Doubles Only Tennis Podcast
The only tennis podcast with a focus on doubles. We believe doubles should be more popular and get more coverage than it does, so we’re fixing that. Our goal is to help you become a better player with pro doubles tips and expert strategy. We interview ATP & WTA tour doubles players and top tennis coaches to help you improve your game.
Doubles Only Tennis Podcast
New Partners, New York Food, Practice, & Goals with Nicole Melichar-Martinez
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Nicole Melichar-Martinez joins us from the US Open to share insights on her recent doubles success and preparation for the final Grand Slam of the year. I spoke with her fresh off a title in Monterey with new partner Cristina Bucșa.
- Detailed breakdown of Nicole's practice routine, including specialized drills for volleys and overheads
- Comparison of New York to other Grand Slam cities, with particular focus on commute times and logistical challenges
- Food recommendations for NYC, with Nicole ranking it among the top tennis tournament destinations for dining
- How Nicole builds chemistry with new doubles partners and the communication strategies that led to her Monterey title
- Discussion of the US Open Mixed Doubles format and Nicole's creative ideas for future improvements
- Nicole's goals for maintaining her top-20 ranking and capturing her first WTA 1000 title
- Insights into how professional doubles players select partners for upcoming seasons
Niki ultimately won two rounds in New York against some tough opponents. If you're enjoying the podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Learn more about Nicole & follow:
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Introduction to Nicole Melicar-Martinez
Speaker 1In this episode you're going to hear from Nicole Millicart-Martinez. I sat down with her at the US Open. This was before the tournament started. She ended up making the third round with her new partner, christina Bucza. They were coming off a title in Monterey, so we talked a little bit about that. We also talked about how to get started with a new partnership. We discussed the US Open in general, new York. Nikki is a big foodie, so she talks about the food in New York compared to some of the other Grand Slam cities. We also discussed practice. We discussed her goals for the rest of the year and going into next year as well.
US Open Practice and Drill Breakdown
Speaker 1So this is a pretty short conversation that I've been trying to get out to you all. I have been super busy here in New York running the doubles camp and meeting with different people, so I apologize for the delay in podcasts, but I'm going to have a few more episodes here coming soon from New York, so, without further delay, enjoy this one with Nicole Melicar-Martinez. Hey, everyone, welcome to the show. Today I'm here at the Yost Open with Nicole Melicar-Martinez. Welcome back, nicole.
Speaker 2Hi Will, nice to be back.
Speaker 1So our voices are a little bit quiet because we're in the media center and it is kind of like an office space with a bunch of cubicles with people working really hard, and we don't want to interrupt them. So we're going to conduct this interview a little bit quieter than normal. So, nicole, I wanted to start with your day today. Today's the first day of the women's doubles. You didn't play today. Talk us through what your day today. You. Today's the first day of the women's doubles. You didn't play today. Um, talk us through what your day looked like um.
Speaker 2So I had a practice this morning for an hour I played points with my doubles partner, christina book. So we played some points with asia, muhammad and demi shores, uh, for an hour and from 11 to 12 and then 12 to 1 I had an indoor court. So with carlos, my coach, we went in there and just did some cleaning stuff. So finishing volleys, overheads, serves, returns, just kind of pattern-specific things I wanted to work on to be ready for tomorrow.
Speaker 1Okay, so can you talk us through some of those drills? A lot of the listeners like to implement some of the drills that the pro players are using as well, so how does that work? Where is Carlos set up? How is he feeding?
Speaker 2Yeah, actually I also had my parents there. So my dad was feeding balls to Carlos. Carlos was on the baseline. I was at the net right in front of him and we were kind of implementing as if my partner had just hit a ball cross court and my opponent is attacking me at the net. So he was hitting them down the line or at me. Occasionally he went through the middle just to keep me honest, not that I'm only covering myself and the line, but yeah, it was more of and sometimes the ball would be shorter or the ball would be deeper and then I would have to read if he could really step in and attack it or if he's maybe a little on his back foot.
Speaker 2So I did some like that. I did returns both from the regular formation and the I formation, because I do know our opponents like to use the I formation. So I wanted to see some serves that way as well. Um and I also practiced my overhead, but we did it in a way that um Carlos was feeding and he would feed. Either um, I would have to be ready for a volley or, if he lobbed it, I would have to be ready to get back quickly. So he was mainly doing lobs over me, but just to make sure I'm not cheating, just automatically going back for the overheads, he would make sure to feed a volley sometimes as well. The ball could go anywhere. It would be through the middle, it would be at me, maybe a floater Just trying to mimic those on-court situations. The ball could go anywhere. It'd be through the middle, it'd be at me, maybe a floater Just trying to mimic those on-court situations.
Speaker 1That's smart. I'm going to steal that from him because I do overhead drills with players and a lot of times they do cheat. You know they start to move backwards.
