Doubles Only Tennis Podcast

Nadiia Kichenok & Oksana Kalashnikova Interviews from the ATX Open

• Will Boucek • Episode 160

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This episode includes two post-match interviews from the ATX Open with top seeds, Nadiia Kichenok and Oksana Kalashnikova. I chatted with them after their round one and quarterfinal wins in Austin. Nadiia and Oksana are both inside the top 55 on the WTA doubles tour.

You'll learn:

  • Why they used more I-formation in their first match, but less in the quarterfinals.
  • How they adjusted to different match conditions - from cold & windy one day to sunny and hot a few days later.
  • Details about a crucial call by Nadiia for a down-the-line return from Oksana during the 10-point tiebreaker.

They also share a bit about life on tour as doubles players and why they are right on the cusp of a significant ranking threshold. Nadiia and Oksana ultimately lost in the semifinals in Austin in another close three-set match.

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Speaker 1:

This episode is another short interview from the ATX Open. I chatted with the top seeds, oksana Kalishnikova and Nadia Kitchenalk. They are number 51 and 53 in the world on the WCA doubles tour and they won their first round match 7-6-7-6 against a really good team, and we talked about what they did during that match so well. One thing that I had noticed is that Nadia Kitchenalk, who played in the ATX Open last year, had never run, or never ran iFormation the previous year with a different partner, and then in this particular match in 2024, she ran iFormation I would say over 90% of the time, almost every single time, and I asked her why the big adjustment from one year to the next? Was it something about her partner or something about the opponents? And she had kind of a surprising answer for me to that as well.

Speaker 1:

And then we chatted a little bit about the cold and windy conditions, how they handled that as well as how they plan to prepare for the next match. So again, this is a very short conversation with them, but wanted to get this out there to y'all and there will be a few more interviews coming up from the ATX Open as well. So, without further delay, enjoy this conversation with Oksana Kallishnikova and Nadia Kitchenalk. So you're through your first round 7-6-7-6 victory. Obviously, it was very cold, as we were just talking about. What did you all make of the match other than the weather?

Speaker 2:

I mean it was tough upon us because they played a lot of doubles together so they know what they were doing on the court. We tried to read their game and also have a plan. So whatever we were doing, we were trying to give a signal to each other so that to know what to do. We also tried to read their game and then I think we adopted to their game right.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, we knew what to expect a little bit because they play together pretty often. I think you also played against them before. We were trying to keep it simple because it was a little bit windy also just to focus on the good quality of the serve, the return.

Speaker 4:

The basics.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, just to stay focused on the basics. But it was a very close match and we are happy to get through.

Speaker 1:

Last year, naughty, you were here and I spoke with you and I asked you at the time you were playing with yeah. I asked you why you didn't run any I formation.

Speaker 3:

Oh yeah, so you didn't run any. I formation once last year, I'll tell you, I'll tell you, and you told me.

Speaker 1:

I think you told me, it's just something we don't do.

Speaker 3:

Yes.

Speaker 2:

And today I think you ran I formation every single time. It helped us. I think it helped us.

Speaker 1:

What changed between last year and this year.

Speaker 3:

Luzana when we were playing last year it was our like first tournaments together and with her coach, patrice, I was also working with him a little bit. He doesn't like it, oh wow, he doesn't like I formation. So I didn't want to confront him, you know, I just wanted to play around it. It was working like we was working not too bad. We played semis. We lost in semis against good doubles team. That's where I thought we were lacking I formation. But yeah, ana was also not very comfortable because she's more of a singles player. She was not very comfortable moving down there.

Speaker 1:

And today you ran, I formation. It seemed like over 90% of the time, maybe almost every time. Why so much today?

Speaker 3:

In my opinion, like on my server, faxana has very big, like long range. She can cover whole net. So I think we just got to use it.

Speaker 2:

You have to put pressure, I feel like especially in the wind, it's tough to kind of control the return. So you need to be really precise, like you have a very small margin, you know, like to hit the ball in the court, and I feel like we kind of like we made them confused like where to place the ball and especially if, like we were moving to the left or to the right, then we kind of were cutting out the net person if we were rallying like down the line. So I think because I felt like most of the times they were comfortable more on the cross guard than on down the line, okay, yeah, yeah, we were forcing them to go for more risky shots.

Speaker 3:

I guess.

Speaker 1:

One thing that they did, that I noticed, and a lot of teams don't do this is on Angela's serve. If she misses her first serve, sophie moves back. So they play two back on the second serve. How do you all handle that?

Speaker 2:

I think there was no issue yeah.

Speaker 3:

I mean it sort of takes off the pressure because the net player when there's a player at the net, it's a little bit more pressure.

Speaker 2:

You have the whole court kind of. So you have a way bigger angle to hit the ball.

Speaker 1:

So it gives you more options? Yeah, okay, and then what about your next match?

Speaker 3:

Will you try to watch the your opponents or scout them a little bit, or do you feel like, yeah, I think it's a record?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, replay to watch them, yeah.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Speaker 2:

I mean we never, I don't know, because it's a wild card. I think they won right.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I have to look.

Speaker 3:

It's one of the. It's one Ukrainian girl and her partner. I think they're from college here.

Speaker 1:

Oh, the Texas girls. Yeah, yeah I talked to them earlier. Yeah, yeah, they won in the third set.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I actually practiced a couple of years ago against Sabina, against with Sabina back in Ukraine but, it was a while ago. I think she probably improved about since then, so we definitely need to watch a little bit.

