Now that the Djokovic debacle has ended and the tennis has begun, Ben and Tumaini Carayol wrap up the big stories of the first week of the Australian Open. What did we see from Naomi Osaka in how she won and in how she handled defeat? How did Emma Raducanu manage to slice her way into Romanian hearts? Can anyone stop Barty and Medvedev? Thank you again for the incredible support for NCR we've received on the NCR Patreon which has powered us into our ELEVENTH(!) ad-free season! Please consider jo...
Jan 23, 2022•26 min•Ep. 279
The Djokovic deportation drama dragged deliriously Down Under, feeling a whole 'nother Grand Slam's worth of drama and intrigue before finally resolving itself on Sunday with a panel of judges upholding a second deportation order and sending Djokovic on a flight out of Australia soon after. Paul Sakkal , whose coverage of the political sides of this story has been extraordinarily insightful, and who got rave reviews for his first appearance on NCR at the onset of this saga , joins Ben once more ...
Jan 17, 2022•46 min•Ep. 278
Ben and Courtney(!) know that a whole lot else has been going on in the world of tennis, but now that Novak Djokovic is on a plane out of Australia (which wasn't yet settled when we recorded), the coast is clear to talk about the draws ahead for the year's first Grand Slam. How is Ash Barty's ambition clearer than before, and will that eagerly awaited match with Naomi Osaka happen? How do last year's surprise success stories look early on this year? Also, Ben's been imagining a specific surprise...
Jan 16, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 277
Novak Djokovic's Australian Open fate changed drastically while he was up in the air during the recording of our last episode, but luckily for us Paul Sakkal, Victoria Political reporter for The Age, is here to break everything down with incredible knowledge, depth and detail. What went wrong with Novak Djokovic between his exemption being granted by Tennis Australia panels and then his being rejected by Australian Border Force? On what grounds was his application rejected? How much was the poli...
Jan 07, 2022•51 min•Ep. 276
Ben and Tumaini Carayol reunite in Melbourne's newest arena (which could have better acoustics, sorry) to discuss the great vibes at the tournament, and the news which harshed them considerably. Novak Djokovic's announcement that he had received a medical exemption which would allow him to play the Australian Open without the required coronavirus vaccination. This has caused considerable anger in Australia, and we discuss why it has been such a buzzkill. We also talk about why the ATP Cup isn't ...
Jan 05, 2022•43 min•Ep. 275
Ben is rejoined by NCR's Middle East and North Africa correspondent Reem Abulleil for a discussion of the very late and fairly busy finish to the tennis season, which went into December and will have less than a month of full off-season before resuming again in 2022. We discuss the new Davis Cup format and the good vibes on the winning Russian team, led by mascot Andrey Rublev, as well as the negative kneejerk reactions to the news that Abu Dhabi could be the next host city. We also discussed th...
Dec 08, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 274
After the WTA backed up its strong talk by suspending all of its tournaments in China because of the continued censorship of Peng Shuai, Ben is joined by Human Rights Watch's Senior China Researcher Yaqiu Wang to discuss how Peng's case fits into the wider landscape of issues in China. What made the WTA's stance so unique? How should we see the International Olympic Committee's solidarity with China? And how pervasive is the restriction on free speech in Chinese life? Thank you again for the inc...
Dec 03, 2021•31 min•Ep. 273
Ben is joined by The Guardian's Tumaini Carayol to discuss the fallout of the accusations made by Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai against a senior government official, the WTA's strong stance, and the impact on tennis in China going forward. Was the WTA's partnership with China always doomed to fail, as Tumaini predicted in 2019 ? And what would a reset of the tour without China look like for the future of women's tennis? Plus, the new-look WTA year-end championship event in Guadalajara and the...
Nov 18, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 272
Ben and David Avakian are delighted to bring you an NCR Movie Club installment on what is set to be the biggest tennis movie in a long time, and perhaps ever: KING RICHARD, which stars Will Smith as Richard Williams and shows his early journey raising Venus and Serena into perhaps the greatest story in tennis history. The movie comes out on November 19, so if you want to hold off listening until then you can (but since this is almost all based on a true story we don't think it's necessarily spoi...
Nov 11, 2021•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 271
The first edition of the Billie Jean King Cup (née Fed Cup) is happening this week, and so Ben is joined by the German reporter Jannik Schneider, who was there in Prague covering the event. We discuss how the event's atmosphere and organization has been, the impact of Billie Jean King's legacy on the competition, and why Russia is doing business as "RTF" at the event. We also discuss how the accusations against Alexander Zverev have been covered in Germany, and what challenges reporters there in...
