Patrick McEnroe on Roger Federer and the International Tennis Hall of Fame induction process

Episode 8 of The Big T, a Tennis Channel podcast, is now available to listen on your favorite streaming platforms—click here for the latest drop.

You can also watch specific segments and bonus content from every episode on the Tennis Channel app—click here and start digging in!

On this week’s episode, a new host joins the fray, and two guests make special appearances…

🎾 A new wing in the Hall of Fame?

Roger Federer’s upcoming induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame is something everyone expected. That doesn’t mean it’s not also highly anticipated—tickets for the historic event sold out in mere minutes.

Mary Carillo will join Federer in Newport this August, having secured induction in the Contributor category. It's one of three induction categories for the ITHOF: Player, Contributor and Wheelchair.

Shouldn’t there be one for Coach?

“We’ve had some people on our committees mention the idea,” said Patrick McEnroe, President of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. “These are the things we look at on a fairly regular basis, because it’s a pretty big responsibility to have.”

Hall of Fame voting has been a hot topic this year in sports, with Bill Belichick, the six-time Super Bowl champion coach, not being selected for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

That was “pretty bizarre,” said McEnroe. “We’re trying to, at the Tennis Hall of Fame, avoid those types of controversies—and do the right thing.”

🎧 Listen at the 13:55 mark

🏆 For Pegula, the Seventh Time’s a Charm

At last week’s WTA 1000 in Dubai, Jessica Pegula reached her seventh consecutive tournament semifinal—and won her first title in that searing stretch. The late-round staple just turned 32, but is firmly in the best 18-month stretch of her career.

Since August 2024, Pegula is 83-29, with five titles (including two WTA 1000s) and six runner-up finishes (including three WTA 1000s and one Grand Slam).

“I don’t know how to unpack the story of Jess Pegula,” said Alison Riske, joining Brad Gilbert in the comfy chairs for this week’s pod.

Pegula’s rise, at a juncture when most players’ powers are on the decline, is quite a story, which we’ve chronicled over the past three years:

• April 2023: The EST of the WTA: Jessica Pegula may be the busiest, funniest and bravest player on tour. Now, she’s trying to be the best
• July 2023: Marketa Vondrousova rallies after roof closure, as Jessica Pegula falls to 0-6 in Grand Slam quarterfinals
• August 2023: On Kobe Bryant Day—and every other day—Jessica Pegula remembers one of her biggest inspirations
• February 2024: Jessica Pegula ends coaching relationship with David Witt
• September 2024: At US Open, Jessica Pegula ousts world No. 1 Iga Swiatek to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal
• October 2024: Jessica Pegula “has never grown bitter,” says one of her biggest fans, Luke Russert—only better
• April 2025: What does Jessica Pegula’s last six weeks say about her next six months?
• September 2025: Jessica Pegula vs. Aryna Sabalenka: A “weird” but consistent US Open schedule brings the American to her greatest challenge

“She’s the type of player that all other players can look at and say, ‘Look where she was, at 25 years old, and look what’s possible,’” said Gilbert.

The wisdom that Jess Pegula has, and the perspective that she has, I really think is unparalleled. Alison Riske

🎧 Listen at the 3:00 mark

🫖 Spilling the T: High-Percentage Tennis

“Bank or Shank” takes a breather this week, but “High-Percentage Tennis” returns. In this week’s game, our hosts gave their thoughts on:

• Pegula or Amanda Anisimova winning a major during their careers
• Sebastian Korda returning to the Top 15
• An American player winning Indian Wells this year
• Someone winning the Sunshine Double

🎧 Listen at the 28:30 mark

💻 Ben Depoorter, Tennis’ Number Decoder

This week’s second guest is Ben Depoorter, of Golden Set Analytics. His company takes data from tens of thousands of matches to a) help players optimize their games, and  b) help coaches filter the statistics to find what is relevant to winning and losing matches.

“One match actually is about 26 million data points, believe it or not,” says Depoorter, whose team has worked with Grand Slam champions. “So you need software. Our team is computer scientists, statisticians and tennis people.”

Riske understands this better than most players, having worked with Golden Set during her career. Around the time she was ranked around the Top 40, she decided to make the investment.

“The things that we looked for a lot were my opponents’ serve placement, and where I should be serving second serves. I remember in particular, a match against [Kristina] Mladenovic at Wimbledon, a big flag was, ‘Hey, you need to be serving the majority of your second serves to her forehand.’ And I’ll tell you what, I probably won 80 percent.

“You guys won a lot of matches for me.”

🎧 Listen at the 40:30 mark

📫 Calling All Questions!

How can tennis increase viewer interest in the sport? Have game styles become too homogenous, and court surfaces too similar?

Marc serves up this week’s fan mail—and as they did while on tour, Riske and Gilbert are ready with their returns.

🎧 Listen at the 38:00 mark

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