Black Spin Global: The Podcast Black Spin Global: The Podcast

Lucy and Eugene talk Indian Wells and Miami, Q1 of the season and everything that has happened in between.

Hear our take on Simona Halep 'bussin’ case' and her immediate return to action at WTA 1000 (all while the suspended Mikael Ymer is still retired).

Angella Okutoyi of Kenya is Olympics-ready after winning the African Games – where she picked up her first-ever top 100 win – provided she cracks the top 400 in the WTA rankings by the cut-off period.

Great Britain's Jay Clarke continues to build momentum after an eventful 2024, racking up wins on the ITF circuit in both singles and doubles.

Vogue cover girl Coco Gauff, now 20, had a lot of ‘fans’ talking about her game during the Sunshine Double. We get into the unfair criticism that flies around on social media.

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Lucy and Eugene are joined by “best friend” of the pod Tumaini Carayol for this latest episode. 

We sing Jasmine Paolini’s praises after our Italian-Ghanaian sister’s dream week in Dubai – the WTA 1000 champion is now a top 20 player. Staying in Dubai, Coco Gauff handled herself with grace in a very teachable moment for umpire Pierre Bacchi.

Naomi Osaka’s right where she needs to be in her comeback after a good showing in Qatar. Lime-bike-rider Heather Watson’s been grinding and checking off wins on the ITF circuit and the main tour.

Gael Monfils is showing us he still has it at 37 and receiving his flowers in the process. Arthur Fils is over in South America getting reps in on the clay and building character – we share our thoughts on the Golden Swing.

Felix Auger-Aliassime is starting to look like himself again as he looks to climb up the rankings. Frances Tiafoe, still finding his feet with new coach Diego Moyano, says tennis is the hardest sport in the world.

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Lucy and Eugene give winners Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner their props for securing the women's and men's titles respectively.

Coco Gauff made it to the last four and looked good doing so in her amazing New Balance fits, Jasmine Paolini reached the second week at a Grand Slam for the first time, Alycia Parks and Sloane Stephens also had good runs.

On the men's side, Ben Shelton and Felix Auger-Aliassime reached the third round and both played eventful five-setters down under, while Frances Tiafoe, Arthur Fils and Christopher Eubanks all fell in round two.

Shout out to girls' doubles champions Tyra Caterina Grant and Iva Jovic who made sure we were "leaving here with something"!

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Happy New Year people! Lucy and Eugene get into the latest from down under on the eve of the Australian Open.

Coco Gauff successfully defends her Auckland title, Taylor "Three-Peat" Townsend wins again in Adelaide with new partner Beatriz Haddad Maia and Naomi Osaka makes a winning return after 15 months away. Also, salute to the WTA and ATP for the new match-scheduling regulations announcement.

AO draw (selected) – Jasmine Paolini is seeded for the first time at a major, two-time champ Osaka draws 16th seed Caroline Garcia in a blockbuster first-round and fourth seed Gauff could meet Alycia Parks in the third round.

Seeds on the men's side (Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe and Felix Auger-Aliassime) all have tricky openers, Gael Monfils could play fellow father Andy Murray in the second round.

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Lucy and Eugene close out 2023 with a player who had a milestone-filled season on the ATP Tour.

Christopher Eubanks tells us how his thought process changed after cracking the top 100 during the Miami Open (where a certain Jamie Foxx flew in to watch him), his whirlwind grass-court campaign that included a first ATP title in Mallorca and that run to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.

Eubanks also gives us insight into his work with the Tennis Channel and the importance of having a current player’s perspective in the commentary booth. We discuss the Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) and its role in attracting a new audience, match start-time preferences and much more.

Merry Christmas! Keep commenting, liking, sharing and subscribing – we appreciate you all!

Lucy and Eugene – donning their “Call me Champion” tees – are finally joined by latest friend of the pod Uche to recap the 2023 season.

We share our thoughts on the ATP Next Gen Finals (shouts out to runner-up Arthur Fils) and ask where the WTA’s equivalent is? Get excited about four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka’s imminent return as well as Rafael Nadal’s.

Look back at memorable moments from all the majors (the WTA provided in a big way), as well as favourite matches, pay homage to the players who reached career-highs (the list is extensive), lowlights talk (mainly Mikael Ymer retiring). Look ahead to 2024 and share our outlandish takes for the season ahead.

And to close we get to know Roger Federer stan Uche a little bit better.

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