No Challenges Remaining

Episode 261: Tennis Plans An American Summer Return (with Mark Ein)

The U.S.T.A. confirmed today that it plans to hold the U.S. Open in its regular dates, albeit without fans and with players and their teams kept in a isolated bubble. The Western & Southern Open will also be played, but at the U.S. Open venue rather than in Ohio.

But before those, the first tournament back on the ATP Tour will be the Citi Open in Washington DC. To talk about what it's taken to get there, and what comes next for the tournament, Ben is rejoined by tournament owner Mark Ein to discuss how his tournament is preparing, what challenges lie ahead, and what an event could look like this summer.

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 #NCR261!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 260: Patrick Mouratoglou

For our second episode of the week, Ben is joined by Patrick Mouratoglou, the coach of Serena Williams, founder of the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy, and most recently the creator of the Ultimate Tennis Showdown, a tennis event with lots of new ideas on rules to make tennis more appealing to a new, younger audience.

Patrick discusses the need for more open displays of emotion in tennis, how to make tennis more competitive in a crowded entertainment marketplace, his thoughts on the U.S. Open's proposed rule limiting player support personnel to one person, what his charge Serena Williams has been doing during this shutdown time, tennis-wise, and lots more. 

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 #NCR260!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 259: Sandra Zaniewska

Ben and Courtney are delighted to bring you a conversation they had last month with Sandra Zaniewska, a rare former WTA player who now coaches on the tour (or did before the tour stopped, anyhow), working first with Petra Martic and now with Alize Cornet.

We discuss finding meaning during the shutdown, her own journey through the sport as a player and a coach, how coaches can cope with this stoppage, what she makes of Dominic Thiem's controversial comments, and her own nascent adventures in podcasting.

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 #NCR259!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 258: Voices Emerge (with Tumaini Carayol)

Ben and Courtney are joined by The Guardian's Tumaini Carayol to discuss his reporting on Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff, two young stars who have emerged as leading voices among players as America is gripped by protests following the murder of George Floyd.

How are these two women using their voices? What sort of shift might this represent in the public persona of Osaka, particularly? Are there any drawbacks to athletes speaking out? And how might the stoppage change social awareness in the sport?

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 #NCR258!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Hey! Big New May Mailbag Episode Over on NCR's Patreon!

At the suggestion of a few listeners, we thought it might be useful to alert listeners on this main feed when we upload a Patreon-only episode. And Ben and Courtney just put up their biggest Patreon-only yet, with over two hours across all sorts of topics, mostly non-tennis though with a few decided tangents into the sport we find ourselves without currently. 

This is our fifth Patreon-only episode, and backers to our Patreon can access all episodes and other discussion threads and posts. We're currently at 192 backers--just eight short of 200?--and would love to have your support. And we think it's a deal worth your while if you enjoy Ben and Courtney talking (which hopefully you do if you're reading this).

Hope everyone is well out there! And thanks to our G.O.A.T. backer J.O'D!

Episode 257b: The NCRvision Results Show Spectacular!

Four years after we launched NCRvision into this world, we're finally able to bring some closure to the adventures of our 26 heroic songs inspired by tennis, and to enjoy a whole lot of fun side quests along the way! 

We've counted the 411(!) ballots that our listeners cast, and we reveal the finishing order of the songs from 26th to champion, having a whole lot of fun along the way.

We start with a recap of the show and an interview with Eurovision expert William Lee Adams who lends his expert eye to our field. Then we have tons and tons of montages of bonus songs, interviews of artists, and more surprises along the way.

Hopefully you'll have as much fun with the way this whole NCRvision journey wraps up as we have had putting it together. Thank you again for your votes, and for your patience. Getting this done was a major undertaking, and we're very relieved it is finally complete.

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

Episode 257a: An NCRvision Refresher

The 2020 Eurovision Song Contest final was slated to be held today in Rotterdam, but alas 'twas not to be given the coronavirus situation around the continent and the world. The world is a far less glittery place than it should be. 

But fear not if you're missing that song contest fix! We're reairing our beloved NCRvision Song Contest from 2016 here for your renewed enjoyment. There's also a purpose behind this reairing: to get you refamiliarized with the songs for when our results show finally drops later this month! You're going to love it, we promise.

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

Episode 256: We Need to Talk About Novak

In light of recent developments, Ben is joined by a Novak Djokovic superfan, Katrina aka @returnwinner, to talk about her journey as a fan of Novak's from the beginning to now.

We talk about what drew her to Djokovic initially, her journey as a fan of a less popular player, and what she most admires about Djokovic.

Then, pivoting to more recent developments, we discuss Djokovic's frustrating fall into the fray of faux-wellness charlatans, and how we should react to a favorite having some undesirable traits.

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 #NCR256!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 255: Calling Tennis Remotely, with Ravi Ubha

As the world works from home, we thought it might be useful to give you perspective from the folks who work remotely in tennis even under normal circumstances: the world feed commentators.

Ravi Ubha, veteran journalist and commentator, talks about what it's like to call matches that happen around the world from a small studio in England, how to prepare, how to create atmosphere, and more.

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 #NCR255!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 254: How We Carry on While Stopped, with Mike Cation

For another perspective on life without tennis from someone inside the sport, Ben is joined by NCR favorite Mike Cation, co-host of the Behind the Racquet podcast, who shares his experiences now that his commentary work has ceased indefinitely with the sport halted due to coronavirus.

We discuss the impact of the current moment on both financial and mental health, how lower-ranked players might be especially affected, and on the strains of exhibition match ideas which are popping up in all sorts of various places. We also discuss payment ideas, for players and coaches alike.

These are tough, weird times, but there is comfort to be found, for sure, in knowing just how many people are in this together.

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 #NCR254!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.