 
something to you off court? 

580
00:32:19,360 --> 00:32:22,720
You're like, Oh my God, like, oh
wow, this is like really 

581
00:32:22,720 --> 00:32:25,360
changing my perspective on you 
and who you are as a person. 

582
00:32:25,400 --> 00:32:29,960
Yeah, well, sort of along those 
lines, I actually have an 

583
00:32:29,960 --> 00:32:35,840
example for you in Dallas. 
I was out on a practice court. 

584
00:32:35,840 --> 00:32:40,040
Ben Shelton had just finished 
practicing and for whatever 

585
00:32:40,040 --> 00:32:42,480
reason, nobody on his team was 
out there. 

586
00:32:42,560 --> 00:32:44,440
Whoever, I don't even remember 
who he was practicing with. 

587
00:32:44,440 --> 00:32:46,320
They had left the court. 
He was just chilling on the 

588
00:32:46,320 --> 00:32:50,440
bench. 
And I went out just to say hi, 

589
00:32:50,440 --> 00:32:52,480
see how he was doing catch up on
life. 

590
00:32:52,880 --> 00:32:54,800
You know, I'm a question asker 
in general. 

591
00:32:54,800 --> 00:33:00,160
And he happened to tell me that 
he had just bought a house. 

592
00:33:00,520 --> 00:33:05,360
And I that was obviously a 
private conversation. 

593
00:33:05,520 --> 00:33:08,560
And I was thinking though for 
like a last question in a post 

594
00:33:08,560 --> 00:33:13,000
match interview asking him about
being a homeowner and how much 

595
00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:16,440
input he had on that and how 
much, how much he's decorating, 

596
00:33:16,440 --> 00:33:18,440
that sort of thing. 
Would be a fun sort of last 

597
00:33:18,680 --> 00:33:21,360
question that's relatable to 
anyone even if you know nothing 

598
00:33:21,360 --> 00:33:26,320
about tennis. 
But I asked him off mic, hey, 

599
00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:29,080
can I ask you about this? 
Because it was again, a private 

600
00:33:29,080 --> 00:33:32,760
conversation. 
And so I, yes, sometimes you do 

601
00:33:32,760 --> 00:33:35,760
get those Nuggets or whether 
it's a look inside a player's 

602
00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:39,120
personality off the court. 
But I always ask or make sure I 

603
00:33:39,120 --> 00:33:42,880
have permission before I bring 
that up in a, a public setting. 

604
00:33:42,880 --> 00:33:45,960
Like, you know, Barbara 
Krechikova is, you know, someone

605
00:33:45,960 --> 00:33:47,680
I would consider a friend of 
mine. 

606
00:33:47,680 --> 00:33:51,000
I obviously probably know more 
about her than than a lot of 

607
00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:52,640
other players. 
But there are a lot of those 

608
00:33:52,640 --> 00:33:55,400
things that I would, before I 
ever brought it up in an 

609
00:33:55,400 --> 00:33:59,800
interview, I would say, hey, can
I talk about XY or Z? 

610
00:33:59,800 --> 00:34:04,760
And my hope is that that builds 
trust as well to where they feel

611
00:34:04,760 --> 00:34:10,320
more comfortable, that you can 
see more of the the genuine 

612
00:34:10,320 --> 00:34:13,080
personality off the court. 
Yeah, I know, definitely. 

613
00:34:13,080 --> 00:34:16,320
And I feel like, you know, these
are, at the end of the day, like

614
00:34:16,320 --> 00:34:19,679
professional athletes. 
They're not people who are in it

615
00:34:20,040 --> 00:34:23,040
necessarily to be in the public 
eye, but they are in the public 

616
00:34:23,040 --> 00:34:24,679
eyes. 
And that can be a huge part of 

617
00:34:24,679 --> 00:34:26,400
their brand and a huge part of 
their success. 

618
00:34:26,400 --> 00:34:31,840
And so I think that is like a 
big part of being a successful 

619
00:34:31,840 --> 00:34:35,719
tennis player, especially now in
growing the sport and growing 

620
00:34:35,719 --> 00:34:39,040
visibility as well so. 
Yeah, when you think back to 

621
00:34:39,040 --> 00:34:44,560
like what Billie Jean King was 
doing, you know, 50 plus years 

622
00:34:44,560 --> 00:34:49,480
ago and how she saw that sort of
thing, you know, putting 

623
00:34:49,480 --> 00:34:52,679
yourself out there as growing 
the sport. 

624
00:34:52,960 --> 00:34:55,679
Now, listen, thankfully women's 
sentence is in a position today.

625
00:34:56,040 --> 00:34:59,080
Believe me, women's sentence has
its own issues today, but but 

626
00:34:59,080 --> 00:35:01,840
it's in a different position as 
far as sort of establishing 

627
00:35:01,840 --> 00:35:06,400
where women's tennis belongs in 
the hierarchy of sport in the 

628
00:35:06,400 --> 00:35:09,480
world. 
But that sort of mentality of, 

629
00:35:09,520 --> 00:35:13,120
hey, by doing this, yes, this 
can be helpful to me, but this 

630
00:35:13,120 --> 00:35:16,800
can be helpful in growing the 
sport as well. 

