Today we are launching Friends of The Tennis Podcas t, a new subscription service that will sit alongside our free feed of podcasts and deliver new editions of Tennis Re-Lived, Friends-only Q&A podcasts, a bonus show after each of the Grand Slam tournaments and lots of other exclusive content to subscribers.

Why are we doing this?

Well, we have thought long and hard about the best way to keep the The Tennis Podcast going during these challenging times.

Much as we love producing the show, and have done for the past decade, it is a huge commitment - we published more than 150 podcasts over each of the past two years, and we know that if we work on the pod, it takes time away from other work we could be doing. Plus, there are a lot of people that contribute to what we do. The three of us work on the podcast every day of the year in one way or another, and we also hire a production manager, a graphic designer, several editors, and of course Hannah during the Grand Slams to work on our social media. With those costs, accountancy, equipment and everything else required, we now need to treat the podcast as a business as well as a labour of love, if it is to work.

Why not just run another Kickstarter?

We have received astonishing support from our listeners during our five annual Kickstarter campaigns, and could not be more grateful, but we do not feel that it is right to continually increase a target for crowdfunding. Plus, we want to offer something additional for those that pay, and so we are moving to a system that will allow us to do that.

Friends of The Tennis Podcast will enable us to continue delivering our weekly Tennis Podcast year-round, and the daily podcast during Grand Slams (so more than 100 podcasts in 2022) free-of-charge. At the same time, those that do become ‘Friends’, will get something more. All of the familiar shout-outs, podcast intros, pet mascot and predictions options will be available to Friends who would like to get more involved, and we will do all we can to make a subscription, at any level, worthwhile.

Why not just fund the podcast via advertising and sponsorship?

We do receive some advertising revenue through our podcast hosting platform, Acast, and have had some sponsorship, but most podcasts find that they need to put together multiple income sources in order to make it work. We are in that boat. So, the free, public podcast feed will continue to have adverts in them, and the additional shows that appear on the Friends feed will not.

What will subscribers get when they sign up?

We have pre-loaded seven episodes on to the Friends of The Tennis Podcast feed for you to listen to straight away. Six of them are favourites from our archive - the Roger Federer Story, the Rafael Nadal Story, the Althea Gibson Story, our interviews with Larry Stefanki and Marion Bartoli, and an examination of our Worst Tennis Podcast Predictions Ever from the last decade. All of them are freshly edited and ad-free. We have also recorded a brand new podcast called My First Wimbledon, in which we remember our first experiences watching, visiting and working at Wimbledon. In the weeks and months to come we will add to them.

How does sign-up work?

Signing up to Friends of The Tennis Podcast is very straightforward and you will be up and running in a few clicks and a couple of minutes.

We have partnered with Supporting Cast - who provide a similar system for the wonderful team at The Cycling Podcast - and you can listen to Friends of The Tennis Podcast in the same app that you listen to The Tennis Podcast.

To Become a Friend, click on the link, choose your preferred option, and you will be guided through the process.

Thank you,

Catherine, David, Matt and The Tennis Podcast team

Become a Friend