No Challenges Remaining

Episode 317: Peng Shuai, China, and the End of WTAsia?

Ben is joined by The Guardian's Tumaini Carayol to discuss the fallout of the accusations made by Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai against a senior government official, the WTA's strong stance, and the impact on tennis in China going forward.

Was the WTA's partnership with China always doomed to fail, as Tumaini predicted in 2019? And what would a reset of the tour without China look like for the future of women's tennis?

Plus, the new-look WTA year-end championship event in Guadalajara and the same-look-new-venue event for the ATP in Turin.

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 315: Prague Progress Report (with Jannik Schneider)

The first edition of the Billie Jean King Cup (née Fed Cup) is happening this week, and so Ben is joined by the German reporter Jannik Schneider, who was there in Prague covering the event.

We discuss how the event's atmosphere and organization has been, the impact of Billie Jean King's legacy on the competition, and why Russia is doing business as "RTF" at the event. 

We also discuss how the accusations against Alexander Zverev have been covered in Germany, and what challenges reporters there including Jannik have faced covering them.

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 313: ATP is Investigating Zverev; What Comes Next?

Nearly a year after Olga Sharypova publicly accused tennis star Alexander Zverev of repeated physical and emotional abuse during their relationship, the ATP announced this week that it is opening an investigation into (one of the) accusations, which Zverev has repeatedly denied in blanket terms.

Ben, who has interviewed Sharypova and investigated the story for both Racquet and Slate, is joined by Mary Carillo and Jessica Luther to discuss the accusations and their impact on the sport.

What took so long for the ATP to act, and why is their scope limited to Shanghai 2019? Should we have faith in the ATP to do a proper investigation? What does an investigation need to do the job correctly? How important is Sharypova's continued participation and cooperation?

How has tennis dealt with the cloud over the sport in the past year? Why are tennis broadcasters so reluctant to discuss difficult topics? What to make of the select input from other players? And more.

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 299b: Donald Dell

After our mailbag fun over on Patreon in past weeks, we return to the main feed of NCR with the first in-person interview we've done for NCR in more than a year.

Donald Dell, an agent and promoter who did as much to shape the professional tennis landscape into its modern form as anyone over his decades in the sport, joins Ben near DC to discuss the structure of the sport, how it got that way, and what sort of changes might be on the horizon (ATP-WTA merger, a separate players union, etc).

Thank you again for the incredible support for NCR we've received on the NCR Patreon which has powered us into our TENTH(!) season! 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, Pam Shriver, Chris Bishop, and Nicole Copeland!)

Episode 297: The Broken Economics of Tennis

Think tennis could work better? So does pretty much everyone who works in tennis.

Ben is joined by David Yaffe-Bellany of Bloomberg News, author of a recent piece exploring the long tradition of dysfunction and underperforming within the business side of tennis.

What are the roots of the disorganization and the animosity? What are possible fixes to the sports poor earnings and its short payroll? What do we know about the still largely undefined PTPA and the role it could play?

Thank you again for the incredible support for NCR we've received on the NCR Patreon which has powered us into our TENTH(!) season! 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, Pam Shriver, Chris Bishop, and Nicole Copeland!)

Episode 282: Catching Up (With Courtney!)

Ben and Courtney are back for their first episode together since the French Open! While not particularly enthused by the offerings on tour currently, they have lots to discuss all the same, including Courtney's journey as a Twitch streamer, the unlikelihood of traveling to Australia next year, the shifts in the apparel landscape, and more!

Also for you OGs, we bring back Take a Number! Fun!

And then for considerably less fun, we discuss the silence in the face of the allegations by Olga Sharypova against Alexander Zverev (recorded before the ATP's pretty meh statement on Friday), and breakdown why the concept of "innocent until proven guilty" doesn't hold much relevance to how this case should be discussed.

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.

Episode 281: A Woman Speaks Out; Tennis Stays Silent

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.

Episode 277j: 2020 French Open Day 10 - GIFs Given and Taken

As the first slate of quarterfinals saw big wins for Argentina, we take a look at what suddenly went missing from the French Open: the small army of GIF-makers who animate (literally) Tennis Twitter so steadfastly.

The French Federation of Tennis issued a major crackdown on GIFs this week, bringing the pictures on our timelines to a stand still. To better understand this landscape, Ben tries to track down an answer from the FFT (no luck yet), and then talks to the King of the Tennis GIFs, @doublefault28, a Tennis Twitter Hall of Famer.

Ben then chats with another GIFer in the Tennis Twitter ranks, Ashish of @Tennis_GIFs.

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, 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.

Episode 273e: 2020 U.S.Open Day 4 - In Order to Form a More Perfect Union

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.

Episode 272: 2020 U.S. Open Draw Breakdown!

Ben and Courtney break down the U.S. Open draw amid a tournament build-up which feels very different to that of a normal Grand Slam, particularly as we aren't even in New York this week. 

We discuss the women's draw first, where 2018 champ Naomi Osaka impressed on and off the court during "Cincinnati" but comes in carrying a hamstring injury. What to make of Serena's form since the shutdown? Can Kim Clijsters make an impact? Also, Dayana Yastremska is very much.

On the men's side, after a helpful pronunciation guide to the new "PTPA," we discuss Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Reilly Opelka, Daniil Medvedev, Milos Raonic, Bobby Bautista, and more. Also, hear Courtney's thoughts about night trains! 

This is the first of many, many shows we have planned for the U.S. Open, so stay tuned!

If you'd like to support our show during this odd, disruptive year, 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.