631
00:35:16,800 --> 00:35:19,600
And, and there are some players 
who again really understand that

632
00:35:19,600 --> 00:35:24,560
assignment, some slightly less 
so, but by by letting people in 

633
00:35:24,560 --> 00:35:30,320
a little bit, you are marketing 
for the sport as a whole and 

634
00:35:30,320 --> 00:35:33,120
women's tennis as a whole. 
And can you think of an instance

635
00:35:33,120 --> 00:35:36,200
where you've had a question that
you've wanted to ask a player? 

636
00:35:36,960 --> 00:35:39,920
I know this might be a tough 
question, but like the right 

637
00:35:39,920 --> 00:35:42,760
moment hasn't arisen. 
Yes, I'm trying to think of a 

638
00:35:42,800 --> 00:35:46,120
specific example, but 
absolutely, yes, where I I've 

639
00:35:46,120 --> 00:35:49,960
had gosh, this is recency bias. 
It's again a Dallas open 

640
00:35:49,960 --> 00:35:56,760
example, but Trinity Rodman was 
on the sidelines for the last 

641
00:35:56,760 --> 00:36:00,040
few matches, the last couple of 
matches that Ben played there. 

642
00:36:00,040 --> 00:36:03,160
And obviously that is a huge 
story. 

643
00:36:03,160 --> 00:36:04,840
It was also around Valentine's 
Day. 

644
00:36:05,040 --> 00:36:10,320
It was also I, I knew around 
their one year anniversary. 

645
00:36:10,440 --> 00:36:13,920
So they're all these things and 
I'm like, how do I, I, I don't 

646
00:36:13,920 --> 00:36:17,560
want you never want to feel like
you're exploiting something. 

647
00:36:17,560 --> 00:36:20,760
You want it to seem authentic 
and genuine. 

648
00:36:20,760 --> 00:36:25,600
And I, I, in a perfect world, 
they would sort of take the 

649
00:36:25,600 --> 00:36:28,240
lead. 
And that is there was a question

650
00:36:28,240 --> 00:36:30,560
I wanted, I can't remember if it
was about their, their one year 

651
00:36:30,560 --> 00:36:32,120
anniversary. 
And like, can you let us like, 

652
00:36:32,320 --> 00:36:35,720
do you have any gift ideas 
again, because it was also 

653
00:36:35,720 --> 00:36:38,320
around Valentine's Day. 
So I was like, where can I go 

654
00:36:38,320 --> 00:36:40,160
with this? 
And so I have a couple of of 

655
00:36:40,320 --> 00:36:43,920
trusted friends in the industry 
who, you know, this is not the 

656
00:36:43,920 --> 00:36:46,160
first time I've done this where 
I've texted and I've been like, 

657
00:36:46,440 --> 00:36:48,800
can I ask that? 
Or if I, if I worded it this 

658
00:36:48,800 --> 00:36:52,400
way, could I go there? 
Because it's, it's a risk, 

659
00:36:52,400 --> 00:36:54,960
right? 
Ask a good question is often 

660
00:36:54,960 --> 00:36:59,680
times a risk because it can fall
flat on its face. 

661
00:36:59,680 --> 00:37:03,120
I mean, I, I will give you an 
example of that too. 

662
00:37:03,120 --> 00:37:07,200
In Miami, I was trying to think 
I had Amanda Anissimova on my 

663
00:37:07,200 --> 00:37:11,360
court like 3 or 4 days in a row.
And so I want her, she's, she 

664
00:37:11,360 --> 00:37:12,960
has to get new questions from 
me. 

665
00:37:12,960 --> 00:37:15,200
And so I'm trying to be creative
even though it's a different 

666
00:37:15,200 --> 00:37:18,520
audience, Obviously I want her 
to be getting different 

667
00:37:18,520 --> 00:37:22,240
questions. 
So I was thinking in my head 

668
00:37:22,240 --> 00:37:25,760
that it was relatable. 
She's sleeping in her own bed. 

669
00:37:25,760 --> 00:37:28,320
And I'm sure you've seen the 
social media videos. 

670
00:37:28,320 --> 00:37:31,200
Like I know they've done them 
with like hockey teams and, you 

671
00:37:31,200 --> 00:37:33,400
know, other sports teams where 
it's been like, what do you set 

672
00:37:33,400 --> 00:37:37,640
your thermostat at? 
And because again, relatable, 

673
00:37:37,640 --> 00:37:42,160
like I go into a hotel room, I'm
turning it up to like 78°F, 

674
00:37:42,160 --> 00:37:48,320
which I realize is psychotic, 
but that's I, I, I, there's, I 

675
00:37:48,320 --> 00:37:51,960
might have a circulation 
problem, but I went to ask her 

676
00:37:51,960 --> 00:37:56,200
about like what, what are your 
ideal sleep conditions? 

677
00:37:56,200 --> 00:37:59,240
And I was like, where are we 
setting the thermostat? 

678
00:37:59,240 --> 00:38:01,880
Do we have a firm mattress? 
Do we have a soft mattress? 

679
00:38:02,160 --> 00:38:04,360
Again, 'cause I'm like, 
everybody has a bed, everybody 

680
00:38:05,160 --> 00:38:07,720
has thermostat. 
And in my mind, I'm like, OK, 

681
00:38:07,720 --> 00:38:10,000
she's staying at home. 
This is going at it from a 

682
00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:13,120
slightly different angle. 
It didn't hit it. 

