← Served with Andy Roddick
Served with Andy Roddick
2026 Rome Headlines + Carson Branstine Interview | Love All w/ Kim Clijsters
01:18:24
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- [00:02]
A
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- [00:57]
B
Here we go. Hi everyone. Welcome back to a new episode of Love All. I kind of feel like trying to shoot some Italian words out with the Rome tournament. Watching all the tennis on TV and seeing the beautiful weather and the statues and it kind of, you know, brings me back to the Italian vibes, the summer vibes. So how's your Italian, Blair?
- [01:25]
A
My Italian is not spectacular, Kim. I do, I do love though that we're sort of the color of red wine today. We've got, I don't know, is there, is there a good Italian recommendation? I would have no idea. I have no clue when it comes to wine. But I do feel like we've got the Merlot. Look today.
- [01:42]
B
My dad's favorite wine was Sassicaia, which sounds Italian, so I assume it's Italian.
- [01:48]
A
Okay.
- [01:49]
B
But yeah, that was his favorite wine, so that's what I used to hear and tried once in a while. So have a bottle link that I haven't opened in years. Maybe one day.
- [01:58]
A
I love it. Well, I love that we are on the same wavelength, Kim. That bodes well for our episode today. Who knows what's going to happen, right?
- [02:06]
B
And we both didn't have a good night's sleep, so
- [02:10]
A
we did not. Kim and I are running on not quite enough sleep to speak coherently, so best of luck. Prayers up for us today. But it's so much fun to be back with you all for another episode. And we got some fun stuff today. There's so much to talk about in Rome, of course. And we've also got a special guest on the pod today in Carson Brandstein. And some of you might have heard of Carson. She was a great junior. She played college Tennis. She also had a great summer last year, a great grass season. She played Arena Savalenka on center court at Wimbledon last year. And she's also been in the headlines lately. She made some waves with a TikTok that that maybe took some shots at some of the realities of life on tour. So we wanted to talk to her for a number of different reasons, but she happened to be in the headlines as well. I'm going to give you a little bio. I mentioned some of those points just a second ago, but she's 25 years old. She's currently working her way back from injury again, top five junior in the world, played at A and M where she helped the Aggies to a national championship in 2024. Rose to a career high singles ranking of 172 in the world last fall. Again after that season that' saw her qualify at Wimbledon and play Arena Savalenka. She's a model, a business owner, and she also told us that she's launching a music producer side Hustle as well. Jack of all trades. And we hope you enjoy hearing from her as much as we did. Carson, it's so great to have you with us. I know when I reached out to you and asked you to do this, your response immediately was like, heck, yes, I would love to. And I would love for you to tell the listeners why you were so excited to do this this morning.
- [04:00]
C
Well, first of all, Blair, I always like talking and hanging with you. You know, we always have our chats at tournaments and everything. But Kim, I mean, you're honestly one of the reasons why I wanted to become a tennis player. And I grew up watching you. I honestly, you know, people can get mad at me for this, but I don't watch a ton of tennis. And when I was young, if Kim was playing, I wanted to. And just the way that you carried yourself on the court in the game, and when you came back and won U.S. open, having your first baby, I was like, wow, she is my idol. And I really think that you set the tone for a lot of players now as well who are coming back after having children and all this stuff. And yeah, I was like, oh, my gosh, it's like a dream come true.
- [04:44]
B
Thank you. Well, that's very, very sweet of you. Well, that. That girl just turned 18 a few weeks ago, so that's how long that was.
- [04:52]
C
Holy smokes. Yeah, because I remember that was my career and everyone in my family was talking about it. We're like, wow, she's so cool for doing that. Like, what a Baller. She's so tough. Whatever. I mean, not to mention your game. You're so fun to watch, too.
- [05:08]
B
Thanks. Thanks. Appreciate it.
- [05:09]
C
That was.
- [05:10]
B
Yeah. Fun times. I enjoyed. I enjoyed playing, but glad that I was able to. Yeah. You don't think about it when you're out there, right, that you're inspiring, like a younger generation maybe, or they can look up to you and. And kind of get the passion that I had for tennis and feel that a little bit as well. And then may. Yeah, it can be a little bit contagious. So appreciate the words. And I feel very excited to talk to you and get to know you better. And I know Blair said a lot of really nice things about you. So I've seen you around at the tennis, but I haven't never spoke to you in person. So I'm excited to do it through the digital or whatever technology platform that you can have here. Yes. That's exciting, at least.
- [05:50]
C
Yeah. Well, thank you for inspiring me because tennis has obviously changed my life and it formed my life. And, you know, maybe if I didn't see you playing at, you know, Indian Wells the first time I went as 8, 9 year old Carson, I don't know if I'd be here today, so.
- [06:06]
A
Oh, my gosh, I've got, like, chills.
- [06:08]
C
It's true, it's true.
- [06:10]
B
I'm like, wow, this is fine. Thank you. That's really, really sweet. So glad I had. Was able to have that small impact. And everything else is your. Your hard work and everybody in your team and family, and that's. That's all you know. Yeah.
- [06:25]
A
Well, Carson, I would love to get an update on you. We have. We have lots to discuss today, but first, I would love to get a tennis and life update. Last time I saw you was in Australia. There were shoulder issues, labrum, potentially. We were deciding whether or not to have surgery. Can you give everyone an update on what you decided, what the rehab process is like, and when we might see you on the court again?
- [06:49]
C
Yeah, I went up for a serve and gusted wind right when I was going here and my arm, like, reached and I tore my labrum, but, yeah, I still went in. I somehow managed to win a match at ao. You know, they didn't realize the extent of it. I had to get a second opinion. Whatever. They told me that I needed surgery down there. I almost booked it and stayed in Australia for, like, two, three months to do that, but I changed my mind. I went back to la. I was like, there's no way. I don't want to rely on people I don't know that well to take care of me. It's a pretty major surgery. So, yeah, came back here, saw my doctor and he's like, no, we're not going to do surgery. That's too fast. Let's rehab, let's get a cortisone injection and give it a few months, see how it goes. So I did that, and I'm feeling great. I'm playing my first practice set in practice today, actually.
- [07:46]
B
Oh, exciting.
- [07:47]
C
Yeah. Yeah. So it's a really good day.
- [07:50]
B
Have you set any, like, tournament schedule already? Are you just kind of building it up week by week and seeing, like, where you go?
- [07:57]
C
Right. I mean, I kind of want to wait until, see how the week goes, play a couple sets, and then I'll really gauge kind of where I am because I can always take the protected ranking as well. Um, and I'm in that really awkward position of ranking. Like, I'm in Grant or now my ranking has fallen. Now I'm thinking probably close to 300. I. I don't want to look. It like, makes me want to throw up when I look at it.
- [08:16]
B
Um, but just a number. You'll get that.
- [08:19]
C
But, you know, like, in that awkward ranking spot, I was like around 170 when it happened. It's like, okay, I'm getting into some of the big tournaments and qualys and like thousands, you know, people drop out last minute or, you know, go play 125s or 100k tournaments, that weird sort of zone. And I actually haven't played a full schedule since I've been out of college. I've only played like, between like four and six months of the year. And I got to that ranking and I think in like 11 or 12 tournaments. So I'm like, okay. Whether I take the protected or I come back, you know, maybe in the next month, I think I'm pretty confident I'll get back to at least my former career high pretty quickly. I'm. I'm confident in my tennis with that. So it's just a matter of being mentally and physically ready to play matches day in and day out. Right now I can serve. I'm doing everything. But you know how it is when you go into a match, it's a lot different. You get a lot. Even if you have a really hard practice, there's a different kind of soreness playing a tournament. So I just want to be smart about it.
