Talkn Tennis

Ep 25: Rome Masters 1000 Mid-Tournament Review - Djokovic Return Cut Short as Jodar Makes History plus Sabalenka Collapses as Women Seeds Shine

May 15, 2026·1h 0m
Episode Description from the Publisher

The Rome Masters has been turned on its head and the boys are here to make sense of the carnage. We break down a wild week at the Foro Italico where seeds have been falling like dominoes and the next generation is making its loudest statement yet.On the men's side, the draw has been blown wide open. Novak Djokovic — back from two months out with a shoulder injury — falls to qualifier Dino Prizmic in his first clay match back, confirming he'll head straight to Paris with zero clay wins in 2026. FAA, Mensik, Fonseca, Shelton and Fils are also all gone, with the latter retiring injured. The boys discuss what's left standing and whether Sinner — yet to drop a set — is just going to stroll to another title.The story of the tournament though is 19-year-old Rafa Jodar, who has become the first teenager to reach the Rome quarter-finals since Djokovic in 2007. The boys debate whether the hype is now impossible to ignore after a run that includes wins in Marrakech, a semi-final in Barcelona and back-to-back Masters quarter-finals.On the women's side, world No. 1 Sabalenka dramatically collapses from a set and 2-0 up to lose to 36-year-old Sorana Cirstea — in what is her final season on tour and her first ever win over a world No. 1 in 20 years of trying. Defending champion Paolini also falls on home soil, while Swiatek quietly looks like her old self and Pegula has been a model of consistency all week.Plus a special edition of Battle of the Spuds — Scattergories - Can you name every Mens Grand Slam Player in the Open Era? Vargos and Chrissy P give it a tryTalkn Tennis — the only tennis podcast you need.

Podzilla Summary coming soon

Sign up to get notified when the full AI-powered summary is ready.

Get Free Summaries →

Free forever for up to 3 podcasts. No credit card required.

Listen to This Episode

Get summaries like this every morning.

Free AI-powered recaps of Talkn Tennis and your other favorite podcasts, delivered to your inbox.

Get Free Summaries →

Free forever for up to 3 podcasts. No credit card required.