No Challenges Remaining

Episode 299i: French Open Day 4: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has been winning matches at Grand Slams for a long time, and she makes an overdue visit to NCR after winning her second round match at Roland Garros on Wednesday.

Ben and Nastia discuss changes in her motivation over her career, what she's looking for in a coach, trying to keep her individuality in a cookie cutter world, mental health in tennis, and, most crucially, how our Eurovision tastes align.

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 during the French Open, and march toward Episode 300 and 300 followers, 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, and Nicole Copeland!)

Episode 299h: French Open Day 3: Reilly Opelka

As the clay dust settles from Naomi Osaka's turbulent departure from Roland Garros, we turn back to the players still standing at Roland Garros, none of whom stand taller than Reilly Opelka.

Opelka, who won his first round convincingly over Andrej Martin, joins Ben to discuss things including the advantages of being a big hitter on a small court, playing anti-tennis, his love of museums, and his art-and-practice partner Venus Williams.

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 during the French Open, 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, and Nicole Copeland!)

Episode 299g: French Open Day 2: Naomi Osaka Steps Back (with Mary Carillo)

It was a sad day at Roland Garros on Monday as Naomi Osaka's stand against mandatory press conferences ended with her withdrawal from the tournament, posting an eloquent statement that cited not wanting to be a distraction as well as mental health struggles that have included long bouts of depression.

To discuss this somber news, how this impasse arrived, and what if anything could have been handled differently, Mary Carillo of NBC Sports joins Ben after having been on-air on NBC when the news broke. After the mental health discussion, we discuss the media ecosystem of tennis, which is under scrutiny from all sorts of corners, and also what press conferences are all about.

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 during the French Open, 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, and Nicole Copeland!)

Episode 299e: Draw Me Like One of Your French Opens, 2021

It's our favorite annual episode title! Ben and Courtney dive deep into the draws of Roland Garros to cover themselves in tidbits and terre battue about this draw.

Defending champions Rafael Nadal and Iga Swiatek hit together on Saturday; how likely was it that Nadal was going to know anything about possible Swiatek first round opponents? We explore.

On the women we go into folks including Barty, Swiatek, Kenin, Pliskova, Stephens, Muguruza, Sabalenka, Serena, Andreescu, and Osaka, while the men's side is more a conversation about how loaded the top half is around Rafael Nadal, and the opportunities it presents for the lads on the bottom.

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 during the French Open, 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, and Nicole Copeland!)

Episode 299d: Naomi Osaka Chooses Silence

The surprising story that has dominated the week's tennis conversation is Naomi Osaka's statement that she will not be doing press conferences at the French Open, citing "mental health."

To discuss Osaka's decision, which seems small but pulls on many different threads, Ben is joined by Tumaini Carayol of The Guardian. Where did this choice come from? Does it make sense, based on how Osaka has been treated by the press? What does it say about celebrities increasingly controlling their content? How will other players react to her decision? And more such conundrums.

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, and Nicole Copeland!)

Episode 299c: NCRvision Spotlight: Dan Bern

It's that wonderful time of year, for the first time in two years: Eurovision!

At NCR, Eurovision means NCRvision, our celebration of the intersection of tennis and music--main show here; results show here--where we've found this episode's troubadour.

Dan Bern, the singer-songwriter whose song "Isner and Mahut" closed out NCRvision, joins Ben to chat and play a live concert of several of his original songs inspired by tennis players of the past and present.

It's a show like none we've ever done before on NCR, and we do hope you enjoy it.

If you want to hear more from Dan, he has newly bundled 15 of his original tennis songs together on his Bandcamp for you to check out.

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, 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 299a: Barcelona, Barty, Belgrade and Boseman (in Brooklyn)

Live from Brooklyn, Ben is rejoined by Andrew Eccles of The Spin to discuss a busy April weekend of tennis (and the Oscars).

WTA #1 Ash Barty solidified her hold on the top spot with a title on the indoor clay of Stuttgart; should she be considered the favorite for the French Open, where she won two years ago? And does Aryna Sabalenka get treated fairly by the commentariat?

Rafael Nadal and Stefanos Tsitsipas played a very, very long match that ultimately wasn't the sort of torch pass it might have been; or was it?

Also, Berrettini and our reactions on the surprises of the startlingly shuffled Oscars.

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 296: The Voids to Fill

As the tours spend another week in the Middle East, the region's tennis queen Reem Abulleil joins NCR once more from (nearly) on-site in Dubai.

First, Reem shares her impressions of having been on site at a tournament this week for the first time in more than a year, at ATP Dubai. How different does the empty bubble atmosphere resonate in person?

Then we discuss Aslan Karatsev, who keeps winning and soaring up the rankings at an incredibly steep rate, all while we really haven't learned much about him or understood what's transformed his career so dramatically. Where might we find answers?

Then we look toward the Miami Open, where there has already been an exodus of top men's talent, making it the first Big 3-less Masters draw since 2004. What can be done to prevent such things? Do tournaments deserve loyalty from their stars in hard times? You'll hear a bit of Denis Shapovalov in this part.

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!)