Nine is kicking off its summer of tennis with the launch of its new podcast, Australian Open: The Happy Slam, produced by 9Podcasts with Nine’s Wide World of Sports
From the creators of the highly successful Rugby League podcast “Stories of Origin“, Australian Open: The Happy Slam features an all-star line-up as impressive as the tournament, with some of the best and most loved players from Australian tennis history sharing their recollections on how they helped make the AO what it is today.
In the six-part series, hosted by Channel Nine sports presenter James Bracey, listeners will be given front-row access to untold stories from Pat Rafter, Dylan Alcott, Jim Courier, Jelena Dokic, Ajla Tomljanovic and Todd Woodbridge.
Bracey said: “The Australian Open has become the world leader in grand slams. It’s an exclamation mark on both the Australian summer and the sporting calendar.
“It was a personal highlight to find out how much the Australian Open has impacted and shaped the careers of our favourite players, and the impact they have had on the tournament itself,” he added.
The full six-episode schedule that will air in the lead up to the AO is below, then as the tournament gets into full swing, the podcast will feature daily tournament updates and insights from legendary sports commentator, Craig Gabriel.
Released each morning, the daily update from Australian Open: The Happy Slam will review the highs and lows of the previous day’s play and preview the excitement coming up in the day ahead.
• Episode 1 – Pat Rafter: The Aussie Icon
• Episode 2 – Dylan Alcott: The Game Changer
• Episode 3 – Jelena Dokic: The Fighter
• Episode 4 – Todd Woodbridge: The Tennis Lifer
• Episode 5 – Jim Courier: The Adopted Aussie
• Episode 6 – Ajla Tomljanovic: The Future
Australian Open: The Happy Slam is available to stream on all leading podcast platforms.