Podcast · Sport

Backhands and Compliments: A Tennis Podcast

by Backhands and Compliments · English · Sport

Putting the female gaze into ATP tennis discourse. You're welcome.

New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 59 min
Latest: 31 Mar 2025
Language: English

Latest episode

31 Mar 2025 · 1 hr 24 min

Italian Wells (IRL Indian Wells Recap)

We’re back to take you through the play-by-play of our second annual pilgrimage out to Tennis Paradise, aka Indian Wells! We spent five days in the desert watching a ton of tennis and collecting our own little DeuceMoi anecdotes. In this episode: how to have The Best Day Ever(™), who Timothée Chalamet was rooting for, and how to have your favorite player repost one of your videos into their photodump. Preorder Katie’s debut novel, out in June 2025!: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1668086786 Follow us on Instagram @backhandsandcompliments , Twitter @backhandspod , Bluesky @backhandspod.bsky.social…

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

S3 · E3 · 3 Mar 2025 · 51 min
2025 ATP Bingo (From the Vault)
In this episode (recorded back in January), we go through our 2025 predictions and set up our bingo boards! Find out which predictions have aged like a fine wine and which are already out-of-date. Preorder Katie’s debut novel, out in June 2025!: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1668086786 Follow us on Instagram @backhandsandcompliments, Twitter @backhandspod, Bluesky @backhandspod.bsky.social and TikTok @backhandsandcompliments.
S3 · E2 · 5 Feb 2025 · 51 min
G'Night Mate (Australian Open 2025 Recap)
*insert bad Australian accent here* G'night mate! The Australian Open and January took a thousand years to complete, but you can listen to all our distilled thoughts in one episode! We psychoanalyze Novak Djokovic and his Christmas ham thigh, gush over Jannik Sinner entering his Morgan Riddle YouTube era, and adopt Learner Tien because he’s a California guy and a Sagittarius! We also give Madison Keys her flowers for crushing the Women’s Singles tournament! 🥹 We also briefly touch on Davis Cup, mostly the literal clash between Belgium and Chile and Arthur Fils being an ~icon~. Links to…
S3 · E1 · 11 Jan 2025 · 36 min
Australian Open Preview!
We’re backkk! Did you miss us? And it’s time for a new season for tennis players and this podcast. Luckily, we’re keeping it simple for our first episode back and doing a review of the Australian Open Draw! Who has a good draw? What matchups do we want to see? And which round one will have us at odds? 👀 We also discuss the California wildfires, so if you are able, here are various links to donate. And if you have been personally affected and have a link for donations, please reach out to us and we’ll add it! Links to Donate to help with the California Fires: Los Angeles Regional Food Bank:…
S2 · E33 · 3 Dec 2024 · 1 hr 13 min
2024 Tennis Season Wrapped!
2024’s tennis season had many iconic moments, but which ones are the most memorable? Which ones will live forever in our hearts and which ones did we hate? We’re recapping the season with a tier ranking of all the pop culture moments, scandals, and personal wins we can remember. Let us know where you would put these moments! New to tennis or trying to get a friend into the sport? Check out our ATP 101 and 102 episodes to understand who/what we're talking about. Preorder Katie’s debut novel, out in June 2025!: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1668086786 Follow us on Instagram…
S2 · E32 · 29 Nov 2024 · 1 hr 5 min
Finally Free! (Davis Cup Recap)
And with that, the 2024 season comes to a close! For once we put respect on the Davis Cup and chat about Team Italy’s repeat win! But first, we have a freak out over Sir Andy Murray coaching Novak Djokovic for the Australian Open. (The 2025 season cannot come quick enough!) How did it happen? What was that conversation like? Will AO mic up the box so we can hear what Andy says to Novak? So many questions! We resurrect the gameshow for another round, except this time Miranda has to recognize the faces of doubles’ players! And stay tuned for off-season content! We’ll be bringing you more…
