Rome Wraps, Roland Garros Opens, and the Book Bringing Sexy Back to Tennis

Rome is done and Roland Garros starts tomorrow. Anastasia is joined by Lucy Deuce for a tennis-friends-on-the-couch breakdown of one of the loudest weeks of the clay swing: Jannik Sinner completing the Career Golden Masters at 24, Elina Svitolina lifting a third Rome title and locking herself back into the top 10, and Coco Gauff fighting her way to a final the discourse swore she wouldn't reach. They also stop for a voice memo from journalist Hanlon Walsh on the ground in Rome, get into Gucci and the luxury-fashion-meets-tennis moment, and preview a Roland Garros draw that genuinely no one has figured out yet.In part two, Anastasia sits down with Edward Schmidt, author of The Open Era — a queer, mental-health-forward tennis novel out June 2 (June 4 in the UK). This conversation also kicks off something Anastasia has been sitting on for nearly a year: the very first Ground Pass Book Club. Links to pre-order and to the book launch at The Strand in NYC are in the show notes.Settle in, pour the coffee, this one is a long, juicy ride.Chapters:00:00 Intro00:26 Highlights from the Rome Masters08:31 Locking In for Roland Garros with Lucy Deuce12:28 Fashion Meets Tennis: The Gucci Influence18:30 Rome Tournament Highlights and Results20:32 Jannik Sinner's Triumph in Rome29:57 Elina Svitolina's Comeback and Impact on Women's Tennis35:44 Coco Gauff's Journey and Resilience43:55 Looking Ahead to Roland Garros48:52 Interview with Edward Schmidt51:53 Eddie's Journey into Tennis54:12 The Open Era: Book Overview57:36 Mental Health in Tennis01:02:14 Cultural Moments in Tennis01:03:22 The Impact of Social Media on Sports01:06:48 Representation in Tennis01:10:41 Coming Out in Sports01:13:46 The Impact of Representation01:15:36 Mental Health and Authenticity01:26:24 OutroLinks: Vanity Fair funny clip: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DYSWSIzJap7/?igsh=bGxzbW5udmJ3bjRz Merch: https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/shop 💬 Don’t forget to give us a leave is a 5 ⭐️ rating and drop us a comment Want to Support Ground Pass - https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/supportOur New Merch is LIVE!!! Ground Pass Shop - https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/shop Where You can Find us Online:Substack - https://groundpass.substack.com Website - www.groundpasspodcast.com Email - groundpasspodcast@gmail.com Threads: https://www.threads.net/@ground_pass Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/groundpass.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ground_pass Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@GroundPass TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@groundpasspodcast X: https://x.com/groundpasspodDisclaimer: This video does not contain a paid for advertisement. PR samples are denoted by the term ‘ad - gifted’. Links containing ad affiliate links are denoted by a '*'. This means that if you click on an affiliate link, go through to the retailer and purchase an item, we will receive a small percentage of your purchase. Check out our website for a full disclaimer: https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/about  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy fo