Tennis Asia Podcast

Eddie sits down with Malaysia’s No. 1 tennis player, Mitsuki Wei Kang Leong — the highest-ranked Malaysian ATP player of all time — to discuss his journey into professional tennis.

From his early beginnings in Ipoh, Malaysia, and missing out on college tennis scholarships, to the challenges of navigating the ITF World Tennis Tour and ATP Challenger Tour, Mitsuki shares the highs and lows of his journey, and his ambitions of one day competing at the Grand Slams.

Get to know the story behind a pioneer of Malaysian tennis as he continues to break new ground for the sport in his home country.

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Eddie and Alastair break down Zheng Qinwen's incredible China Open triumph over Mirra Andreeva in Beijing, with the Chinese star making history by claiming her maiden WTA 1000 title and becoming the first homegrown champion at the tournament.

They also discuss the latest action from the ATP Masters 1000 in Shanghai and celebrate a breakthrough moment for 17-year-old Indian rising star Maaya Rajeshwaran, who captured her maiden professional title.

Eddie sits down with Chris Bint, coach of Indonesian tennis star Janice Tjen to talk about her remarkable rise.Chris discusses working with Janice, the development of her game, her breakthrough on the WTA Tour and what has driven her climb up the rankings. We also get a coach’s perspective on some of the work, decisions and challenges behind the scenes that aren’t always obvious to those of us watching from the outside.

Eddie and Lia (IslandTennisGirl) break down Alex Eala's remarkable run to the Washington Open title, capped by a comeback victory over Jessica Pegula in the final.We discuss:-Alex Eala becoming the first Filipino to win a WTA Tour singles title-Her maiden WTA title and biggest career breakthrough-Her rise into the WTA Top 20-How she turned the final around against Jessica Pegula-The key matches and defining moments of her Washington campaign-Can Alex Eala become a Top 10 player? We disuss her ceiling and what she needs to take the next step.-What this breakthrough means for the US Open and the rest of the season

Eddie and Alastair break down the standout performances at the Miami Open, with a focus on Alex Eala, Elena Rybakina, and Zheng Qinwen, while also spotlighting an eye-catching run from rising talent Rei Sakamoto.

They then turn to the Charleston Open draw, where Janice Tjen is set to make her WTA Tour clay debut, before diving into a stacked ITF W100 Luan field that promises high-level action.

The episode also covers Kwon Soonwoo’s difficult return in Yokkaichi, previews upcoming Challenger events, and wraps up with a discussion of Conor Niland’s compelling book The Racket.

Eddie and Alastair review the latest Indians Wells tournament, with a focus on Elena Rybakina, Alex Eala and Naomi Osaka. They talk about Lanlana Tararudee's breakthrough maiden WTA 125 title in Austin, which puts her on the verge of cracking the top 100. We also talk about Coleman Wong's dramatic run to the quarterfinals in Cap Cana, and look ahead to the Miami Open and the ITF W75 event in Kofu.

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Eddie and Lia review the performance of the Asian players at the Qatar Open, including the return of Chinese star Qinwen Zheng from injury. Also discussed are Elena Rybakina, Alex Eala, and Janice Tjen, as well as the resurgent Thai player, Sawangkaew.

Eddie and Lia give their thoughts on their experience at the inaugural WTA 125 event in Manila, the Philippine Women's Open.

Eddie and Alastair run through Tennis Asia's Top 5 men of the year. Who made the cut and who just missed out? Watch and listen to find out!

Eddie and Alastair run through Tennis Asia's Top 5 Asian women of the year in tennis. Who made the cut and who just missed out?

Eddie and Alastair review a great end to the year for rising Indonesian star, Janice Tjen, who won her first WTA singles title in Chennai, and even won the doubles title alongside compatriot Aldila Sutjiadi. It was very much a fitting end to a remarkable year for the Jakarta native. Thailand's Lanlana Tararudee and Taiwanese player Joanna Garland also impressed with semifinal runs.

Elsewhere Alex Eala finished off her season in Hong Kong with an exciting loss to eventual champion Victoria Mboko, and Coleman Wong came up short at the Seoul Challenger with a loss to Japanese player Sho Shimabukuro. Alastair offers some interesting and at times amusing insights into what was a very successful tournament in Seoul!

Also discussed are the remaining ATP Challenger Tour events coming up, including those as far afield as Pakistan and Bahrain!

Eddie and Lia reflect on a US Open that saw big breakthroughs for several Asian players in both the women's and men's draws. Naomi Osaka, Alex Eala, Janice Tjen and Coleman Wong put in some superb performances to give us much to be excited about for the future.

Eddie and Alastair discuss the US Open men's single draw, particularly the prospects for the Asian players such as Coleman Wong, Bu Yunchaokete, Jerry Shang, Alexander Bublik and Shintaro Mochizuki.

Eddie and Lia (islandtennisgirl) preview the women's draw at the 2025 US Open, focusing (mostly).on the Asian players such as Naomi Osaka, Elena Rybakina, Janice Tjen, Alex Eala and Wang Xinyu.

Eddie and Alastair host a special edition of Tennis Asia Podcast focusing on 23-year-old Janice Tjen from Indonesia. After graduating from Pepperdine University in the US, Janice went professional in June last year when she had no WTA singles ranking. Incredibly, a little over a year later, she's just entered the world's top 150, becoming just the third Indonesia player to do so. Not only that, she has made the qualifying draw for the 2025 US Open, giving her a chance of qualifying for her first major tournament and following in the footsteps of Indonesian tennis legend, former world no. 19 Yayuk Basuki.

Eddie and Alastair run through the men's and women's singles draws for the 2025 Wimbledon Championships, focusing mostly on the prospects for the top Asian players such as Zheng Qinwen, Alexander Bublik, Alex Eala, Elena Rybakina, and Wang Xinyu.

Eddie and Alastair preview the men's and women's draws for the upcoming 2025 French Open. How will the Asian players do? Will Zheng Qinwen repeat the performance in Paris from the Olympics last year? Will Naomi Osaka go on a run? Can Alex Eala get a win on her slam debut? And does Kei Nishikori have any chance against Carlos Alcaraz?

In episode 27 of the Tennis Asia Podcast, we discuss:

-Moyuka Uchijima's breakthrough in Madrid including a first-top 10 win over Jessica Pegula.

-Alex Eala's decent second showing against Iga Swiatek

-17-year-old Wakana Sonobe's first title win. Shibahara and Ito also impressing.

-Chung Hyeon's return to Challenger tennis, and Kwon's return from the army.

-Naomi Osaka stepping down to WTA 125 level.

-a look ahead to the rest of Madrid and the upcoming Challengers.

Eddie and Alastair review a remarkable Miami Open from a Tennis Asia perspective. Alex Eala, the 19-year-old from the Philippines, more than justified her wild card by going all the way to the semifinals. She beat three slam winners in Ostapenko, Keys and Swiatek in straight sets, making history for her country and sending her flying up to no. 75 in the WTA rankings.

Coleman Wong of Hong Kong also made his history of his own by winning his first-round match in Miami and then beating no. 13 seed Ben Shelton in a remarkable match.

Meanwhile, on the ITF Tour, the former world no. 19, Chung Hyeon, won his third title of 2025, propelling him back into the world's top 500 for the first time in almost 3 years. Could we see him back at the top level again?

Eddie and Alastair preview the upcoming 2025 Indian Wells Open from a Tennis Asia perspective, featuring Zheng Qinwen, Naomi Osaka, Kei Nishikori, Zhang Zhizhen, Elena Rybakina, Buyunchaokete and more.