No Challenges Remaining

In the second (and longer) part of their recording session this week, Ben and Tumaini fanned out into a range of recent events topics from the last month of tennis, catching up on what's been both a busy yet also quiet stretch of the season. 

We start with the uncertainties around Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz for New York, after both missed both Canada and Cincinnati. We also discuss Alcaraz's cornrows (remember those?). 

Of players who did play up north, we discuss champs Ben Shelton and Iga Swiatek. We also catch up on rising stars Alex Eala and Rafael Jodar, both of whom are inspiring strong reactions. 

We also cover the Marketa Vondrousova doping ban decision in full, and also the WTA's decision to start doing genetic sex tests on its players, news first broken on Bounces.

Tumaini then closes the show by describing his in-person experience going to see Ms. Lauryn Hill.

Thank you for listening! You can read Ben's work at Bounces and Tumaini's at The Guardian. Our Patreon is back up and running to ensure NCR keeps going and stays ad-free, and we hope you can join in supporting NCR! And we especially thank our GOAT backers: Pam Shriver and J. O'D.

Catching up after a month away from the mic, Ben and Tumaini discuss events and characters of the past month, catching up with recent events in Cincinnati.

And we had so much to say about the present states of the defining players of our tennis lives, Venus and Serena Williams, that we decided to make this lengthy first topic of discussion into a standalone episode. 

Venus and Serena brought us both into tennis; how should these legends leave the sport, now that it's become increasingly clear that their time as competitive players has run out?

More on everything else—Canada withdrawals, Shelton, Swiatek, Vondrousova, Eala, Jodar, genetic testing, Lauryn Hill—soon, but we clearly had a lot to say about the Williams Sisters in what looks like their closing chapter.

Thank you for listening! You can read Ben's work at Bounces and Tumaini's at The Guardian. Our Patreon is back up and running to ensure NCR keeps going and stays ad-free, and we hope you can join in supporting NCR! And we especially thank our GOAT backers: Pam Shriver and J. O'D.

In their last Court 15 recording of the fortnight, Ben and Tumaini talk about the women's and men's finals at Wimbledon, in which sleeper pick Linda Noskova recovered from what could've been a nightmare hiccup to win the all-Czech women's final over Karolina Muchova, and Jannik Sinner won a serving contest against Alexander Zverev.

We discuss getting to know Noskova (Knowskova?) and where she goes from here, and how important this title was for Jannik Sinner--and how important Montreal should be for him. 

Thank you for listening! You can read Ben's work at Bounces and Tumaini's at The Guardian. Our Patreon is back up and running to ensure NCR keeps going and stays ad-free, and we hope you can join in supporting NCR! And we especially thank our GOAT backers: Pam Shriver and J. O'D.

In a rare before-sunset recording, Ben and Tumaini talk about the women's semifinals at Wimbledon, in which sleeper pick Linda Noskova rolled and Coco Gauff lost a heartbreaker against Karolina Muchova after having a match point and what might've been an easy forehand.

We preview the all-Czech women's final, and then transition to the men, who are still yet to play their semifinals.

We discuss Arthur Fery's fairytale run, his small height, wealthy background, and dual citizenship. Does he have a shot against Zverev? Maybe! We then discuss how the Sinner-Djokovic semifinal might be different this time compared to the last time in Melbourne.

Thank you for listening! You can read Ben's work at Bounces and Tumaini's at The Guardian. Our Patreon is back up and running to ensure NCR keeps going and stays ad-free, and we hope you can join in supporting NCR! And we especially thank our GOAT backers: Pam Shriver and J. O'D.

After being delayed by a day by a Wimbledon Fery-tale, Ben and Tumaini returned to Court 15 at Wimbledon once more to cover the third round and the top half quarterfinals, which concluded with Novak Djokovic's epic win over Felix Auger-Aliassime in more than five hours.

We discuss the men, including those guys, Arthur Fery, Taylor Fritz, and more. We break for the Djokovic and Auger-Aliassime press conferences.

We then discuss the women, particularly sleeper pick Linda Noskova, the impressive run of Coco Gauff, and Naomi Osaka's incredible win over Aryna Sabalenka, which was followed by a loss to a very sharp Karolina Muchova in the quarterfinals.

