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Episode 318: WTA Stands Up Against China For Peng Shuai

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 incredible support for NCR we've received on the NCR Patreon which has powered us into our TENTH(!) ad-free season! Please consider joining in as we bring you the best shows we can this year! And thank you to the many listeners who have already given their support! (And thank you to G.O.A.T. backers J O'D, Pam Shriver, and Nicole Copeland!)

Episode 307: Tokyo Takes a Toll (With Tumaini Carayol)

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 Osaka, and the parallels between her, Simone Biles, and Serena Williams, and what happens to athletes when they're hyped as inevitably flawless queens.

Thank you again for the incredible support for NCR we've received on the NCR Patreon which has powered us into our TENTH(!) ad-free season! Please consider joining in as we bring you the best shows we can this year! And thank you to the many listeners who have already given their support! (And thank you to G.O.A.T. backers J O'D, Pam Shriver, and Nicole Copeland!)

Episode 305: Ringing in the Olympic Tennis Draws (With Alex Gruskin)

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 under this intense spotlight?

On the men's side, can anyone stop Novak Djokovic but himself? And is it actually a sneakily straightforward time in the rest of men's tennis as well?

(We also did a companion Olympic episode of sorts to this over on Great Shot Pod, talking about more big picture Olympic tennis concerns.)

Thank you again for the incredible support for NCR we've received on the NCR Patreon which has powered us into our TENTH(!) ad-free season! Please consider joining in as we bring you the best shows we can this year! And thank you to the many listeners who have already given their support! (And thank you to G.O.A.T. backers J O'D, Pam Shriver, and Nicole Copeland!)

Episode 304: Barty, Djokovic Win Wimbledon; Olympic Exodus

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 received on the NCR Patreon which has powered us into our TENTH(!) ad-free season! Please consider joining in as we bring you the best shows we can this year! And thank you to the many listeners who have already given their support! (And thank you to G.O.A.T. backers J O'D, Pam Shriver, and Nicole Copeland!)

Episode 163: Golden Girl Monica Puig and More Rio Results

Olympic tennis produced one of its most stunning results with Monica Puig winning gold, and so Ben  nd Courtney are here to break that down, as well as all the other medals and losers in Rio. What does Monica's win show us about Olympic tennis, and what does it mean for her going forward? How delightful were the silver efforts of Juan Martin del Potro and Venus Williams? And why weren't many of the other results surprising? Also, is it fair to call Jack Sock a "doubles specialist"?

To tee up this week's tournament in Cincinnati, we chat with local sports reporter Shannon Russell, who has covered the tennis here for the Cincinnati Enquirer, and sheds light on what it's like being a one-week-a-year tennis reporter serving a tournament's local market.

Then in a wide-ranging rant extravaganza, Courtney talks about journalism (after John Oliver did) and Ben talks about plaques (but really Pokemon again).

And as always, thanks for liking us on Facebook (leave comments on the episode thread!), following us on Twitter (discuss this episode with hashtag #NCR163!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 162a: Olympian Upset: Delpo Defeats Djokovic

After one round of action in Rio there are already some big tennis upsets in the books, so Ben and Courtney raced to their microphones to discuss. Firstly, Juan Martin del Potro stunned Novak Djokovic in straight sets, upending the tournament. This was shocking, even if it was a match to watch, and we explain why. Does Djokovic's reaction show the gravity of the Olympics? And how about those doubles upsets?

Also, our thoughts about other doings at the Olympics early on, from soccer heckling to gymnastics injuries, as well as our fat kid snacking proclivities.

And as always, thanks for liking us on Facebook (leave comments on the episode thread!), following us on Twitter (discuss this episode with hashtag #NCR162a!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 155b: French Open Petit, Deux: Adios, Rafa (With Marta Mateo)

Our first mini show from the French Open wrapped up an uneventful first five days. On Friday there was news, and it was bad news: Rafael Nadal withdrew with a left wrist injury. 

To discuss and contemplate what this means for Nadal short-term and long-term, Ben is joined by the wonderful Marta Mateo of La Vanguardia, who discusses Rafa, the aging of the Armada, and the shift in focus to the two women who might become the new faces of women's tennis.

And as always, thanks for liking us on Facebook (leave comments on the episode thread!), following us on Twitter (discuss this episode with hashtag #NCR155b!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 142: Gaming the System

Ben and Courtney are delighted to be back stateside, and delighted that Andy Murray's child (it's a girl!) arrived at a convenient time. Less delightful is the latest corruption scandal in tennis, and Ben is joined by Sean Ingle of the Guardian to discuss his report into the silent banning of two chair umpires for misconduct at the Futures level. Less ickily, Fed Cup happened this weekend, so we do a deep dive explainer-thing into what makes that competition tick, and how it gets messy with competing interests, ranking points, etc. Then, because we're American sportswriters, we discuss Cam Newton and what all that means from a tennis lens. 

We're also thrilled to introduce our two 2016 executive producers in this episode: Francisco Resendiz of 10sballs.com and Tal Woolley!

As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing/reviewing on whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be. 

Episode 135: Lindsay Davenport (and Olympic Chat)

Who better than 1996 gold medalist Lindsay Davenport to join Ben and Courtney to talk about the Olympics? Well, Lindsay is awesome on anything and everything, but for this Olympics-themed episode as we're on the eve of an Olympic year, Lindsay shares her memories from her various Olympic efforts, her thoughts on how the Olympics have grown in stature within tennis, and the show-and-tell duties that they never tell you about when you're on the podium. Ben and Courtney also discuss various other Olympic issues, including their disruptiveness in the calendar, qualifying rules, and which mixed doubles teams we #RioShip. 

And again, we thank you for continuing to make our Kickstarter campaign such a success so far! We're already blown away by the totals, but would love to see more of you become backers at any level, no matter how small. Support and gain access to exclusive backers-only content here. 

As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes or whatever your podcasting platform of choice may be!