S2 · E31 · 22 Nov 2024 · 1 hr 15 min
Farewell Rafael! (ATP Finals Recap)
It’s the end of an era. Not for us, but we do say adios a todos to Rafael Nadal! He retired this week in Spain at the Davis Cup, so we talk about the lack of fanfare, Tennis Channel speaking over him, and the beautiful if fragmented letter that Roger Federer wrote to him. The ATP Finals finally had an Italian win, congratulations to Jannik Sinner! But mostly we do the patriotic thing and talk about Taylor Fritz and his growth. We also psychoanalyze both Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev. Rafa might be retiring, but B&C won’t retire that bit! Plus, we have a quick lil gameshow segment where…
S2 · E30 · 6 Nov 2024 · 1 hr 31 min
Q&A! (Misery in Bercy)
Do you want a little escape from the state of tennis, America’s election season, or the seasonal affective disorder the ending of daylight savings time brings? Well, never fear, dear listener! We have a fun time answering your questions and chatting about our favorite brand and player collabs, Formula 1, and which country we’d abolish. Plus, we give you the behind-the-scenes tea on how long it takes to make a podcast episode and what the lore is behind the intro clips! New to tennis or trying to get a friend into the sport? Check out our ATP 101 and 102 episodes to understand who/what we're…
S2 · E29 · 1 Nov 2024 · 59 min
Battle of the Bots (Basel & Vienna)
It’s American election time! Which means we discuss the very important upcoming vote results…People’s Sexiest Men in Sports list, obviously! (We joke to cope.) Our predictions include one last hurrah for Rafa and the possible inclusion of Taylor Fritz? (Will he be blonde or brunette? That’s the real question.) We also have a conversation about Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz’s comments about why they played the Six Kings Slam, and if you were wondering why we personally don’t support the Saudi tournaments, the Tennis Podcast does a great episode going through why you should care and why…
S2 · E28 · 24 Oct 2024 · 1 hr 5 min
DeuceMoi (The Asian Swing)
Back-to-back episodes? Look at us! We’re back to talk about the Asian Swing which included another Masters 1000 win for Jannik Sinner, two Janlitos finals (Jannik Sinner v. Carlos Alcaraz), and an appeal from WADA regarding Jannik Sinner’s doping case. And because it's us, we're bring you a DeuceMoi story from Miranda herself! Ugo Humbert’s perfect streak in singles’ finals has come to end thanks to fellow Frenchman Arthur Fils. Rafael Nadal has played his last singles match too, but we definitely put off talking about his retirement to discuss Davis Cup, of all things! The ATP Finals is…
S2 · E27 · 22 Oct 2024 · 47 min
Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve, and Talenti Gelato (US Open & More) (From The Vault)
Surprise! The vault is open, and we’re finally catching up on the tournaments that have happened during our (unplanned) hiatus! In today’s episode, we’re finishing off the US Open and discussing the various Laver/Davis Cups. We recorded this back in September, but still wanted to bring y’all the content, so please be patient with us as we catch up. I mean, we couldn’t just breeze past Taylor Swift showing up to the US Open Final. Also included: Katie’s heartbreak over the Ramsbury doubles team breakup and an unexpected respect for indoor tennis tournaments. New to tennis or trying to get a…
S2 · E26 · 3 Sep 2024 · 46 min
Slaylor Fritz! (US Open Week 1 Recap)
We are Praylor Fritz today as we discuss all that has happened at the US Open. No more mid-Slam delusions this episode, we’re actually very rational (very demure, very mindful) about our predictions and we rank who we would like to win the US Open the most. Naturally we talk about the biggest upset, Katie’s man Botic van de Zandschulp defeated Carlos Alcaraz! No choking from him (even if Juan Carlos Ferrero thought he would). Taylor Fritz is playing some of his best tennis and we are putting all of our manifesting energy into an All-American semifinal. On the other side of the draw, we talk…
S2 · E25 · 28 Aug 2024 · 1 hr 7 min
