No Challenges Remaining

Episode 192: Wimbledon 2017 Preview (From Centre Court!)

Ben and Courtney are full of Wimbledon joy as they inhale the vaunted fumes of Centre Court, where the 2017 tournament will soon start. 

They start breaking down the men's draw by discussing Sasha Bublik, the highly-entertaining Russian-turned-Kazakh who lucked into a spot playing Andy Murray in R1. You'll hear some of his pre-tournament press, then we break down the paths of the top-four seeds, who happen to be the Big 4 again. We both agree on who's tournament this is to lose, which doesn't always happen.

On the women's side, we discuss Angelique Kerber's possible steps in the right direction, Karolina Pliskova's pole position to #1, and Petra Kvitova's improbable (but logical) role as the favorite to win this event in just her third tournament back.

Also, lots of other shenanigans, including a dog. God save Queen. 

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 #NCR192!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be!

Episode 191: The Chair Has the Floor

We are delighted to finally be able to fulfill one of our most frequent listener requests: an interview with a chair umpire! 

Felix Torralba, a gold badge chair umpire who worked full-time with WTA and has also worked around the world of tennis on all corners of the globe, recently retired from officiating to take a full-time position at the Mallorca Open, where Ben caught up with him. He answers all those pressing questions: when to give a time violation? What is the hardest language to call score in? What happens if the chair umpire has to use the bathroom?

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 #NCR191!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be!

Episode 190: French Fortune Favors Brave (and Guy Who Won Nine Times Before)

Ben and Courtney have a lot to catch up on after the French Open. Well, maybe a little bit less on the men's side, where a fairly lackluster men's tournament ended in obvious fashion--albeit in style! Rafael Nadal is really good, but we knew that.

Elsewhere in the men's game, things look much better for Andy Murray and much worse for Novak Djokovic. What should Novak do to give himself a chance to be competitive again?

On the women's side, it was perhaps an even wilder one than expected, with Jelena Ostapenko coming out of almost nowhere to stunningly win the French Open. What, if anything, can we project about where she goes from here? And how disappointed should Simona Halep be about losing the final?

Elsewhere, how will Karolina Pliskova roll on to a possible #1 ranking? How did Kiki Mladenovic steal the show? And what might Elina Svitolina and Caroline Wozniacki have in common?

And 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 #NCR190!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be!

Episode 189: Draw Me Like One of Your French Opens, 2017

It's Slamming time again! Ben and Courtney break down the French Open draws for both the men's and women's.

On the women's side, where there are many favorites to choose from, who got the best and worst draws? And whose great draws and good recent forms could lead them to a second consecutive semifinal (or better)? There are multiple correct answers to that one.

On the men's side, could this be a tournament to get Murray or Djokovic back on track? Or is Rafael Nadal just too far ahead of the pack?

And 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 #NCR189!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 188: Cautiously Sliding on Clay

In our first somewhat normal show together since the European clay swing began in earnest, Ben and Courtney catch up on what has happened in the past several weeks, from Stuttgart to Madrid to Rome.

Firstly, we assess the form and future of Maria Sharapova, the predominant protagonist of those tournaments, even if her runs ended early at the last two. Where does she go from here?

Also, we (again, sorry) wonder if there's any sense to be made of the women's side, and Courtney enjoys that caution actually seems to be the prevailing reaction to any forecasting of what might happen at the French Open.

On the men's side, how big a deal is Sascha Zverev's breakthrough title in Rome, and what should we expect from him from here? Again, we go with caution.

And 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 #NCR188!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 187b: French Open Shuns Sharapova

In a decision that had been anticipated for months, French Tennis Federation president Bernard Giudicelli surprised many by not granting Maria Sharapova any wild card--not even into qualifying--for Roland Garros, locking out the two-time champion there as she continues to work on rebuilding her ranking following her 15-month absence due to a positive test.

In this short episode, Ben discusses the style, cause, and correctness of the decision with two French tennis journalists: our beloved Carole Bouchard (NCR's France correspondant) and Vincent Cognet of L'Equipe.

And 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 #NCR187b!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 186: Jamie Hampton

We are delighted to be able to fulfill a wish of many of our listeners for years now by bringing on Jamie Hampton (a.k.a. Julie Hamilton) as a guest, who has been out of sight as she rehabs various injuries but not out of our minds of many listeners.

Ben and Jamie discuss her mindset as she copes with setbacks, the perspective she's gained on tour issues from being away, the current landscape of the tour, dealing with attention from traditional and social media, her more supportive stance on Maria Sharapova, her admiration of Serena and Venus Williams and the other players who inspire her.

And 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 #NCR186!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 185: What to Expect When Serena's Expecting

With best wishes, Ben and Courtney convene after Serena Williams' announcement that she is expecting her first child this fall, and may already be as far as 20 weeks into her pregnancy.

Does this change how we look back on her title at the Australian Open in January, when she already would have been roughly two months pregnant? And what does this mean for the tour going forward? And what is the state of the women's field now? We don't quite agree on this one, as you'll quickly learn.

And 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 #NCR185!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 184: Resembling an Ensemble

With a quarter of 2017 now complete, Ben and Courtney try to make sense of it all. But does it make sense, really?

Daria Kasatkina won Charleston in an all-teen final, which should be a big result. But what are results anyhow, when every player seems to have a roughly equal share of success and failure these days? Which characters and plotlines are really relevant? Does TV have the answers?

The men's side is a completely different coin, because one beloved old dude (Roger Federer) has stepped up to fill the void. But just what is that void without Federer being there as a shiny glaze on top of an otherwise questionable confection?

Lastly, we make predictions for the French Open, an amusingly hopeless endeavor. 

And 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 #NCR184!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 183: Shade in the Desert

Wrapping up the happenings in Indian Wells, Ben and Courtney cover the popular champs and the odd ways their matches were pitted against each other. First, is the surprising win of Elena Vesnina reflective of a current landscape of opportunity in women's tennis? And where might this title lead her? And for Roger Federer, how much is about him surging and how much is about the others atop men's tennis receding?

What to make of the impatient foot-tapping during men's tennis-centered folk during the three-set women's final? And how does how the "Group of Death" played out reflect on all of Djokovic, Kyrgios, and Nadal? And what does it say about U.S. tennis coverage that it took us this long to mention Jack Sock?

And 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 #NCR183!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.