“Tennis needs Carlos” - Madrid Open

Welcome to The Service Game, where serves start the story.There has been big news both on and off the court and on both the WTA and the ATP tour this week. Most notably, Carlos Alcaraz announced on Instagram that he will be withdrawing from the French Open.In the toss, we talked about Carlos Alcaraz’s withdrawal. To find out who will benefit from his absence and who might be affected negatively, listen to the toss! I also talked about the news of the WTA CEO Portia Archer’s decision to step down.On the court, I recapped Arthur Fils’ fantastic performance in Madrid. Interestingly, his physio telling him to “shut the f— up” has shown his improved maturity after coming back from his injury leave. How did Medvedev perform after getting double-bageled in Monte Carlo? Listen to find out!On the women’s side, I discussed players who are playing some of the best tennis of their lives right now, including matches from Naomi Osaka and Jacqueline Cristian.Want to know how much a tennis player runs on average while playing a match? Listen to the end to find out!Remember to vote in the poll down below!Links mentioned:Arthur Fils vs. Ignacio Buse: Daniil Medvedev vs. Fabian Marozsán: Naomi Osaka vs. Anhelina Kalinina: Naomi Osaka vs. Iga Swiatek at Roland Garros: Jaqueline Cristian vs. Yulia Starodubtseva: https://www.wtatennis.com/videos/4491980/cristian-saves-three-match-points-denies-starodubtseva-in-madridSubscribe to ⁠The Service Game⁠ on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode. For extended analysis and written Second Serve content, check out Ivy’s ⁠Substack⁠.Subscribe wherever you’re listening, rate the show, and send in your ideas for Second Serve.🎾 Thanks for listening—and let the serves begin!Produced with assistance from Radio CKUTCKUT Radio: https://ckut.ca/Thanks for reading The Service Game! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theservicegame.substack.com