The 2017 U.S. Open wrapped up with an unsurprising men's champ in Rafael Nadal and a very surprising women's champ in Sloane Stephens. How did we get there? We discuss. What do we make of how the draw broke in Rafa's favor? And how was Kevin Anderson the one able to seize the opportunity on the bottom half? On the women's side, how did Sloane Stephens go from not being able to walk to playing her best tennis ever so quickly? What's next for her? Also, how should the other Americans in the final ...
Sep 12, 2017•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 69
In one of the biggest and best Slam first rounds ever, Maria Sharapova beat #2 Simona Halep in three thrilling sets. Ben and Courtney didn't quite see that coming, so we break it down in this special Day 1 episode from the U.S. Open. What are Sharapova's chances going forward in what's turned into a very open quarter suddenly? There were some other upsets, too (Ferrer? Konta?). Also, Aleksandra Krunic is a delight. As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook (leave comments on the episode thread...
Aug 29, 2017•17 min•Ep. 68
It's our U.S. Open preview show! Ben and Courtney catch up on the happenings of the hardcourt season, and make all the tough picks as we breakdown the women's and men's draws in New York this year. With Andy Murray's withdrawal the last of five from the ATP top 11, how should we feel about the men's field? And just how open is the women's draw, really, with eight women who can reach #1? Lots of fun tangents, as per. As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook (leave comments on the episode threa...
Aug 28, 2017•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 67
To set the table for the upcoming US Open, Ben chats with two guys who see tennis through very different lenses. First up is Paul Annacone , a former ATP #12 and a past coach of Pete Sampras, Roger Federer, Tim Henman, and Sloane Stephens, who is out with his first book Coaching for Life. We talk all sorts of aspects of coaching relationships, and how they evolve with a player's age and experience. Next, Ben chats with Giri Nathan , who has taken the helm of Deadspin's suddenly robust tennis cov...
Aug 24, 2017•43 min•Ep. 66
Long-time friend of the show Lindsay Gibbs joins Ben this week to discuss the intersection of all sorts of societal issues--which she covers in her work as the sports reporter for Think Progress--specifically as they apply to the world of tennis, which has plenty of layers of equality and inequality, both visible and invisible. There's lots of work still to be done in women's tennis, even just how we talk about it . From equal pay to LGBT visibility, from WTA streaming to athlete activism, from ...
Aug 01, 2017•47 min•Ep. 65
Wimbledon 2017 is done with two great champions in Garbine Muguruza and Roger Federer...but why does it still feel unsatisfying? On the letdowns that defined the second week of this tournament too often. Ben and Courtney talk about what their wins mean, why scheduling remains a crucial variable for both, and other various stories from the undercard draws at Wimbledon. As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook (leave comments on the episode thread! Engage with other listeners!), following us on...
Jul 16, 2017•31 min•Ep. 64
Second week already? I was just in the middle of a dream (about flying ants, probably). With four rounds of Wimbledon in the books, Ben and Courtney chat about what has happened and what will at a Wimbledon that hadn't been super eventful, really, until Manic Monday clarified some things. What do we make of Angelique Kerber, who will depart the #1 ranking? Should Bernard Tomic face scorn for his comments? Why is Gilles Muller such a dad? All this and more. As always, thanks for liking us on Face...
Jul 11, 2017•52 min•Ep. 63
Ben and Courtney are full of Wimbledon joy as they inhale the vaunted fumes of Centre Court, where the 2017 tournament will soon start. They start breaking down the men's draw by discussing Sasha Bublik, the highly-entertaining Russian-turned-Kazakh who lucked into a spot playing Andy Murray in R1. You'll hear some of his pre-tournament press, then we break down the paths of the top-four seeds, who happen to be the Big 4 again. We both agree on who's tournament this is to lose, which doesn't alw...
Jul 02, 2017•1 hr 18 min
We are delighted to finally be able to fulfill one of our most frequent listener requests: an interview with a chair umpire! Felix Torralba, a gold badge chair umpire who worked full-time with WTA and has also worked around the world of tennis on all corners of the globe, recently retired from officiating to take a full-time position at the Mallorca Open, where Ben caught up with him. He answers all those pressing questions: when to give a time violation? What is the hardest language to call sco...
Jun 27, 2017•1 hr 4 min
Ben and Courtney have a lot to catch up on after the French Open. Well, maybe a little bit less on the men's side, where a fairly lackluster men's tournament ended in obvious fashion--albeit in style! Rafael Nadal is really good, but we knew that. Elsewhere in the men's game, things look much better for Andy Murray and much worse for Novak Djokovic. What should Novak do to give himself a chance to be competitive again? On the women's side, it was perhaps an even wilder one than expected, with Je...
