Ben and Tumaini join up once again to discuss the tennis season that is *still* going in mid-November, somehow. We start with Jannik Sinner's dominant run at the ATP Finals in Turin, where he never lost more than four games in any set en route to a title that moved him even further from the pack. How discordant are these magnificent triumphs with the backdrop of his still unresolved anti-doping saga? We also discuss the impressive season put together by finalist Taylor Fritz, express concern ove...
Nov 20, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 370
Ben and Tumaini reunite for the first time in nearly a month to discuss the inaugural WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, at which Coco Gauff won the trophy and a record $4.8 million prize. We discuss Gauff and her resilient resurgence to finish her year on a high, and then we discuss the many conversation points around this event, both the positive and the negative. There's truth to be found on both sides, many various stakeholders with different priorities, and a lot of nuance in how this even...
Nov 11, 2024•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 369
Sometimes, as we've been reminded, life doesn't always turn out how you think it should. In this episode of NCR you'll hear from the recently retired Dominic Thiem via his appearance on a recent episode of the podcast A New Way of Being hosted by Simon Mundie . Simon joins Ben on this episode to expound and annotate on Thiem's journey, and what the lessons he learned might hold for us. We also discuss the unprecedented generational chasm between Thiem's generation and the one that came before, a...
Nov 07, 2024•50 min•Ep. 368
In an annual tradition, Ben and Ricky Dimon convene the day after the Marine Corps Marathon to discuss the year in men's tennis. This year the top line story is pretty clear: Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz dividing and conquering the calendar, claiming the tour for their generation. Which one of them had a better year? And how much of a shadow (or a doubt?) does Sinner's positive test morass cast over his stellar year? We also discuss the generation of 90s-born guys getting passed by, Djokovic...
Oct 29, 2024•49 min•Ep. 367
Rafael Nadal, one of the all-time greats who we have been lucky to watch and cover over the past two decades, made his retirement official today. After learning a few days ago that his announcement was imminent, Ben and Tumaini pre-recorded an episode on their reaction to this long-anticipated news. We discuss what led to this decision, share our favorite memories of Nadal from watching him on court and interacting with him off court, and discuss his legacy and how he completely disrupted the ga...
Oct 10, 2024•42 min•Ep. 366
Ben (who formally announces and thanks folks for following along at his new writing home, Bounces !) and Tumaini catch up on the happenings in the Asian swing so far, led by the star-studded results in Beijing that marks changes from New York. On the women's side, Coco Gauff bounced back from a disappointing summer to win her second WTA 1000 title, beating Muchova in the final. Is this a meaningful rebirth for Gauff, or is she still a work in progress? On the men's side, Carlos Alcaraz and Janni...
Oct 07, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 365
Ben catches up with Tumaini , who is freshly back from Berlin, about the state of the Laver Cup, which might as well be called the Federer Cup for how it foregrounds the retired superstar. We discuss the relevance, successes, and struggles of the event, and contrast it with Davis Cup, which had a lumpy round of competition in recent weeks to set up for its big final this year later in Spain. Speaking of the tennis calendar, we discuss the age-old complaints about the tennis calendar which were g...
Sep 27, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 364
Ben is joined by Alex Gruskin of Cracked Racquets for the second half of another home-and-home pair of podcasts looking ahead to the rest of the remaining year (and beyond, a bit) in women's tennis, counting down what we think the biggest stories and questions are. After chatting about men's storylines over on The Mini Break Podcast , we focus on the women's side here, ranking the biggest curiosities and quandaries on what seems like a tour in transition. From Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka making c...
Sep 21, 2024•57 min•Ep. 363
Ben and Tumaini wrap their U.S. Open coverage with a look at the women's and men's singles finals, in which Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner both completed a sweep of the hardcourt majors this season. The finals were both fairly straightforward, which leaves us for some time to cover related topics and listener questions including the intense celebrification of the U.S. Open (hello, Taylor Swift), Sabalenka's career vs Azarenka's, the shadow of Sinner's anti-doping saga over his win, and Olympi...
Sep 09, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 362
Ben and Tumaini are back again 24 hours later for a look at the men's side of the second week of this US Open, which has culminated with Jannik Sinner rolling into the final and Taylor Fritz ending a 15-year drought for American men between Slam final appearances. We discuss the messy Sinner-Draper semifinal, the pivotal change that pushed Fritz past Frances Tiafoe, and how Fritz and Sinner might match up in the final. We also talk about the (negative) vibe shift around Sinner after his recent a...