683
00:38:13,120 --> 00:38:17,440
It just did not, it did not hit.
She was like, oh, that's a 

684
00:38:18,120 --> 00:38:21,280
interesting question. 
It just didn't hit. 

685
00:38:21,320 --> 00:38:25,960
And so sometimes you put out the
slightly offbeat question and 

686
00:38:26,640 --> 00:38:29,000
sometimes it's like, well, that 
did not fly. 

687
00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:31,640
That did not go well. 
I mean, it wasn't a disaster, 

688
00:38:31,640 --> 00:38:35,560
but it just wasn't great. 
And so, but I think that is the 

689
00:38:35,560 --> 00:38:39,520
thing about asking the question 
that can get the good answer is 

690
00:38:39,520 --> 00:38:44,000
that that same question 
depending on the day, even if a 

691
00:38:44,000 --> 00:38:47,840
player's not in a great mood, if
they didn't maybe hear the full 

692
00:38:47,840 --> 00:38:51,280
question there, there's so many 
things that can go wrong to make

693
00:38:51,280 --> 00:38:55,800
a slightly risky question go 
from fantastic answer, sound 

694
00:38:55,800 --> 00:38:59,680
bite that goes all over social 
media and train wreck like it's 

695
00:38:59,720 --> 00:39:02,840
a very fine line. 
And do you take a different 

696
00:39:02,840 --> 00:39:04,440
approach in different 
tournaments? 

697
00:39:04,440 --> 00:39:06,840
Like 'cause I know each 
tournament has its own sort of 

698
00:39:06,840 --> 00:39:07,960
culture. 
Wimbledon. 

699
00:39:07,960 --> 00:39:09,880
Is very different to the US 
Open. 

700
00:39:09,920 --> 00:39:12,120
How does that also impact the? 
Question. 

701
00:39:12,120 --> 00:39:18,240
That's a really good question. 
I, you know, I think what, what 

702
00:39:18,240 --> 00:39:23,640
really dictates the tone for me 
is whether or not my interview 

703
00:39:23,640 --> 00:39:27,840
is televised. 
And for instance, at a 250 like 

704
00:39:27,840 --> 00:39:33,240
I did Houston in April, the US 
men's clay courts at a 250, my 

705
00:39:33,240 --> 00:39:35,000
interviews are going to the 
world feed. 

706
00:39:35,320 --> 00:39:41,040
So yes, I am catering to the 
stadium audience, but I know 

707
00:39:41,040 --> 00:39:44,960
there's a much larger audience 
watching, you know, potentially 

708
00:39:44,960 --> 00:39:48,600
on tennis TV. 
And so I am really mindful of 

709
00:39:49,000 --> 00:39:51,920
the TV audience in terms of the 
tone of my questions. 

710
00:39:51,920 --> 00:39:57,040
Like I try if I if I do anything
that's too Houston specific or 

711
00:39:57,040 --> 00:40:00,560
tournament specific, I have to 
make sure I'm giving context 

712
00:40:00,560 --> 00:40:04,320
because the person at home. 
You know, has no idea that the 

713
00:40:04,320 --> 00:40:06,920
River Oaks Country Club is known
for their excellent water 

714
00:40:06,920 --> 00:40:08,600
pressure in the men's locker 
room. 

715
00:40:08,600 --> 00:40:11,920
Like you got to give, you got to
give context on stuff like that.

716
00:40:12,320 --> 00:40:16,240
But I so, so when it's 
televised, like at the US Open, 

717
00:40:16,240 --> 00:40:19,320
those are obviously also going 
to TV. 

718
00:40:19,320 --> 00:40:22,960
And so and, and often times, 
depending on the time of day and

719
00:40:22,960 --> 00:40:26,680
also depending on the stadium, 
people are are either maybe sort

720
00:40:26,680 --> 00:40:29,560
of paying attention or maybe not
paying attention at all. 

721
00:40:29,560 --> 00:40:31,720
And so that you have to sort of 
balance as well. 

722
00:40:31,880 --> 00:40:36,640
So ATP events and people may or 
may not know this, but the ATP 

723
00:40:36,640 --> 00:40:41,040
starting at 500 tournaments or 
ATV media, excuse me, they send 

724
00:40:41,040 --> 00:40:44,480
their own reporter. 
And that is mostly for quality 

725
00:40:44,480 --> 00:40:49,680
control because there could be a
500, you know, in another 

726
00:40:49,680 --> 00:40:53,640
country somewhere who who has 
someone who's never MC before. 

727
00:40:53,640 --> 00:40:56,480
And then all of a sudden that is
what your broadcasters are 

728
00:40:56,480 --> 00:40:57,880
getting as the post match 
interview. 

729
00:40:58,200 --> 00:41:02,320
And so they send their own 
reporter to do an interview 

730
00:41:02,320 --> 00:41:06,160
after my interview, which is not
my favorite for a number of 

731
00:41:06,160 --> 00:41:08,920
reasons, mostly just because it 
cuts down on the time I can 

732
00:41:08,920 --> 00:41:11,160
take. 
I am much more rushed when I 

733
00:41:11,160 --> 00:41:14,480
know that there's at least two. 
Sometimes there's another flash 

734
00:41:14,480 --> 00:41:17,680
interview that happens on court 
before the next match can walk 

735
00:41:17,680 --> 00:41:20,960
out, which is usually 10 minutes
from handshake to walk out. 

