1
00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:04,880
Speaker 1: Hi everyone, and welcome to another episode of the Sitdown.

2
00:00:05,080 --> 00:00:08,400
Speaker 1: I'm Mattrolope, a writer and editor for ozopen dot com, and.

3
00:00:08,360 --> 00:00:12,440
Speaker 2: I'm Viv Christie, managing editor of Australian Ternis magazine and Matt,

4
00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:15,120
Speaker 2: why are we sitting down this week with Alexandra Yala?

5
00:00:15,560 --> 00:00:18,080
Speaker 1: Well, Viv. Alexandra was one of the many people we

6
00:00:18,079 --> 00:00:20,880
Speaker 1: were lucky enough to chat to the Australian Open, and

7
00:00:21,560 --> 00:00:23,880
Speaker 1: it's kind of great timing this week given what she's

8
00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:27,720
Speaker 1: just achieved last week in Dubai at another WTA thousand tournament,

9
00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:30,320
Speaker 1: she made the court of finals. She beat another top

10
00:00:30,360 --> 00:00:33,080
Speaker 1: ten player in Jasmine Powlini along the way. But it

11
00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:35,840
Speaker 1: was also the fan support she brought out in Dubai.

12
00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:39,360
Speaker 1: Everybody was commenting about the incredible atmosphere at the matches

13
00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:41,640
Speaker 1: and how the stands were packed, and it's just another

14
00:00:41,680 --> 00:00:44,879
Speaker 1: sign of how exciting a star Yala is and the

15
00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:46,480
Speaker 1: new fan she's bringing to the game.

16
00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:50,400
Speaker 2: Yeah, and we talked to alex just after she'd arrived

17
00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:54,400
Speaker 2: in Melbourne after reaching the Auckland semifinals, which was she

18
00:00:54,440 --> 00:00:57,320
Speaker 2: seems to have a great run at so many events.

19
00:00:57,400 --> 00:01:00,680
Speaker 2: She's ten to sixth this season, already and from outside

20
00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:03,000
Speaker 2: the top fifty, she's knocking on the door of the

21
00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:06,679
Speaker 2: top thirties. So it was wonderful to talk to her about,

22
00:01:06,720 --> 00:01:11,280
Speaker 2: you know, those big matches, big wins, her incredible fan support,

23
00:01:11,319 --> 00:01:14,720
Speaker 2: as you say, and just how she is providing inspiration

24
00:01:14,760 --> 00:01:15,320
Speaker 2: to other people.

25
00:01:19,319 --> 00:01:22,160
Speaker 1: Alexandre Yala, thank you very much for joining us today

26
00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:23,720
Speaker 1: on the sit Down podcast.

27
00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:25,960
Speaker 3: Thanks for having me, guys, happy to be here.

28
00:01:26,319 --> 00:01:30,120
Speaker 1: You're in pod labor arena. That's what we're calling this space,

29
00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:35,520
Speaker 1: a perfect amazing And is it true that this is

30
00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:37,640
Speaker 1: your first podcast interview?

31
00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:41,400
Speaker 3: I believe Soul. I think Soul don't court me on that,

32
00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:42,479
Speaker 3: but the fans can.

33
00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:45,440
Speaker 1: Fact check it. Well, yes, I think Eviv and I

34
00:01:45,480 --> 00:01:47,720
Speaker 1: would love to claim that that you're our first guest

35
00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:50,680
Speaker 1: on the sit Down. We'd love to start. Yeah, welcome

36
00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:53,360
Speaker 1: to Melbourne. You've had a great start to twenty twenty six,

37
00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:55,920
Speaker 1: making the semi finals in Auckland in what was a

38
00:01:55,920 --> 00:01:57,480
Speaker 1: great result for you, and it looks like there was

39
00:01:57,520 --> 00:01:59,760
Speaker 1: a lot of great fans support for you over there too.

40
00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:02,200
Speaker 1: How was it to start twenty six with a result

41
00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:02,600
Speaker 1: like that?

42
00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:05,600
Speaker 3: It's so great. I loved Auckland.

43
00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:08,400
Speaker 4: It was my first time going to New Zealand, and

44
00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:12,519
Speaker 4: I definitely didn't expect that turnout, And yeah, I had

45
00:02:12,560 --> 00:02:15,720
Speaker 4: such great support. The atmosphere was great and the tournament

46
00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:16,280
Speaker 4: was amazing.

47
00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:16,680
Speaker 2: Ye yeah.