Sep 07, 2024•54 min•Ep. 361
Ben and Tumaini cover the second week of the US Open on the women's side, which is now set to reach its dramatic conclusion in a final between Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula. We discuss the two high-quality semifinals that set up these wins, what has made Sabalenka develop into such a better player than the version of her we first saw, and Pegula's long-awaited breakthrough. We also discuss Pegula's win over Swiatek, the debated off-court moments of Swiatek's during and after the match, and ...
Sep 06, 2024•48 min•Ep. 360
Ben and Tumaini chat through all the big stories of the first week of the U.S. Open, which kicked into gear with the upsets of two big men's stars. Carlos Alcaraz (to Bob van de Slap!) and Novak Djokovic lost on back-to-back nights, but which was more surprising? We also discuss the crisis expressed in defeat by Stefanos Tsitsipas, scheduling, and other issues on the men's side. On the women's side, we discuss the difficulty in assessing Naomi Osaka's year, the thrill of Karolina Muchova, and co...
Sep 01, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 359
Ben and Tumaini wrap up their U.S. Open preview double header with a discussion of the women's field at the 2024 U.S. Open. We discuss topics such as the paths for Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka, our relief at news of a coaching change by Elena Rybakina, the reliably broad resonance of Naomi Osaka's vulnerability, frustrations with Emma Raducanu's scheduling, the recent woes of Coco Gauff, and the golden glow-up of Zheng Qinwen. Thank you for listening! Our Patreon is back up and running to ens...
Aug 25, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 358
Ben and Tumaini discuss the men's field at the fast approaching U.S. Open, leading off with Jannik Sinner, the man who was the focus of our emergency episode earlier this week. How did he handle the press conference better than the USTA did? And (scattered throughout the rest of the episode) what were the reactions of other players in the draw? We also discuss how contenders like Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, and Daniil Medvedev are positioned in the draw, the uniquely international flavor of ...
Aug 24, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 357
Ben and Tumaini jumped on today for an emergency episode about the stunning news today that ATP #1 Jannik Sinner had tested positive twice earlier this year for the banned substance Clostebol, a revelation that came simultaneous to the announcement that he had been found to bear "no fault or negligence" in the case. We lay out the timeline of Sinner's year, and how this revelation adds depth to what was already a busy stretch in the young champion's life. We discuss what parts of the story about...
Aug 21, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 356
Former WTA No. 1 Karolina Pliskova, still top of the ladder of most honest and direct players in tennis, talks with Ben in this interview episode about the current state of her career and her expectations, and how the tour has changed during her long career. Pliskova discusses the aura that stars like Sharapova and Serena had, how Serena compares to Iga Swiatek on court, what it's been like since her twin sister Kristyna retired, and more. Thank you for listening! Our Patreon is back up and runn...
Aug 14, 2024•19 min•Ep. 355
Ben and Tumaini reunite to discuss all that happened in the Olympic tennis events, and a bit in the wider Olympics as well. We start with the biggest story, which was Novak Djokovic, who has won everything else there is to win in tennis multiple times, finally claiming an elusive gold medal. At 37, with everything complete, could be the right time for him to retire on top? We also discuss his peers Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray, and how these Olympics served as farewells for them as well in diffe...
Aug 06, 2024•2 hr•Ep. 354
Ben is joined by Alex Gruskin of Cracked Racquets to preview the 2024 Olympic tennis event starting this weekend in Paris at Roland Garros, a quirky quadrennial event. Can Iga Swiatek handle the pressure of the occasion? Can Barbora Krejcikova sustain her momentum from Wimbledon? And what does Coco Gauff need to do to reverse her fortunes against Swiatek? We also discuss the women's doubles, where Gauff might have a better shot at gold, and the mixed draw, which is jam-packed with unique meeting...
Jul 26, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 353
This is an update on our main feed to let listeners know that we have a new mailbag episode (with a beloved and deeply missed NCR person) just up on our Patreon feed today ! We answer listener questions about tennis things like the impact of mid-match coaching and longer 1000 events and non-tennis things like our current favorite music and board games. Thank you for listening and supporting NCR ! And we especially thank our GOAT backers: Pam Shriver, Jean Simeon, and J. O'D....
Jul 22, 2024•54 sec•Ep. 352
Ben and Tumaini reunite the morning after the Wimbledon Ball to discuss the champions who danced together after dancing alone atop their respective draws, Barbora Krejcikova and Carlos Alcaraz. We discuss what makes Krejcikova so good ( with an assist from Andrea Petkovic ), where she goes from here, and the state of the top of the women's game after this result. After debuting an original song by NCR's bard Dan Bern, we turn to the men's champion Carlos Alcaraz, who delivered a decisive dominat...