The Big Announcement! (and US Open Round 1)
We ended up quite punchy in this episode, so enjoy some mid-Slam delusion on DAY TWO. We talk about some of the upsets (rip Pablo Carreno Busta, Holger Rune, and Karen Khachanov) , the battle of the Boss Babies (Taylor Fritz vs. Matteo Berrettini) , and the retirement of iconic players such as Diego Schwartzman and Dominic Thiem. Katie finally announces what she’s been teasing for months. She sold a book to Simon & Schuster! And yes, it’s a tennis romance novel with soulmates and rivals-to-lovers. And, of course, it wouldn’t be a B&C episode if we didn’t have a completely unhinged…
S2 · E24 · 21 Aug 2024 · 1 hr 14 min
CinSinnerati (Montreal & Cincinnati Recap)
An episode where we go over all the ~DRAMA~ from the last two weeks. From Stefanos Tsitsipas firing his father very publicly to a double-hit dispute between Jack Draper and Felix Auger-Alissame on match point to Jannik Sinner’s doping scandal; we’ll go through it all with all the facts and our color commentary. We also give Alexei Popyrin his flowers for winning his first Masters 1000 title in Montreal! And Jannik Sinner becomes the first man this year to win 2 Masters 1000 titles! (Katie’s bingo card is very happy about this.) New to tennis or trying to get a friend into the sport? Check…
S2 · E23 · 7 Aug 2024 · 1 hr 14 min
Andy Murr-der (Olympics & Washington Recap)
Get ready for some slightly obnoxious U S A chants (and one ITALIA chant) in this week’s episode! Carlos Alcaraz’s incredible summer ends with a silver medal and Novak Djokovic finally claims the gold medal. (Maybe now he’ll leave us alone. Unlikely, but we can dream.) We loved that Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz took home bronze, while doubles’ specialists came through in the gold medal match. Andy Murray has officially retired (making this the second of the Big 4 to be sent off into the sunset by an American doubles team) and the Queen’s Club already renamed their center court after him.…
S2 · E22 · 23 Jul 2024 · 1 hr
Oh My Gstaad! (Hamburg, Gstaad, Bastad, and Newport Recap)
Lots of beautiful tennis this week! Arthur Fils became the newest exterminator and won Hamburg for his second ATP title. But it wasn’t without its drama. In the coastal Bastad, we saw the man, the myth, the legend, Rafael Nadal, putting in the hours. But ultimately, it was Nuno Borges who took home the trophy! Of course, most of our episode is dedicated to Matteo Berrettini’s win in Gstaad! He defeated Quentin Halys (Con-ton, Al-ees) in less than an hour. And finally, in Newport we had an all-American clash but Marcos Giron wins his first title and right in time for his 31st birthday! Plus,…
S2 · E21 · 18 Jul 2024 · 57 min
Channel Charlie! (Wimbledon Week 2 Recap)
Did tennis happen this week? Are people talking about tennis? We sure are! Carlos Alcaraz won his 4th Grand Slam, the Channel Slam, and successfully defended his Wimbledon title! Has the US Open Curse come for Novak Djokovic at last? Along with the tennis, we also have two of our favorite segments return: Andrey Rublev Psychoanalysis Hours and the “Who is More Famous?”™️ game! Also, in big news for Roger Federer went to the Eras tour (RogERA FedERAERAs Tour). New to tennis or trying to get a friend into the sport? Check out our ATP 101 and 102 episodes to understand who/what we're talking…
S2 · E20 · 10 Jul 2024 · 1 hr 4 min
Cheer Loud Ladies! (Wimbledon Week 1 Recap)
With drama galore and a few cheeky Instagram stories from the most famous woman in men’s tennis, strap yourselves in for our review of the first week (and a half) of Wimbledon! We go through it all including; Taylor Fritz being our Scorpio King to both the rat and Arthur Rinderknech. Speaking of French Arthurs, we talk about how weird Hubi Hurkacz was being during his match against Arthur Fils. And of course, it wouldn’t be a Backhands & Compliments episode without a long talk about Matteo Berrettini! (A couple mentions mean *JAR*) We’re having a great time with Wimbledon this year, so let’s…
S2 · E19 · 29 Jun 2024 · 49 min
The Draw & The Claw (Wimbledon Draw Review)