48
00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:19,080
Speaker 1: Now speaking of semi finals, one of the things that

49
00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:21,480
Speaker 1: made you so famous was what you did in Miami

50
00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:23,720
Speaker 1: last year. I think that was the result that put

51
00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:25,760
Speaker 1: you on the map to so many to so many fans,

52
00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:28,200
Speaker 1: and you had incredible wins over I was to Penko

53
00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:30,800
Speaker 1: Keys and then Eagish Fiontech. What was that like in

54
00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:34,079
Speaker 1: terms of your tennis career and your life how it changed?

55
00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:38,079
Speaker 4: Well, I think that that has to be the highlight

56
00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:39,519
Speaker 4: of my career so far.

57
00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:42,280
Speaker 3: Like you said, that's what put me on the map.

58
00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:47,160
Speaker 4: But I you know, it just everything clicked after that,

59
00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:50,680
Speaker 4: And yeah, I look back at that moment and I

60
00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:53,000
Speaker 4: just think, wow, Like it was. It was insane and

61
00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:55,440
Speaker 4: it's crazy to believe that that actually happened.

62
00:02:56,960 --> 00:03:00,000
Speaker 2: Your start in tennis, as I understand it is quite interest.

63
00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:02,480
Speaker 2: I believe your mom was a swimmer, you had an

64
00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:06,200
Speaker 2: uncle who was a basketball player. Why did you choose tennis?

65
00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:12,520
Speaker 4: I got into tennis because of my brother, he's three

66
00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:16,880
Speaker 4: years older and he started playing tennis, and so when

67
00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:19,200
Speaker 4: it came time for me to pick up a sport,

68
00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:21,600
Speaker 4: I kind of think they just threw me in with him,

69
00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:25,079
Speaker 4: you know, and yeah, I ended up loving it. Yeah.

70
00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:27,120
Speaker 2: Who were your idols when you were growing up?

71
00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:33,440
Speaker 4: So obviously Rafa Nadal was a big one. On the

72
00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:36,560
Speaker 4: girl's side, I really looked up to Maria Sharapova and

73
00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:42,040
Speaker 4: Lena and then a bit later on Harlep and Barti also.

74
00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:46,200
Speaker 2: Yeah, speaking of Rafa, tell us about your time at

75
00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:49,200
Speaker 2: the Rafa Nadal Academy. How old were you when you

76
00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:51,080
Speaker 2: went there and what's that been like for you.

77
00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:55,760
Speaker 4: Yeah, I've been there since I was thirteen, so it's

78
00:03:55,800 --> 00:03:59,640
Speaker 4: been quite a while, and you know, I've built so

79
00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:04,080
Speaker 4: many long lasting relationships there and I love it there

80
00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:08,000
Speaker 4: and hence why I'm still there. But I just think

81
00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:11,200
Speaker 4: it's a great place, so sentimental for me because I've

82
00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:14,720
Speaker 4: spent all my teenage years there and yeah, I think

83
00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:16,760
Speaker 4: it was just just a great experience growing up.

84
00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:20,599
Speaker 1: Speaking of when you were at Niger, another great result

85
00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:21,840
Speaker 1: in your career is when you are in the US

86
00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:24,880
Speaker 1: Open Juniors and that success on the junior tour. How

87
00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:27,160
Speaker 1: do you feel that kind of shaped your career and

88
00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:29,520
Speaker 1: kind of put you on the journey you were on.

89
00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:34,600
Speaker 4: I think juniors is a great stepping stone for professional tennis.

90
00:04:35,360 --> 00:04:36,960
Speaker 4: Of course, you kind of have to get past that

91
00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:40,480
Speaker 4: hurdle of transitioning, especially when you do well in juniors,

92
00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:44,640
Speaker 4: And I think I handled that pretty good. Yeah, when

93
00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:47,040
Speaker 4: you do well as junior, there could be you know,

94
00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:50,400
Speaker 4: some weight of expectations, but I think I handled that

95
00:04:50,440 --> 00:04:55,320
Speaker 4: pretty well as well. But yeah, I think juniors brought

96
00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:57,159
Speaker 4: me a lot of great memories and a lot of

97
00:04:57,160 --> 00:05:00,520
Speaker 4: good experiences, and just being able to travel aroun the world,

98
00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:03,440
Speaker 4: you know, as a teen Not a lot of teenagers

99
00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:03,960
Speaker 4: can say that.