- [09:17]
B
What, what does your day look like? Like, like, like today you say, like, I'll do a practice. Like how much work are you still putting it into the gym like or into the physio room like how much? Like how is that balance at the
- [09:26]
C
moment my life is pretty crazy so I have pretty much like three and a half jobs at the same time. Tell us what they are, please. Because I want to. I mean I'm very the kind of person I have to stay busy all the time and I, I like my brain working in a lot of different ways. Like if I'm just tennis all the time, I think I'd go crazy. I have to have an outlet of some sort, whether it's serious or not. But anyway, so I get up typically around 5am I just like early mornings. I like that feeling, getting my coffee. There's no traffic in la, which is a blessing in itself. But yeah, I go. I don't have a physio or a fitness coach full time. It's very expensive. And of course also I live in Los Angeles so just add on, double it from whatever the normal probably is for every other people. But yeah, I work it out. I typically like doing fitness early or at least one part of my fitness and that's actually a workout class. A lot of times I hate doing cardio on my own. It's hell for me. So I go and literally do like Orange Theory classes. I, I, that's my, I swear by Orange Theory last year when I qualified at Wimbledon, everyone's like, oh you're so fit right now. I was like, well it's because I go to Orange Theory and I sprint on the treadmill. So I'll go and do an Orange Theory class after this and head to practice from there. It's my sister's birthday today. Shout out to my sister so I'll go celebrate her later. And then between all these things, I started a company a couple weeks ago with my dad and it's in finance. I do not have a finance background but I'm learning. But I'm very good at marketing and I have a good network of people that I think could be potential clients. So it's very exciting.
- [11:13]
A
Okay, that's job. Job number one. Well, job number one and two, tennis player and co founder.
- [11:19]
C
Transfer co founder. And then I'm still modeling as well. So I've had a few jobs since I've been home. I have a shoot I think on Saturday. Have to text to the casting director today. But still doing that, I'm very active, I go to castings. My closest girlfriend in LA is also a model. So we'll, like, text when we get the same casting. Like, oh, are you going to that one? Do you have to do that self tape?
- [11:41]
A
Kim? It's just like us. I mean, she's describing her life.
- [11:45]
B
So many questions right now. I know nothing about that world.
- [11:51]
C
Yeah, it's crazy. Honestly, I think the modeling industry and tennis have a lot of similarities. Weirdly, it's kind of relatable. It's like an individual sport in a way. You know, you're friends with your competitors and, you know, the different casting directors, I consider, like, the tournament director, and you're kind of friends with some of them and. Yeah, it's cool. I love it.
- [12:10]
A
Well, if it has not been abundantly clear in the first 15 minutes of this interview, we wanted to talk to you first because you are so interesting to talk to. You have so many layers. You're. You're like a little onion over there. Really pretty onion. But the timing of this interview was in part because you put out a TikTok on your account. Gosh, it's probably been a little over a week ago now, and you took a swing at some of the realities of tour life. And we're actually going to watch it. Kim does not have TikTok, so this is in part for her benefit. So let's take a look at the TikTok and then we'll discuss how.
- [12:49]
C
Okay, this is scary. Merry Christmas. Your flights today, that's your Christmas present. But, like, you have to pay for it. So sorry about your injury. You're not gonna make a single dollar for eight months. You must be crazy for thinking we would cover your medical bills at the tournament we hosted you at. Yeah, we have insurance, but it's, like, the most expensive insurance ever. Of course. Well, you can't afford a coach. That really sucks. I can't help you meet the finals of a huge tournament. Well, guess what? The tournament you're playing next week, you're actually going to play first match? Yeah. Oh, you can't get a day off? Are you nuts? I mean, yeah, she failed a drug test, but, like, she's number one in the world. Like, we need her to play. But like that other girl who's ranked 300, who got contaminated meat, we're just gonna ban her for four years. Like, we don't need her. Oh, you have a really good reason why you can't play this week. Well, you better show up here still, otherwise we're not gonna believe you and you're gonna get fined. We're just gonna take thousands of dollars from you, obviously there's off season. You play from December to November.
- [13:49]
A
Wait, okay. I feel like you might also have a career in acting because the, the sarcasm levels were, were Oscar worthy in that TikTok. So, okay, we, you know, you mentioned flights not being covered, the WTA not providing coaching or, you know, it could, that could be Tennis Canada or whoever, insurance being crazy expensive, not making money while you're injured, match scheduling, the WTA fine structure, anti doping program decisions, the off season length. And people had thought, some thought it was great. You are raising awareness of what it's like to be a tennis player not currently in the top 100. And then other people thought it was maybe entitled, maybe it sounded whiny. Maybe people, you know, there, there were other people in tennis world who were like, well, you should just be a better tennis player. People were. I mean, again, it's the Internet, so people just take shots. What is your reaction to the reaction to this TikTok?
- [14:51]
C
Right. So I think, first of all, I think a lot of people don't understand the tick tock trend. It's actually a trend going around where they'll put POV and then some kind of issue and then just like silly ways it'll affect you. And it's almost like, I call it, I don't know if you've heard of like the three types of fun.
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A
I have not.
- [15:11]
C
It's like so tight. Like, I'll just go over what it is. But type 3 fun is like the kind of thing. It's like, it's not fun in the moment and it really sucks. But then you look back on it like a couple years later and you, like, laugh. You're like, oh, that was actually pretty cool. You know what I mean? It's like a hard match or a hard training or even. It's like some matches that you lose and you look back and you're like, oh, man, that was awful. But I was actually enjoying it. Like, I looked back and I loved that. You know what I mean? So that was part. That was like one layer of the humor because, you know, my, my best friends are tennis players. A lot of the closest people in my life are all in tennis. And we almost bond over those kinds of things. And I, I think that's beautiful in itself. I was like, hey, you know, not a lot of people can relate to us that are normal. We. Tennis has amazing fans, but unless you're in it, it's really hard to understand those feelings. And tennis is a very feely sport. You know, you go into a week you could do everything right, and because you're not feeling good, or the balls might be funky, or you don't quite love the courts, you might not have a good week. You lose first round, have a loss, maybe someone you don't think you should be losing to. It's like that. That's. That's how it is. I love that about tennis. I studied philosophy in college, so for me, I'm like, oh, I get to talk about, like, feelings and things that aren't real awesome. Like, please give me more.
- [16:26]
B
I love it.
- [16:28]
C
So, yeah, that was definitely one part. And then, you know, of course, when you're doing humor, almost kind of like comedians, like, a lot of things are a little bit exaggerated. Like, oh, you're playing the next day. Like, you don't have a day off. Okay, there is like a mandatory day off rule. But let's be real. Is it really a day off when you have to go on a plane at 6:00am
- [16:52]
B
you know, practice and go to the gym?
- [16:56]
C
Right. So it's like day off, but not really. And we all know that. So it's kind of a funny thing. I. I have, like this joke where I never ask for late starts ever, because I just am like, oh, I'm fine, like, whatever. I asked for a late start once and I didn't get the late start. So I'm like, okay. Like, I'm never doing that again. So it's just like a funny joke. And, like, players relate to it. I've had 40 players, maybe even more now reach out to me at all different rankings. Eight of those players coming from the ATP and WTA in the top 100, all San Carson. That was so funny. I love that. And for me, you know, on the Internet and people, they. They can think and say whatever they want. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion, of course, that. I mean, I put something out that obviously I knew was gonna maybe strike a reaction. I didn't expect certain people and things to be said that was completely taken out of context, to be completely honest. But at the end of the day, the video really wasn't about me. It was kind of just about everyone and things that they've experienced. And I think the conversation of player welfare and the things that we have to deal with throughout the year,
- [18:17]
B
it's
- [18:17]
C
been addressed by people, but nothing has really changed because I think a lot of things blow over and we are very busy. When you're playing a match ever, of course, like any. Anything, it takes every detail and every ounce of energy that you have to Perform at the highest level, and the level is very deep. Now. There's a reason why you're seeing guys and girls ranked up my ranking suddenly having huge wins because we're putting in the same hours. We are playing the same amount of weeks. It's no different. We just. You might not see us on. On TV all the time. And when I look at how other sports happen, my. My cousin plays for the Dodgers, and I see how baseball players kind of have things taken care of, I know it's much different. It's a team sport. They're unionized. It's all under one league. There's a lot of things different. But knowing what I know, I looked up all the stats of the amount of revenue and things. I'm like, gosh, you know, not only have I dedicated my life to this sport, but all these people around me and I know the resources are. Are there to make the sport better. Why wouldn't we want that? Why wouldn't we want that? You know, it's only getting better. And tennis is the third most watched sport in the world. I. I think we deserve that. I think we've earned that for ourselves. And I think that everyone could agree that there's always room for improvement. So if. If starting with awareness is my way to contribute to that, and if I can be the martyr for some players that are even afraid to speak up because they don't want to deal with the backlash that comes with it, I'm not afraid of that. The.
