No Challenges Remaining

Episode 253: The Dudes Wanna Merge Now? (With Reem Abulleil)

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.

Episode 251a: NCR Book Club - "Venus Envy" by Jon Wertheim

Ben and Courtney are delighted to bring you the long-awaited first discussion of the NCR Book Club, chatting about one of our favorite tennis tomes: Venus Envy by Jon Wertheim, which covers the 2000 season on the WTA Tour

We discuss the colorful characters, what's changed in the sport in the last two decades, and how the book is a great snapshot of a moment on tour which is often sanitized or glossed over in modern narratives. Plus, a whole lot more.

We will have another episode on Venus Envy featuring author Jon Wertheim later this week. The NCR Book Club next continues on to our next selection: Hard Courts by John Feinstein.

After the book chat, Ben and Courtney debrief on life in our current quarantines. It's a weird time, y'all. 

If you'd like to support our show, particularly as our normal work has ceased, 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 #NCRBookClub!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 247: Communicating on Tour, With Sally Bradfield

Ben and Courtney are joined in this episode by Sally Bradfield, a former communications rep on the tennis tours who is the author of the new novel Not Quite 30 Love, and who has a host more stories to tell about her time working in tennis, particularly (to Ben's delight) on the WTA at the turn of the millennium. 

Sally has stories about working with emerging stars like the Williams sisters, Martina Hingis, Anna Kournikova, Maria Sharapova, and also speaks generally to the ever-ongoing plight of communications reps who have to corral players after tough losses, deal with egos, and constantly negotiate obligations against objections. If you delight in backstage tennis tea, you will be quite quenched.

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 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 #NCR247!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 245a: Maria Sharapova Retires (with Tumaini Carayol)

After Maria Sharapova announced her retirement on Wednesday morning, Ben is joined by Tumaini Carayol of The Guardian for an emergency episode to discuss her career and its many highs, lows, and controversies.

After expressing some relief that she's stopped, we discuss what made Sharapova keep pushing on through the pain so long, and also what our early memories of her career were. We discuss her arrival as a star, and then the darkening of that when she tested positive for a newly-banned substance in early 2016, which complicated and muddled a career which was already likely on its downhill. 

We also share some of our favorite memories of Maria, and what made her such a tremendously satisfying antagonist on the tour--particularly for Serena Williams, whom she was a distant second behind in the end.

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 #NCR245a!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 245: The Path to WTA Coaching (with Tom Hill)

Ben is joined on this week's show by Tom Hill, the coach of Maria Sakkari (who is set to make her WTA Top 20 debut on Monday), to hear more about the path of a young coach onto the WTA Tour.

Tom takes you from his beginnings as a young Brummie boy who ventured off to the Bollettieri Academy in Florida and then worked his way through the college ranks before getting an unexpected break into elite women's tennis.

First with Danielle Collins and then with Maria Sakkari, Tom has slowly but surely proven himself as a coach on the tour, and we hope you'll enjoy coming along for the ride.

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!  

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 #NCR245!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 243f: Australian Open - Sofia Kenin's American Dream Come True

Ben and Courtney wrap up the Australian Open starting with the women's side, in which Sofia Kenin leaves Melbourne as the unexpected champion.

How did she fly under the radar for so long? What does her story say about the immigrant experience in tennis? And what can we expect next from her?

We also discuss Garbine Muguruza's revival, Ash Barty's coping mechanism, and more from the second week of the Australian Open on the women's side.

Men's wrap show out soon! 

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.

Episode 243c: Australian Open - Wozniacki & Jabeur, with Freddie & Reem

As we finish Day 3 in Melbourne, you'll hear more about two of the more interesting players to have advanced through two rounds so far, who (somewhat coincidentally, honestly) happen to play each other in the third round. 

First, you'll hear from 2012 Wimbledon champion Freddie Nielsen (who first guested way back on Episode 32) about his compatriot and longtime friend Caroline Wozniacki, who has carried the flag for Denmark in tennis higher than anyone could have imagined it will fly.

Then, Ben is joined by Reem Abulleil to discuss Ons Jabeur, Wozniacki's third round opponent, who is blazing a greater trail for Arab women than anyone has before, and still has tremendous potential left to unlock in her game.

You may not have thought you wanted a Wozniacki-Jabeur hype show, but we're pretty sure you're gonna be ready to run through a brick wall to see it by the time you finish this. 

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.

Episode 242: Australian Open 2020 Draw Preview

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.

Episode 241: Battles in Brisbane; Serena Wins a Title

Ben and Courtney wrap up the week that was in Brisbane, where a loaded women's field produced four in-form semifinalists (Karolina Pliskova, Madison Keys, Petra Kvitova, Naomi Osaka) who all look to be in great shape for Melbourne.

Also, who is currently the best player without a Grand Slam title? We think it's probably a Brisbane finalist, and we discuss.

We then shift to Serena Williams, who won her first title in three years in Auckland. The field there wasn't the toughest, but Serena still impressed, and may have gotten past an important mental block?

We wrap up with some closing thoughts on the first ATP Cup, featuring a win by Serbia and Novak Djokovic, and losses in the composure of many players. 

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 #NCR241!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 239: Barbora Strycova

Kicking off our *NINTH* season, NCR is thrilled to be joined by one of our favorite people on tour, Barbora Strycova.

From the grounds of the Brisbane International, Ben and Courtney chat with Barbora about her life in tennis and her unique game, as well as topics ranging from fashion to figure skating. Also, hear why Maria Sharapova was jealous of her when they were teenagers, and how she explains her enigmatic doubles partner Hsieh Su-wei. 

As Australia has been our home every January for nine years now, we wish everyone here the best through the terrible fires, and encourage you to donate to fire relief efforts if you're able.

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 #NCR239!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.