Jun 19, 2017•1 hr 42 min
It's Slamming time again! Ben and Courtney break down the French Open draws for both the men's and women's. On the women's side, where there are many favorites to choose from, who got the best and worst draws? And whose great draws and good recent forms could lead them to a second consecutive semifinal (or better)? There are multiple correct answers to that one. On the men's side, could this be a tournament to get Murray or Djokovic back on track? Or is Rafael Nadal just too far ahead of the pac...
May 27, 2017•1 hr 12 min
In our first somewhat normal show together since the European clay swing began in earnest, Ben and Courtney catch up on what has happened in the past several weeks, from Stuttgart to Madrid to Rome. Firstly, we assess the form and future of Maria Sharapova, the predominant protagonist of those tournaments, even if her runs ended early at the last two. Where does she go from here? Also, we (again, sorry) wonder if there's any sense to be made of the women's side, and Courtney enjoys that caution ...
May 23, 2017•50 min
In a decision that had been anticipated for months, French Tennis Federation president Bernard Giudicelli surprised many by not granting Maria Sharapova any wild card--not even into qualifying--for Roland Garros, locking out the two-time champion there as she continues to work on rebuilding her ranking following her 15-month absence due to a positive test. In this short episode, Ben discusses the style, cause, and correctness of the decision with two French tennis journalists: our beloved Carole...
May 17, 2017•18 min
It's Eurovision season again, and it's NCRvision season again! One year after we launched the NCRvision Song Contest , we're happy to be able to bring it back to you to gear up from the results show, which will be coming in a few days. It's possible that some of these amazing songs have faded from your memory (or that you missed them altogether), so we're bringing you this refresher of the show, a bit condensed, with a new intro and outro. And in the grand Eurovision tradition of terrible singin...
May 13, 2017•1 hr 29 min
We are delighted to be able to fulfill a wish of many of our listeners for years now by bringing on Jamie Hampton (a.k.a. Julie Hamilton) as a guest, who has been out of sight as she rehabs various injuries but not out of our minds of many listeners. Ben and Jamie discuss her mindset as she copes with setbacks, the perspective she's gained on tour issues from being away, the current landscape of the tour, dealing with attention from traditional and social media, her more supportive stance on Mar...
May 04, 2017•50 min
With best wishes, Ben and Courtney convene after Serena Williams' announcement that she is expecting her first child this fall, and may already be as far as 20 weeks into her pregnancy. Does this change how we look back on her title at the Australian Open in January, when she already would have been roughly two months pregnant? And what does this mean for the tour going forward? And what is the state of the women's field now? We don't quite agree on this one, as you'll quickly learn. And as alwa...
Apr 21, 2017•26 min
With a quarter of 2017 now complete, Ben and Courtney try to make sense of it all. But does it make sense, really? Daria Kasatkina won Charleston in an all-teen final, which should be a big result. But what are results anyhow, when every player seems to have a roughly equal share of success and failure these days? Which characters and plotlines are really relevant? Does TV have the answers? The men's side is a completely different coin, because one beloved old dude (Roger Federer) has stepped up...
Apr 11, 2017•1 hr 24 min
Wrapping up the happenings in Indian Wells, Ben and Courtney cover the popular champs and the odd ways their matches were pitted against each other. First, is the surprising win of Elena Vesnina reflective of a current landscape of opportunity in women's tennis? And where might this title lead her? And for Roger Federer, how much is about him surging and how much is about the others atop men's tennis receding? What to make of the impatient foot-tapping during men's tennis-centered folk during th...
Mar 24, 2017•1 hr 26 min
With Maria Sharapova's ban set to end in just over a month, we've assembled an all-star lineup to discuss her impending return and the many questions it raises in this our fourth episode (here are 1 , 2 , and 3 ) about Sharapova's saga. First, Ben speaks with Markus Günthardt, the tournament director of the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart where Sharapova will be making her comeback on Wednesday, April 26. We discuss why this tournament has grown so popular with top players (the car-as-trophy mod...
Mar 21, 2017•1 hr 13 min
If you can't see stars on a clear desert night, are they still there? Ben and Courtney contemplate these quandries and more as they reunite in Indian Wells, where lumpy draws made for exciting clusters of fun, the #1 dude lost to a guy outside the top 100, and Madison Keys returned for her first tournament in five months. We discuss patience with young prospects who might seem to fall short of the hype, the once-and-possibly-again concept of Slamless #1s, and moderate opinions about things being...