Nov 05, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 270
There's been batches of backroom brouhahas brewing this year in tennis as the sport continues to be in a moment of flux and transition during the pandemic. To make sense of the landscape, Ben is joined by Sports Business Journal's Bret McCormick , who discusses his reporting on many issues. Could changes to the calendar made because of the pandemic become long-term shifts? How are the men's and women's tours already coming together? How are the new leaders in men's tennis faring so far? Does the...
Oct 27, 2021•44 min•Ep. 269
Nearly a year after Olga Sharypova publicly accused tennis star Alexander Zverev of repeated physical and emotional abuse during their relationship, the ATP announced this week that it is opening an investigation into (one of the) accusations, which Zverev has repeatedly denied in blanket terms. Ben, who has interviewed Sharypova and investigated the story for both Racquet and Slate , is joined by Mary Carillo and Jessica Luther to discuss the accusations and their impact on the sport. What took...
Oct 07, 2021•59 min•Ep. 268
The tennis map has been redrawn this year as the world continues shifting during the pandemic, bringing the tours to many new stops that it previously left out. This has included many major American cities such as Chicago, Cleveland, and San Diego, where there was a first-ever ATP event this week. Dani Vallverdu , managing director of the new San Diego Open, joins Ben to discuss what it took to make a new ATP tournament in only six weeks, the shifting sands of the calendar and where they might g...
Oct 04, 2021•27 min•Ep. 267
On this episode, Ben chats with Lewis Simmons, creator of the TNNS Live app , who has helped fill the void left by the sudden disappearance of the simple but essential ATP-WTA live score mobile app last year, which left many tennis fans and followers marooned without the compass they'd used to navigate the tennis tours for about a decade. We discuss the chasm left by the old app's departure, trying to replicate its simplicity while adding various enhancements, and what the challenges were of mak...
Sep 23, 2021•31 min•Ep. 266
Ben and Courtney begin "Boys' Time!" at the U.S. Open with a discussion of Novak Djokovic falling one match short of his historic bid for the Grand Slam (which means a specific thing, y'all). What signs were there that Djokovic was in trouble, looking back? And how does Djokovic, 34, move on from this? We then salute our new major champion and Troll King, Daniil Medvedev, who had established himself as an heir apparent in recent years and deservedly took the throne in New York. What makes him so...
Sep 18, 2021•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 265
Ben and Courtney dive right into the paradigm shifting, generational groundshaking moment that shocked the tennis world this week in New York: the photo of Maria Sharapova with the Williams Sisters at the Met Gala. After that, we turn our sights to the new star born in New York, Emma Raducanu, who won history as the first qualifier to win a Slam. What made her such a juggernaut on court? And how will her broad base of support in strong markets like Britain and China make her a force off court? W...
Sep 17, 2021•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 264
Ben and Courtney both took the time during this U.S. Open to watch the new Netflix documentary "Untold: Breaking Point" about Mardy Fish and his struggles with anxiety and mental health during the end of his elite tennis career. We both loved it, and heartily recommend it to you as a very timely watch for many reasons. Mardy joins Ben for a discussion about various things raised by the documentary and his career, including media sensitivity, American tennis, and more. Thank you again for the inc...
Sep 09, 2021•31 min•Ep. 263
Reunited for their first in-person show together in more than 18 months, Ben and Courtney chat in New York on the eve of the U.S. Open about storylines from the men's and women's draws, including: Who, if anyone, can derail Novak Djokovic? Why is Stefanos Tsitsipas a good draw for Andy Murray? What do we make of Barty's increasingly impressive reign at #1, and can Osaka or Andreescu contend without much match play? And what about all the top players who are missing? Tangents on Venus Williams in...
Aug 29, 2021•2 hr 14 min•Ep. 262
Our guy Tumaini Carayol joins from Tokyo, where he's covering the Olympics for The Guardian , for a discussion of the happenings in tennis and elsewhere at the Games. What happened to Novak Djokovic, who was cruising toward a Golden Slam before suddenly crashing out with three defeats and a withdrawal in a nightmare 36 hour stretch? And how did Pablo Carreno Busta become the breakout achiever of the Olympic singles? And how about the big surprises in some doubles draws? We also discuss Naomi Osa...
Aug 02, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 261
As the Olympic results surprise on the other side of the globe, we take a moment to check back in more locally on the tennis scene stateside, where the Citi Open in Washington is set to begin this weekend with Rafael Nadal as a surprise headliner. Tournament owner Mark Ein, who was a three-time guest on NCR last year as he discussed the uncertainty of having an event in the flux of the pandemic, joins to talk about the challenges and opportunities this year, and what it takes to get a tournament...
