Tennis Channel Inside-In Podcast: The CoCo Vandeweghe Show is just getting started

CoCo Vandeweghe was firecracker of a tennis player. If you watched just one of her matches, the passion and enthusiasm was easily to identify. She wore her heart on her sleeve, and you always knew how Vandeweghe was feeling, because she let it all hang out.

For 15 years she took the WTA by storm, reaching the Top 10 in singles, winning a doubles major, and representing Team USA in international competitions as well as anybody in the game. Like one of the many distinguished athletes in her family, she also knew when it was time to say goodbye, and how to do it the right way. Last fall Vandeweghe put down the racket, and picked up the microphone. There isn't a shy bone in the American's body, but there is a a wealth of knowledge and experience from a career at the pinacle of the sport.

Vandeweghe joined the Inside-In Podcast to the memories she made on court, calling it quits as a player, and finding her voice in her second act.

The difficult decison to call it a career officially came in the fall of 2023, but Vandeweghe understood the signs much earlier.

She comes from a highly regarded athletic family; her mom was an Olympic swimmer and both her granpda and uncle played in the NBA. So she saw firsthand what it looks like when a career is about to conclude, and realized it much earlier than others. She has standards for herself that start in practice, and injuries prevented her from reaching that same level.

Vandewghe was honored after playing in her last US Open this past September, but she wanted to play one last event in her native San Diego a few weeks later. There she played doubles with Danielle Collins, a tenacious competitor and someone she didn't really know prior to the tournament. But she answered the call and partnered with Vandewghe all the way to the finals, and along the way started a beautiful new friendship.

"Honestly it wasn't even about the tennis. We were just having fun getting to know each other," Vandeweghe recalled. "She's a trip and we had a blast, just more the sideline commentary. If we were mic'd up it would have been for sure cancellation. We were talking too much crap about our opponents."

With competitve tennis now squarely in her rear view, Vandeweghe has made the jump to the broadcast booth. It's been a natural fit for someone that a ton of insight to offer, and has never shied away from giving her opinion.

But to Vandeweghe, her greatest gift to commentary is understanding what it's like to be on the other side of the equation, and what players actually like discussing and being asked about. There are certain things she had hoped to hear more of from broadcasters in her playing career, and she's doing her best to say those things now that she has the chance.

"What are these girls doing, or guys doing that makes them so good? Why are their shots coming off the way that they are? And I try to describe that as much as possible," Vandeweghe stated. "I (remember) silly questions that I got asked where I was like man, this is like the dumbest thing I've ever heard! And it has no bearing on actually how I won the match...

"Luckily I got a couple tries at it, so I definitely evened out my questions and made it more fun and made it more personable. Because so many of those girls have great personalities, and it's just getting it out."

The lights have never been too bright for Coco Vandeweghe. As a commentator she's gotten better each day, attacking each assignment like she's competiting for ranking points and prize money once again. But it's important to understand how likeable she is for all of that passion, and how endearing she was to her own and future generations of tennis hopefuls.

Vandeweghe still works with young American players, hoping to be the mentor that she never quite received as a player. The retired athlete is back skiing after a two decade hiatus, and she's got sage advice for her family and Bill Walton alike to rely on (a close friend of her grandfather, she has in fact been to his Grateful Dead Tribute room).

And she couldn't have been a more personable guest on Tennis Channel Inside-In, showcasing her natural ability to weave topics and stories together at ease. Vandewghe has been a fixture in the fabric of American tennis for quite some time, and that isn't changing anytime soon.