The Volley podcast #10: Our Tokyo Olympics debrief, and why tennis and the Games work together

Our reporter Chris Oddo who has covered the tennis event at the Tokyo Olympics extensively for Tennis Majors got together with noted British tennis journalist Simon Cambers to do a debrief on the Olympic Games, as well as all the major tennis storylines from Tokyo in the latest episode of The Volley podcast.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF THE VOLLEY PODCAST #10 THE TOKYO OLYMPICS

• Player reactions to competing at the Tokyo Olympics and what the Games mean to the players (around 0’45 in the podcast)
• The lack of ranking points for the Olympics and its impact on the player field (around 5’40 in the podcast)
• The importance of the Olympic Games to athletes from former Communist countries in Eastern Europe (around 7’35 in the podcast)
• Djokovic’s surprising loss in the Tokyo semi-finals (around 12’06 in the podcast)
• The Golden Slam and how difficult it is to achieve the feat (around 13’50 in the podcast)
• The impact of Djokovic’s loss on his chances at the US Open and the rest of his season (around 16’06 in the podcast)
• Osaka’s return and early exit at the Games as well as the significance of her lighting the Olympic cauldron (around 20’19 in the podcast)
• Athletes speaking out about mental health issues and Osaka’s role in bringing this discussion to the table (around 22’47 in the podcast)
• Zverev’s gold-medal wining performance and whether this will be a springboard for him going forward (around 25’27 in the podcast)
• Bencic winning the women’s singles at the Olympics and what it may mean for her career
• A recap of the doubles event, which included the continued great run for Barbora Krejcikova
• Does Olympic Games make tennis more attractive to the casual sports fans?