Thank you for listening! You can read Ben's work at Bounces and Tumaini's at The Guardian. Our Patreon is back up and running to ensure NCR keeps going and stays ad-free, and we hope you can join in supporting NCR! And we especially thank our GOAT backers: Pam Shriver and J. O'D.

Ben and Tumaini returned to Court 15 at Wimbledon once more to catch up on the third round, and a behind-the-scenes debate that's generated a lot of conversation: the ATP's proposals to reduce the footprint of doubles.

We discuss the business realities and the arguments that doubles players and fans are fielding to push back in this uphill battle, given recent realities of the tour. 

We then dive into the Wimbledon results, which means revisiting Shintaro Mochizuki and Grigor Dimitrov, plus Roman Safiullin and Arthur Fery.

We then go to the women, where the big result was Alex Eala knocking out defending champion Iga Swiatek. We also discuss Ashlyn Krueger, Naomi Osaka, and more.

Thank you for listening! You can read Ben's work at Bounces and Tumaini's at The Guardian. Our Patreon is back up and running to ensure NCR keeps going and stays ad-free, and we hope you can join in supporting NCR! And we especially thank our GOAT backers: Pam Shriver and J. O'D.

Ben and Tumaini went back to their spot on Court 15 at Wimbledon to chat about the second round action, which was without any massive shocks but still entertained and intrigued.

We start with the men and the great Shintaro Mochizuki, who is into the third round of a Slam for the first time. We then cover Djokovic crushing Tsitsipas, the big win by Grigor Dimitrov (whose presser is an intermission in this episode), as well as the rest of the fellas.

We then move to the women, including Tumaini's story from Jelena Ostapenko about trying to confront burglars, Naomi Osaka's grass comfort, Krejcikova d. Andreeva, Alex Eala readying to face Iga Swiatek, and the doubts around doubles for Serena. 

Thank you for listening! You can read Ben's work at Bounces and Tumaini's at The Guardian. Our Patreon is back up and running to ensure NCR keeps going and stays ad-free, and we hope you can join in supporting NCR! And we especially thank our GOAT backers: Pam Shriver and J. O'D.

Ben and Tumaini found a spot on Court 15 at Wimbledon to chat about the first round action at the Championships, which reached its climax with Serena Williams' highly anticipated return to singles.

We talk about what looked great from Serena, what didn't, and what it was like to witness and experience her again after all these years, even if it was just one match because of how well Maya Joint played. 

We also discussed Jannik Sinner's uninspiring five-set start, Ben Shelton's loss, and the massive struggles for the Brits here, including the injuries for both Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu.  

Thank you for listening! You can read Ben's work at Bounces and Tumaini's at The Guardian. Our Patreon is back up and running to ensure NCR keeps going and stays ad-free, and we hope you can join in supporting NCR! And we especially thank our GOAT backers: Pam Shriver and J. O'D.

Ben and Tumaini are back together once more, this time at Wimbledon, where there's lots of stories in both draws, including Serena Williams' return to singles.

We start, though, with the news of 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova getting a four-year ban for refusing a drug test late last year. What was she thinking? Why was this ITIA decision inevitable?

We then jump into the draws, starting with the women where Sabalenka is the top seed, Pegula is Ben's pick, and Serena has taken up lots of room in the Wimagination this year.

We then switch to the men, and ask the question: even after the shocking French Open collapse, is it still Jannik Sinner vs. the Field?

Thank you for listening! Our Patreon is back up and running to ensure NCR keeps going and stays ad-free, and we hope you can join in supporting NCR! And we especially thank our GOAT backers: Pam Shriver and J. O'D.

Ben and Tumaini are no longer together in Paris, but catch up on the finish in France as well as the event that had Tumaini rushing back to London: Serena Williams' return to professional tennis.

We start with Serena's comeback with Tumaini's perspective from on the ground at Queen's Club: how did she look after four years away? What's it like being back in her orbit? Where does she go from here?

We then look back at the French Open, starting with the women where Mirra Andreeva consolidated years of teen phenom hype and Maja Chwalinska was one of the most shocking Slam finalists ever.

We also discuss the discussion around the men's champion, Alexander Zverev, about whom TV broadcasters badly failed their audiences. 

Thank you for listening! Our Patreon is back up and running to ensure NCR keeps going and stays ad-free, and we hope you can join in supporting NCR! And we especially thank our GOAT backers: Pam Shriver and J. O'D.