On the ninth episode, we start by talking about Novak Djokovic as he wins Wimbledon and looked virtually unstoppable while doing it; can anyone stop him from winning Olympic Gold and the US Open for the Golden Slam? Then we talk about Ash Barty’s victory and how good we think she can be throughout her career (21:35) before closing it with a conversation about Naomi Osaka’s mental health, her very thoughtful Time Magazine article, and the Olympics as a whole (27:19).

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Novak Djokovic career statistics (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novak_Djokovic_career_statistics

Novak Djokovic (ATP Tour): https://www.atptour.com/en/players/novak-djokovic/d643/overview

Ashleigh Barty career statistics (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashleigh_Barty_career_statistics

Ashleigh Barty (WTA Tour): https://www.wtatennis.com/players/318033/ashleigh-barty

Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Singles Draw: https://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/draws/index.html?event=MS

Wimbledon Ladies’ Singles Draw: https://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/draws/index.html?event=LS

Naomi Osaka: “It’s O.K. Not to be O.K.” (Time Magazine): https://time.com/6077128/naomi-osaka-essay-tokyo-olympics/

Soul Cap Petition to FINA Nears 5,000 Signatures (Swimming World Magazine): https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/soul-cap-petition-to-fina-nears-5000-signatures/

Theme and End Music: “Back to the Future” by Ofshane from YouTube Audio Library, Remixed by Nathan Lee with Tennis Sound from FreeSFX

Middle Music: “Stairway” by Patrick Patrikios from YouTube Audio Library

Tennis sound effect from FreeSFX: freesfx.co.uk

History was made in Paris as Novak Djokovic won his second French Open and 19th Grand Slam title (start), and Barbora Krejickova not only won her third Grand Slam doubles title to get back to No. 1, but also broke through in singles by winning it all in just her fifth Grand Slam main draw (15:37). We have a break conversation about the NBA and the Olympics (26:20) before talking about Rafael Nadal’s withdrawal from Wimbledon and the Olympics (29:21) and Naomi Osaka’s withdrawal from Wimbledon and what should be reimagined about dealing with the press in tennis and the sports world at-large (34:26).

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Theme and End Music: “Back to the Future” by Ofshane from YouTube Audio Library, remixed by Nathan Lee with tennis sound effect from FreeSFX

Middle Music: “Stairway” by Patrick Patrikios from YouTube Audio Library

Tennis sound effect from FreeSFX: freesfx.co.uk

We preview the French Open: Rafa Nadal’s road to 14 (or more importantly, 21), Novak Djokovic, and who has an easy draw even though they’ll end up losing to Nadal anyway. On the women’s side (8:47), we talk about the three favorites in Ash Barty, Iga Swiatek, and Aryna Sabalenka, plus some other big names and a possible dark horse that may get big in Paris. We close with our final four (19:55), and this was way shorter than we wanted.

Congratulations to UIL 6A Boys’ Singles State Champion Tyler Stewart, and we apologize we were not able to get the interview on this episode due to technical difficulties (that were caused by Nathan).

Midland Reporter Telegram article immediately after it happened: https://www.mrt.com/sports/highschool/mhs/article/BREAKING-MHS-Stewart-becomes-1st-MISD-player-16194358.php

Newswest 9 article: https://www.newswest9.com/article/sports/tennis/mhs-senior-tyler-stewart-wins-singles-tennis-state-championship/513-d363b4f5-3db7-4ebe-9524-a0e0477cbf44

French Open draws: https://www.rolandgarros.com/en-us/results/SM

Tennis Draw Challenge: tennisdrawchallenge.com

Theme and End Music: “Back to the Future” by Ofshane from YouTube Audio Library, remixed by Nathan Lee with tennis sound effect from FreeSFX.

Middle Music: “Awakening Instrumental” by Wataboi from Pixabay

Tennis sound effect from FreeSFX: freesfx.co.uk

We would like to note that we did not plan to talk about the accusations against Alexander Zverev. We decided to lead with his accomplishments in Madrid, and then Nathan mentioned the accusations that are not even mentioned anymore. We find that suspicious on many different levels. There are multiple alleged incidents, and the biggest one seems to be August 2019 in New York. The link to “Olya’s Story” in Racquet Magazine is below, as well as other articles about the situation.

