Baseline Exchanges host Andrew Raeburn, former GB Fed Cup doubles player Anna Smith and coach and analyst Craig Viner discuss the first week and a half of Wimbledon 2021.   They review their pre-tournament predictions – which produced mixed success – and digest the first-week fates of Serena Williams, Andy Murray and Stefanos Tsitsipas.   Anna praises the impact and potential of British teenager Emma Raducanu while Craig talks about how it felt to be among the fans again on the SW19 show courts ..read more

Ahead of Wimbledon, Andrew, Craig and Anna are joined by Marcus Willis, John Parry and Nicole Melichar, who lifts the lid on what it’s like to be the centre of attention on Centre Court.   Marcus Willis talks about his famous encounter with Roger Federer in 2016 and the two current top-10 names he beat in qualifying to get there.   Former umpire John Parry, now 82, reminisces about his long career in the chair, which included taking charge of eight Wimbledon finals – most notably the 1987 women’s singles final between Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf, and the 1989 men’s singles fi ..read more

Following Naomi Osaka's withdrawal from the 2021 French Open, the 'Baseline Exchanges' team chat with WTA Sports psychologist Chantal Duarte & BBC sports journalist Ros Satar about tennis, the media and mental health. We also catch up with tennis strategist Mike James on 'Week One' of Roland Garros and how his work differs during a Grand Slam compared to the regular weeks of the tour. Subjects include:  The stresses on tennis players.  The WTA mental health team working on the tour to support players. The work of journalists at tennis events. The inner workings of tennis press ..read more

In episode 16 of Baseline Exchanges, Andrew Raeburn, Craig Viner and Anna Smith talk to veteran sports broadcaster John Inverdale, presenter of ITV’s coverage of the French Open. John, who in 2021 will be working at his 36th Wimbledon Championships, discusses his earliest memories of SW19, the transformation of Roland-Garros, and foresees an end to Rafael Nadal’s domination in Paris. He also expresses his fears about the sport’s future unless it modernises its formats and comes out from behind TV’s paywall. Meanwhile, analyst Mike James talks about working with French Open champion Iga Świąt ..read more

Andrew, Anna & Craig discuss the tennis media landscape with Caitlin Thompson, Co-founder at Racquet, & Tim Farthing, Co-owner of Tennishead, and the media's role in shaping tennis' future.   In our regular feature, tennis analyst Mike James talks about Madrid, altitude and how players need to adapt.   Subscribe/Follow Racquet:   Website - https://racquetmag.com/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/racquetmag/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/racqetmagazine   Check out the latest issue: https://racquetmag.com/product/issue-no-16/   Subscribe/Follow Tennishead ..read more

In Episode 14 of the 'Baseline Exchanges' podcast, Andrew, Anna & Craig chat to the world-renowned journalist, author, speaker and Executive Producer John Carlin and Tennis Analyst Mike James about all things Rafael Nadal. In 2011 alongside Rafael Nadal, John wrote 'Rafa - My Story' about the life and career of the greatest tennis player of his generation. The book became The Sunday Times bestseller.  Mike then explains why Rafael Nadal is the greatest exponent of his craft on clay ..read more

In this weeks episode, Andrew and Craig welcome a new member to the 'Baseline Exchanges' team, former Great Britain Fed Cup player and WTA Doubles champion Anna Smith. They also sit down with Alistair Higham, formally the LTA 'Head of Coach Education' and now the author of two best-selling books on 'momentum' in sport.  They explore why momentum is the hidden force in tennis and how players and coaches can use the study of momentum to help better inform their practices.  OFFER: Interested in a FREE e-learning taster course on Match Flow and Momentum? Checkout: https://coachi ..read more

Andrew and Craig chat to the Founder & President of EcoAthletes, and Founder of GreenSportsBlog, the leading blog at the intersection of Green & Sports, Lew Blaustein. Discussions include the nonprofit’s mission is to “inspire and coach athletes to lead climate action” and why athletes need to do more to fight climate change ..read more

Andrew and Craig sit down with Dr Dario Novak, Assistant Professor of Kinesiology at the University of Zagreb and Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University, to discuss, amongst other things; his career, bridging the gap between theory and practice, working with Borna Coric and Donna Veckic, the importance of coaching by evidence and why talent is never enough ..read more

In this week's podcast, Andrew and Craig chat to Mike James, Founder & CEO of Sportiii Analytics, about the use and value of data-driven analytics in tennis.   Discussions include the difference between a tennis analyst and strategist, working with Magnus Norman, the intricacies of working with top players and teams, and what the future holds for data analytics ..read more