Thirty Love: Conversations About Tennis

Universal Tennis Rating’s Stephen Amritraj, former pro and possessor of the unusual title of Chief Tennis Officer, joins Thirty Love host Carl Bialik to talk about which US Open players UTR rates higher than the official rankings do, why he thinks U.S. tennis has weakened, and why more grass-court tennis would be good for the game. Music by Lee Rosevere. Amritraj on Twitter: https://twitter.com/stephenamritraj UTR announces hiring of Amritraj: https://blog.universaltennis.com/2018/04/27/meet-stephen-amritraj-utrs-chief-tennis-officer/

Jim Chairusmi, who edits The Wall Street Journal’s tennis coverage, joins Thirty Love host Carl Bialik to talk about Nick Kyrgios’s entertainment value, why Jim picks Petra Kvitova to win the Open, and what he makes of the tournament’s new Armstrong Stadium. Music by Lee Rosevere. Jim on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jimchair

Former pro Miha Mlakar, who now works as both a data scientist and as captain of Slovenia's Davis Cup team, joins Thirty Love host Carl Bialik to talk about his career, his attempts to bring together his twin passions of data science and tennis, and Davis Cup reforms. Music by Lee Rosevere. Miha on Twitter: https://twitter.com/majki37 

Tennis writer Matt Zemek joins Thirty Love host Carl Bialik to talk about how to make the tennis schedule a little cooler, how to understand a player's scheduling choices, and what he and the Tennis with an Accent team hope to achieve with their independent online coverage of the sport. Music by Lee Rosevere. Matt on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mzemek Tennis with an Accent: https://tennisaccent.com/ Cool Down Tennis: http://www.tennisabstract.com/blog/2017/04/05/cool-down-tennis/

Jeff McFarland, a Jacksonville lawyer who writes about tennis and tennis analytics at his Tumblr called First Ball In, joins Thirty Love host Carl Bialik to talk about Novak Djokovic's triumphant return, Angelique Kerber's first Wimbledon title, and how he calculates Popcorn Scores to identify must-watch matches. Produced and edited by Jorge Estrada, with music by Lee Rosevere. First Ball In: http://fbitennis.tumblr.com/ McFarland on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FBITennis

Career journalist and passionate tennis fan Ian Katz, who blogs about the sport at Not Up, joins host Thirty Love to recap the French Open triumphs of Simona Halep and Rafael Nadal, look ahead to the rest of the season, and trace the roots of his tennis biases. Produced and edited by Jorge Estrada, with music by Lee Rosevere. Not Up blog: https://notup.blog/ Katz on Twitter: https://twitter.com/iankatztennis

On Rafael Nadal's 32nd birthday, Angie Marek and Nicholas Zeitlin join Thirty Love host Carl Bialik to talk about their Rafa fandom, how it blossomed a decade ago, and what they expect from Nadal in the second week of the French Open. Produced and edited by Jorge Estrada, with music by Lee Rosevere.

Phil Dimon, former Williams College player and spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Uganda, joins Thirty Love host Carl Bialik to explain how he made his professional tennis debut in Kampala. Phil on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhilDimon Phil's brother Ricky's preview of Phil's futures main-draw debut: http://tenngrand.com/2018/04/30/uganda-futures-preview-bojanovic-vs-dimon/

New York Times tennis writer Christopher Clarey joins Thirty Love host Carl Bialik to preview the French Open, reflect on what makes the tournament unique and challenging, and explain why he loves tennis too much to cover it full time. Produced and edited by Jorge Estrada, with music by Lee Rosevere. Clarey on Twitter: https://twitter.com/christophclarey Clarey on Serena Williams: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/27/sports/tennis/serena-williams.html Clarey on Roger Federer: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/20/sports/tennis/roger-federer-laver-cup-chicago.html

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald (accompanied by his 24 dogs) joins Thirty Love host Carl Bialik to preview the documentary he's producing about Martina Navratilova, the social justice pioneer and dominant tennis champ who was his childhood idol. Glenn on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ggreenwald Variety on the film: http://variety.com/2018/film/news/martina-navratilova-documentary-reese-witherspoon-1202811524/

Glen Hill, the engineer and tennis coach, joins Thirty Love host Carl Bialik to talk about how even the very best players are far from their best selves, and how better tactics can help. Tactical Tennis, Glen's site with Jacob Meyer: http://www.tacticaltennis.com Glen on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GlenSHill

Racquet Magazine cofounder Caitlin Thompson, also cohost of The Main Draw podcast, tells Thirty Love host Carl Bialik about exciting news that takes Racquet beyond the magazine biz, and what it's like to hit with six-time Grand Slam champ Rennae Stubbs. Produced and edited by Jorge Estrada, with music by Lee Rosevere. Caitlin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/caitlin_thomps Racquet: https://racquetmag.com/ The Main Draw: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-main-draw/id1002026920?mt=2