- [19:49]
B
The unfortunate thing is, like, I feel like some of the points that you make, like, you are absolutely right. Like, it is. It's. It's an issue that we all, at some point deal with the, you know, not getting the. The time that you want to play, whether it is because you're injured or you just need to recover from the week before. Like, it. I feel like there's so many points that you addressed that when I was on the board of the WTA in the early 2000s, we're already getting addressed, and they haven't really changed. Right. Like, we look at the. The end of the year schedule and, and like, how long the season is, and, like, it's a big deal at the moment. And I know that, you know, the WTA has. Has created a task force. I think Jesse Pegula is like, the head of it, to try and, like, really push for, you know, a shorter shortening of the season. But it's. This is. This has been going on for, you know, 20. Over 20 years. Right? And. And that's where Like, I get a little bit, you know, some of the bigger points like that with the schedule and, and you know, things that have to happen. And at some point, like, I think there's only, I feel like one way and is that, that players kind of put their foot down and say, okay, like we need, we expect change and if not, you know, it's not going to happen. And when we kind of were talking a little bit about today, like the French Open, you know, Blair, like maybe you explained that like the situation like how we actually, the French Open actually went backwards in like revenue sharing and so it's, it's. Yeah. Which shouldn't be the case. Right. Like, it's, the sport is growing, it's getting bigger and players need to be. To benefit. Like I was, you know, saying earlier before you came on here, like, there's second division, third division soccer players in Belgium who, you know, make a living and, and you know, have no costs and, and it's, it's just a different mindset. Like I see like I'm married to an American. Like I saw like, you know, my, like, like my brothers in law, like how they looked at it was the same way. It was. Wait, what? You got to pay for everything. You have to pay for your coach, you have to pay for their hotel room, their flights. Yeah, like that's. And to a lot of people it's
- [22:01]
A
so
- [22:03]
B
unrealistic to think like, wait, what are your expenses? Oh, you made this much money. Yeah, but like I'm only keeping like one third of. Because everything else is basically taxes and cost of, you know, having the team and using some of that income as an, as your investment into your tennis for the following season. So it's a really tough environment, I feel like, especially like, you know, when I have my academy, the ranking of 104, like once you can get it into that, like top 104, you can only almost be, you know, first round of the Grand Slams you have four of those. Like that can give you a little bit of a buffer to work with. You know, what you have. And so, but again, to come down to like what used like some of the points that you make, it is like it is true all the things that you say the Christmas. Yeah, like I had to decide too, like, do I leave before Christmas, but then I'm like too early at the events or do I wait till Christmas and then like be like, might only be in Brisbane for two days and have to play maybe, you know, like it's, it's. There's a lot of those things that people don't see, decisions that we have to make that people don't see. And people see the, the big paycheck and they see the, the red carpets and, and things like that. Right? Like that it's all just glamour and, and wealthy and. But there's a huge grind behind the scenes that you get to, before you get to the stage of playing Grand Slams and everything. And that's why like I thought your interesting when I, you know, did a little bit of like research about, you know, having the other jobs that helped you fund your tennis, doing the Uber Eats drive, like those kind of things are so like for a tennis player at times, like, so unrealistic because a lot of times there is a little bit of funding, whether it's from maybe a sponsor, maybe a federation or an academy that helps out here and there. So that's why I thought your story was so interesting that you can have that. You, you know, basically have that kind of normal life attitude where, you know, I got to work, I have to put the time in and do other things. But then also still trying to be, you know, a professional tennis player who's recovering from, from a big injury. And so it's, it's, it's finding that balance and that's the balance and that's really hard, I feel in tennis, especially with where you're at right now, that ranking and trying to find support and sponsorship and yeah, it's. But you do make with a lot of the points that you make, I do think that you make a very, you know, a very fair point, whether they were a joke or not. Like there, there is a good, you know, good, some good thoughts that were pushed out there again to, for, you know, people and organizations to think about a little bit more. Sorry. That was very long
- [24:44]
C
though.
- [24:44]
A
That was great. I have a couple quick follow ups for you, Carson. Number one, just, just because I know people, there are going to be people listening who are like, who's her cousin? Can you just give us a quick briefing on, on that and the athletic genes that run in your family.
- [24:58]
C
So my, my cousin is Freddie Freeman. He's the first baseman of the Los Angeles Dodgers, three time World Series champion, hopefully a fourth. I'm hoping for the Dodgers three peat this year. But yeah, he's been in the league for, gosh, I don't even know how long now. It's been, been a while. But he's a veteran and looks like he's gonna be a Hall of Famer. I think for sure, he will be. And yeah, it's kind of crazy. I forget sometimes. I, I don't, I forget. I'm like, oh, yeah. I like can't go out in public with you otherwise you quite literally get.
- [25:30]
A
Mom, that is crazy.
- [25:34]
C
We're like, oh, Freddie, we're going to dinner. He's like, I can't go. I'm like, why?
- [25:38]
B
Oh wait, just tell him to go to like one of your tournaments in Europe or something. And then, you know.
- [25:43]
C
Yeah, he loves tennis. He loves, anytime he has free time, he puts on my matches and stuff. Like even in the locker room, he's, he's put my matches on. He follows it. He has, I think he has Sofa Score, one of the apps on his phone. He looks at the score and stuff. So it's pretty cool.
- [26:00]
A
Okay, I'm whiplashing us here. But, but back to the matter at hand. Just because I knew people were gonna have follow up questions about that, but now that your voice is out there. There were articles, there were headlines that stem from this TikTok. Do you think that given just the nature of tennis and the, the lifespan of a tennis player, do you think it's possible to have the quality of life that you would want and also compete at the highest level?
- [26:29]
C
I believe that tennis, with everything combined, I believe that. I really, truly believe that tennis is the hardest sport in the world for a lot of reasons. Whether it's mental, part of the physicality and the scheduling, I think it's always going to keep that. And there is a certain level of sacrifice that you're going to have to take to be honestly at the highest level of anything. Even entrepreneurs and people in every industry at the top, like, there's always sacrifice that comes with it. But knowing what I know, I know so many athletes from different sports and big actors and celebrities and musicians, I've kind of like put my foot in the water of a lot of different worlds. And to be honest, tennis has the most sacrifice. Really. Like even people who I know around LA who are huge entrepreneurs, it seems like, oh, you have no life, you know, it's not like they're an athlete, like they can still go and have a glass of wine at dinner at
- [27:24]
B
the end of the day. Yeah, we also start sacrificing at a very young age, almost right. Like, like where you don't think that you're sacrificing. Like to me, I didn't feel like I was sacrificing normal life. But then as you get older and once I, you know, was in my, like, mid-20s, like, I did feel like, who. Like, I need a break from this. It wasn't a break from the tennis, like, hitting a tennis ball. It was from everything else that came with it. And. And that you don't think about when you're a little girl. And. But I do think, like, when you. When you talk about, like, the injury, like, you know, Blair, like we saw last year, like, they announced the WTA, like, pif, WTA Maternity Fund. Right. Where players can take time off. Like, it should be possible that when players get injured or they have a longer injury, that there is also, you know, still somewhat of a payment that comes back, like when you can, you know, comparing it to, like, the maternity fund kind of. And. And. But again, our sport is so complicated when you look at it. You know, we all have different backgrounds, different countries, different nationalities. Like, it's. It's. You know, we have. Yeah, you can have insurance on tour, but you can also have, you know, your. Whatever healthcare system that you have in your country. And so a lot is. It's. It's a very complicated puzzle. I feel like, to.