Speaker 1:

Okay, and was there any adjustments you did have to make with the conditions, since it got cold today and it was hot the past few days?

Speaker 2:

Just a rocket, the tension yeah the tension and more clothes.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, definitely that. More layers, definitely that.

Speaker 1:

Awesome, all right. Well, thank you all very much.

Speaker 3:

Thanks for having us.

Speaker 1:

So next I have one more post match interview with Oksana and Nadia and in this one Hanlon Walsh joins me and we caught up with them after their quarterfinal wins. They won the first round match, which is the interview you just heard, and then they won in the quarterfinals against the two University of Texas players who, if you have been following the podcast, I released the interview with them earlier this week. So Oksana and Nadia won this quarterfinal match 11-9 in the third set. After dropping the first set, we talked a little bit about the match. The conditions were very different and they talked a little bit about how they handled that. They ran less eye formation against this particular team and they discussed why that was the case. And then we talk about a particular down the line backhand return winner from Oksana. That was really crucial to this win because it was on a big point during the 10-point tiebreaker in that third set. And then at the end Hanlon asked them about their doubles rankings and then just kind of life on tour, what people might be surprised to hear as far as playing professional doubles. So, without further delay, enjoy this part two with Nadia and Oksana, all right.

Speaker 1:

So another very close victory, this time in a third set. What did y'all make of the match? You lost the first set. You turned it around. What?

Speaker 2:

were your thoughts. I think we had kind of a slow start because the conditions were very different. I mean, I'm just going to talk for myself. Like, for me it felt like the balls were flying way faster. So it took me a while to kind of find my rhythm, because I feel like in the first matches you could have hit the ball as hard as you could and still it would have like fly into the court. And today I felt like everything was flying. So for me it just took a bit of adaptation and yet to get. Also the reason was a bit different and opponents obviously different. So for me that was like a turning point.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, it was different conditions today from our previous match and our opponents. They were playing good tennis, they were spirited, they didn't have anything to lose and the crowd was on their side. So it was not easy also to play against them today. But I think we managed to turn things around, trying to focus on the basics in the second set a little bit more. We were complicating things a little bit too much in the first set. Then we just focused on the simple things and I think that's helped us.

Speaker 1:

I noticed you ran less eye formation. This is always a topic when Nadia is on. You ran less eye formation today than you did the other day. Was that something about the opponents, or was it the conditions, because it was warmer and sunnier, or something different?

Speaker 2:

I think the opponents. I felt like I don't know, I thought they would have like they were struggling more if they had to do like with the regular stand returns and I felt like if we were serving wide they wouldn't have enough angle to hit the ball and with eye formation I felt like they had more space. I don't know, that's how I felt, so yeah, we still were trying.

Speaker 3:

We gave up eye formation a little bit, but we're trying to twitch them a little bit, sometimes moving, sometimes staying. Yeah, it worked a little better than eye formation, so we stuck to that.

Speaker 1:

At four all in the tie breaker. Oksana, you hit a backhand down the line return runner.

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah, I was like oh, that was good.

Speaker 1:

Is that something that you had picked out before the point? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2:

Nadia, she showed me the sign. I was like, okay, why not? I'll try down the line.

Speaker 1:

Okay, yeah.

Speaker 3:

Usually we try when the ball goes down the line, we try to get to know it.

Speaker 2:

We tried to tell our partners that we are aiming there, so it's not like out of the blue, I guess, like so that the person who is not a returner, the second person, would know in case if the volley would be flying at him. So it's kind of at her, I mean. Yeah, so it kind of saves a few seconds.

Speaker 1:

Sure.

Speaker 2:

And you are more ready.

Speaker 1:

Were they? They weren't in eye formation when you called that. Were they? Wasn't it regular?

Speaker 2:

No, they were doing regular. Regular Okay I think on Nadia they were doing more eye formation. Yeah, I feel like yeah.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so you just wanted to throw in like a down the line return against the regular, just to catch them off guard.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, a little bit of guessing also, because you can predict sometimes when they're going to move, yeah, in a match sometimes you have.

Speaker 1:

Sure.

Speaker 4:

Talk about life as a top 50 doubles player, just traveling the tour and getting into tournaments. What might people be surprised by behind the scenes as a doubles player?

Speaker 2:

What do you want to know? What behind the scenes like particularly?

Speaker 4:

On the court, off the court. Yeah, you tell us anything.

Speaker 3:

I mean pretty much I'd say the same, it's similar. What other players are doing? I mean, it's just we pay, we get paid a little bit less.

Speaker 2:

They pay a little bit less for us, but everything same same hotels, same courts, a bit of maybe one match less. Yeah, like different schedule.

Speaker 3:

And different things to do at the practice, like we practice different stuff.

Speaker 4:

I guess at your current ranking. How does that work getting into? You know, you're kind of on the cusp of probably masters 1000, I mean WTA 1000s and some of the bigger events sort of right in the middle there. How does that work with entry lists and tournaments?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, right now we are kind of trying to get our ranking better so that to make a cut for Miami, I did the cut for Indian Wells but I had to switch the last minute because our combined ranking didn't allow us to get in. So now we're trying to improve the ranking. It's literally like two, three positions. It's so close, yeah. So if you want to be safe to be getting for all the tournaments, probably you need to be like top 45.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, top 40 to be like safe, safe. So yeah, this tournament is pretty important for us because on Monday the deadline for Miami is finished and we will be. You have pretty nice to earn some more points here.

Speaker 4:

Awesome, well, good luck.

Speaker 3:

Thank you.