Ilkley Special: What it takes to run a professional tennis tournament

In this special on-site episode of Tales from Tennis, Sam Jacot and Jerome Coombe head to the Lexus Ilkley Open to uncover what it really takes to run a professional tennis tournament.While fans see the matches, the atmosphere and the drama on court, there is a huge team working behind the scenes to make the event happen. Throughout the week, Sam and Jerome spoke to the people who help bring the tournament to life, including tournament director Rik Smith, broadcaster Abigail Johnson, British player Charlie Broom, the event's lead stringer, a groundsman responsible for maintaining the grass courts, hospitality staff and fans attending the tournament.Together, they provide a fascinating insight into the many moving parts that keep an ATP Challenger and WTA 125 event running smoothly, from preparing courts and stringing rackets to welcoming players, broadcasters and spectators through the gates.This episode offers a unique look at the unseen side of tennis and the people whose work often goes unnoticed but is essential to the success of every tournament.We also recorded a host of player interviews during our time in Ilkley, which will be released across the next two Wednesdays as the grass-court season builds towards Wimbledon. In the meantime, listeners can also find exclusive content from the event on our Instagram, including a fun Q&A with comedian Josh Berry, practice-court moments and quick-fire questions with ATP Next Gen star Darwin Blanch.There is plenty more from Ilkley still to come on Wednesday 17th & 24th June.🎙️ Our background episode & our special in-focus 20th episode are live in this feed if you’d like to learn more about who we are and why we created Tales from Tennis.Follow us on social media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talesfromtennis/X: https://x.com/TalesFromTennisThe podcast is independently produced and not affiliated with or endorsed by the ATP.