The Tennis Players Show

Two time All-American, ACC Freshman of the Year and current ATP Pro Pedro Rodenas joins the show to discuss his time in Durham playing for the Blue Devils as well as his process of learning how to be a pro at 22 years old.  Rodenas is currently ranked No. 621 in the world having moved up up 190 spots since June. 

A bit of a special episode this week as brand new UCLA commit Clémence Mercier joins the show to discuss her decision to head to LA to play for the Bruins.  Mercier is currently ranked No. 75 in the world in the most recent ITF rankings and is the #1 ranked Canadian junior in terms of UTR with a 10.73 in singles.  She will play her first round match at the W75 Toronto today against fellow Canadian Avery Alexander today at 10AM. 

USC's Max Exsted joins the show to discuss his time playing for the Trojans, his experience winning two Australian Open junior doubles titles as well as playing in the US Open.  Exsted is currently ranked No. 47 in the country in the preseason ITA rankings, and No. 49 in the country in doubles with partner Nathan Trouve.  He is also currently ranked No. 407 in the world in doubles.  He qualified for the NCAA Individual Tournament by making the quarterfinals in Tulsa at the ITA All Americans with wins over Petro Kuzmenok, Aidan Kim and Timofey Stepanov. 

Current ATP Pro and Former UCLA Bruin Kaylan Bigun joins the show to discuss his evolution as a player and his experiences playing the sport of tennis.  Bigun is currently ranked No. 567 in the world in the most recent ATP Live Rankings. He is a former World No. 1 junior and French Open Junior Champion. He also helped the Bruins to a run to the Elite 8 in 2025. 

Tristan Schoolkate joins the show to discuss life on the pro tour and the experiences of traveling the world, finding balance and what it's like playing the best in the world. Schoolkate is currently ranked No. 152 in the world in the most recent live rankings, and has a career high of No. 95. 

I got a chance to speak with Daniel Vallejo after his win over Pablo Carreño Busta, we spoke about his goals for the coming weeks and how he is feeling heading into the final few months of the season. He also gives advice to players who are trying to make it from a smaller country, like his native Paraguay.  The 22 year old just reached a career high of 58 in the world. 

Three of us in the media got a chance to speak with former world No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas on Day 1 of the Winston Salem Open.  The questions are as follows:  Do you feel like you're looking towards world No. 3?  What do you hope to get out of the Winston Salem Open?  You're going into your tenth US Open, can you give some thoughts to how that tournament has gone for you?  If you were a coach, how would you approach working with a younger player?  What changes have you made to hopefully turn the year around?  Did those changes come internally?  Do you have any thoughts about the city of Winston Salem?    Tsitsipas continued on to lose to Aleks Kovacevic before making a run to the fourth round at the US Open, losing to Ben Shelton. 

Chloe Hunt from World Tennis Magazine and I got a chance to talk with ATP world No. 34 Arthur Fery after his second round win over Cruz Hewitt. We discuss adjustments made, what he learned from practicing daily with players like Nishesh Basavareddy and Tristan Boyer, and his advice to younger players from the U.K.

I got a chance to chat with World No. 36 Ignacio Buse after his first round win over Adam Walton. We talk about his almost trip to college tennis, his fellow countrywoman Lucciana Perez's success and his advice to young players coming from Peru. 

I got a chance to speak one-on-one with Martin Damm after his 7-5, 6-3 win over world No. 7 Daniil Medvedev.  We discuss how past matches helped him to prepare for this one, and how confidence helped play a role in the win.