- [28:36]
A
To.
- [28:36]
B
To have a system that. That works for everybody. Right? And. And, you know, like, tournaments, you know, around the world. I feel like a lot of. A lot of them, you know, I think Australia, like, what I went after I stopped playing, I went to. Back to Australia, and it was like, yeah, the Australian Opens now, like, has a budget for players flights, like, where they help the players to, you know, whether. Yeah, they can get a free flight or something like that. I don't know what's the case now, but that was a few years ago. I was like, really? Wow. Like, what a, you know, what a great, like, initiative for them to do that. And. And then I had people here like, shouldn't that be like, every week? I'm like, yeah, but our tournaments don't have the money to do that. Right. For, like, you know, like, when you have a smaller tournament. And when we were in Belgium and I was a tournament director, like, you're happy if you can, like, break even of the first few years, you know, just by, like, the. The fans that you have into. Into the seats. And so it's. It's a. It's a hard business because there's so many parts that you want to think about. And. But I think Sabalenka, with the way that she's doing it, and it's easy to say, like, okay, yeah, but she, like, she makes a lot of money, but then if she wants to take her break, she Gets fined, right? Like, if she pulls out of Dubai, like, she gets a big fine. And she's like, okay, like, I'll pay the fine because my health and my. My. My mental health and my. My recovery for my. Now than. Than anything. But a lot of players don't have that luxury to say that. Like, I remember my dad was in a big. In a big discussion with. With the CEO at the time, like, when I had my wrist surgery. And it was, you know, I signed up the year before I signed up to play in Moscow, and then I had, like, halfway through the year, I had a. A wrist surgery. And they were like, no, you have to. You have to play or you're going to get a fine. $90,000. And my dad was like, wait, what? She just had surgery? Like, why would she, you know, have to pay a fine? Like, she has a legit injury. And they're like, no, that's the rule. Like, you already had. Used your. Whatever doctor's prescription, like, earlier in the year and for that same same wrist when I didn't have surgery yet. And so they told me that, yeah, I had to. I had to go to Moscow. And my dad was like, okay, go ahead. She's in a cast. Let her go on court, and you'll see how ridiculous these rules are. You know, like, for. For her to save $90,000 of a fine. And so it just. It's. I ended up not doing it. They ended up kind of saying, like, okay, like, we get it. Like, but it's just, there's a lot of rules that just don't benefit or not in the best interest of the players.
- [31:12]
A
And Carson, before we let you go, and. And I will say after this, I've already thought to myself, we need to have you back because there are so many other things that I want to talk to you about, college tennis included. As a fellow Texas college tennis player, Carson played for Texas A and M, for those who are listening, helped them win a national championship a couple of years ago. So lots to talk about in college tennis right now. But before we let you go, I feel like having had the chance to spend some time with you in Montreal, in Australia. I feel like every conversation I've had with you has been one that I've been like, that was so fun and interesting and light. Is there anything you want to tell people about yourself? Because I feel like, I don't know if you feel like this, that sometimes you're maybe a little misunderstood, maybe.
- [32:00]
C
Yeah. I think it's easy to assume things based on What I do, they, they pro. I think a lot of people kind of look at me and they see stuff like with the modeling and I'm from Southern California, I live in Los Angeles, and they might assume things based on, on that, but I don't know. I think, you know, even when I play, I, I, I'm really hard on myself a lot of times. I, I get pretty frustrated in certain moments, and I'm my own biggest critic. I always say, you know, people on the Internet, that doesn't really hurt me. If anyone can hurt me, it's me. And I think it's actually helped me in some ways when I, I don't have a coach and I don't have same resources. I think having that, that kind of fiery ruthlessness with myself has actually pushed me to do well in a lot of different things. But
- [32:50]
A
do you think you're too hard on yourself? Do you think you have to be less hard sometimes?
- [32:56]
C
Maybe in my tennis, yeah. But I, I don't know if it's less hard on myself. I think it's just channeling the energy in a different way. I could work on, like, yeah, yeah, I have, it's improved. I am getting better on it. Even you know, that I'm having time off. You have a lot of time to reflect and think about things. And at the end of the day, I love playing tennis. I, I, that's what brings me back is I actually like hitting the ball. And unfortunately, I think some players are losing that with certain things of the scheduling and going back into all this stuff. But, you know, if people are going to misunderstand me, that's fine. But I think, you know, talking about like the work life, balance and, and advocate for tennis, I think think I'm a really good example, is that you can do it because I already am. So I think, you know, you don't have to. I, I'm putting myself in this position where I can't breathe on a lot of the days, but I love that for myself. And, and that's, that's how I am. So I think that would be putting me in the position world. It's like, okay, if I have that for myself, then maybe I should use that to be like, okay, like it's possible.
- [34:04]
B
Yeah, I think you said it, you said something there that is like, that's the way I am. Right. Like, everybody, how I did things may not work for you. And how, you know, Serena did things may not work for me. Like, it's, everybody does their, has to find their own way to go about it and learn from, you know, situations and whatever the good and the bad. And, and so that's, you know, that it's your, it's your tennis career, it's your life and you have to kind of fill it in the way that you see, see fit and so that it keeps you sane out there too when you are traveling and when you're healthy again, where you can travel, you know, let's hope a full season and, and that you can stay sane through it. All right. And, and not. Yeah. And have the distractions and that's, I think it's very smart and great to hear and I just want to, you know, see you play out there again and see you compete and see you healthy and happy to be out there and so look forward to following you when you, when you get the chance to, to play out on, on the tour again. And whether it is on a protected ranking or the smaller tournaments, you've got two fans here, so we'll be cheering for you.
- [35:13]
A
We'll talk to you soon.
- [35:14]
B
Bye, Carson.
- [35:15]
C
All right, bye, guys. Thank you so much.
- [35:16]
B
Bye.
- [35:19]
A
So much fun to hear from Carson. And I feel like we're going to have to have a part B because we didn't even get to talk about her college tennis years. There are some other off court ventures that we didn't have time to talk about. So, so part B with Carson coming soon, but a really interesting human and tennis player. And those are the stories Kim, we like to dive into here on Love.
- [35:40]
B
Allison, definitely a very, very interesting personality. I loved hearing her story about driving for Uber Eats so that she could, you know, kind of get some sa savings or in her account back up so that she could use that to, to help her tennis. And but like you said, I think I'm super excited to see her, you know, get her shoulder healthy again and see her competing on tour and once she's gotten a taste of, you know, qualifying at Wimbledon and playing on center court and, and I hope that she can get to that level again and, and that we get to see her compete out there.
- [36:12]
A
Yeah, she is a value add for sure. And I've enjoyed getting to know her. And that brings us to Henley's headlines. Kim.
- [36:21]
B
There we go.
- [36:23]
A
And as Rafa famously said, and here we are, we are in Rome. Can you do the whole thing? Can you do the whole. What happened in.
- [36:35]
C
Can you do it?
- [36:35]
B
No, I can do the banana ball.
- [36:41]
C
Is that how he says it?
- [36:42]
B
That's how he, you know, when he loops the forehead out of the Tram lines and he curves it back in. He's like, like, yes, today the Banana bowl was very good. So that's.
