The Big T launched with a forthright premiere that dug into coaching dynamics, mixed-team competition and early-season matches. Hosts Brad Gilbert, Mark Petchey and Andrea Petkovic set a direct tone, and Coco Vandeweghe joined the conversation briefly as part of the cast.

A central thread was the surprise split between world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and longtime coach Juan Carlos Ferrero. “This onion has started to peel a little bit further,” Gilbert noted about the shock split of world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and longtime coach Juan Carlos Ferrero. Each panelist drew on personal experience to assess emotional and practical consequences, and Petkovic observed the event’s reach: “Everybody know where they were when they found out,” said Petkovic. Petchey summed up the immediate human cost bluntly: “ it f—ing hurts.”

The episode also touched on personal milestones across the tour: Venus Williams and Casper Ruud recently married, and Coco Vandeweghe announced an engagement. Vandeweghe checked in with the hosts before a flight to share the news.

Petkovic praised the mixed-team format of the United Cup, calling it a unique event because of its combined-gender competition. “If you had everyone in one place, this could be the greatest tennis event outside of the majors,” the German declared, noting a man and a woman can share a court and benefit each other.

The panel reviewed singles matches that revealed early-season form, including Taylor Fritz vs. Jaume Munar and Coco Gauff vs. Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, pointing listeners to full replays and highlights available on the show’s platform.

Gilbert dedicated time to the Sinner-Alcaraz rivalry and predicted repercussions from the coaching change. “More than anything, advantage Sinner,” says Gilbert. “If you put Andre and Novak Djokovic in a blender, you come up with Sinner.” Petchey still praised Alcaraz’s craft as “the great tennis mixologist,” while the hosts set expectations for how the rivalry could develop in 2026.

The Big T will return weekly with new episodes every Wednesday.

Stefanos Tsitsipas admitted his 2025 campaign left him doubting how much longer he can keep racing the clock on a recurring injury. The two-time major finalist managed just a 2-4 record in Grand Slams last year, including a retirement at Wimbledon, and finished the season outside the Top 30 for the first time since 2017 after a persistent back problem curtailed his calendar.

There were phases during the year where I was asking myself, ‘why am I doing this, and why am I putting myself through so much pain?’ Pain is not an enjoyable thing when you’re an athlete and especially when it keeps coming back and reverting constantly,

He said the injury scare after the US Open was particularly alarming. “I got really scared after my US Open loss with my back, because I just couldn’t walk for two days. When things like that happen, you start reconsidering the future of your career.”

If I’m not able to compete, one day I guess I’ll have to put a stop at it. I don’t want this to happen. I want to continue hopefully for 10 more years. That would be amazing. That would be a dream of mine.

Tsitsipas reported completing his pre-season “without any discomfort” after a period of recovery and rehabilitation. He said the immediate goal for 2026 is to end the constant second-guessing about whether his back will hold up and to return to consistent performance.

Off court, he has reshaped his team. The former world No. 3 reconciled with his father Apostolos in July 2025, 11 months after their player-coach relationship had ended. Apostolos returned to the fold following Goran Ivanisevic’s exit two months in.

“I don’t have any complaints. He’s a much better communicator. That was the most important thing working with him,” Tsitsipas said of his father. “Working with family is never easy, and it’s one of those challenging things that you have to tackle daily to separate the father role from the coaching role. I think it is important to sit down also and have a person in the team that can help filter the conversations and the way you communicate between one another. That is something that I’ve included in my team, as well.”

Polina Kudermetova has reportedly added former world No. 1 and three-time Grand Slam finalist Dinara Safina to her coaching team ahead of the 2026 season. Safina returns to on-site coaching after a short spell on the WTA circuit in 2025.

Safina spent roughly one month working with Diana Shnaider this past spring. Shnaider hired Safina in April, but they split by May, with Shnaider only saying in Rome that Safina “needed” to return home to Barcelona. Now Safina is slated to travel with the 22-year-old Kudermetova next season.

Kudermetova is currently ranked world No. 104 and is the younger sister of former Top 10 singles player and reigning WTA Finals doubles champion Veronika Kudermetova. She made headlines this offseason by changing nationalities and will be representing Uzbekistan next season. Kudermetova’s longtime coach, former Uzbek pro Ravshan Sultanov, has signalled support for the new arrangement and said Safina’s “approach and vision of tennis are very close to [theirs],” while praising how Safina is already meshing personally with Kudermetova and her team.

Sultanov’s remarks were reported on Christmas Day by First&Red, a Russian-language sports website. A holiday photo of the group, which also included International Tennis Hall of Famer Marat Safin, circulated on social media and helped confirm at least some form of collaboration between the parties.

The move represents a return to coaching for Safina after her brief engagement in 2025, and it pairs a former world No. 1 with a young player entering a new phase of her career. Both Safina’s short-term WTA experience and the public comments from Kudermetova’s camp suggest the relationship will be closely watched in the coming season.