Episodes
Tuesday Dec 22, 2020
Episode 286a: Remember When? 2020, Part 1
Tuesday Dec 22, 2020
Tuesday Dec 22, 2020
What was it like to form memories in 2020? For Ben and Courtney, things were far more vivid when we were still able to travel, so this first half of our annual "Remember When" is heavy on January.
Have our thoughts on ATP Cup changed with the passage of time? And how about those donations to the Australian bushfire relief?
Where were we when we realized coronavirus was going to be serious? And how did our outlook on the year and our lives shift?
Part 2, which covers April to the present, out later this week! Happy Holidays!
Thank you again for the incredible support for NCR we've received this year on the NCR Patreon! If you'd like to join in as we bring you the best shows we can each week, 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, Nicole Copeland, Anna Welinder, and Pam Shriver!)
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.
Tuesday Dec 08, 2020
Episode 285b: A 2021 Roundtable, Part 2
Tuesday Dec 08, 2020
Tuesday Dec 08, 2020
We're delighted to bring you the conclusion of the roundtable with Reem Abulleil, Tumaini Carayol, and Alex Gruskin on our (sometimes myopic) 2021 vision for tennis.
Topics the gang cover on this back half include the new WTA "rebrand," continuing media access shortfalls (particularly during quarantine), how Roger Federer might take to playing in empty stadiums, and what Tumaini's experience was like watching the ATP Tour Finals in empty O2 Arena in London.
Thank you again for the incredible support for NCR we've received this year on the NCR Patreon! If you'd like to join in as we bring you the best shows we can each week, 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, Nicole Copeland, Anna Welinder, and Pam Shriver!)
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 Nov 06, 2020
Episode 281: A Woman Speaks Out; Tennis Stays Silent
Friday Nov 06, 2020
Friday Nov 06, 2020
This week's episode discusses the accusations of domestic violence made by Alexander Zverev's ex-girlfriend Olga Sharypova, as further detailed in Ben's interview with her last week which was published on Thursday by Racquet Magazine.
Ben is joined for this episode by Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated and 60 Minutes, who discussed the allegations in his column this week.
What to make of the accusations? How should the ATP respond? Why doesn't tennis have a clear domestic violence policy like other sports? And what does silence make clear about tennis' shortcomings?
Also, a little detour into comparing tennis scoring and the electoral college.
Thank you again for the incredible support for NCR we've received this year on the NCR Patreon! If you'd like to join in as we bring you the best shows we can each week, 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, 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.
Wednesday Sep 30, 2020
Episode 277d: 2020 French Open Day 4 - Exits and Arrivals
Wednesday Sep 30, 2020
Wednesday Sep 30, 2020
It was an eventful day at Roland Garros, with three-time champ Serena Williams withdrawing due to a lingering Achilles' injury, Victoria Azarenka and Coco Gauff also exiting, and Sara Errani and Kiki Bertens getting into all sorts of drama as their third set rocked (and then rolled).
After bits from Serena, Errani, and Bertens, the main body of this episode focuses on two men who advanced on Wednesday: U.S. Open finalists Dominic Thiem and Sascha Zverev.
Ben is joined by German reporter Jannik Schneider to discuss Zverev, his perception in Germany, his physical development, the impact of signing with Roger Federer's Team 8 company, and the legal battles that remain for him, as well as the similar legal battles around Dominic Thiem and his former manager.
This was our 22nd(!) episode of the month of September! Golly.
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.
Thursday Sep 10, 2020
Episode 273k: 2020 U.S. Open Day 10 - Mary Carillo and the Final Fours
Thursday Sep 10, 2020
Thursday Sep 10, 2020
Mary Carillo, NCR's favorite, joins Ben and Courtney for a third time as the U.S. Open gets to the business end of the draws, as we are now down to four semifinalists for both the men and women.
What has it been like calling this completely different tournament from on site at the Open? What have been the unexpected revelations of this new landscape and soundscape? Why does the Chinese restaurant want you to order the fries?
We discuss all eight semifinalists in some detail: Jennifer Brady, Victoria Azarenka, Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka; Pablo Carreno Busta, Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, and Dominic Thiem.
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.
Friday Sep 04, 2020
Episode 273e: 2020 U.S.Open Day 4 - In Order to Form a More Perfect Union
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.
Wednesday Apr 22, 2020
Episode 253: The Dudes Wanna Merge Now? (With Reem Abulleil)
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.
Friday Feb 28, 2020
Episode 246: Louisa Thomas on Writing About Tennis
Friday Feb 28, 2020
Friday Feb 28, 2020
We are delighted to have Louisa Thomas, one of the most wonderfully writerly writers about tennis in her work for The New Yorker, on this week to talk about all sorts of things to do with tennis and writing, and answer bunches of listener questions.
We discuss how she got into writing about tennis, how to make tennis relevant to a general audience, the Kim Clijsters comeback, her favorite athlete to profile, the Big Three and how to compare greatnesses, tennis books, and much more. (Recorded before the Sharapova retirement announcement, which Ben discussed with Tumaini Carayol here).
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! And thank you to the many 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 #NCR246!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.
Thursday Feb 06, 2020
Episode 243g: Australian Open - Novak Djokovic Eight 'Em Up
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.
Friday Jan 17, 2020
Episode 242: Australian Open 2020 Draw Preview
Friday Jan 17, 2020
Friday Jan 17, 2020
Ben and Courtney dive into the first Grand Slam of the 2020s with some Big Decade Energy, breaking down the paths for the top women and men in Melbourne.
We start with the women, where Ash Barty is the top seed and hometown hope, and where many contenders clustered in the top half, particularly in the second quarter (Osaka, Serena, and an R1 between Venus and Gauff).
On the men's side, we like the paths for the top four, and appreciate the pruning of the plant to inspire new growth. Or something like that.
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 #NCR242!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.