Pod Laver Arena

Top seeds Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka have overcome first round jitters to launch their 2026 Australian Open campaigns, while veteran wildcard Venus Williams wound back the clock to summon some of her best tennis. Brett Thomas and Alexia Mitchell unpack the night session, while AO Radio's Nat Edwards talks the rise of Chinese tennis on The Evening Serve. And the draw opens up as stars Marta Kostyuk, Ekaterina Alexandrova and Flavio Cobolli are sent packing, while Alexander Zverev passes a tough test. Plus, a preview of the matches to watch on Day 2. AusOpen.com iHeart Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Pod gets a visit from the funny-as-hell Daria Kasatkina; a terrific tennis player who is now Aussie as! Staying with the theme of stealing the best international players, Lizzy (@lizzyhoo) ponders what the world would have been like if Roger Federer had been Australian (HINT: it would have been awesome). And Mike (@comedymikegoldstein) reveals a game you can play at the Australian Open that is frankly genius. Yes, it involves drinking! Glug glug glug! Plus, we spill the beans on how Nick Kyrgios snapped one of our table tennis bats over his knee in a moment of white-hot rage. Come for tennis, stay for the laughs. AusOpen.comiHeartApple PodcastsSpotifyYouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fridgey and The Bear are back as they tackle big topics like Frances Tiafoe's oversized drink bottle, and the correct pronunciation of Andre Agassi's name, all while recovering from a serious case of 'bench itch' (with no soothing cream in sight). We also learn you can't be racist towards Italians, which is a relief. Plus Mike and Lizzy get busy with special guest, Aryna Sabalenka! WE ALL HAD GREAT FUN. AusOpen.comiHeartApple PodcastsSpotifyYouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What happens when our hosts Mike (@comedymikegoldstein) and Lizzy (@lizzyhoo) spend the entire day interviewing just about every single tennis player in the world? We get tired, sloppy and frankly a little bit narky. Step into the swanky padded cube that is Pod Laver Arena to find out our red-hot thoughts on the Aus Open draw, tennis players' watches and witness the birth of a new poorly-thought segment, 'Would You Rafter?' Also, we learn some revealing and disgusting things about our tech guy, Aceman. Oh, the SEO guys here say these pods do better if we mention a big-name tennis player in this blurb. So... Jannick Sinner. AusOpen.comiHeartApple PodcastsSpotifyYouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Attention perverts! Mike (@comedymikegoldstein) and Lizzy (@lizzyhoo) reveal what atrocities they've seen in the players' gym at the Australian Open, Lizzy openly fantasises about a dream date with Roger Federer, and we analyse the Basavareddy/Ofner 'choking' incident with infra-red Hot Spot technology that we stole from the cricket. Also, the talented and handsome (and now rich) winner of the Million Dollar One Point Slam, Jordan Smith drops by for totally exclusive interview (if you don't count all the others he did with the world's media). To everyone's relief, this episode is completely devoid of seagulls. AusOpen.comiHeartApple PodcastsSpotifyYouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.