Guitar repair hero and tennis-racquet expert Ethan Lee joins Thirty Love to educate host Carl Bialik on the tools of the tennis trade, and how racquets make the woman or man. Content warning: By the end of the episode, you'll want to buy a new racquet or three, and you'll want Ethan at your side when you do. Ethan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/theofreedom

Court 16 founder Anthony Evrard joins Thirty Love host Carl Bialik to talk about his innovative pair of tennis clubs in New York City, the deep tennis roots in his family, and how to balance the new and beloved old in a sport rich with tradition. Produced and edited by Jorge Estrada, with music by Lee Rosevere. Court 16's story: https://www.court16.com/about/our-tennis-story Court 16 LIC: https://www.court16.com/tennis-clubs/long-island-city-queens/

Cliff Richey -- the former No. 1 U.S. man, two-time Davis Cup champ, and equivalent of ATP No. 1 before there was such a thing -- joins Thirty Love host Carl Bialik to talk about his career, how he struggled with depression during and after playing, and how he's hoping to help raise awareness about depression, how to treat it, and how to reduce the stigma surrounding it. Produced and edited by Jorge Estrada, with music by Lee Rosevere. Richey's two co-authored books on depression: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&text=Cliff+Richey&search-alias=books&field-author=Cliff+Richey&sort=relevancerank Joel Drucker's profile of Richey: http://www.espn.com/sports/tennis/columns/story?columnist=drucker_joel&id=5162663 More on depression and its harms: https://www.vox.com/2014/8/12/5993075/depression-suicide-13-facts

Cecil Harris, author of "Charging the Net" and two other sports books, joins Thirty Love host Carl Bialik to talk about his forthcoming book on black tennis players, "Different Strokes," why he thinks 2018 might be the Williams sisters' last year on tour, and which young black players he thinks show the most promise. Produced and edited by Jorge Estrada, with music by Lee Rosevere. Harris on Twitter: https://twitter.com/allmyyankees

Rohit Brijnath, sports columnist for the Straits Times of Singapore, joins Thirty Love host Carl Bialik to talk about Roger Federer's return to the No. 1 ranking, what it was like to play against Simona Halep, why he thinks the best book about Federer will be written years after the world No. 1 retires, and which frequent Thirty Love guest he hopes will write it. Produced and edited by Jorge Estrada, with music by Lee Rosevere. Brijnath on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rohitdbrijnath Brijnath's Straits Times articles: http://www.straitstimes.com/authors/rohit-brijnath Brijnath's Livemint articles: http://www.livemint.com/Search/Link/Keyword/Rohit%20Brijnath Brijnath on Federer's Australian Open title: http://www.straitstimes.com/sport/tennis/federer-confirms-there-is-no-limit-in-sport Brijnath on playing against Halep: http://www.straitstimes.com/sport/tennis/to-play-against-halep-is-to-get-a-glimpse-of-her-greatness Brijnath's column on his tennis partner, "The man across the net": http://www.livemi

Radu Albot, two days after scoring his first career Top 20 win over John Isner, joins Thirty Love host Carl Bialik at the New York Open to talk about Moldovan tennis (there are three hard courts in the country; he's heard of "Playing the Moldovans at Tennis"), the biggest win of his career, and why he loves playing events with on-site hotels. Produced and edited by Jorge Estrada, with music by Lee Rosevere. Albot on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RaduAlbot "Playing the Moldovans at Tennis": https://www.amazon.com/Playing-Moldovans-Tennis-Tony-Hawks/dp/0312305184

Josh Ripple, tournament director of the New York Open and executive vice president of GF Sports, joins Thirty Love host Carl Bialik from Nassau Coliseum to recount how the event moved from Memphis to Long Island, describe the dance of signing players and sponsors for a new event, and recall what it was like to see one of the biggest stories from the event unfold: Donald Young accusing fellow American Ryan Harrison of making a racist remark on court. Produced and edited by Jorge Estrada, with music by Lee Rosevere. Ripple on Twitter: https://twitter.com/joshrip New York Open: http://newyorkopen.com/ More on the Young-Harrison story: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/16/sports/tennis/donald-young-racism-ryan-harrison.html

Former doubles world No. 1 Max Mirnyi, age 40, joins Thirty Love host Carl Bialik from the New York Open to talk about Roger Federer's return to world No. 1 in singles and what it was like playing doubles with, and splitting up with, Federer; Mirnyi's favorite partner (they only played one tournament together, losing in the final) and the partner who got away; and how rules changes have made it possible for doubles stars to excel into their 40s. Produced and edited by Jorge Estrada, with music by Lee Rosevere. Mirnyi on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maxmirnyi/