Maybe you’re a recreational tennis player looking for a few quick tips before your next league doubles match. Perhaps you’re a tennis superfan searching for the latest news and gossip from the ATP and WTA tour, as well as the college game. 

Well, there is a very strong chance there’s a podcast for you out there and a simple Google search or a scroll through the Spotify app will lead you to all the top tennis podcasts. 

For the past year, San Diego District Tennis Association’s recent Past President and current Executive Board Member John Broderick has been listening to a local tennis podcast done by two north San Diego teaching pros, Conan Lorenzo and Jenna Mariga, called “The Tennis Pros of San Diego Unmatched”. 

Broderick wanted to shine some light on the efforts of Lorenzo and Mariga knowing the immense effort and time producing a weekly 45-minute podcast requires by two busy teaching pros. At the recent SDDTA’s year-end awards night, the co-hosts were recognized with the Community Service Award. 

Broderick said giving Lorenzo and Mariga the award was a “no-brainer” calling the podcast “one of the great additions to our tennis community.” He added: “I can’t think of anything else that has been so impactful to the San Diego tennis community in so many different ways.”

Lorenzo is a 30-year teaching pro and Tennis Director at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club. He recently stepped down as San Diego RSPA President after serving 13 years as president, vice president and/or treasurer. Mariga is a former college tennis player who has been a coach for the past five years. 

Launched in December of 2023, Lorenzo and Mariga have done more than 50 podcasts archived and available to listen to with a simple Google or Spotify search. 

“We wanted to build a really cool tennis community of people who not only play tennis once in awhile, but also people who play all the time,” said Mariga, who is originally from Utah and divulged on guest Broderick’s recent podcast episode that she is a dedicated Swifty while Lorenzo favors the metal hair bands of the 1980s. “We want it to be a conversation that everyone can be a part of because we think that’s important.” 

Added Lorenzo: “I’m always looking for the next podcast. So one day I thought, ‘Let’s just make our own.’ It’s not focused on just the technical aspects of tennis, but also things we can debate like who are the best players of all time? We want the listeners to enjoy what they’re hearing. We listen to a lot of podcasts and they are very structured. We just want to have a conversation.”

The duo’s first podcast featured USC men’s coach Brett Masi. Senior national champion Jeff Greenwald has been a guest, as has the Kramer Club’s Peter Smith. 

“We just let it flow. We have no script,” Lorenzo said. 

“We have a little bit more structure now than when we started,” said Mariga, adding that the goal is to soon add a video component to the podcast and post to YouTube. “We are now more tennis based. We really take a lot of our listener’s feedback.”

“Whether it’s fitness, nutrition, the mental game of tennis, we love hearing from our listeners,” Lorenzo added. “That gives us a good foundation to work with. You know, sometimes we have a plan, but we may detour and go off onto other topics. There are no subjects that we won’t discuss and that are off limits.”

Both say the podcast wouldn’t exist without the support of their sponsors, which includes Court Reserve, The Perry Art Gallery, CH CourtTech, Graphic Interfaces and San Diego real estate agent Jim Kellogg. 

“The Tennis Pros of San Diego Unmatched” podcast is just one of several popular podcasts that have a Southern California tie-in. 

Hosted by two former ATP pros from SoCal – Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson – the “Nothing Major” podcast features a lively conversation along with John Isner and Jack Sock. The quartet discuss light-heartedly how tough it was to play in the Big Four era with none ever winning a Grand Slam in singles. 

“Advantage Connors” is hosted in Santa Barbara by all-time great Jimmy Connors and his L.A.-based son Brett Connors and is full of commentary on the happenings of the daily grind of the pro tours. 

“Three – The Tennis Show Podcast” is hosted by two SoCal residents – tennis author and historian Joel Drucker from Los Angeles and commentator Gill Gross of Culver City. The pair are joined by longtime tennis journalist Amy Lundy, and the three discuss all things Big Three – Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

“Our focus, though it’s changing because of the retirements of Federer and Nadal, has always been on the Big Three,” said Drucker, of the 165 episodes over the past five years. “Each of the legends has left an indelible mark on Southern California winning the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Our region greatly admires star power, so who better to focus on than Roger, Rafa, and Novak. They are the true titans of our sport in recent times.”