Speaker 2I'm going to steal that. I'm going to start using that for sure. Yeah, he'll maybe mimic hitting a lob, but then he actually like dinks it short. So it's like a softball right in front of me, so it's like a similar motion, but then the feed is just like very soft.
New York vs. Other Grand Slams
Speaker 1Right, it makes sense. I mean, that's in a match. You obviously don't know what they're going to hit, so you've got to be ready for anything. How does New York compare to the other slams for you?
Speaker 2Well, I think, compared to the other slams, we are definitely staying a bit farther. Especially, the traffic this year isn't great, so it's taking minimum an hour to get here from the city. So I feel like you really need to plan your day according to traffic. Some days I've heard some players that take an hour and a half, even two hours, whereas other tournaments, I think, um, I mean French Open, I'd be on site within, you know, 15, 20 minutes. Same in Melbourne. Wimbledon also depended on traffic. Some days it was 20, some days it was 40. But here it's truly like double.
Speaker 2I think there's a lot of people around, obviously being American, and then my husband, having worked before New Jersey. We have a lot of friends, um, around. I have my parents in town, so it's definitely busy. Uh, people love to come to the slams and support. People want to grab dinner. You have to occasionally, you know, prioritize tennis and not not going to dinner and stuff, yeah, so that's sometimes difficult because maybe you want to but you can't um, so, trying to set the priorities, but how do you rate the food in new york compared to the other slams?
Speaker 2I think it's the second best second um at the tournament. I think australia still has the best food, but here they do a good job. The grill is very tasty. They have a bunch of different places where they have things.
Speaker 1What about the city itself?
Speaker 2The city. I think yeah, I think it's number one or number two. I think you can find anything in New York, and I mean New York's, I think, the best city in the world probably for restaurants.
Speaker 1What's the other, number one or number two? I would say.
Speaker 2Melbourne. Just the food quality is really good. I'm not, I mean London. I've been to some restaurants, but I'm just honestly not the biggest fan of food. In the UK you find a lot of good Indian food, and then in Paris the food is good, of course, but I feel like you don't really find such a big variety, whereas in Melbourne and New York you have anything you want in.
Speaker 1Melbourne and New York. You have anything you want. Yeah, so for people listening, if you haven't listened to Nicole on the podcast before, she has a food Instagram account and is a big foodie, so that's why we get through these food questions.
Speaker 2I haven't been posting on the food Instagram. It's like a second time job.
Speaker 1So it'll come back.
Food Recommendations in NYC
Speaker 2It's hard, it will come back eventually. But in New York the definite must togo-to place is Los Tacos no 1. And I recommend going to the one in Chelsea's Market because right next to Chelsea's Market there's Mariscos, which is right next door, and that's like the seafood taco version of the like inside Chelsea's Market the tacos no 1. They have the steak, the chicken, the cactus and then, yeah, next door, the seafood one, and the seafood one is actually my favorite.
Speaker 1So I want to transition back to tennis. You just won in Monterey with a new doubles partner, Christina Buxa, who is sitting right behind us.
Speaker 2Yeah, I can't say anything. Bad, she's spying on us.
New Partnership with Christina Bucza
Speaker 1Talk about how the partnership formed and then what made it work so well. In Monterey, y'all didn't drop a set when you were there.
Speaker 2Yeah, well, because I've been playing lately a lot with Samsonova and Samsonova told me she doesn't play the week before slams and she wasn't going to play in DC. So, and I had spoken with Christina before and we had kind of asked each other, but then I think I was set before and then I asked her for Bunnhuborg and she wasn't playing in Bunnhuborg, so we had kind of gone back and forth on wanting to try somewhere together and it didn't work out. But then for DC and monterey, she, um, she was like yeah, absolutely. And then at wimbledon, uh, samsonova told me that she wanted to focus on her singles here in new york and not play doubles. And because I was playing with christina the week before, I asked her to play and, um, she agreed.
Speaker 2So so, yeah, I think in in DC we had a tough match.
Speaker 2We lost against Taylor and Shway and they won the tournament and they played really well and it was our first match together and I think we I think it sometimes takes time to figure out what's working, what isn't, but after, after we lost there, we had some practices together both in Montreal and Cincinnati, because we knew we were going to play together in Monterey and US Open and I think the practices were helpful and Monterey, just match by match, I think we got more comfortable with each other.
Speaker 2I think at first it was I'm the very extrovert, outgoing, outspoken one and she's a little bit introvert and I think as she got more comfortable with me, she started saying more things and I think we just got better as the tournament went on, communicating and stuff, and I think she even started seeing that I really like feedback as well and she would be like, oh, you can play there, or if I play here, you go there. So she was starting to implement some of the things that I really like feedback as well and she would be like, oh, like you can play there, or like, if I play here, you go there. So she was starting to implement some of the things that I was saying, like saying them back to me from her perspective.