- [36:53]
A
I love it.
- [36:53]
B
My only. Yeah, Rafa.
- [36:55]
A
That was, that was impressive. Yeah. No, nobody's going to pay me to impersonate Rafa anytime soon.
- [37:00]
B
No, same for me.
- [37:01]
A
What happened in Monte Carlo happened and what happened in Barcelona happened and what happened in Madrid happened. And here we are, we are in Rome. Okay, moving on. There is so much happening. We are in two weeks, two of Rome. I feel like it's been going on forever as I feel about all of these two week Masters. But just to give you all an update, we've got two women's quarters being played today. We're recording this on Tuesday. Serana Kirstea has already moved into the semis with a win over Ostapenko. She will play the winner of golf versus Andrew. We've got two other quarters, IGA Witek versus Jesse Vagula and Svitolina against Rybakina. And I want to start off Kim by talking about Serana Kirstea. Into the semis, she announces this is her final year on tour at the beginning of the season. Got her first win over a world number one this week when she took out Arena Savalenka 75 in the third. She did a really great interview with Ben Rothenberg in his bounces substack. I encourage you to check it out or subscribe if you haven't. He's got some great stuff there, but what a story. And she was asked on Court Kim in Rome if she would consider maybe playing longer after the year that she's had. That's a question she's obviously gotten many times already this season. And she said, if I win Rome, if I win this tournament, I will think about it. So she's one step closer. What a story.
- [38:31]
B
Two matches away from another year added to the career.
- [38:35]
C
Right?
- [38:35]
A
Exactly.
- [38:36]
C
Yeah.
- [38:36]
B
I just love seeing it. She's always been, she's been a great player, but I think off court she's always been a very open, very nice player that puts in a lot of work. But I think a little bit like comparing to maybe a Madison Keys from a young age, she was a player who had a lot of expectation on her and was a potential Grand Slam champion. And at times I feel like she's been working so hard for such a long time to get close in these big tournaments and to beat these big players and to see where she's kind of raised her level. She's becoming more consistent. It looks like, she's enjoying herself also more out there, even when she's down. In the past, she could kind of get a little bit too, like, maybe too emotional at times, and that could drag her down. But now she just has a very positive attitude out there and is enjoying herself out there, and that's fun to see, and she's playing better tennis because of it. So really happy to see that she's beating really good players and that her confidence feels like it's growing week after week.
- [39:40]
C
Yeah.
- [39:40]
A
At 36 years old, still incredibly fit. Looks. Looks like she's. I mean, she could hang with any of the youngins.
- [39:46]
B
She still looks like she was 22, you know, same. Kidding.
- [39:51]
A
Tell me your secret, Sarata. But there. There was a quote, Kim, that I would love to read for our listeners out of that Bounces story that. That Ben did that interview where Chrystia said, I was always raised that being successful in tennis means winning a Grand Slam and being number one. Anything other than that, it's not really successful, you know, and it was interesting to hear that perspective that she had from the very beginning of her career and perhaps how that has maybe shifted now toward the end of her career. Maybe she's enjoying a little bit more and she's seeing the fruit of that on the court. But I'm curious how you defined success for yourself growing up.
- [40:32]
B
Well, to me, as a young girl, you know my goals. And I think there's a video out there somewhere online where I'm talking in Flemish, but I'm saying my coach at the time, his name was Bart, he was kind of my first private tennis coach. And he asked me, what are your goals? What goals would you like to achieve? And I say in there, I want to become number one in the world, and I want to play and beat Steffi Graf. And so I never talked about winning a Slam, but what I did notice the first time that when I became number one was after I beat Lindsey Davenport in la, and for the longest time, like, I felt like it was almost like a curse. You know, there was so much like, of the media was like, hey, do you think you deserve to be number one? You haven't won a Slam yet. And it's true. Like, I know, like, Serena was very dominant that year. She wasn't playing a lot of the other tournaments on the schedule, but. But I had a really consistent year. And so to me there, I also felt like, listen, it is time. I need to win a Slam so that I can shut everything else up. I was really proud to Become number one. But in the tennis world, winning a slam is a different level, and if you can do both again, that's probably the ultimate. So I felt, early on, I felt pressure. And then, you know, losing my first four Grand Slam finals before winning my first US Open in 2005, I felt so relieved just to be able to say, like, finally, like, I. I won one. And. And it almost was like, okay, I did it. Like it was such a goal for. Yeah, for a couple of years. And. And that it at times was almost like paralyzing too, that it became too much of an obsession. Yeah.
- [42:22]
A
That's so funny. So. So that was the goal until you reached that goal. And then you were like, actually, maybe I have another goal, which is to. To also. Maybe success is winning a Slam.
- [42:32]
B
Right, right. But also, you know, my dad was there with me in la, and I just remember, like, how proud we were. Right. Like, I got a number one bouquet of flowers and a big cake, and the journalist ate the cake with us. Like, we just shared and we sat in the media, the press conference room, and it was really fun. And between him and I, like, we were just so proud and reminiscing on the times that I. I would go to soccer practices with him and go, you know, to all us traveling together. And it's not like he traveled with me all the time, but it was just. Yeah, you have those moments and that's what meant a lot. Until you go to different tournaments and people start asking you more into depth question about, like, hey, do you feel worthy being number one? Do you feel like you are the real number one? Kind of saying, like, in our world, you really aren't, but, you know, but yeah, it's. So as much as you try to tell yourself to not focus on that stuff too much, it is in your head. You take it with you on court and. Yeah. So it's part of the process of dealing with pressure, and it's all those kind of situations that you have to learn to deal with.
- [43:42]
A
Yeah. Pour one out for the Dinarra Safanas and Yelena Yankovic's of the world, who got the number one and didn't eventually get the Slam. And it's tough. I mean, what an incredible achievement to be number one in the world at anything. It's unbelievable. But you're right there. There is sort of that monkey on your back. I know Caroline Wozniacki has talked about that. Prior to winning the Australian Open, she was able to get it done, but she, I think for years probably had that hanging over her head because she was number one for quite some time without having won a Slam.
- [44:13]
B
Right. And. And. And again, it is, you know, it is a great achievement, and there's so many players that would love to switch with you. Right, who would have that opportunity to become number one. But it's. I think it's just the nature of our sp, Right. If you. If you win one Grand Slam, the next goal is like, oh, let me try to win the second one. I won three of my US Opens. People were like, hey, like, do you want to win one on another surface? Like. Like, you know, like, it's always, you know, in tennis, it's always like that. Like, you're always looking for the next goal. And. But. But it is what it is. And that's, I think, also why, you know, some of the best players out there and who have, you know, super long careers is because we have those kind of goals. And there's always a goal pretty close, you know, in the next couple of weeks, few months, where you have another slam that. Where you can compete and add another slam to your list. And so that's a positive as well. But it's. Yeah, it can also at times be a little bit overwhelming, too.
- [45:10]
A
Yeah. So, speaking of number ones, what does this mean for Arenas? Evelanca, so lost in. In the semis in Madrid to Haley Baptiste and the lot. What was that second, third round to Kirstea in Rome? Are we still thinking that she is. Is maybe the favorite to win at Roland Garros or again, potential back issue. She had some back issues in that match against Cristea.
- [45:39]
B
Right. To me, in general, even though she made the finals there last year, to me, in general, like, I have a couple of players that I think I would put over her anyway, even if she's playing at her best, just because of. Of the movement is not quite as. As well, like, the type of tennis that she plays, she hits the ball so aggressive, but it just doesn't always have the same effect on that surface. And I think there's some players when they're playing well, Coco iga, Swiatek as well. Like, I think those two players, to me, are maybe just a little bit more of a favorite at the moment. But then again, you know, if you see some of the shots that she was hitting in Indian Wells and where she, you know, on match point down and decisions that she makes, she had a lot of confidence there, but then now she's on a different surface. So is she able to bring that on a clay court? Is going to be interesting to see. And she hasn't had the great preparation and the confidence matches that she's had a few months ago. But yeah, will be interesting to see. But to me, IGA and Coco are definitely a little bit more of a favorite to me.