Jul 16, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 351
Ben and Tumaini reunite now that the Wimbledon finals are set, to discuss the unexpected women's final between Barbora Krejcikova and Jasmine Paolini, and the far more predictable rematch of last year's final between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic. We discuss the great women's semifinals, including Paolini's epic battle against Vekic, and how Krejcikova is proving herself to be a generational talent. On the men's side, we discuss Medvedev's near-default, and the disparate styles of locking in...
Jul 13, 2024•27 min•Ep. 350
Ben and Tumaini start this mid-tournament show with a catch up on the fourth round action, which included some crowd combativeness in victory from Novak Djokovic, some complaining and collapsing from Zverev, and some painful injuries on the grass. We look ahead to the quarterfinals with special focus on the surprise runs of Emma Navarro, Lulu Sun, Barbora Krejcikova, and Taylor Fritz, and Tumaini also weighs in on the Raducanu/Murray mixed doubles mess. Thank you for listening! Our Patreon is ba...
Jul 09, 2024•55 min•Ep. 349
Ben is joined by James Gray of The i newspaper, inews.co.uk, and Tennis Unfiltered to discuss Saturday's big upset and some doubles drama causing buzz around Wimbledon. We discuss #1 Iga Swiatek getting hammered in the second and third sets by Yulia Putintseva as the crowd turned on her in the middle, but we start with the big British news of the day (in a busy time for British news generally), which was Emma Raducanu pulling the plug on Andy Murray's Wimbledon career by withdrawing from their m...
Jul 06, 2024•23 min•Ep. 348
Ben is joined by Ricky Dimon to discuss the first week of Wimbledon so far, which has been mostly pretty straightforward on the men's and women's sides. We discuss the biggest scare a men's favorite has had so far, when Alcaraz needed five sets to beat Tiafoe, as well as Sinner's battle past Berrettini and Djokovic's tricky road ahead. We also discuss the strong form of Emma Navarro, and the wide-open women's bottom half that includes a path for Emma Raducanu. We also discuss the big retirement ...
Jul 06, 2024•32 min•Ep. 347
Ben is joined by L'Equipe's Quentin Moynet to discuss one of the most striking players at this year's Wimbledon, Maxime Janvier, who has stood out for his uniquely bleak outlook on tennis, even in victory. We get into Janvier's remarkably open cynicism, his mid-match explanations about money, class divides throughout the tennis rankings, and how his remarks have been received within tennis circles. Ben and Quentin also discuss the player whom Janvier beat in the final round of qualifying, young ...
Jul 03, 2024•24 min•Ep. 346
Ben and Tumaini continue their conversation into the men's draw, where Jannik Sinner is the top seed for the first time at a Slam, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz looms in his half, and grass specialists like Matteo Berrettini loom large. We take several deep dives along the way into scheduling and health issues, first discussing the women and men who decided to skip the Olympics and why they might regret it. Tumaini then regales us with Andy Murray's full saga leading up to what he's confirme...
Jun 30, 2024•53 min•Ep. 345
Ben and Tumaini spent a long time discussing the Wimbledon draws just hours after they came out, and are splitting the preview episode into two parts for your convenience. First up are the women, where top seed Iga Swiatek has question marks on grass, where Parks-Wozniacki is one of the most intriguing first round matches (and listen to the discussed Black Spin Global interview with Parks' coach here ), and where lots of other possible pivot points exist in understanding how this all might unfol...
Jun 30, 2024•55 min•Ep. 344
Ben is joined on this episode by Barbora Strycova , a titan on grass courts over the last decade before her retirement, to talk about the secrets to success on this unique surface which takes up just about a month on the tennis calendar. We discuss what works on grass, her memories of deep runs at Wimbledon, winning with Hsieh Su-wei, beating a Brit on Centre Court, facing Serena, and more. Hope you enjoy! NCR's Patreon is back up and running soon and we'd love to have your support there!...
Jun 23, 2024•29 min•Ep. 343
Ben is joined by Jonathan Crane , who covered the recent criminal trial of Alexander Zverev in Berlin for DW , to discuss the proceedings he covered before and during the French Open and the conclusion they reached last Friday. We discuss how the case reached this point, the atmosphere inside the court room, and the ultimate resolution they reached in which Zverev made settlements with both his ex-girlfriend Brenda Patea and the court itself. We also discuss Zverev's misleading claims of proven ...
Jun 11, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 342
Ben and Tumaini wrap up their coverage of this French Open with a look at the generation-leading champions who won it, Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz. Swiatek, who won her fifth Slam, has established herself as the best player in many generations, drawing comparisons to stars like Justine Henin with her fourth win in Paris. What can she do to play as well at the other Slams? On the men's side, how did Carlos Alcaraz survive hot and cold streaks to be cool under pressure to finish off his third S...
Jun 10, 2024•39 min•Ep. 341
