A podcast discussing the happenings in the wacky world of professional tennis. Hosted by Ben Rothenberg and Courtney Nguyen.
Episodes
Monday Oct 05, 2020
Monday Oct 05, 2020
Reem Abulleil, queen of content for Roland Garros, joins Ben to look ahead to the quarterfinal slates in Paris which are (almost) complete.
On the women's side, how will Elina Svitolina handle the pressure? Will momentum help qualifiers?
On the men's side, could Jannik Sinner pull off a huge surprise against Nadal, or should Diego Schwartzman pull off a smaller one over Thiem?
Thank you again for the incredible support for NCR we've received in recent weeks on the NCR Patreon! If you'd like to join in as we strive to bring you the best French Open content we can from across the Atlantic, check out our five tiers and see which might be right for you! 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, Mike, Christopher Bishop, Charles Cyna, and Nicole Copeland!)
As always, thanks for following us on Twitter and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.
Sunday Oct 04, 2020
Sunday Oct 04, 2020
Sunday at Roland Garros saw the exit of overwhelming favorite, Simona Halep, and another disappointment from frequently-underwhelming pandemic citizen Sascha Zverev.
Tumaini Carayol is here to discuss both of those events and more. What can Halep's loss be chalked up to? Is it now Elina Svitolina's half of the draw to lose? And on the men's side, we discuss Jannik Sinner's impressively consistent four-set win over Sascha Zverev, and then Zverev's decision to play and stay in the tournament despite symptoms which almost certainly should have forced him out. Who is to blame in this scenario?
Plus a brief look ahead to Monday's slate, and an ode to turtlenecks.
Thank you again for the incredible support for NCR we've received in recent weeks on the NCR Patreon! If you'd like to join in as we strive to bring you the best French Open content we can from across the Atlantic, check out our five tiers and see which might be right for you! 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, Mike, Christopher Bishop, Charles Cyna, and Nicole Copeland!)
As always, thanks for following us on Twitter and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.
Saturday Oct 03, 2020
Saturday Oct 03, 2020
Ben and Courtney reunite to discuss the first week of the French Open, which ended with Danielle Collins beating Garbine Muguruza in one of the bigger surprises so far.
Collins joins many other unexpected names (Daniel Altmaier, anyone?) in the second week of a tournament that could go some very different directions in the next few days.
We discuss how it's felt to cover the tournament that's a world away in many ways, and also get into what it's been like to have a new ear on tennis than usual, as we're home like most viewers, digesting tennis through the coverage on ESPN and Tennis Channel. What do we make about the way issues in the sport (like Hawkeye on clay, notably) are talked about, and what does that say about tennis coverage?
It all makes us very grateful for our independence, let's say that.
Thank you again for the incredible support for NCR we've received in recent weeks on the NCR Patreon! If you'd like to join in as we strive to bring you the best French Open content we can from across the Atlantic, check out our five tiers and see which might be right for you! 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, Mike, Christopher Bishop, Charles Cyna, and Nicole Copeland!)
As always, thanks for following us on Twitter and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.
Thursday Oct 01, 2020
Thursday Oct 01, 2020
With two rounds of the French Open now done, it's time to make some bold calls.
Ben is rejoined by Alex Gruskin of the Cracked Racquets media empire to make some bold calls and predictions about the short-term (Roland Garros) and long-term outlook of tennis.
From Jelena Ostapenko to Sofia Kenin to Sascha Zverev to Serena Williams to Jannik Sinner, we've got all the hot takes you could ever want...and then some.
Thank you again for the incredible support for NCR we've received in recent weeks on the NCR Patreon! If you'd like to join in as we strive to bring you the best French Open content we can from across the Atlantic, check out our five tiers and see which might be right for you! 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, Mike, Christopher Bishop, Charles Cyna, and Nicole Copeland!)
As always, thanks for following us on Twitter and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.
Friday Sep 25, 2020
Friday Sep 25, 2020
Another Slam approaches at a time of year which has never held a Slam before, so Ben and Courtney try to gather their physical and mental strength to take on what is shaping up to be an incredibly challenging Slam in many ways.
We start with the women, where Simona Halep is a clear favorite, but parity abounds also in women's tennis, as always. Garbine Muguruza appears set for success, and Serena and Azarenka are also intriguing in a Slam which may reward power more than the average French Open.
On the men's side we discuss Novak Djokovic's status as favorite, and detour into topics such as the complaints of players who are testing positive, the "struggles" of Stefanos Tsitsipas, the height of Diego Schwartzman, the wonders of Sasha Bubbles, and more.
Also, we discuss what we'll miss most about Paris.
Thank you again for the incredible support for NCR we've received in recent weeks on the NCR Patreon! If you'd like to join in as we strive to bring you the best French Open content we can from across the Atlantic, check out our five tiers and see which might be right for you! 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, Mike, Christopher Bishop and Charles Cyna!)