- [46:53]
A
Let's talk about Coco a little bit. She, as we mentioned recording on a Tuesday, she plays Andreeva. Later today, she's 40 against Andreeva. Interestingly, I did not realize that was her head to head with Andre, but that's pretty impressive. But she has looked maybe less than happy. I don't, I'm trying to think of the best way to describe it. She just hasn't looked content happy. Like she's enjoying the process on the court this week. And she said impress. And this again particularly was against Solana Sierra in her second match. And she said impress. Listen, I have been dealing with some personal things off the court that I'm trying to get through. She said. But then you also remember how much fun you have. I think my regret today was not enjoying the battle that was about the, that Sierra match. She said, I've been going through it for a few months. I'm not going to talk about it. I'm trying to be transparent, but also not like give the whole whole world my business too. So I thought that was a really great approach, actually and a great reminder that some of the emotion that we see on court or the reactions or maybe the lack of reactions oftentimes are connected to things that are happening off the court.
- [48:11]
B
Very much so. And I did an interview yesterday for a Belgian magazine and the guy asked me because he follows our podcast and he kind of asked me, he's like, do you think that you are critical enough of some of the players? And I was like. And I, you know, took a second to think about it and I was like, well, I think me in general, I just always think about the human side of unless you're tanking a match or you hit a player with a racket on their head, you know, like you do some extreme things, assault, assault on the court, that's obviously not okay. But when players are, you know, out there and they're maybe not moving the way that they shoot, their timing is a little bit off, they're a little bit more emotional than we normally see them. And then, you know, I hear about like Coco's press conference and then it's like, that's why, like it's, it's not up to us. I feel like it's not up to me. To sit here and like, oh, why was she late on a lot of these shots? Like what's going, you know, like it's very easy to criticize, but I think she handled that very well, very smart in the way that she communicated that. And if you compare it to, you know, a few years ago where Naomi Osaka was very open about her struggles and I sometimes think you also draw a lot of attention or a lot of eyes on you. And I feel like every press conference for a couple of years, Naomi was answering and talking about like, hey, why were you crying on the court? Hey, like you smacked the racket it like what, what was going on in your head? So people, you know, want to know a lot about the, the mental side too. And, and I think it's very good the way that she, you know, phrased it and talked about. Listen, there's some stuff going on off court and why I'm not feeling quite myself out there, but so very, very smart the way that she did that. And we've all helped, you know, dealt with things like that. Right. Whether it's family issues or a breakup or, or just in general don't feeling well the time of the month, like there could be so many things that, that we deal with that, you know, you don't see and that commentators a lot of times don't maybe think about
- [50:14]
A
enough other notable performances or notable results. 30 year old Jasmine Paolini was the defending champion. She is now going to be out of the top 100 for the first time or excuse me, the top 10 for the first time in 100 weeks. See, we, we told you we didn't get enough sleep last night. Out of the top 10 for the first time in 100 weeks, which is a really incredible run for her. I wouldn't be surprised to see her back. She just seems to be low on confidence. She lost to Eliza Mertens, had match points and we know how tough Mertens can be. But hope to see Jasmine back in the top 10 because she's a value add for sure.
- [50:51]
B
Definitely. And it's not easy going back to, you know, a tournament, especially in your home country where you are the defending champion. It's, it's hard going into any country and defend your A title and you know, the extra pressure if you start looking at the points and how much do I need to defend and it's not easy to deal with that. But it's, you know, maybe, maybe now she kind of feels like, okay, that's, that week is over and I can kind of, you know, Start playing more freely again and try to have some fun in doubles with, with, with her partner Sarah Irani and, and kind of get that energy, that good energy back that she's always brought when, whenever she was playing. And so yeah, it's, that's part of the sport. You know, players get to know her better as well, know her weaknesses, know her strengths. So she doesn't have that surprise factor as often anymore.
- [51:37]
A
And we want to shout out Taylor Townsend, who has not lost a doubles match since January. She and Katerina Siniakova still alive in Rome as of this recording. That is unreal. And also on a double's note, Mokoko back together. Katie McNally and Coco Gauff that they were so much fun to watch when they were both young, up and going teenagers, brand new on the tour. Yes, I love that they're playing Devils together again. I love that Katie is healthy again. She's always been one of my, one of my faves. Cincinnati native. So Kate, it was so funny because she's from Cincinnati. She was always a very celebrated player in Cincy again from when she was a junior. And so I got to know her through the Cincy Tournament and her mom as well and just really had happy to see her doing well. Carolina Flischkova, the former world number one reached the round of 16. Great performance for her. Pod Pova as well is on quite a run this clay season. So yeah, great results all around. Moving on to another player who is taking a stand. Kim, a 25 year old Ukrainian, Alexandra Olanikova first heard about her when she played Madison Keys at the Australian Open. She had the real tattoos on her body, the temporary tattoos on her face. She had the piercings, the fun hairstyles, the great personal style. She lost the match against Keys and just was out on the court waving to fans, soaking it all in, just a total joy. And then in press she wore a shirt that said I need your help to protect Ukrainian women and children, but I can't talk about it here. She wore that shirt to her press conference at the Australian Open and what a way to get a conversation going. Her Instagram handle is drones4ua, where she is actively trying to raise money to purchase drones for the Ukrainian armed forces. Her father is in the Ukrainian military as well as her boyfriend. So again has used her platform and now she's in the top 70 in the world. She's continued to have an incredible year year won a couple of rounds in Rome and so again this conversation is still happening. She takes any opportunity she gets to try to not only raise awareness and raise money to support the Ukrainians who are under fire, as well as the Ukrainian armed forces, but she has also, I don't know if you want to use the word, called out. She has called attention to players who she perceives to be sympathetic to Russian or Belarusian. The Belarusian side or against Ukraine. Yes, exactly. And so that is included players who've played in exhibitions in Russia. She has included Irina Sabalenka in that conversation, who has liked some things on Instagram that, again, she perceives to be sympathetic to the Russian or Belarusian cause. And the WTA. She is alleging that the WTA is trying to censor her. There is sort of a general section in the WTA rule book that says you cannot say anything that's disparaging or damaging to the reputation of a tournament or a fellow player. And her response to that is, I'm just explaining what they did. I'm just giving people the facts. I'm not disparaging. I'm not calling anyone out. I'm not attacking anyone. I'm just letting people know what the facts are. And so, again, I see both. Both sides of this. And she admits she's like, listen, the stuff I'm talking about, this is uncomfortable for people to hear, but people need to hear it. And I respect the fact that she knows that this could be damaging. This could, you know, it could cost her sponsorships, it could cost her other things, certainly off the court as well. It could be distracting to her performance on the court. And she is still dedicated to raising awareness every opportunity she gets.
- [55:46]
B
Yeah. I think to me, it just shows how. How deep. How deeply she cares about what's happening. And I don't think we can. We can't put ourselves in that situation. Right. Like, I've never played on tour while, you know, my country was at war and my dad was fighting or my boyfriend was fighting in the war, and. And so, you know, a lot of things that she is doing, I think she's trying to do as much as she can while she's traveling the world and while she's, you know, probably staying in nice hotel rooms and, you know, like, she's trying to do what she can do while her family members are fighting and defending and protecting their country. And I kind of agree with her, like, when you hear her say, it's not like she's throwing anybody under the bus or she's making things up, she's literally sharing information that's already out there and that some of these players have openly done and that are public knowledge in a way, and she's just kind of reminding people about it. And it is, you know, kind of a sensitive. Not a sensitive subject, but a sensitive matter that we're, you know, as a. As an organization like the WTA Tour, you want to protect all the players. Right. And it's whether there's a tournament going on and the Russian players are still not playing under their. With their Russian flags. But at the same time, the Russian players are members of the WTA Tour, and there is a duty, too, to protect the players. So it's a really tough balance, I think, for an organization like the WTA. But I like that she. Alexandra, that she is so outspoken about it. I was kind of happy to see, though, that the stars on her face were real tattoos.