100
00:05:04,200 --> 00:05:04,479
Speaker 2: Yeah.

101
00:05:05,279 --> 00:05:07,920
Speaker 1: Your Miami result was also interesting in what it did

102
00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:10,360
Speaker 1: for your ranking. I think your ranking halved after that

103
00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:13,279
Speaker 1: two as in Miami. Yeah, and that comes with so

104
00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:15,919
Speaker 1: many changes, Like it changes your schedule, what tournaments you

105
00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:19,040
Speaker 1: can enter, the kinds of opponents you're playing. How was

106
00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:21,680
Speaker 1: it to adjust to that huge change so quickly?

107
00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:28,400
Speaker 4: It was I mean, I think everything at that point

108
00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:32,320
Speaker 4: after Miami was a new experience with that ranking, being

109
00:05:32,320 --> 00:05:33,440
Speaker 4: in the top hundred.

110
00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:37,880
Speaker 3: For the very first time. But my eyes were just

111
00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:38,559
Speaker 3: wide open.

112
00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:41,719
Speaker 4: I was just so eager to compete and to learn

113
00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:44,240
Speaker 4: and to be at this level, and in the end,

114
00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:48,080
Speaker 4: you know, being on tour and the WD Tour is

115
00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:51,240
Speaker 4: my dream. It's you know, to be a professional tennis player,

116
00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:53,960
Speaker 4: and I'm living out my dream. So although it came

117
00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:56,400
Speaker 4: with its challenges and I have some tough, tough times

118
00:05:56,440 --> 00:05:59,360
Speaker 4: last year as well, I think I look at back

119
00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:02,000
Speaker 4: at twenty five with so much positivity.

120
00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:06,120
Speaker 2: I think, yeah, you have achieved so many first for

121
00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:09,719
Speaker 2: tennis in the Philippines. So the first to regie WTA

122
00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:12,680
Speaker 2: one thousand level semi final, the first to win a

123
00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:15,359
Speaker 2: Grand Slam match at the US Open, and the highest

124
00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:17,919
Speaker 2: ranked player in history. Does that come with kind of

125
00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:18,760
Speaker 2: pressure or.

126
00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:19,440
Speaker 3: Is it pride?

127
00:06:20,640 --> 00:06:25,720
Speaker 4: I would say more pride. I think it depends how

128
00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:28,840
Speaker 4: you look at it, and I try to take it

129
00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:32,839
Speaker 4: in with as much gratitude as I possibly can, because

130
00:06:32,839 --> 00:06:34,680
Speaker 4: I know not a lot of players are able to

131
00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:37,640
Speaker 4: have this this platform, and you know, it's a blessing

132
00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:43,719
Speaker 4: to have this support behind me. So yeah, I won't

133
00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:45,840
Speaker 4: say that it comes without any pressure at all.

134
00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:49,440
Speaker 3: But what I do is I just try to.

135
00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:51,880
Speaker 4: Focus on what I need to do on court. You know,

136
00:06:52,040 --> 00:06:55,320
Speaker 4: how I can work to the best of my ability

137
00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:58,400
Speaker 4: and I know that I'll perform to the best that

138
00:06:58,440 --> 00:06:58,760
Speaker 4: I can.

139
00:06:59,080 --> 00:07:01,480
Speaker 2: Yeah, what has been the impact at home in the

140
00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:02,800
Speaker 2: Philippines when you go home?

141
00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:07,839
Speaker 4: I haven't been home a lot, unfortunately I have. The

142
00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:11,480
Speaker 4: times i've been home, though, I've felt so loved. Things

143
00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:13,520
Speaker 4: have changed.

144
00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:14,480
Speaker 1: To say the least.

145
00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:22,160
Speaker 4: Yeah, I tried to avoid going out alone now, but

146
00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:24,520
Speaker 4: then again, it's you know, blessings.

147
00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:26,360
Speaker 3: Yeah, just gratitude for it.

148
00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:30,080
Speaker 1: Yeah, there's something really cool about that You're emerging from

149
00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:32,440
Speaker 1: the Philippines and there are some other players coming up

150
00:07:32,480 --> 00:07:35,160
Speaker 1: through countries that have huge support basis, but they haven't

151
00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:38,720
Speaker 1: necessarily had the history in tennis. So Janis Chien in Indonesia,

152
00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:43,360
Speaker 1: juaffon Seca in Brazil saying have Sonmez just qualified from Turkey,

153
00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:45,720
Speaker 1: And there's just all of these new fan bases are

154
00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:47,880
Speaker 1: kind of growing and discovering tenets. I mean, what's it

155
00:07:47,960 --> 00:07:50,280
Speaker 1: like to be a part of that making tennis even

156
00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:51,280
Speaker 1: more global.

