The Mini-Break [Tennis Podcast]

Cracked Racquets Editor-in-Chief Alex Gruskin recaps Day 3 of the 2026 Australian Open. He reflects upon a relatively simple opening round for many of the tournament's top title contenders. He also breaks down a marvelous R1 of results for men with college tennis ties, looks at those players continuing to trend upwards, previews Day 4's action, plus SO much more!!

Don’t forget to give a 5 star review on your favorite podcast app! In addition, add your twitter/instagram handle to the review for a chance to win some FREE CR gear!!

Episode Bookmarks

Biggest Storylines - 6:00

• Title Contenders cruise through R1: 6:25


• Men w/College Tennis Ties: 22:20


• Continuing to trend up: 37:53

Upsets - 46:24

Going the Distance - 48:25

Other Women's Results - 51:43

Other Men's Results - 53:05

American Update - 54:35

Players w/College Ties Update - 58:20

Forecast heading into R2/Day 4 Preview - 59:25

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Laurel Springs

Ranked among the best online private schools in the United States, Laurel Springs stands out when it comes to support, personalization, community, and college prep. They give their K-12 students the resources, guidance, and learning opportunities they need at each grade level to reach their full potential.

Find Cracked Racquets

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Cracked Racquets Editor-in-Chief Alex Gruskin recap Day 2 of the 2026 Australian Open. He breaks down a day of Women's Singles results defined by the game's 21U rising stars. He also offers his thoughts on another sound day of results for the OG #NextGenATP crew, a fantastic performance from Learner Tien, Day 3's schedule, plus SO much more!!

Don’t forget to give a 5 star review on your favorite podcast app! In addition, add your twitter/instagram handle to the review for a chance to win some FREE CR gear!!

Episode Bookmarks

Biggest Storylines - 4:26

• WTA Youth Movement Continues: 5:00


• Another good day for the OG #NextGenATP: 20:30


• Learner Tien: 28:46

Upsets - 35:14

Going the Distance - 43:45

Other Women's Results - 46:13

Other Men's Results - 48:25

Americans - 51:30

Players w/college ties - 53:35

Day 3 Preview - 55:30

_____

Laurel Springs

Ranked among the best online private schools in the United States, Laurel Springs stands out when it comes to support, personalization, community, and college prep. They give their K-12 students the resources, guidance, and learning opportunities they need at each grade level to reach their full potential.

Find Cracked Racquets

Website: https://www.crackedracquets.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/crackedracquets

Twitter: https://twitter.com/crackedracquets

Facebook: https://Facebook.com/crackedracquets

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/crackedracquets

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Cracked Racquets Editor-in-Chief Alex Gruskin recaps Day 1 of the 2026 Australian Open. He looks at a rare dominant day of slam play for the Men's seeds. He also breaks down a trio of Women's Upsets, marvels at a spectacular slam debut for 2x NCAA Singles Champion Michael Zheng, previews Day 2, plus SO much more!!

Don’t forget to give a 5 star review on your favorite podcast app! In addition, add your twitter/instagram handle to the review for a chance to win some FREE CR gear!!

Episode Bookmarks

Biggest Storylines - 5:30

• Men's Seeds cruise on Day 1: 5:35


• A Trio of Women's upsets: 15:20


• Michael F'ing Zheng: 29:22

Going the Distance - 39:52

Other Women's Results - 44:08

Other Men's Results - 46:20

American Update - 48:45

Players w/College Ties Update - 49:52

Day 2 Preview - 51:00

_____

Laurel Springs

Ranked among the best online private schools in the United States, Laurel Springs stands out when it comes to support, personalization, community, and college prep. They give their K-12 students the resources, guidance, and learning opportunities they need at each grade level to reach their full potential.

Find Cracked Racquets

Website: https://www.crackedracquets.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/crackedracquets

Twitter: https://twitter.com/crackedracquets

Facebook: https://Facebook.com/crackedracquets

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/crackedracquets

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Cracked Racquets Editor-in-Chief Alex Gruskin recaps a rare Semifinal Friday in the pro tennis world. He offers his thoughts on a teenaged filled Championship Weekend on the WTA Tour. He also breaks down the continued excellence of Sebastian Baez, a fantastic week for the Czech men, an intriguing AO Day 1 schedule, plus SO much more!!

Don’t forget to give a 5 star review on your favorite podcast app! In addition, add your twitter/instagram handle to the review for a chance to win some FREE CR gear!!

Episode Bookmarks

WTA Adelaide - 5:00

ATP Auckland - 12:22

ATP Adelaide - 20:28

WTA Hobart - 25:35

AO Day 1 Preview - 29:38

_____

Laurel Springs

Ranked among the best online private schools in the United States, Laurel Springs stands out when it comes to support, personalization, community, and college prep. They give their K-12 students the resources, guidance, and learning opportunities they need at each grade level to reach their full potential.

Find Cracked Racquets

Website: https://www.crackedracquets.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/crackedracquets

Twitter: https://twitter.com/crackedracquets

Facebook: https://Facebook.com/crackedracquets

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/crackedracquets

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Cracked Racquets Editor-in-Chief Alex Gruskin previews the 2026 Australian Open Men's Singles Draw. He runs through each quarter of the draw and discusses the best R1 and potential matchups. He also offers his thoughts on the winners and losers of the draw configuration, shares his predictions for how he sees things unfolding, plus SO much more!!

Don’t forget to give a 5 star review on your favorite podcast app! In addition, add your twitter/instagram handle to the review for a chance to win some FREE CR gear!!

Episode Bookmarks

Alcaraz (1) Quarter - 4:45

Best R1 Matchups - 8:21

Best Prospective Matchups - 11:17

Sleepers in the section - 12:30

Projecting the best storylines to emerge - 14:25

Who likes this draw most - 17:01

Who likes this draw least - 17:35

Prediction - 19:20

Zverev (3) Quarter - 20:17

Best R1 Matchups - 21:55

Best Prospective Matchups - 24:33

Sleepers in the section - 26:03

Projecting the best storylines to emerge - 28:20

Who likes this draw most - 29:11

Who likes this draw least - 30:18

Prediction - 31:48

Djokovic (4) Quarter - 32:56

Best R1 Matchups - 34:22

Best Prospective Matchups - 37:15

Sleepers in the section - 39:20

Projecting the best storylines to emerge - 41:00

Who likes this draw most - 44:00

Who likes this draw least - 45:25

Prediction - 46:38

Sinner (2) Quarter - 48:09

Best R1 Matchups - 49:28

Best Prospective Matchups - 51:02

Sleepers in the section - 52:30

Projecting the best storylines to emerge - 53:30

Who likes this draw most - 54:15

Who likes this draw least - 56:28

Prediction - 56:51

Final predictions - 57:22

_____

Laurel Springs

Ranked among the best online private schools in the United States, Laurel Springs stands out when it comes to support, personalization, community, and college prep. They give their K-12 students the resources, guidance, and learning opportunities they need at each grade level to reach their full potential.

Find Cracked Racquets

Website: https://www.crackedracquets.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/crackedracquets

Twitter: https://twitter.com/crackedracquets

Facebook: https://Facebook.com/crackedracquets

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/crackedracquets

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.