- [57:36]
A
It was like. But wait, I got stuck on the face tattoos.
- [57:39]
B
Yes. I was like, when I saw that in Australia, because you could see her personality was fun. I was like, wonder if that happened on a drunk night or something, you know?
- [57:48]
A
No, fair. Fair. I mean, I think it took everyone a second to discern exactly what was going on there, but we love a little personal style. On and off. Was it cool?
- [57:58]
B
Like in Rome? Also celebrating with, like, the fans and the crowd. Yeah.
- [58:02]
A
And last headline for you, Kim Taylor Fritz went to the Renaissance Fair.
- [58:10]
B
I never heard about that, but I did see that he was wearing a gold neck, a diamond necklace. Did you see that?
- [58:17]
A
No, I didn't see that. Oh, my God.
- [58:19]
C
It was like.
- [58:20]
A
It was the hilarious Renaissance Fair.
- [58:22]
C
Yes.
- [58:22]
A
Oh, well, then. Okay. Yeah, well, I. I was distracted by his actual old English shirt that had the sort of. The little leather tie up in the front. Yeah, I was. I was distracted.
- [58:32]
B
A diamond, like, tennis necklace, like, all diamonds. I'm like, wait, maybe he should have taken that off to be fully invested in the look.
- [58:43]
A
He. He was part of the.
- [58:45]
B
The.
- [58:46]
A
I don't know. What, do they have fiefdoms? And. And this we're getting on.
- [58:52]
B
My history kind of stopped. I don't know how old I was at 16 when I had my first breakthrough, so.
- [59:00]
A
That's so funny. No. Well, we love to see Taylor Fritz again. Talk about multicultural. He. He is appreciating history. And the actual text he added to these Instagram story slides that he posted was, quote, the nerd in me had to hit the Renaissance Fair. Renaissance spelled correctly and fair with an e. And his next slide was, again, just a picture of people enjoying themselves. Quote, this makes me so happy. And I thought that was the best way to end Henley's headlines today.
- [59:37]
B
You Want me to say anything?
- [59:39]
A
No.
- [59:39]
B
Okay.
- [59:40]
A
I, you know, I say, I just like seeing people living their best life and doing whatever floats their personal boat.
- [59:48]
B
It was just really funny because people were, like, commenting on about, hey, you should probably should have taken the $10,000 necklace. You know, like. Like, there was so many comments like that out there. So it was pretty funny.
- [60:00]
A
I just got distracted by the shirt. I didn't even notice the necklace. Okay, should we move on to confirmation?
- [60:05]
B
Yes.
- [60:07]
A
All right, let's. Let's start off by talking about IGA Witek, who has looked very, very good in Rome so far. And I'm just going to read some quotes from her press conference about how she's feeling on court with Francisco Roig, her new coach. She said, quote, I feel we understand each other very well. I think we have the same vision of how I should play. He's helping me achieve that. I've been trying some different options on practices, which is great because I wasn't exactly comfortable with how I played a couple months back. This feels more natural and more solid and I would say kind of disciplined. Like, honestly, the most important thing for me is that I'm enjoying playing, but I enjoy practicing. Every practice for me makes sense. It feels like a process, and it feels like every practice I learn something new. So it's great. And that is really great news from IGA because that enjoyment, and she was the first to admit, is something, you know, she felt, Felt stressed, confused. She felt like she was, you know, internally felt like chaos on the court. So to hear that from her is. Is really a great sign, especially heading into Roland Garros.
- [61:18]
B
Really nice to hear. And, and I think we talked about it before in the previous episodes is when we, you know, saw her in Indian Wells and in Miami. You could see the, the, the, the. The fear, the stress kind of in her body, in her. The way that she was looking over at times that had her players box. And so now to see her with a different kind of energy out there, and, you know, she's still showing, like, the fist bumps, but there's more of a natural flow to it. Whereas before, it almost looked like she had to do it to try to pump herself up, but it wasn't a natural way. So to see her happy out there. And, you know, with Roy as well, like, like, I think he's also. He's an intense coach, but at the same time, he's also super laid back. And I think that also kind of, you know, that gives the player that kind of feeling, too, of like, hey, like, I believe in you. Like, you got this. Like, you know, why are you worried like this? You know, you're, you're good enough, you can beat anybody and blah, blah, blah. Like, sometimes you need somebody to keep repeating that to yourself for you to still believe it after all the, you know, the wins that she's had. But it's really nice to see her happy and to explaining that and playing great tennis. I mean, I watched her match yesterday against Osaka and she was just super, super impressive.
- [62:37]
A
You mentioned something about that match with Osaka that I'd love for you to dive a little bit deeper into something
- [62:43]
B
you saw, tactics wise, something that I haven't really seen her do that much, and especially on a clay cord is. And it's a very big weapon to have, and it's not always a straight up winner, but she was able to pull Naomi out of the court on the backhand side with her backhand cross. Like, she was really hitting it where, you know, a little bit further past the service line and the tram line. And for a lot of players, like, you know, I think Justine Hennan had the best slice when she was defending and. But a lot of players are really not good when they get stretched out wide and they have to use that slice. So really loved seeing that she was waiting on top of the baseline. She saw that her opponent was getting pulled out of the court, and you could see her kind of sneaking forward a little bit, expecting either to hit a dry volley, maybe an easier volley put away, or just an easy forehand where she just was able to go to the open court. And she used that as a tactic a lot. And it has a bigger effect on the backhand side against a lot of players than it does on the forehand side.
- [63:50]
C
Side.
- [63:51]
A
I, I loved that little nugget because you're so right. I think too, what is the value in being able to, to even hit that. The cr. The backhand cross maybe a little bit shorter in the court to where. To where it's not sort of that, that deep. Obviously depth is great, but to be able to also mix in a little more spin so you can pull them out wider, to have that mix.
- [64:12]
B
Yeah, that, that combination is so good because, you know, she can hit it deep cross court. She can hit the backhand deep through the middle of the court, but then out of nowhere, and she has that grip that is at times. And the backswing is a little bit harder to read as well. You know, with some players, you can tell already when they're taking their Racket back. Oh, they're kind of going to flick the, you know, the wrist across. With iga, it's very well hidden, but again, like the impact that that has on the other side of the court, somebody like Justine in the past would have hit a slice and kind of give herself enough time deep through the middle or kind of a dead ball in the middle where you kind of had to, you know, you couldn't do much with it and, but for a lot of players don't have that control and with the one hander and, and Naomi a lot of times was doing open stance, you know, kind of just flicking the ball up in the air and yeah, so it was a great tactic and one that she can use against anybody out there, not just against Naomi.
- [65:14]
A
In other semi breaking news, Kim, you have a new addition to the ruptured Achilles club, the Achilles team, and it is IGA coach Francisco Roig. This is a wild story. So last week in Rome, they are playing a half court volley game. He's 58 years old. They put a €100 wager on said volley game, which nothing, nothing like a little money on the line to, to get the, to get the adrenaline pumping. And Roy ruptures his Achilles, takes it like a champ. Like they weren't even sure that that's what happened initially. Find out he has, has torn his Achilles, flies to Warsaw, has surgery, misses just one practice and he is back on court in his little ace bandage casted leg. Like there was actually clay on the bottom of his, on the cast because he's on court just, I mean, literally a couple of days after surgery. Can you put into perspective how bonkers that is?