“Olya’s Story”: racquetmag.com/2020/11/05/olyas-story/

www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/nov/13/tennis-stays-silent-as-violence-allegations-hang-over-alexander-zverev

www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/30310216/alexander-zverev-again-denies-domestic-abuse-allegations

www.reuters.com/article/us-tennis-men-zverev/tennis-german-zverev-splits-with-federers-management-firm-idUSKBN29N0NI

wwos.nine.com.au/tennis/roger-federer-alexander-zverev-assault-allegations-atp-should-not-get-involved/cba8b85f-5289-413a-a10b-9d7cfa0df303

In the rest of the episode, we recap Madrid, where (frankly) Zverev and Aryna Sabalenka (7:35) won, then talk about Roger Federer coming back (although now we realize he already lost. Whoops, 11:08) and even Serena Williams playing in Parma. In the second half, we talk about Rafael Nadal’s 10th Rome title as he gears up to win his 14th French Open (19:11), talk about Novak Djokovic’s run to still make the final (27:31), Iga Swiatek’s dominant Rome final as she gears up to defend her French Open (32:53), and end talking about why Ash Barty is still the favorite to win her second title in Paris (34:54).

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Music: “Back to the Future” by Ofshane from YouTube Audio Library, remixed by Nathan Lee with tennis sound from FreeSFX: freesfx.co.uk

Middle Music: “Awakening Instrumental” by Wataboi from Pixabay

Tennis and Whistle sound effects from FreeSFX: freesfx.co.uk

In the first half, we cover all the men, especially after Monte Carlo: finalist Andrey Rublev, champion Stefanos Tsitisipas (10:38), shock semifinalist Dan Evans (14:07), Novak Djokovic getting upset in the third round (we unintentionally recap his lapses in history, 18:25), and we end up realizing that Rafael Nadal is still the favorite and will be forever.

In the second half, we focus more on the women as both tours head into Madrid and Rome in 2 weeks, such as whether Naomi Osaka will stay dominant (29:03), the pressure on defending champion Iga Swiatek (36:56), and what Bianca Andreescu will do if she can stay healthy (43:57).

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Music: Awakening Instrumental by Wataboi from Pixabay

Tennis and Artillery sound effects from FreeSFX: www.freesfx.co.uk

On 4B, we continue to talk to Heiting (@MidlandHigh10s) about becoming the coach and the mental obstacles he had to overcome. We ask him about his stint as an assistant principal and why he did that before coming back to coaching. We also ask about coaching during COVID-19 and about the upcoming District 2-6A tournament for his players. We finish the episode with a recap of the Miami Open and what it all means.

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Music: “Awakening Instrumental” by Wataboi from Pixabay

Tennis sound effect from Free SFX: https://freesfx.co.uk

On Episode 4A, we bring on Tom Heiting, the current Midland High (@MidlandHigh10S) tennis coach and former collegiate tennis player to talk about how he got into tennis, his time at Permian High School under Pat Wikse, the experiences at Midland College and JUCO tennis in general, and why he went to the University of Iowa (@IowaMensTennis) after graduating from MC. We also ask him about the impending shutdown of the men’s tennis program he was once a part of, and then ask about how he was offered to be a hitting partner for professional tennis players.

https://dailyiowan.com/2021/03/16/iowa-mens-tennis-changes-on-court-look/

Follow @makingaracquet3 on Twitter, @makingaracquet3 on Instagram, and Making a Racquet on Facebook!

Music: “Awakening Instrumental” by Wataboi from Pixabay

On the third episode of Making a Racquet, Shannon and Shaquila come on to talk about anti-AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) discrimination in the United States. In the second half(ish), we quickly preview the 2021 Miami Open.

Music: “24gta6” by ROGTA6 from Pixabay

Tennis sound effect from FreeSFX: https://freesfx.co.uk

Follow us on Twitter: @MakingaRacquet3, @nathanleeb3, @The_Real_STD_02, @0TheRealShaq0