736
00:41:21,200 --> 00:41:25,440
So you have 10 minutes for the 
on court interview, for the ATP 

737
00:41:25,440 --> 00:41:28,680
media interview and then for any
flash interviews that are on 

738
00:41:28,680 --> 00:41:31,520
court. 
And I'm always really sweating 

739
00:41:31,520 --> 00:41:34,280
because if the player takes a 
lot of time signing autographs 

740
00:41:34,280 --> 00:41:37,160
and they can't get him off the 
court, it's me, it's my 

741
00:41:37,160 --> 00:41:39,160
interview length through they're
going to be like, you got to cut

742
00:41:39,160 --> 00:41:41,640
it, Blair, your, your interview 
was too long, even if I only 

743
00:41:41,640 --> 00:41:43,960
asked three questions. 
So anyway, this is a full aside 

744
00:41:43,960 --> 00:41:46,560
that sometimes it can be more 
challenging when you have that 

745
00:41:46,600 --> 00:41:49,560
secondary interview because 
there's also another thing to 

746
00:41:49,560 --> 00:41:54,520
consider is like in the US, if 
Tennis Channel has a desk on 

747
00:41:54,520 --> 00:41:58,000
site, often times they are not 
going to take the post match 

748
00:41:58,040 --> 00:42:00,400
interview because they know that
they're going to have that 

749
00:42:00,400 --> 00:42:05,080
player at the desk later. 
And so so that's another reason 

750
00:42:05,080 --> 00:42:08,080
why if you're watching in the 
United States, why there might 

751
00:42:08,080 --> 00:42:11,520
not be a post match interview 
that's shown on the broadcast. 

752
00:42:11,560 --> 00:42:12,760
OK. 
That's good to know. 

753
00:42:12,800 --> 00:42:13,680
Yeah. 
So there you go. 

754
00:42:13,680 --> 00:42:16,400
There are a lot of lot of 
factors, a lot of factors. 

755
00:42:16,640 --> 00:42:21,760
I guess we talk a lot about like
the four Grand Slams and you 

756
00:42:21,760 --> 00:42:23,240
know, you mentioned being 
Wimbledon, U.S. 

757
00:42:23,240 --> 00:42:24,640
Open. 
Is there something that happens 

758
00:42:24,640 --> 00:42:29,320
at the at any of the Grand Slams
that may be an average viewer a 

759
00:42:29,320 --> 00:42:31,800
tennis fan doesn't get to see? 
That's a good question. 

760
00:42:31,920 --> 00:42:37,040
Just the behind the scenes vibe 
and I, I have not worked at 

761
00:42:37,040 --> 00:42:39,600
Wimbledon. 
I covered Wimbledon as a writer,

762
00:42:39,600 --> 00:42:42,920
but I've never worked for them 
in in the post match interview 

763
00:42:42,920 --> 00:42:44,840
department. 
I think I need to grow a British

764
00:42:44,840 --> 00:42:48,720
accent for that. 
Yeah, sadly, and that is not in 

765
00:42:48,720 --> 00:42:54,280
my skill set at the moment, but 
I, I feel like just the vibes 

766
00:42:54,280 --> 00:42:58,480
that the happy slam thing at the
Australian Open is real. 

767
00:42:58,800 --> 00:43:02,000
It's it's a real feeling. 
And I don't know if it's just 

768
00:43:02,000 --> 00:43:05,280
the first slam of the of the 
year or the weather or the 

769
00:43:05,280 --> 00:43:07,320
people. 
I don't know what it is, but but

770
00:43:07,320 --> 00:43:13,040
it really does feel happy and, 
and light and fun and not that 

771
00:43:13,040 --> 00:43:14,880
the US Open doesn't feel like 
that. 

772
00:43:14,880 --> 00:43:20,520
It's just very much the, the New
York mindset sort of permeates 

773
00:43:20,680 --> 00:43:22,840
the event, which again, isn't a 
bad thing. 

774
00:43:22,840 --> 00:43:26,840
I, I am half New Yorker. 
My dad was, was born in New 

775
00:43:26,840 --> 00:43:29,080
York. 
I spent half of my childhood 

776
00:43:29,080 --> 00:43:31,320
there. 
And so I like to think I have a 

777
00:43:31,320 --> 00:43:34,800
little bit of New York flood and
I like sort of the fast pace, 

778
00:43:34,800 --> 00:43:37,400
like throw bows, like fast 
walking. 

779
00:43:37,400 --> 00:43:42,520
I I like all of that, but it 
just is a, it's just a different

780
00:43:43,120 --> 00:43:45,720
vibe. 
Yeah, I think something I love 

781
00:43:45,720 --> 00:43:51,200
about tennis is the difference 
between the Slams. 

782
00:43:51,320 --> 00:43:53,240
I haven't been to the Australian
Open, but I've been to the other

783
00:43:53,240 --> 00:43:55,640
three, and they all just have 
their distinct, like, 

784
00:43:55,680 --> 00:43:58,000
atmosphere, culture. 
Totally. 

785
00:43:58,000 --> 00:44:01,360
So it's so fun. 
And I love Wimbledon, but I also

786
00:44:01,360 --> 00:44:05,640
love how relaxed and laid back 
the US Open is in that sensor. 

