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

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/ground-pass-a-tennis-podcast-6637111/rome-wraps-roland-garros-opens-and-the-book-bringing-sexy-back-to-tennis
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/ground-pass-a-tennis-podcast-6637111/rome-wraps-roland-garros-opens-and-the-book-bringing-sexy-back-to-tennis.md
Podcast: [Ground Pass: A Tennis Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/ground-pass-a-tennis-podcast-6637111)
Published: 2026-05-18T09:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://shows.acast.com/ground-pass/episodes/rome-wraps-roland-garros-opens-and-the-book-bringing-sexy-ba
Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/651ccfef9b495d0012f9d190/e/6a0aba8fa8fad4c1bee27b19/media.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/ground-pass-a-tennis-podcast-6637111/episodes/rome-wraps-roland-garros-opens-and-the-book-bringing-sexy-back-to-tennis
Duration seconds: 5253

## Resource

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 Intro 00:26 Highlights from the Rome Masters 08:31 Locking In for Roland Garros with Lucy Deuce 12:28 Fashion Meets Tennis: The Gucci Influence 18:30 Rome Tournament Highlights and Results 20:32 Jannik Sinner's Triumph in Rome 29:57 Elina Svitolina's Comeback and Impact on Women's Tennis 35:44 Coco Gauff's Journey and Resilience 43:55 Looking Ahead to Roland Garros 48:52 Interview with Edward Schmidt 51:53 Eddie's Journey into Tennis 54:12 The Open Era: Book Overview 57:36 Mental Health in Tennis 01:02:14 Cultural Moments in Tennis 01:03:22 The Impact of Social Media on Sports 01:06:48 Representation in Tennis 01:10:41 Coming Out in Sports 01:13:46 The Impact of Representation 01:15:36 Mental Health and Authentici…

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