157
00:07:52,320 --> 00:07:54,480
Speaker 4: It's so it's so nice to know that, you know,

158
00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:58,320
Speaker 4: I'm doing what I can for the sport because tennis

159
00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:01,320
Speaker 4: has given me so much, So all that I can

160
00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:04,840
Speaker 4: do to give back to tennis, I'll do to the

161
00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:08,800
Speaker 4: best that I can and it's just so nice to see, like,

162
00:08:08,880 --> 00:08:12,360
Speaker 4: for example, in my region, Southeast Asia, there are I

163
00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:18,080
Speaker 4: think four women in the main draw from Southeast Asia alone, Me, Janice,

164
00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:22,560
Speaker 4: My and lan Lana. So it's such a great you know,

165
00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:25,000
Speaker 4: it's such a great time for for women's sports in

166
00:08:25,040 --> 00:08:27,720
Speaker 4: our in our region and tennis, women's tennis.

167
00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:30,400
Speaker 3: So I'm so happy to be a part of that. Yeah.

168
00:08:30,440 --> 00:08:33,319
Speaker 1: And did you recently compete in the Southeast Asian Gangs

169
00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:35,920
Speaker 1: as well? So what was the because there's this wave

170
00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:38,679
Speaker 1: of women coming through from that region, did that event

171
00:08:39,240 --> 00:08:41,280
Speaker 1: was that more popular or was the most spotlight on

172
00:08:41,320 --> 00:08:42,240
Speaker 1: that event because of that?

173
00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:47,880
Speaker 4: I I definitely felt that it was stronger this year

174
00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:50,840
Speaker 4: than the past years.

175
00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:53,960
Speaker 3: Uh maybe I'm biased.

176
00:08:53,679 --> 00:08:56,040
Speaker 4: Because I competed in it and it was pretty tough,

177
00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:56,800
Speaker 4: but uh.

178
00:08:57,720 --> 00:08:59,000
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think we've had.

179
00:08:59,520 --> 00:09:02,360
Speaker 4: Yeah, these four players alone that are you know, that

180
00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:04,440
Speaker 4: are in the main draw, I think that speaks for

181
00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:06,840
Speaker 4: itself in terms of the height of the level of

182
00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:07,520
Speaker 4: that tournament.

183
00:09:07,679 --> 00:09:10,080
Speaker 3: So yeah, I enjoyed the lot being with the team.

184
00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:13,520
Speaker 4: It was so nice to reconnect with these girls and

185
00:09:14,320 --> 00:09:17,040
Speaker 4: you know, create those bonds.

186
00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:19,920
Speaker 2: What is life for you like off the court? What

187
00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:22,000
Speaker 2: do you enjoy doing outside tennis.

188
00:09:23,920 --> 00:09:25,600
Speaker 3: I like going to the beach.

189
00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:31,319
Speaker 4: I like eating out and trying new restaurants, but a

190
00:09:31,400 --> 00:09:33,560
Speaker 4: lot of the times in my free time i'm quite tired.

191
00:09:34,679 --> 00:09:37,040
Speaker 4: I do catch up on movies and things like that.

192
00:09:37,200 --> 00:09:38,440
Speaker 3: I like the shop as well.

193
00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:41,199
Speaker 1: Nice. Have you got a favorite Australian page.

194
00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:43,840
Speaker 3: I've only been to one.

195
00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:47,520
Speaker 4: I just went to Saint Kildos yesterday, so I don't

196
00:09:47,559 --> 00:09:51,440
Speaker 4: know where that ranks in Australian beaches. I would love

197
00:09:51,480 --> 00:09:54,520
Speaker 4: to go to the Gold Coast once in my life,

198
00:09:54,559 --> 00:09:57,199
Speaker 4: but I don't know where that fits in my schedule.

199
00:09:57,880 --> 00:10:01,200
Speaker 2: After such an incredible stays in life. Yeah, what did

200
00:10:01,240 --> 00:10:02,840
Speaker 2: you most learn about yourself?

201
00:10:04,640 --> 00:10:07,080
Speaker 4: Well, that's a great that's a great question. I think

202
00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:11,160
Speaker 4: just I learned a lot about my capabilities.