787
00:44:05,680 --> 00:44:06,960
Yeah. 
And then the French Open is a 

788
00:44:06,960 --> 00:44:10,960
totally different, you know. 
I love, I love Roland Garros. 

789
00:44:10,960 --> 00:44:13,880
That's it's my sleeper pick for 
my top slam. 

790
00:44:13,960 --> 00:44:15,920
Really. 
I know, I know people think I'm 

791
00:44:15,920 --> 00:44:18,880
I'm nuts for saying that. 
It, it just has a lot of 

792
00:44:18,880 --> 00:44:21,400
character. 
There's just a lot of of 

793
00:44:21,400 --> 00:44:24,520
character and I like it. 
And Wimbledon, of course, is 

794
00:44:24,520 --> 00:44:29,360
very historic in its own way, 
but but almost because it's so 

795
00:44:29,360 --> 00:44:35,480
perfectly manicured, it seems 
less historic, if that makes 

796
00:44:35,480 --> 00:44:39,360
sense, because everything is 
just so perfect. 

797
00:44:39,360 --> 00:44:43,320
And Roland Garros, I think with 
the difference in, you know, 

798
00:44:43,320 --> 00:44:46,560
what the different stadiums feel
like a really, there's a really 

799
00:44:46,560 --> 00:44:48,240
different vibe from one to the 
other. 

800
00:44:48,240 --> 00:44:51,640
I love the area sort of that 
newer area that they've built 

801
00:44:52,120 --> 00:44:56,640
where you go into the, what do 
you call it, the Lorangerie. 

802
00:44:56,960 --> 00:45:00,600
And there there's the the 
greenhouse court and you're, it 

803
00:45:00,640 --> 00:45:02,400
feels like you're walking 
through a garden and it's 

804
00:45:02,400 --> 00:45:07,160
actually built in this garden 
area, which is just so unusual. 

805
00:45:07,680 --> 00:45:11,080
And even the areas for the 
players, which are primarily at 

806
00:45:11,080 --> 00:45:13,880
Roland Garros underneath the 
grounds, it's sort of like 

807
00:45:13,880 --> 00:45:16,360
they're like 2 worlds. 
There's like the the top level 

808
00:45:16,360 --> 00:45:18,760
world. 
And then there's the the vowels 

809
00:45:18,760 --> 00:45:21,240
of the tournament below where 
the players and the coaches and 

810
00:45:21,240 --> 00:45:24,480
the physios and everybody is 
eating and relaxing. 

811
00:45:24,480 --> 00:45:27,680
And so, and that sort of 
duality, I think is interesting 

812
00:45:27,680 --> 00:45:30,400
as well. 
So, yeah, I, I wish that they 

813
00:45:30,400 --> 00:45:33,480
had more space to work with for 
their sake, just because it is 

814
00:45:33,960 --> 00:45:39,120
on a busy day, you are walking 
shoulder to shoulder and 

815
00:45:39,120 --> 00:45:40,720
somebody might be smoking next 
to you. 

816
00:45:40,720 --> 00:45:44,680
Like going to watch for 
cigarette ash out there at 

817
00:45:44,680 --> 00:45:46,400
Roland Garros. 
You know, and maybe this is a 

818
00:45:46,400 --> 00:45:49,880
very American perspective, but 
I, I just sort of like the, the 

819
00:45:49,880 --> 00:45:53,680
quirkiness of it. 
It's funny because I this year I

820
00:45:53,680 --> 00:45:58,040
went to Indian Wells and then I 
also went to Monte Carlo and. 

821
00:45:58,160 --> 00:45:59,280
Oh my gosh. 
Wow. 

822
00:45:59,280 --> 00:46:02,440
And I know it's different 
because, you know, maybe, yeah, 

823
00:46:02,440 --> 00:46:06,200
Monte Carlo is not Paris. 
But I did feel that that like 

824
00:46:06,600 --> 00:46:08,880
big distinction between being at
an American tournament. 

825
00:46:08,880 --> 00:46:11,440
I loved Indian Wells. 
I thought it was incredible. 

826
00:46:11,440 --> 00:46:14,280
It was such an amazing 
experience as a sports fan. 

827
00:46:14,280 --> 00:46:16,680
They had so much going on. 
It was so comfortable, so much 

828
00:46:16,680 --> 00:46:19,440
food, so many options for 
entertainment. 

829
00:46:19,600 --> 00:46:23,000
And then Monte Carlo was kind of
like, OK, you know? 

830
00:46:23,160 --> 00:46:25,120
You're here for the tennis. 
You're here for the tennis. 

831
00:46:25,360 --> 00:46:28,360
Like, yeah, we're not going to 
provide that many extras for 

832
00:46:28,360 --> 00:46:29,680
you. 
Like you're here in this 

833
00:46:29,720 --> 00:46:32,480
beautiful space, like you're 
lucky enough to be here. 

834
00:46:32,560 --> 00:46:34,480
That's that's it. 
We're not going to we're not 

835
00:46:34,480 --> 00:46:36,200
going to give you any more than 
that. 

836
00:46:36,240 --> 00:46:38,480
And that is so. 
Interesting. 

837
00:46:38,920 --> 00:46:41,160
Yeah, I can. 
I have not been to Monte Carlo. 

