“I like Cinema Sessions,” Coco Gauff says as she settles onto our now-famous couch. “But I’m a bit disappointed I hadn’t been asked to be on earlier.”
The eventual quarterfinalist at this year’s Australian Open breaks into a coy smile as she grabs her couch-side popcorn, with vision of her AO debut – against Venus Williams – beaming onto the big screen.
“Honestly, I was confident that I could beat her in this match,” Gauff reflected as the highlights of her 16-year-old self eventually notching a straight-set victory played in front of us. “I had to fight to win it.”
It’s the second year of Cinema Sessions, a concept developed by the Tennis Australia team to not only play back old Australian Open footage of players to watch, but done so in a bespoke “cinema” studio, decked out with the aforementioned plushy couch, big screen projector, low lights and freshly popped popcorn.
Duh, of course there is popcorn.
The popcorn is actually a star in and of itself in what makes Sessions so different. In the hallway of TV studios where players do interviews with the likes of Channel 9, ESPN, Eurosport and others, the salty, buttery, warm waft of freshly popped popcorn piques the interests of some of the greatest tennis stars in the world.
“Ah, I knew it was popcorn!” exclaims Aryna Sabalenka as we pull the Cinema curtain back for the world No.1 and two-time reigning AO champion. “I was right.”
As the likes of Sabalenka, Gauff, Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Naomi Osaka, Carlos Alcaraz, Alex De Minaur and other top players take their seat for their personalised Session, we’ve lined up a host of Australian Open footage for them.
It's often their biggest highlights; quirky on-court moments; light off-court adventures; and perhaps some vintage AO archival clips.
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The idea is simple: Immerse the players in a cinema-like setting where they, really, are the main characters – both up on the screen and sat on the couch. And see how it unfolds.
“What are we watching?” a tentative Osaka queried as she sat down, unsure of the concept.
As the host, it’s my job to navigate them through what we envisioned to be a relaxed, insightful chat.
When Djokovic watches his AO debut from 20 years ago against Marat Safin at the 2005 Australian Open, I want to know what that 17-year-old was thinking.
And when Sabalenka sees “baby Aryna” – as she calls herself – on screen against Ash Barty at Australian Open 2018, I ask her how she feels she’s matured and changed over the last seven years as she’s emerged as one of the great talents of her generation.
“I couldn’t control myself,” Sabalenka recalls of her emotions, facing a tough crowd and a can’t-be-cracked Barty in 2018. “I’ve worked a lot on and off the court to figure out how the way how to control myself. As a result, I figured out how to win this beautiful trophy.”
She added, while watching herself hoist the first of two trophies here in 2023: “I was so empty. Emotionally... it took me a week to realise I had won my first Grand Slam.”
It’s fascinating to hear what players do – and don’t – remember from their own AO journeys. “I was in a big fight with my boyfriend,” Iva Majoli says when I ask her what went wrong against Monica Seles in their Australian Open 1996 quarterfinal.
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“And Monica killed me that day,” she adds with a laugh.
“My mum called me... I was in trouble,” reveals Djokovic about that Safin match from 2005. Why? Novak had dyed his hair a light brown prior to his Grand Slam debut – something Dijana was none too pleased with, apparently.
“This is my audition for Baywatch,” jokes De Minaur when we show him footage of a photo op he did at a Melbourne Beach back in 2017. “I swear I weigh 20 kilos max here.”
It’s given viewers (we hope) a different perspective on the players. It can be silly and loose, fun and relaxing. But it also can be reflective and honest, insightful and raw.
“I played qualifying back in 2011, I remember, and since then I’ve fallen in love with this place,” Grigor Dimitrov said as we watch back his classic 2017 semifinal versus Rafael Nadal.
Dimitrov details how he led by a break in the fifth set only for Rafa to charge back, setting up Nadal’s legendary final against Roger Federer two days later.
“It was one of those moments where I did all I could but it just wasn’t enough,” he said, before adding an anecdote that sticks: “I still keep a text that Roger sent to me after that match.”
It’s the sort of quip that somehow Cinema Sessions pulls out of the players: Unexpected.
Just like a good movie.