Tennis Now's Podcast

On this edition of the Lucky Letcord Podcast host Chris Oddo is joined by tennis journalist, author and historian Joel Drucker at the historic Berkeley Tennis Club in Northern California. We begin the interview with a bit of a rundown of the club's history. As it turns out we happened to be sitting by a two-foot tall photo of the great Helen Wills Moody, a 19-time major winner who used to play that the club, which was founded in 1906. We move into a deep dive into the career and legacy of the recently retired Maria Sharapova, discussing: The gut reaction to Sharapova's announcement Sharapova's earning power and how that will pay into her legacy. Sharapova as Claypova -- what made her so special on the clay surface in her 20s? Meldonium and the ban -- what does it all mean? Sharapova's inability to win against Serena -- does it say more about Maria or Serena? Sharapova's competitiveness, where does it rank? In the second half of the podcast we discuss Joel's career in tennis, from his formative years a