In this episode of the Irish Tennis Updates podcast, myself and Mark Finnegan look back at the summer so far and look ahead to the national junior championships in Fitzwilliam this week. Hope you enjoy this episode, and the very best of luck to all players this week.

Irish Tennis Updates Podcast

Summer Update and Fitzwilliam Preview

Hello and welcome back to the Irish Tennis Updates podcast. In this episode I’m talking to Paul O’Sullivan and Alan Beaddie about the upcoming fundraiser for the Irish Hospice Foundation. This is something that Alan has been running in his club of Clontarf for several years with great success and now it’s coming nationwide. Paul is the commercial manager at Tennis Ireland and he also joins the chat to tell us more. It takes place on October 1st and everyone can get involved. Make sure to listen to learn more and feel free to send Paul an email at posullivan@tennisireland.ie Thanks for listening and do get involved!

National Hospice Fundraiser 2021

Hello, and welcome back to the Irish Tennis Updates Podcast. This week I’ve been chatting to Olwyn O’Toole. Olwyn has been involved with tennis for many years and has recently founded the Access Tennis Foundation, which aims to make tennis accessible to those in disadvantaged circumstances, for example people living in direct provision centres and emergency accommodation. This is an amazing Foundation and it was great to hear about all of the work that it’s doing. As Olwyn mentions, there are many ways that you can get involved and help out. See this link to check out the fundraising campaign: https://www.idonate.ie/event/3064_share-the-love---the-access-tennis-foundation-clg.html And here’s the main website for the ATF: https://www.accesstennisfoundation.ie/ You can also check out Facebook and other social media sites for more information If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe to the show and leave a comment on iTunes. Also, share the show with anyone you think may be interested. It really does help me grow the podcast, so thank you in advance. Don't forget to check out and follow me on Twitter @TennisUpdateIRE for daily updates on everything Irish tennis. You can also subscribe to my monthly newsletter there, for a recap of the month's action. Finally, remember to use the code TENNISUPDATEIRE5 to get 5% off your order at tennispro.eu. A great site with great prices, well worth checking out. I am always really happy to receive any feedback about the show, or anything else. Let me know what you thought by sending an email to irishtennisupdates@gmail.com

Olwyn O'Toole and the Access Tennis Foundation

Hello, and welcome back to the Irish Tennis Updates Podcast. This week I’ve been chatting to Siobhan Nicholson. Siobhan had a very successful tennis career, with career high rankings in the top 300 for singles and doubles and several pro ITF titles to her name. More recently she has won the world over 50 championships. We talk about all of this, as well as her time representing Ireland at Fed Cup, her experiences in the US College tennis system in the 1990s and moving into the world of work after retirement. I really enjoyed this episode and I think you will too! If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe to the show and leave a comment on iTunes. Also, share the show with anyone you think may be interested. It really does help me grow the podcast, so thank you in advance. Don't forget to check out and follow me on Twitter @TennisUpdateIRE for daily updates on everything Irish tennis. You can also subscribe to my monthly newsletter there, for a recap of the month's action. Finally, remember to use the code TENNISUPDATEIRE5 to get 5% off your order at tennispro.eu. A great site with great prices, well worth checking out. I am always really happy to receive any feedback about the show, or anything else. Let me know what you thought by sending an email to irishtennisupdates@gmail.com

Siobhan Nicholson Interview

Hello, and welcome back to the Irish Tennis Updates Podcast. This week I’ve been chatting to Karen Nugent. Karen has had a lot of success in her tennis career and it was great to talk to her. She reached the quarter finals of junior Wimbledon, reached the top 250 in doubles as a pro and won numerous pro titles along the way. In this episode we talk about playing the junior grand slams, playing Martina Navratilova in Dublin as a 17 year old, the challenges she faced in her professional career and her relationship with tennis post retirement. I really enjoyed this episode and I think you will too! If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe to the show and leave a comment on iTunes. Also, share the show with anyone you think may be interested. It really does help me grow the podcast, so thank you in advance. Don't forget to check out and follow me on Twitter @TennisUpdateIRE for daily updates on everything Irish tennis. You can also subscribe to my monthly newsletter there, for a recap of the month's action. Finally, remember to use the code TENNISUPDATEIRE5 to get 5% off your order at tennispro.eu. A great site with great prices, well worth checking out. I am always really happy to receive any feedback about the show, or anything else. Let me know what you thought by sending an email to irishtennisupdates@gmail.com