As always, thanks for following us on Twitter and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.
Friday Sep 04, 2020
Friday Sep 04, 2020
On a day at the U.S. Open on which its co-president Vasek Pospisil upset Milos Raonic, Ben chats about the new Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA, aka pihtihpihAHHH) with Amy Fetherolf, who knows her unions and her tennis.
What to make of this new tennis union? Does it need to have more specific goals outlined as it's getting off the ground? What classic anti-union tactics are visible in the resistance it's received? What if the ideas behind this union, like leaving out the women, are bad? What are the next steps? Amy has answers to these questions and many more.
Also, thunder.
Thank you again for the incredible support for NCR we've received in recent days!
If you'd like to join fellow listeners in supporting our show as we work to crank out daily shows during the 2020 U.S. Open, we've launched an NCR Patreon where you can do just that! Check out our five tiers and see which might be right for you! 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, Mike, and Charles Cyna!)
As always, thanks for following us on Twitter and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.
Thursday Aug 20, 2020
Thursday Aug 20, 2020
For the first time in two-months-but-feels-like-much-longer, Courtney returns to an NCR episode! She graces us with her presence as we discuss tennis getting back underway in earnest now with a few weeks of the WTA Tour behind us and the New York swing of "Cincinnati" and the U.S. Open rapidly approaching.
What do we make of the challenge of covering the sport remotely? Who has stood out in the on-court action we've seen so far from the women? Will this U.S. Open be "asterisked," and what does an asterisk even mean? And what do we expect and want from players in the New York bubble?
Also, Courtney discusses her burgeoning career as a Twitcher.
If you'd like to support our show, particularly as our normal work has disappeared along with the sport, we've launched an NCR Patreon where you can do just that! Check out our five tiers and see which might be right for you! And thank you to the many listeners who have already given their support! (And thank you to G.O.A.T. backer J O'D!)
As always, thanks for following us on Twitter and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.
Thursday Aug 06, 2020
Thursday Aug 06, 2020
Well, tennis is back, folks! But at the same time, tennis continues to go away. What to make of it all?
To help make sense of it all, Ben is rejoined by Reem Abulleil and Tumaini Carayol who also have been (virtually) covering the WTA's return event in Palermo this week. Is the tour set to succeed? And how do we think this sort of virtual coverage will change our work?
We also discuss the cancellation of Madrid and the new rules document from the U.S. Open, as well as the decision of defending champion Rafael Nadal to skip this year's event.
And then as a bonus at the end, you'll hear Dayana Yastremska discuss her unexpected turn as a recording artist.
(Apologies for some of the audio issues on Ben's track as this issue goes on, we did our best to make it sound decent)
If you'd like to support our show, particularly as our normal work has disappeared along with the sport, we've launched an NCR Patreon where you can do just that! Check out our five tiers and see which might be right for you! And thank you to the many listeners who have already given their support! (And thank you to G.O.A.T. backer J O'D!)
As always, thanks for following us on Twitter and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.
Wednesday Apr 22, 2020
Wednesday Apr 22, 2020
The tennis world is stopped, but it got suddenly busy on Wednesday with Roger Federer expressing a view that he'd like to see the ATP and WTA tours merge into one organization after decades of being side-by-side but separate. More curiously, Rafael Nadal, not a supporter of equality measures in tennis, quickly endorsed this idea.
What is going on? Ben is joined by Reem Abulleil try to figure out what's happening here, where it's coming from, and what it might mean for the futures of the tours. We have a lot of questions and a lot of suspicions.
If you'd like to support our show, particularly as our normal work has disappeared along with the sport, we've launched an NCR Patreon where you can do just that! Check out our five tiers and see which might be right for you! And thank you to the many listeners who have already given their support! (And thank you to G.O.A.T. backer J O'D!)
As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook (leave comments on the episode thread! Engage with other listeners!), following us on Twitter (discuss this episode with hashtag #NCR253!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.
Thursday Feb 06, 2020
Thursday Feb 06, 2020
Ben and Courtney wrap up the Australian Open with a look at the end of the men's event, which finished for the eighth time with Novak Djokovic as champion. He sure seems to be closing in on that G.O.A.T. count, huh?
Also, we discuss runner-up Dominic Thiem, who is establishing himself as the new Andy Murray, Sascha Zverev, who made a first Slam semifinal and generated a lot of donation talk, and Roger Federer, who toughed out a win over Tennys Sandgren and then gamely took court to face the music against Djokovic.
We also discuss Nick Kyrgios, the female officials who drew praise, and how the protesting of Margaret Court is being led by two retired players.
If you'd like to support our show, we've launched an NCR Patreon where you can do just that! Check out our five tiers and see which might be right for you!
As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook (leave comments on the episode thread! Engage with other listeners!), following us on Twitter (discuss this episode with hashtag #NCRAusOpen!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.