We’re back to live react to the 2024 Wimbledon Men’s draw and this time, Miranda has put her insanity and genius together to create a stunning spreadsheet to help us stay on task. You can hear us react in real time to our favorites and then we systematically go through the draw, discussing who has a great draw and who doesn’t. In between our professional thoughts, we talk about Paige Lorenze and ‘clawgate’ and Andrey Rublev not playing the Olympics. New to tennis or trying to get a friend into the sport? Check out our ATP 101 and 102 episodes to understand who/what we're talking about.…
S2 · E18 · 18 Jun 2024 · 54 min
Touching Grass (Stuttgart and 's-Hertogenbosch Recap)
It’s officially grass season, so make sure to take a look at our fresh logo! This week, in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Alex de Minaur defeated Sebi Korda, matching his girlfriend Katie Boulter once again as she won in Nottingham! In Stuttgart, British lefty Jack Draper wins his first ATP title! Unfortunately, he beat one of our favorites, Matteo Berrettini. Add in some fun facts, a discussion about Bublik’s quitting, and recommending books to Coco Gauff and that’s our episode! New to tennis or trying to get a friend into the sport? Check out our ATP 101 and 102 episodes to understand who/what we're…
S2 · E17 · 13 Jun 2024 · 54 min
Roland Carlos! (French Open Recap)
Despite the chaos of Rome and the potential for insanity at the beginning of Roland-Garros, the second slam was not very Open and not particularly French! Still, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner saved the tournament by defeating a rat to win the tournament and becoming world number 1 respectively. We talk about all of that and more, including Miranda’s injury at the hands of some wet stairs at her brother’s wedding, the greediness of the ATP that spans all the way back to 1991, and a Space Jam remake with tennis players cleverly titled Space Slam. New to tennis or trying to get a friend into…
S2 · E16 · 3 Jun 2024 · 1 hr 12 min
50th Episode Q&A!
It’s our 50th episode! So, we asked you guys over on Twitter for questions and you delivered! We answered! Hope you enjoy learning more about us! New to tennis or trying to get a friend into the sport? Check out our ATP 101 and 102 episodes to understand who/what we're talking about. Follow us on Instagram instagram.com/backhandsandcompliments, Twitter twitter.com/backhandspod, and TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@backhandsandcompliments.
S2 · E15 · 21 May 2024 · 1 hr 5 min
Rome [REDACTED] (Tennis x F1 Crossover Episode)
Crazy how the second week of Rome just didn’t happen? Isn’t that weird? So, we talk about the surprisingly early exits, the nightmare that was a fan’s water bottle falling on Novak Djokovic, and the sad upcoming retirements. This is also the introduction of Miranda’s Matteo Jar, so enjoy every little plink of a quarter when she randomly brings him up. And yes, we tend to joke about making a Formula One podcast episode if a certain rat wins a tournament. Instead, we decided to help you out if you’re looking to get into F1 but you aren’t sure who to root for. Don’t worry, we got you! We’ll…
S2 · E14 · 7 May 2024 · 49 min
Andrey 1000 (AGAIN!) (Madrid Recap)
It’s an (Orthodox) Easter miracle! Despite injections in his toe to numb it, a swollen throat, and Death on his doorstep, Andrey Rublev wins the Madrid Masters!! Turns out the power of Katie’s manifestation and Jesus Christ were enough to give Andrey the strength to win. He played Felix Auger-Alissame, which isn’t surprising when you see the two retirements and one walkover Felix got. Still, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy! Lucky Felix Felicis. Surprisingly, there was little nonsense happening this year and we enjoyed the tournament! New to tennis or trying to get a friend into the…
S2 · E13 · 27 Apr 2024 · 1 hr 19 min
Movie Club: Challengers
Both of our lives were changed by the newest tennis movie, Challengers! We go full spoilers and scream into the microphone, so listen after you’ve watched the movie! We hope you enjoy this extra episode in the middle of Madrid. And if you’ve watched Challengers, please tell us your thoughts, headcanons, and theories! New to tennis or trying to get a friend into the sport? Check out our ATP 101 and 102 episodes to understand who/what we're talking about. Follow us on Instagram instagram.com/backhandsandcompliments, Twitter twitter.com/backhandspod, and TikTok…