Karen Nugent Interview

Hello, and welcome back to the Irish Tennis Updates Podcast. This week I’ve been talking to Claire Curran and this is part two of our chat. Claire had a lot of success as a pro tennis player, and represented both Ireland and Great Britain during her career. She got to top 100 in doubles and played in Wimbledon four times. This episode, in part two, Claire talks about her pro tennis days and the success that she enjoyed, making the switch from representing Ireland to Great Britain, why, and how that was for her, playing at Wimbledon and her roles in tennis since retiring. If you enjoy this episode and you missed part one, make sure to check it out. I really enjoyed this episode and I think you will too! If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe to the show and leave a comment on iTunes. Also, share the show with anyone you think may be interested. It really does help me grow the podcast, so thank you in advance. Don't forget to check out and follow me on Twitter @TennisUpdateIRE for daily updates on everything Irish tennis. You can also subscribe to my monthly newsletter there, for a recap of the month's action. Finally, remember to use the code TENNISUPDATEIRE5 to get 5% off your order at tennispro.eu. A great site with great prices, well worth checking out. I am always really happy to receive any feedback about the show, or anything else. Let me know what you thought by sending an email to irishtennisupdates@gmail.com

Claire Curran Interview part 2

Hello, and welcome back to the Irish Tennis Updates Podcast. This week I’ve been talking to Claire Curran and this is part one of our chat. Claire had a lot of success as a pro tennis player, and represented both Ireland and Great Britain during her career. She got to top 100 in doubles and played in Wimbledon four times. This episode, in part one, Claire discusses her current involvement with tennis, her junior days in the sport, spending four years in the US on a tennis scholarship and playing at the US Open. If you enjoy this episode make sure to tune in again next week for part two. I really enjoyed this episode and I think you will too! If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe to the show and leave a comment on iTunes. Also, share the show with anyone you think may be interested. It really does help me grow the podcast, so thank you in advance. Don't forget to check out and follow me on Twitter @TennisUpdateIRE for daily updates on everything Irish tennis. You can also subscribe to my monthly newsletter there, for a recap of the month's action. Finally, remember to use the code TENNISUPDATEIRE5 to get 5% off your order at tennispro.eu. A great site with great prices, well worth checking out. I am always really happy to receive any feedback about the show, or anything else. Let me know what you thought by sending an email to irishtennisupdates@gmail.com

Claire Curran Interview part 1

In this episode I've caught up with Grainne O'Neill, Ciara Finucane and John McGahon who are in Lithuania this week with the Billie Jean King Cup team.   We discuss how team preparation went, winning the group stages, promotion play-offs and look ahead to the last match tomorrow.  Enjoy this episode, and best of luck to the team for tomorrow.

Billie Jean King Cup Update

With Davis and Billie Jean King Cup teams both in action this week, I caught up with Cian Blake, interim co-captain for the Davis Cup team, to get his thoughts on the week so far and look forward to tomorrow’s match-up. The very best of luck to both teams, and keep an eye out for more content like this over the coming days.

Davis Cup Update with Cian Blake

Hello and welcome back to the Irish Tennis Updates Podcast. This week I’m chatting to Cian Blake and Carlos Miranda, the interim captains for the upcoming Davis Cup tie in Cyprus this week. You’ll hear about their background in tennis, their journeys as coaches, and they also preview the matches this week. They discuss the team, the format and how to follow along. Also, find out how they fare with their Irish Davis Cup trivia. I really appreciate their time with this episode and wish them and the team the very best of luck in Cyprus. The Billie Jean King Cup team is also in action this week in Lithuania, and I’ll be keeping up to date with both teams on Twitter, starting on the 15th. If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe to the show and leave a comment on iTunes. Also, share the show with anyone you think may be interested. It really does help me grow the podcast, so thank you in advance. Don't forget to check out and follow me on Twitter @TennisUpdateIRE for daily updates on everything Irish tennis. You can also subscribe to my monthly newsletter there, for a recap of the month's action. Finally, remember to use the code TENNISUPDATEIRE5 to get 5% off your order at tennispro.eu. A great site with great prices, well worth checking out. I am always really happy to receive any feedback about the show, or anything else. Let me know what you thought by sending an email to irishtennisupdates@gmail.com