Mar 14, 2017•48 min
With the tours spending three weeks in the region, there's no better time to check in with NCR's Middle East correspondent, Reem Abulleil , for a quick catch-up on the doings over there. After a rough go of things last year, Caroline Wozniacki made good, despite some rain on her parades. And what to make of Elina Svitolina, who has stealthily piled up some very impressive scalps? Also, Roger Federer's stunning loss to Evgeny Donskoy and Andy Murray dropping trou. And as always, thanks for liking...
Mar 03, 2017•33 min
It's been a slowish month of tennis, anthem nightmares notwithstanding, so Ben and Courtney turn to the ever-reliable mailbag to fill out most of this week's show. With the popularity of the Australian Open, should hard court tournament directors adjust their court speeds accordingly? What are fair expectations for Maria Sharapova's return to tour in a couple months? And why don't people talk more about women's matches in the greatest matches of all time conversations? Also, because we love you,...
Feb 18, 2017•1 hr 1 min
There was an eye-catching ending to Davis Cup this weekend, so Ben and Courtney open by discussing Denis Shapovalov's howitzer into the face of chair umpire Arnaud Gabas, and all the various conversations it starts. Should tennis players drastically rein in their tantrums? Should rules change? Or would an overreaction clamp down on a sport that needs big personalities? Then, Ben chats with the founders of the gorgeous Racquet magazine , Caitlin Thompson and David Shaftel , about starting up thei...
Feb 08, 2017•1 hr 10 min
Back home from their Australian adventures, and with time to process the "dream finals" of the Australian Open, Ben and Courtney rouse and reflect on what to make of the Serena-Venus and Federer-Nadal finals, and what they say about the current state of tennis, both for the players involved and the weekend's presumed losers (i.e. Angelique Kerber, Murray-Djokovic matches, etc). Also, how does the relative spreading of wealth in the WTA compare to the oligarchy of men's tennis? And are these resu...
Feb 04, 2017•1 hr 9 min
Tennis got everything it ever wanted! ...right? Ben and Courtney break down the double-dip dream dates of the unexpected vintage Venus-Serena and Federer-Nadal finals that this Australian Open will conclude with. How did the matches go that got these four stars here, how will the finals themselves go, and how should we feel about them? Also, all the props in the world to Mirjana Lucic-Baroni. Is some tampering of expectations in order for the finals? Probably. But still, let's revel in this mome...
Jan 27, 2017•44 min
With the Aussie Open halfway between quarterfinals and semifinals, Ben is rejoined by Courtney to assess all the fun. Has this Slam been satisfying? Depends on if you're into role reversal, really. The men have been wild and the women have been mild, but it should be setting up for great finishes on both tours, we hope! Speaking of saving the best for last, this sport is aging like a fine wine and Ben and Courtney just want to drink it all up. And we also raise a glass to Mike Cation , normally ...
Jan 24, 2017•52 min
The surprises continue on Day 7 of the Australian Open, where both #1s lost Sunday. Angelique Kerber went out to CoCo Vandeweghe (not a huge shock) and Andy Murray went out to Mischa Zverev (a huge shock). First, to talk about both Zverev brothers and some German tennis in general, Ben (alone today as Courtney is out sick) talks to Petra Philippsen , a German freelancer. Then, with the draws collapsing around them, Ben brings on Japan's Aki Uchida and Melbourne's Matt Trollope for an Asia-Pacifi...
Jan 22, 2017•58 min
Day 4 was a day of upsets in Melbourne. No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska got blitzed by Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (as Courtney flagged), but the biggest story was six-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic stunningly falling in five sets to 117th-ranked wildcard Denis Istomin. To assess Novak's slide, as well as other perceptions of him in Serbia and the wider world, Ben chats with Belgrade-based Saša Ozmo , a journalist for Sport Klub Srbija. How did this slide start for Novak, and what are reasonabl...
Jan 19, 2017•26 min
It's only three days into the Australian Open, but 160 players have already lost in the singles draws (355 if you add qualifying losers). We hardly knew ye! But let's get to know ye? For our second Melbourne mini-show, Ben sat down with #132 Peter Polansky , a Canadian lucky loser who fell in the first round of the Australian Open on Tuesday, dropping out in the brutal heat of a fifth set against Pablo Carreno Busta. He talks about his ups and downs in Melbourne (he's the only player to have los...
Jan 18, 2017•23 min
The Australian Open is underway, and Ben and Courtney are surviving, so far! Simona Halep was an early casualty, however, so we discuss her limping into the sunset in the tournament's opening hours. Also we hear from longtime NCR stalwart Andrea Petkovic's first round press conference. She's a fun one, yo. The biggest narrative on the men's side so far has been the cavalcade of gangly teens slowly but surely taking over, so we talk about them with some special attention to Sasha Bublik, who Ben ...
Jan 17, 2017•21 min