- [66:20]
B
I cannot, like just knowing, you know, what you just read, like what you just said and seeing him sitting in the, you know, on the chairs on the side of the court and looking at practice there, just, just thinking like hanging his foot down like that. I was like, that hurts so much. Like I could, like I just had to be elevated and just, you know, the blood like going down to your foot, like just it, it was just throbbing. And so he's either on a lot of medication or he just has a very high pain tolerance, but.
- [66:50]
A
Or no wonder everyone's feeling so relaxed that that's, that's the reason he's like medicated.
- [66:57]
B
But it's, listen, it's definitely no joke. And yeah, so maybe he was still on some nice surgery medication from the day before, but yeah, definitely not easy. It's, you know, because I think in some of those facilities you don't always have elevators. And it's not that easy to, you know, take all the stairs. Right. You have to take stairs into the stadium. There's long walks from the players restaurant to go to the court. And yeah, it is definitely a struggle. Crutches aren't that easy and as you get older. So I think the lesson that we all have to learn besides Holgerune, who was still very young, is that that, you know, as much as we want to play games and we think that we're still like 30 years old. Yeah. Our body sometimes reminds us that we're. We're not.
- [67:48]
A
Gosh. Well, thanks to you guys, I spend a little extra time stretching the old calf Achilles area before I play tennis these days.
- [67:54]
B
Warming up. Very important.
- [67:57]
A
Okay, good stuff. Also on the Holgaruna note, he tweeted early this week, yesterday for us that he is indeed going to be coming back in grass season. He's not going to push it. He's not going to try to come back at Roland Garros, which seems to be the wise choice.
- [68:14]
B
Yes. I was so surprised and kind of, like, disappointed in myself when I saw that he was, you know, entered a clay court tournament and the French Open. I was like, wait, how is that possible? Like, I'm still kind of like just taking little steps on the tennis court. Don't really want to push off yet. But then, like, when I watch his videos, you can still see that he's not. Not fully pushing off yet. And so I just hope that he's careful enough. Like, I don't think an extra, you know, few weeks here and there is going to make a difference in his career. I think it might, you know, could make a big difference for his Achilles tendon. So I hope that he's not rushing it too much or pushing it too, too fast. But again, he's 20 years younger than I am and probably heals a lot quicker and has his team there with him full time to keep everything under control and check everything. And so I'm excited to see him play again, but it's definitely not easy. And I've watched some NBA and saw Tatum come back and then also get a few games into it. His calf was starting to hurt again, and so he didn't play for a few games. So it's definitely. Yeah, there's still a difference in being able to do all your exercises and playing, you know, doing what you want to do in practice, but then to start playing matches is still a different, different mindset.
- [69:39]
A
Loved Kim Formation today, which brings Us to rec room. Kim, do you have a recommendation for us today?
- [69:46]
B
I do. I actually have two. The first one, this is something that I started. It's called mile tape. I started sleeping with mouth tape and my husband did too, because he would sometimes during the night stop. Stop breathing. So I, him and I, when we go to. To bed, you should see it. It's like the mouth tape goes on, the eye mask goes on, preferably. I would put some earplugs in too, but that's, you know.
- [70:11]
A
Kim, do you do the Morning shed? Have you seen Morning Shed videos with that mask? Well, in the morning where people like put all this stuff on their face at night and then they wake up in the morning and they take off. Off the mouth tape and they take off the face mask and they listen.
- [70:24]
B
Half of the time my mouth tape is somewhere where I don't know when I take it off during the night, but it can be in my hair. It's like under me. It's like on the ground on the bedside table. But this one is a good one because at the start I was trying some just normal ones that I found on Amazon and it would actually like dry out my lips or sometimes at times also like just peel off some of the skin and. Which I definitely didn't like. But this one is really good. And it's. The company is called Zip it and it also has a collagen in the tape, so it just gives you a little boost. Well, something on the fuller lips. Sleep and hydrate. Feel energized. In the morning. No more snoring. Improve oral health and hydrate your lips. Zip it.
- [71:11]
A
Zip It. Wow, Kim, you could do an infomercial.
- [71:14]
B
Yeah. So this is what they look like. So you take the tape off the lips and you just tape it on like that.
- [71:23]
A
Somebody screenshot that for social media right at this moment.
- [71:27]
B
Don't. Don't. Alan. Sean, don't.
- [71:30]
A
Well, we had, we had. That was a surprise recommendation.
- [71:33]
B
It was. I have another one.
- [71:34]
A
I wasn't ready for it. I. Kim said she had a sun theme themed recommendation today. And so I brought a sun themed recommendation. It is a setting spray that is SPF 28. And I have tried other. Because one of the things that's so hard for me when I'm working in particular, because oftentimes if I'm in an outdoor stadium, I'm outside for most of the day. And it's really hard when you're trying to look semi presentable to also keep your sun protection up. And so I have Been on the hunt for something like this that you can spray over your makeup to reapply because in the morning I put sunscreen underneath my makeup. But to sort of be able to reapply something that's not gonna make you look greasy is so hard to find. And this is your answer. The brand is one size O S and it's called until dawn. And it's mattifying sunscreen, makeup, setting spray. So setting spray and sunscreen in one and. And it's so light, not greasy and highly recommend.
- [72:42]
C
Yep.
- [72:43]
B
All right, well, I'll keep it in the. The sunscreen theme. I hated when I had, you know, right when I was about to go on court that I still had to put sunscreen on and would get sunscreen on my hands or and then had to go try and like wash it off and get, you know, I don't know. Your hands are so. I like delicate. When it comes to like you, you need a certain type of. Of dry grip. I don't know, like to hold the racket. So this is a company, it's called Leroy Sunscreen and they use their sunscreen, but it's with a brush. So I can just go on. You have it in the liquid form and you have it in powder mineral form. And it's very clean and just easy to reapply. I take it in my handbag when I'm walking the boardwalk. Just. And I feel like the sun is hitting it. I just brush it around and get some and it works really good. SPF is. I think it's 50, so pretty high. Yep. SPF 50. It's from a Belgian company. It's called Nomiche. They also do. They have skincare where they first send you a test kit and you do a DNA test. You have to take a swap into your mouth and then you send it back and they make your skin care based on your DNA.
- [74:03]
A
Have they solved any murders?
- [74:06]
B
Maybe. I don't know that.
- [74:07]
A
But they're gonna rival 23 and me for solving decades old crimes.
- [74:13]
C
Who knew?
- [74:13]
A
Okay, continue.
- [74:14]
B
No, no, no. That's a really good company. They do a lot of research and I wish I had this when I was playing, but I'm glad now that I have it with me. And don't get greasy hands.
- [74:25]
A
There you go. It's also great. I found the powder is great for your part.
- [74:29]
B
Oh, that stuff?
- [74:30]
A
Yeah, because my. My part gets sunburned sometimes in my hair. And so the. The powder is again, you don't want. Don't want grease in the hair.
- [74:38]
B
So just flop on some powder for Brian's. Brian's power alleys for my husband. Sorry, little jab
- [74:47]
A
I have. I mean, who knew. Who knew that Brian had power alleys? That's a great way to put it, though. I did not know that's what they were called. Power alleys. Yep. Just powder them up. Okay. We love. We love Brian. Okay. Kim, this has been so much fun. I. I mean, we went long shocker. But I feel like we could have even talked about more. But so much going on in Rome, so much to come. Kim is going to Roland Garros on Saturday, so we cannot wait. She's gonna have dispatches from the ground are in our next episode next Wednesday. But you all know we have episodes every Wednesday. We would love it so much if you would like and subscribe to Love all podcast on YouTube. Also serve podcast, of course, but we have our own on YouTube as well. And then love all podcasts on all of our socials. So for our whole team behind the scenes, Mike, Sean, Ella, and the rest of the crew, we'll see you next week.
- [75:40]
B
See you next week. Here we go.