Cian Blake, Carlos Miranda and Davis Cup 2021

Hello and welcome back to the Irish Tennis Updates Podcast. This week I am chatting to JoAnne Williamson. JoAnne has been involved in tennis her whole life and spent time as a teenager in the Bollettieri Academy and represented Ireland at the Junior World Championships. More recently she has played for Ireland at a vet level and done so with a lot of success. And she has also spent a number of years coaching to a high level. JoAnne has a lot of passion for tennis and has a lot of great stories. I really enjoyed this chat. If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe to the show and leave a comment on iTunes. Also, share the show with anyone you think may be interested. It really does help me grow the podcast, so thank you in advance. Don't forget to check out and follow me on Twitter @TennisUpdateIRE for daily updates on everything Irish tennis. You can also subscribe to my monthly newsletter there, for a recap of the month's action. Finally, remember to use the code TENNISUPDATEIRE5 to get 5% off your order at tennispro.eu. A great site with great prices, well worth checking out. I am always really happy to receive any feedback about the show, or anything else. Let me know what you thought by sending an email to irishtennisupdates@gmail.com

JoAnne Williamson Interview

Hello and welcome back to the Irish Tennis Updates Podcast. This week I’m chatting to Rob Leahy. Rob has a huge amount of experience in the racket restringing business and has worked as a stringer at several professional events over the years in addition to working in shops in Cork for many years and more recently Doha where he now lives and works. As well as discussing some of his own journey in tennis and how he started stringing, Rob also shares a huge amount of advice for those interested in stringing, and also for players who are looking to get the most out of rackets, strings, tension and so on. There is a huge amount to take from this episode and I hope you find it useful. If you have any queries at all after listening to this episode please feel free to send Rob an email at rob@racketrestringing.ie. You can also send me an email with any thoughts or feedback and irishtennisupdates@gmail.com If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe to the show and leave a comment on iTunes. Also, share the show with anyone you think may be interested. It really does help me grow the podcast, so thank you in advance. Don't forget to check out and follow me on Twitter @TennisUpdateIRE for daily updates on everything Irish tennis. You can also subscribe to my monthly newsletter there, for a recap of the month's action. Finally, remember to use the code TENNISUPDATEIRE5 to get 5% off your order at tennispro.eu. A great site with great prices, well worth checking out.

Rob Leahy and Racket Restringing

We are in the final week of the US college tennis season so tune in to hear how the Irish players have fared in the National Championships over the last 2-3 weeks. Also find out which players have been recognised by their conference as having had outstanding seasons. There are visuals that accompany this episode, so I’d recommend watching on YouTube if you can, to see the images and draws that Mark is discussing. A big well done to all the players for a great season and many thanks to Mark for his time with this episode and throughout the season.

End of College Tennis Season Update

Georgia Drummy is currently competing at the NCAA national championships and has won her opening two matches to reach the last 16. Fergus O’Rourke, also an Irish college tennis player has been on the campus for the tournament and yesterday he caught up with Georgia to get her thoughts on the tournament so far. Many thanks to both Fergus and Georgia for taking the time to do this, and best of luck to Georgia for the rest of the tournament. She plays her next match at 6:30pm Irish time today, May 25th. Check out this link for some other videos that Fergus has made during the tournament, including a chat with Dave Mullins: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS-nUhfpvpF_c3QmIOwP2qQ

Georgia Drummy Interview with Fergus O'Rourke

With the regular season now finished, Mark Finnegan takes us through what the remainder looks like. From NCAA D1, D2, NAIA and Junior Colleges, team, singles and doubles, tune in to learn all about it and hear about which Irish players are competing over the course of May. The very best of luck to all players. With thanks to the NCAA where all the draws used in this episode are taken from. See https://www.ncaa.com/sports/tennis-women/d1 and https://www.ncaa.com/sports/tennis-men/d1 for more info. If you’re accessing this on a podcast site, then here is the YouTube link so you can see the visuals that go with this episode: https://youtu.be/VH51v_sEzwE 

End of Season Preview with Mark Finnegan

I get to chat with prominent figures in the world of Irish tennis. Current players, past players, and anyone else I can get.