203
00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:13,000
Speaker 3: I think.

204
00:10:14,400 --> 00:10:17,160
Speaker 4: There was a video that the WTA put out of

205
00:10:17,360 --> 00:10:20,640
Speaker 4: kind of like forty minutes of like my best points

206
00:10:20,760 --> 00:10:22,720
Speaker 4: or something like that, and I watched it.

207
00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:25,679
Speaker 3: I was like, wow, like I've improved a lot. So

208
00:10:26,080 --> 00:10:29,240
Speaker 3: I think just being you know, I've always believed in myself.

209
00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:31,920
Speaker 3: I've always believed that I could do it, but to

210
00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:32,600
Speaker 3: be able to.

211
00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:37,160
Speaker 4: Produce and execute it gives that extra layer of self

212
00:10:37,280 --> 00:10:38,359
Speaker 4: esteem and confidence.

213
00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:40,600
Speaker 1: Yeah, and what would you love to do here at

214
00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:41,240
Speaker 1: Melbourne Park.

215
00:10:42,360 --> 00:10:44,520
Speaker 4: What I'm hoping to do is just get my first

216
00:10:44,520 --> 00:10:47,480
Speaker 4: win here. You know, I've played Qualities three times and

217
00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:52,520
Speaker 4: I have I've yet to win around, so I'm hoping

218
00:10:52,520 --> 00:10:53,400
Speaker 4: to get my first win.

219
00:10:53,800 --> 00:10:56,920
Speaker 2: Yeah, Alexandra, thank you, thanks very much for joining us

220
00:10:56,920 --> 00:10:58,000
Speaker 2: today and good.

221
00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:00,480
Speaker 1: Luck with that. Thank you, Thank you.

222
00:11:02,040 --> 00:11:04,559
Speaker 2: Well, Matt. I really love that chat. I think that

223
00:11:04,679 --> 00:11:07,200
Speaker 2: you know, she's got this huge fan base, but isn't

224
00:11:07,240 --> 00:11:10,559
Speaker 2: it wonderful to see such a well rounded young woman

225
00:11:10,679 --> 00:11:12,680
Speaker 2: being an inspiration to so many other people.

226
00:11:12,880 --> 00:11:13,120
Speaker 4: Yeah.

227
00:11:13,160 --> 00:11:15,680
Speaker 1: I really took that away from this chat as well.

228
00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:19,319
Speaker 1: I also thought how grateful she is to be in

229
00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:22,240
Speaker 1: this position and experiencing these things for the first time.

230
00:11:22,559 --> 00:11:24,960
Speaker 1: Rather than seeing it as pressure, she's seeing it as

231
00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:27,440
Speaker 1: a privilege as the saying goes. And I think it

232
00:11:27,520 --> 00:11:29,840
Speaker 1: was really interesting how she touched on that she's part

233
00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:32,880
Speaker 1: of this wave of players emerging from the Southeast Asian region.

234
00:11:33,120 --> 00:11:35,880
Speaker 1: We've also seen Janis Chen from Indonesia. She's not far

235
00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:38,520
Speaker 1: behind Yala now I think up to world number thirty five.

236
00:11:38,840 --> 00:11:41,080
Speaker 1: So it's just really cool that there's these players from

237
00:11:41,080 --> 00:11:44,280
Speaker 1: countries that haven't been represented on the biggest stage in

238
00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:47,200
Speaker 1: tennis for a while, and it's bringing new fans to

239
00:11:47,240 --> 00:11:48,960
Speaker 1: the sport, which we love. So it's as cool that

240
00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:49,960
Speaker 1: Yala's part of that.

241
00:11:50,280 --> 00:11:53,120
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a really exciting time for tennis and I'm

242
00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:55,640
Speaker 2: looking forward to seeing how it continues.

243
00:11:55,800 --> 00:11:58,480
Speaker 1: Yeah, me too. We'll be back again next Monday with

244
00:11:58,559 --> 00:12:01,240
Speaker 1: another episode of the Sitdown. Please subscribe to it so

245
00:12:01,280 --> 00:12:03,480
Speaker 1: that all of our interviews land in your podcast feed,

246
00:12:03,520 --> 00:12:04,880
Speaker 1: and we'd love it if you could leave us a

247
00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:06,760
Speaker 1: rating and a review. See you next week.

248
00:12:06,840 --> 00:12:07,840
Speaker 3: You look forward to it.

249
00:12:07,880 --> 00:12:08,080
Speaker 1: Matt