Speaker 1How do you do that with a new partnership? How do you kind of ramp up the team chemistry as quickly as possible? Obviously, practicing together helps prep the sets, but I imagine just conversations off the board as well. Do you have like a process for that?
Speaker 2I mean, I think just trying to go by, feel, I think anybody that maybe feels comfortable around you, you know, maybe I mean I do it regardless, but wishing her good luck before her singles are going to cheer her on, show some support from my side and just being open and maybe like cracking a joke here and there, whether with her team, or like maybe coming from Carlos, just to try and like lighten the mood and, you know, show that you know we're just people trying to, you know, do our job, do our job well but also have a good time with it. So somehow just trying to break the ice.
Speaker 1I feel like for the last maybe three, four years, maybe going back longer you can tell us You've had at least one title? This time of the year in the run-up to the US Open. Do you feel like this is when you play your best tennis and, if so, why?
US Open Mixed Doubles Format
Speaker 2I think I mean I do love the US Hardcourt swing, I do like the Wilson US Open balls, so I think that helps. I think by this time of the year transitioning from grass to hard court is fairly easy for me, so maybe that helps. I actually have noticed my most successful weeks in the year has been the week before a slam I have won. I mean Monterey, cleveland. I've won in Strasbourg and Nuremberg I've won. Back in Hamburg, played final in Nisborn. I've won Adelaide before. So like leading up to slams I've at some point I have done well. So I think I take my slam prep very seriously and just trying to like fine tune things before leading in. I don't know if it always helps for the slam, but at least going in maybe getting good vibes.
Speaker 1Did you watch the USM mix and if so, what did you think and did you enter it?
Speaker 2I did not enter it. However, I think the feedback was very positive. I think it showed doubles can be promoted. Obviously it was promoted because of big singles names and big singles stars, but I think that just showed that doubles is not a dead product, that you need to market it the right way, that you need to market it the right way and I really hope for next year that they can do it where it's the best. You know that you can enter on your doubles ranking or your singles ranking, so you get a combination of both.
Speaker 2One idea I think would be a lot of fun would be if we could have somehow, like maybe a draft, and the women's singles sorry, women's doubles players have to pick a men's singles player and then the men's doubles players have to pick a women's singles partner and then you can combine it like this. I think that would be fun if you take, you know, the top eight from each, that turns into 16. Then you get 16 teams. I think that would be fun. It would be inclusive of and then you get 16 teams. I think that would be fun. It would be inclusive of both roles and you can see how it would fit. Or I don't know some singles teams, some doubles teams. However, they want to mix it, but I think a draft would actually make it interesting.
Speaker 1That would be really cool. I'm not sure, so a lot of doubles players this year called it an exhibition. The US Open obviously called it an actual Grand Slam and I'm not going to comment on that. But if they did a draft I think that'd make it even more difficult to maybe call it a Grand Slam.
Speaker 2But I do love that idea. I think that sounds like a lot of fun. Yeah, I mean, in a sense you would still be having the doubles players and the singles players playing together, and I would think normally, like drafts go, they're kind of prearranged already who's going to be playing together. But maybe you could do it kind of on a public display just another way, I guess, to tickets or um, to just make it interesting and exciting. You know uh, who's gabby gibraski gonna pick? Does she want to play with? You know felix, does she? You know someone from her home country? Does she want to play with uh, yannick or carlos, because they're top two in the world? Like, who do I want to play with? So I want to who would you pick?
Speaker 2I think I would go with alcaraz.
Goals for 2025 and Beyond
Speaker 1It's a good choice, and I would make sure he has a shaved head just so that the team's speed is increased a little bit helps with aerodynamics, exactly off. It was saying uh. So last question goals for 2025, for the rest of the year and then 2026 plans.
Speaker 2Goals for 2025, rest of the year. Obviously, last slam for me starts tomorrow. The doubles started today, so I want to put my best foot forward here, see how well I can do. And after here we have the Asian tournaments. I do like those as well. Actually, I would like to do the best that I can.
Speaker 2My ranking I know I have points coming off because I had some results towards the back end of last year and my goal would be to try and keep my ranking inside the top 20. Obviously, try and get another title if I can. I'm still wanting my 1000 title, which I haven't won yet in my career. So we still have two opportunities for those with beijing and wuhan and I think I'll yeah, I'll just play till the end and and do my best.
Speaker 2And for next year, I don't know yet who my partner will be. Um, I, I have already had some girls reach out to me and I'm kind of seeing how things are going with luda, with christina, um, or if I want to go with a doubles player route to only have like, have that option, because if you play at the doubles player, you can obviously practice together and, you know, do the same schedule with the singles player. It's a little bit different, um, but yeah, I think, uh, I think during the asian swing, that will be part of my homework for next year is trying to figure out who who my partner will be awesome, nicole.
Speaker 1thanks a ton uh for coming on again and we'll do it again soon. Best of luck this week, thank you.