Jul 31, 2021•23 min•Ep. 260
The Olympics are on the horizon at last in the Land of the Rising Sun, and so Ben is joined by Alex Gruskin of Cracked Racquets to break down the women's and men's singles draws for the fast-approaching Tokyo tennis turn-up. On the women's side, is Ash Barty ready to be seen as a dominant clear favorite in women's tennis yet? Or could other surging players like Barbora Krejcikova or Aryna Sabalenka stop her before the final? And what should we expect from Naomi Osaka's return to competition unde...
Jul 22, 2021•56 min•Ep. 259
Back stateside, Ben reconnects with Courtney to discuss the Wimbledon finals, which saw Ash Barty win her 2nd and Novak Djokovic win his 20th. On Barty, what does her win say about the current conversation around mental health? And on Djokovic, is he destined to win a Calendar Golden Slam? Also bits on Pliskova, Berrettini, and our thoughts on the increasingly large numbers of top players opting out of the Olympics (we don't love it!) Thank you again for the incredible support for NCR we've rece...
Jul 14, 2021•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 258
On the eve of the finals, Ben and Tumaini Carayol catch up on the second week that was at Wimbledon, which has set up two pretty strong finals: Djokovic-Berrettini and Barty-Pliskova. Plenty else happened along the way to those showdowns, of course, so we discuss men's happenings including Federer's dramatic fade against Hurkacz, Felix Auger-Aliassime's strong showing, and the wackadoodle fifth set of Korda-Khachanov. On the women's side we discuss things like Aryna Sabalenka breaking her Slam d...
Jul 10, 2021•44 min•Ep. 257
Ben and Courtney convene for the last of what has been a tradition: a Middle Sunday episode from Wimbledon. What do we make of this tradition being phased out? And how about this first week at Wimbledon, which seemed to have found its footing as a great tournament after some early slips? We discuss our favorite moments so far, and how both the men and women are set up for the second week. Also, Courtney prepares for her adventures in ghostbustin' as she tries to pick Casper Ruud out of a lineup....
Jul 04, 2021•36 min•Ep. 256
After five days together at Wimbledon Ben and Tumaini Carayol chat about what it's been like to be back at a Grand Slam in person for the first time in well over a year, what's the same, and what's different about being at the All England Club once more. We also discuss Andy Murray's fatalistic finish to his press conference, and what we can see among the many aging stars openly contemplating their futures. Thank you again for the incredible support for NCR we've received on the NCR Patreon whic...
Jul 03, 2021•30 min•Ep. 255
Wimbledon is back up and running, but many of the top players have been falling down. Serena Williams was the biggest casualty of the slick Centre Court, aggravating an injury that forced her out of her third round match. To get the low-down on the ground, Ben is joined for a quick chat by NCR's Charm City correspondent Pam Shriver for her take on the lush lawns, and what might be done to make them less treacherous. It's been a busy Wimbledon for Ben so this is a fairly tapas-sized meal, but we ...
Jul 01, 2021•14 min•Ep. 254
Ben and Courtney reunite from eight time zones apart to discuss the men's and women's draws at Wimbledon, where the tours return after two years away. We start with the men, where Novak Djokovic is a clear favorite. But the French Open taught us to be ready for surprises, right? The women's side is, as typical, quite wide open. And like the men, there's some incomplete data for these players on grass which makes it all trickier than a slice from a carving station. Thank you again for the incredi...
Jun 27, 2021•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 253
Novak Djokovic came back from two sets down to win the French Open final on Sunday, beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in five sets and putting himself in increasingly rare in men's tennis history. NCR's Middle East and North Africa correspondent Reem Abulleil joins to discuss what has made Djokovic so uniquely great and unflappable, and how big hopes for his near future should be. His ambitions, and his form, show little sign of abating right now. We also discuss Tsitsipas, Nadal, and Reem's favorite p...
Jun 14, 2021•37 min•Ep. 252
Barbora Krejcikova prevailed over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in Saturday's unlikely French Open final, and Ben and Courtney are here to talk about what it all means. How was Krejcikova able to win this match? What does her win tell us about what it takes to win a Slam? What questions do we still have about her and her game? What does this win mean for the tour going forward? And what about that unusually long and casual trophy ceremony? Also, Courtney has some quick lingering thoughts on Novak Djo...
Jun 13, 2021•45 min•Ep. 251
We will have our show on the women's final soon, but in the meantime we are delighted to share a bonus episode with Saša Ozmo , the Serbian reporter who has covered Novak Djokovic more closely than anyone on his ascendancy toward the front of most of the G.O.A.T. discussions. Ben and Saša discuss Djokovic's win over Nadal (and the importance of consolidating it), the ups and downs on his recent path, where the races against Nadal and Federer now stand, differences between how Djokovic is perceiv...
Jun 12, 2021•34 min•Ep. 250
