Beyond the Baseline Podcast: Stan Smith

On this week's episode, two-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1 player Stan Smith talks about his eponymous footwear and more.
Beyond the Baseline Podcast: Stan Smith
Beyond the Baseline Podcast: Stan Smith /

On the Beyond the Baseline Podcast, Sports Illustrated executive editor, Tennis Channel commentator and host Jon Wertheim takes fans between the lines with tennis commentary and exclusive interviews with the top players and newsmakers on the ATP and WTA tours.

On this week's episode, Wertheim talks with Stan Smith.

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Vince Caligiuri/Getty Images

A two-time Grand Slam champion at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, Smith joins the podcast to talk about his tennis career, but also the athletic sneaker that has come to overshadow those achievements on the court. How did the adidas Stan Smith sneaker come to be? Smith talks about how it all began, what his role and involvement with adidas and the sneaker is now, his thoughts on how it became an iconic staple in the fashion world and more. Wertheim and Smith also talk about college tennis, why the elongated careers of current players build the case for playing college tennis, Smith's coaching and advice to aspiring tennis players and more.

• MORE BEYOND THE BASELINE: Mary Carillo | Reilly Opelka

​Also on the podcast, Smith talks about the current landscape of tennis and what he thinks about the current prize money and earnings of players, compared to when he was playing, and the current stars on the ATP Tour.

Listen below and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or on Stitcher.

Check back next week for another episode of Beyond the Baseline.


Published
Jon Wertheim
JON WERTHEIM

Jon Wertheim is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated and has been part of the full-time SI writing staff since 1997, largely focusing on the tennis beat , sports business and social issues, and enterprise journalism. In addition to his work at SI, he is a correspondent for "60 Minutes" and a commentator for The Tennis Channel. He has authored 11 books and has been honored with two Emmys, numerous writing and investigative journalism awards, and the Eugene Scott Award from the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Wertheim is a longtime member of the New York Bar Association (retired), the International Tennis Writers Association and the Writers Guild of America. He has a bachelor's in history from Yale University and received a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He resides in New York City with his wife, who is a divorce mediator and adjunct law professor. They have two children.