838
00:46:41,160 --> 00:46:43,880
It is on. 
I would love to go one day just 

839
00:46:43,880 --> 00:46:45,720
as a fan. 
I don't even know what that 

840
00:46:45,720 --> 00:46:47,280
would be like. 
I have the last time I was at a 

841
00:46:47,280 --> 00:46:50,240
tournament as a fan. 
It's been a while. 

842
00:46:50,720 --> 00:46:53,680
But yeah, that would be, that 
would be so nice. 

843
00:46:53,680 --> 00:46:56,360
But I can totally see that. 
It's like this is the main 

844
00:46:56,360 --> 00:46:58,760
event. 
You are getting the view and we 

845
00:46:58,760 --> 00:47:01,600
are providing like you. 
Weren't lucky to be here. 

846
00:47:02,120 --> 00:47:04,040
Exactly. 
We are not going to make this a 

847
00:47:04,040 --> 00:47:06,800
comfortable experience. 
For you So funny what? 

848
00:47:07,040 --> 00:47:09,680
It felt like, and I guess on 
that note, I also had the 

849
00:47:09,680 --> 00:47:12,840
question of, you know, what's 
your favorite tournament as a 

850
00:47:12,840 --> 00:47:16,400
fan, also as a professional and 
is that different? 

851
00:47:17,280 --> 00:47:21,800
Oh, my favorite tournament. 
I mean, let's go professional 

852
00:47:21,800 --> 00:47:25,600
first. 
I will always have a special 

853
00:47:25,600 --> 00:47:29,840
place in my heart for Newports, 
which is no longer a tour level 

854
00:47:29,840 --> 00:47:32,240
event. 
It's now a combined 125. 

855
00:47:32,240 --> 00:47:36,960
But honestly, I would recommend 
to anyone who wants to get some 

856
00:47:36,960 --> 00:47:39,760
tennis history and also see some
good tennis at the same time. 

857
00:47:39,760 --> 00:47:43,240
Come check out the newly 
renovated Hall of Fame in 

858
00:47:43,240 --> 00:47:46,960
Newport, RI and get to watch 
some grass court tennis. 

859
00:47:46,960 --> 00:47:48,600
It's the second week of 
Wimbledon. 

860
00:47:48,760 --> 00:47:51,680
For those that are here in the 
States and not making the trip 

861
00:47:51,680 --> 00:47:54,280
across the pond to go see the 
the main event. 

862
00:47:54,360 --> 00:47:57,800
It's still it's still really 
fantastic and the grounds are 

863
00:47:57,800 --> 00:47:59,920
beautiful. 
The history is incredible. 

864
00:48:00,400 --> 00:48:04,640
So that will always have a 
special place in my heart, as, 

865
00:48:04,960 --> 00:48:08,440
you know, definitely for work. 
I I love the people. 

866
00:48:08,440 --> 00:48:10,560
I I love all the people I work 
for, really. 

867
00:48:10,560 --> 00:48:15,280
But I am just really thankful to
be a part of that Hall of Fame 

868
00:48:15,360 --> 00:48:20,160
family because as a tennis nerd,
it's just the absolute coolest. 

869
00:48:20,800 --> 00:48:23,280
And then, yeah. 
So the Hall of Fame induction 

870
00:48:23,280 --> 00:48:26,880
this year is going to be 
unbelievable with Mary Carrillo 

871
00:48:26,880 --> 00:48:28,000
and Roger Federer. 
Oh. 

872
00:48:28,520 --> 00:48:31,040
My gosh. 
I know so so amazing. 

873
00:48:31,040 --> 00:48:37,080
And then gosh, my favorite, 
favorite as a fan, I do think 

874
00:48:37,080 --> 00:48:41,680
that for fans, Indian Wells, 
probably it's got to be up there

875
00:48:41,680 --> 00:48:43,160
of, of the tournaments that I've
been to. 

876
00:48:43,200 --> 00:48:47,360
And again, I haven't been to the
event as a fan, but just sort of

877
00:48:47,360 --> 00:48:50,840
looking at the fan experience, 
the space that they offer. 

878
00:48:50,840 --> 00:48:53,200
I think Australia does a great 
job of that too, because they 

879
00:48:53,200 --> 00:48:55,560
have space. 
There are sometimes when I'm at 

880
00:48:55,560 --> 00:48:59,760
these tournaments that I'm like,
I do not like tennis enough to 

881
00:48:59,880 --> 00:49:04,680
stand in these lines to like 
elbow people on the sidewalks to

882
00:49:04,680 --> 00:49:08,200
get through to, to. 
I don't like tennis enough like 

883
00:49:08,200 --> 00:49:10,840
I crops to these people who are 
standing in these lines. 

884
00:49:10,840 --> 00:49:13,720
Just, you know, see action on 
Court 8. 

885
00:49:14,160 --> 00:49:16,800
I don't know that I would be the
one out there doing it. 

886
00:49:16,800 --> 00:49:20,280
So I gravitate toward 
tournaments that have space. 

887
00:49:20,520 --> 00:49:22,080
You have land. 
I'm bare. 

888
00:49:22,080 --> 00:49:23,720
Sign me up. 
Yeah. 

889
00:49:23,720 --> 00:49:25,440
No, totally. 
Actually, that was probably the 

890
00:49:25,440 --> 00:49:26,840
biggest. 
Distinction for me. 

891
00:49:26,840 --> 00:49:28,440
Between Monte Carlo and Indian 
walls. 

892
00:49:29,280 --> 00:49:30,800
Space space. 
Yes. 