S2 · E13 · 25 Apr 2024 · 42 min
Crying at the Gym (Barcelona, Munich, and Bucharest)
We’re back to recap another week of tennis, from Barcelona to Munich to Bucharest. There were lots of firsts this week, from Casper Ruud winning his first tournament above 250-level to Jan-Lennard Struff winning his first ATP title. We also indulge in some classic B&C Andrey Rublev psychoanalysis time, discuss how many matches Rafa Nadal may have left, and only spend a few minutes talking about The Tortured Poets Department (sorry in advance). New to tennis or trying to get a friend into the sport? Check out our ATP 101 and 102 episodes to understand who/what we're talking about. Follow us…
S2 · E12 · 18 Apr 2024 · 40 min
Slay Season (Monte-Carlo Masters Recap)
Stefanos Tstisipas is not only the winner of the B&C Handsomeness Poll, but he is back to being the champion of the Monte-Carlo Masters! Add him to the list of people who have a tournament win when Novak Djokovic doesn’t. Despite Casper Ruud looking fantastic in a sleek black kit, he did lose another final. But he did finally win two sets against a top opponent! And a lot of Monaco royalty was in attendance, like the Challengers’ cast and half the Formula 1 grid. But this tournament really is no different than other clay tournaments; there were plenty of missed calls and tantrums in the…
S2 · E11 · 9 Apr 2024 · 57 min
"The Most Handsome Players on the ATP Tour"?
It is time to reveal who is the ATP’s Next Top Most Handsome Player . Or who won the poll voted on by our listeners. Who will come out on top? And who smized his way into the top three after some serious campaigning? And is this a question of male gaze vs. female gaze? And in tennis news, it was one of our favorite weeks for tennis. Three tournaments on three continents! We talk about the power of a black and pink kit, especially since it is part of the reason Ben Shelton won Houston! Casper Ruud was channeling his inner Karen Rude by trying to hit an annoying drone with tennis balls.…
S2 · E10 · 4 Apr 2024 · 48 min
The Grigorenaissance (Miami Open Recap)
We’re feeling 22! Okay, maybe we’re not, but Jannik Sinner sure is! 22 wins, 22 years old, AND number 2 in the rankings! Although it’s the third time the charm when it comes to him finally capturing the Miami Master’s title. But the star of Miami and number one in our hearts this week is Grigor Dimitrov! Looks like last year’s Beijing really set the finalists up for major career shifts. Now the question is, will anyone beat Jannik again? Another question is, why is the ATP changing the doubles format to better suit singles players? Trust that Katie has a lot of thoughts on it! And finally,…
S2 · E9 · 27 Mar 2024 · 53 min
Downpour Double (Miami Open Week 1 Recap)
Between the rains and the bees and all the flopping, the end of Indian Wells and the beginning of Miami have provided odd bits and pieces. From discussing the advertising of the new tennis movie, Challengers to the new deals brewing on the desks of executives to PR mishaps to a complaining Casper to Fergus Murphy squashing some weird beef; we cover everything on and off the court. Miami might be ankle break city (RIP Tommy Paul & Andy Murray) , but hopefully, it’s not heartbreak city! Can Daniil finally break the curse and give us another bingo square? New to tennis or trying to get a friend…

About Backhands and Compliments: A Tennis Podcast

Putting the female gaze into ATP tennis discourse. You're welcome.

Backhands and Compliments: A Tennis Podcast is a English sport podcast from Backhands and Compliments. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: Backhands and Compliments
Language: English
Category: Sport
New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 59 min
Latest episode: 31 Mar 2025
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1658797661
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