There are so many tennis podcasts these days, but as a big WTA tennis fan, I was happy to hear that American tennis’s 30-something players Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, Jennifer Brady, and Desirae Krawcyzk were starting “The Players Box”.
Here are my initial thoughts.
- The four women are engaging and fun, and it is obvious they are good friends. They have a great rapport with each other.
- Some of the topics, like best outfit or biggest disappointment, were insightful to hear from their perspectives.
- Answering live fan questions is a fun concept that needs to be expanded.
- Though the four are good speakers and at ease with the press, they seemed a bit nervous and uncertain in this new format. They were located in four separate places. Figuring out who was talking and not talking over them was occasionally an issue.
- Desirae’s screen froze at one point. They need to make sure the connections/technology are as good as they can be to avoid that.
- It seemed like they could cut the episode length down from 63 minutes; there were lags in the conversation or too much time spent saying the same thing.
- Because three of the four are current WTA players, it will be difficult for them to provide the insight of a competitive podcast with four retired ATP players, “Nothing Major.” The women cannot talk about their peers (like the “Nothing Major” guys can because many of their peers are retired). They also cannot share any locker room stories or antics. There could be a content limit issue unless they figure out how to expand it.
- There were some great stories shared like Brady’s hotel intruder. However, fans need more meat in the episodes to keep them coming back for more. That can be achieved by special guests or additional features.
“The Players Box” podcast is worth following and listening to. It will get the necessary tweaks as everyone gets more comfortable with the format.