893
00:49:31,240 --> 00:49:34,160
OK, So Speaking of Challengers, 
this is something Theo and I 

894
00:49:34,600 --> 00:49:37,840
have spoken about before. 
I feel like Challengers movie 

895
00:49:38,600 --> 00:49:44,560
came out two years ago and you 
know, Zendaya and her fashion 

896
00:49:44,560 --> 00:49:47,640
around tennis and it felt like 
it was a really important like 

897
00:49:47,640 --> 00:49:52,200
cultural moment for tennis. 
Do you think that the wider 

898
00:49:52,200 --> 00:49:57,000
sports infrastructure has done 
enough to like, capitalize on it

899
00:49:57,000 --> 00:50:01,080
and, you know, like gain younger
fans? 

900
00:50:01,240 --> 00:50:04,080
I do think they've tried a lot 
of things there. 

901
00:50:04,080 --> 00:50:06,600
I've definitely seen a lot of 
things that I've been like, 

902
00:50:06,600 --> 00:50:08,160
well, that's new. 
That's new. 

903
00:50:08,880 --> 00:50:12,920
And you know, some things have 
been more successful than 

904
00:50:12,920 --> 00:50:15,440
others. 
And I think sometimes it's been 

905
00:50:15,600 --> 00:50:20,800
the individuals who I mean, IA 
lot of credit to Paige Lorenz 

906
00:50:20,800 --> 00:50:25,680
and Morgan Riddle and I am 
Broomfield who have in their own

907
00:50:25,680 --> 00:50:28,800
right, sort of separate from the
things that the tours are doing.

908
00:50:28,880 --> 00:50:33,080
I do think have brought tennis 
to different demographics. 

909
00:50:33,080 --> 00:50:35,840
And I, I think that that is 
fantastic. 

910
00:50:36,320 --> 00:50:38,920
I guess I, I think that there's,
there's always more that you 

911
00:50:38,920 --> 00:50:40,400
could do. 
One of the things that tennis 

912
00:50:40,400 --> 00:50:43,760
struggles with is they're just a
lot of cooks in the kitchen. 

913
00:50:44,200 --> 00:50:46,160
There are people who want budget
to go here. 

914
00:50:46,160 --> 00:50:47,960
There are people who want budget
to go there. 

915
00:50:47,960 --> 00:50:52,600
And sometimes it's hard to be 
like, hey, this seems like the 

916
00:50:52,600 --> 00:50:55,640
really clear answer. 
I, I definitely think there has 

917
00:50:55,640 --> 00:50:59,160
been an effort to capitalize. 
Do I always feel like it's hit 

918
00:50:59,160 --> 00:51:01,760
the nail on the head? 
No, But I, I do respect the 

919
00:51:01,760 --> 00:51:03,280
effort. 
And you got to just throw stuff 

920
00:51:03,280 --> 00:51:07,160
at the wall to see what sticks. 
That has been probably the 

921
00:51:07,160 --> 00:51:10,760
biggest lesson that has come out
of me doing a lot, maybe not as 

922
00:51:10,760 --> 00:51:15,160
much now, but in years past in 
the social media space is the 

923
00:51:15,160 --> 00:51:19,200
things that had been successes 
on social media have so often 

924
00:51:19,200 --> 00:51:22,000
not been the thing that I put 
the most time and effort into. 

925
00:51:22,000 --> 00:51:26,480
It's been the dumb sound bite 
that just happened to to come 

926
00:51:26,480 --> 00:51:31,680
out of, you know, BTS moment in 
an interview or it it's been an 

927
00:51:31,680 --> 00:51:33,120
idea that sort of fell out of 
the sky. 

928
00:51:33,120 --> 00:51:36,160
Like let's throw this thing in, 
didn't spend any time 

929
00:51:36,160 --> 00:51:38,600
conceptualizing. 
And that's the thing that takes 

930
00:51:38,600 --> 00:51:41,840
off on social media. 
So if there was only a way to 

931
00:51:41,840 --> 00:51:43,640
predict it, I think that's the 
tough thing. 

932
00:51:43,640 --> 00:51:45,680
So, so credit to people for 
trying. 

933
00:51:47,000 --> 00:51:48,800
I think you just we just got to 
keep trying. 

934
00:51:48,880 --> 00:51:50,840
Yeah, it's, it's funny how 
there's no way to predict like 

935
00:51:50,840 --> 00:52:00,320
what will resonate with people. 
We always do a final call at the

936
00:52:00,320 --> 00:52:02,880
end of our episodes. 
And it's just a quick one 

937
00:52:02,880 --> 00:52:05,920
question. 
The final call is are we at a 

938
00:52:05,920 --> 00:52:08,360
turning point for professional 
tennis? 

939
00:52:09,920 --> 00:52:14,000
Oh man, OK. 
I think that people have to be 

940
00:52:14,000 --> 00:52:19,040
vigilant because I think any 
point could be a turning point 

941
00:52:19,040 --> 00:52:22,120
if people are not paying 
attention or if people rest on 

942
00:52:22,120 --> 00:52:26,080
their laurels or if people get 
too confident because tennis is 

943
00:52:26,080 --> 00:52:31,760
having a cultural moment or a a 
pop culture moment. 

944
00:52:31,800 --> 00:52:36,840
I I like the fact that the USTA 
is doing, and this is I guess 

945
00:52:36,840 --> 00:52:39,280
the former tennis teaching 
tennis pro in me. 

946
00:52:39,760 --> 00:52:44,320
The USTA has a coaching program 
now to teach people how to coach

947
00:52:44,480 --> 00:52:48,520
because I think that there is a 
lack of good coaching. 

948
00:52:48,920 --> 00:52:53,160
I can only speak for the US, but
it's not great out there. 

949
00:52:53,160 --> 00:52:56,600
You have people coaching tennis 
who are not coaching people in a

950
00:52:56,600 --> 00:53:00,160
way that is sustainable the 
older they get. 

951
00:53:00,160 --> 00:53:03,000
So you have so kids aren't 
getting a good foundation. 

952
00:53:03,000 --> 00:53:07,000
And so by the time they're 14, 
they're playing pickleball. 

953
00:53:07,800 --> 00:53:10,880
And I think it's a real thing 
that tennis needs to be paying 

954
00:53:10,880 --> 00:53:14,960
attention to is not just how 
professional tennis is doing, 

955
00:53:15,600 --> 00:53:21,280
but are people playing tennis. 
And so I, I really think again, 

956
00:53:21,280 --> 00:53:25,360
in the USI know in Europe it's 
Pedel, but a lot of my tennis 

957
00:53:25,360 --> 00:53:26,800
courts are now pickleball 
courts. 

958
00:53:26,840 --> 00:53:31,560
And I, I think that tennis 
really has to be vigilant in 

959
00:53:31,560 --> 00:53:35,040
making sure that people are 
still out there playing on the 

960
00:53:35,040 --> 00:53:38,560
courts, because that is what 
drives a lot of the interest for

961
00:53:38,560 --> 00:53:41,080
these big events. 
And so I don't know if that's 

962
00:53:41,080 --> 00:53:42,160
where you thought I was going to
take that. 

963
00:53:42,160 --> 00:53:43,840
I didn't even know that's where 
I was going to take that. 

964
00:53:43,840 --> 00:53:48,280
But I, I, I just think you can 
think about it from a top down, 

965
00:53:48,280 --> 00:53:52,280
but, but I really think you have
to be careful to, to think about

966
00:53:52,280 --> 00:53:55,640
the ground up perspective as 
well, because that is partially 

967
00:53:55,640 --> 00:53:59,360
why a lot of these pickleball 
events are packed is because all

968
00:53:59,360 --> 00:54:03,080
these people are playing 
pickleball during the week and 

969
00:54:03,080 --> 00:54:05,280
on the weekends. 
And so I just want to make sure 

970
00:54:05,280 --> 00:54:09,440
that there is sort of the ground
up perspective that's being 

971
00:54:09,440 --> 00:54:12,640
considered as well. 
But we'll see. 

972
00:54:12,640 --> 00:54:14,680
There's a lot of, you know, 
there's talk of boycotts, 

973
00:54:14,680 --> 00:54:15,880
There's all sorts of things 
have. 

974
00:54:15,960 --> 00:54:19,160
A lot on top. 
I can't wait to see how it all 

975
00:54:19,160 --> 00:54:22,760
shakes out, but I love it 
anytime, anytime I think a 

976
00:54:22,760 --> 00:54:27,560
professional tennis player might
like, take a stand in a way that

977
00:54:27,560 --> 00:54:31,440
would be truly unselfish. 
I, I don't think we've seen that

978
00:54:31,840 --> 00:54:35,160
many times. 
So I, I would love to see it. 

979
00:54:35,160 --> 00:54:37,480
If a player really wants to 
stick their neck out, Let's see.

980
00:54:38,400 --> 00:54:40,080
Yeah, let's see. 
I feel like the next week will 

981
00:54:40,080 --> 00:54:43,600
be interesting and the weeks 
leading up to the French Open. 

982
00:54:43,680 --> 00:54:45,600
Yeah. 
Thank you so much. 

983
00:54:45,840 --> 00:54:48,400
Blair, you're welcome. 
Oh my gosh, thank you for having

984
00:54:48,400 --> 00:54:50,080
me. 
All my best to Theo. 

985
00:54:50,480 --> 00:54:54,280
I hope she feels better, but I 
would love to see you in person 

986
00:54:54,280 --> 00:54:56,480
at some point. 
Yes, we would love that. 

987
00:54:56,480 --> 00:54:58,200
Hopefully we'll be at the US 
Open. 

988
00:54:58,200 --> 00:55:00,360
We'll we'll keep in touch. 
But yeah, thank you. 

989
00:55:00,400 --> 00:55:02,520
This has been such an insightful
conversation. 

990
00:55:02,600 --> 00:55:04,440
So thanks and keep up the good 
work. 

991
00:55:06,920 --> 00:55:09,400
Thanks for listening. 
That's it from us this week. 

992
00:55:09,680 --> 00:55:13,440
If you enjoyed the episode, make
the call, follow rate and share 

993
00:55:13,440 --> 00:55:15,840
it with someone who loves the 
drama as much as the sports. 

994
00:55:16,040 --> 00:55:19,360
Send us your voice notes, hot 
takes, and soft launch sightings

995
00:55:19,480 --> 00:55:22,800
at What's the Call Pod. 
Until next time, what's the 

996
00:55:22,800 --> 00:55:23,280
call?