No Challenges Remaining

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.

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 252: How to Begin to Restart, with Mark Ein

With the traditional European clay swing and the grass court circuit both off the calendar for the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the next possible start line for the sport is the summer hardcourt stretch in North America, on which the first big combined event would be the Citi Open in Washington.

To discuss how the tournament is preparing and thinking currently, Ben is joined by Citi Open owner Mark Ein, who gives his insights and perspectives about how tennis might return after months away, and in what form.

Though the event is still months away, there's lots of ideas and contingencies already floating around, and Mark walks us through several different scenarios which should help to illuminate this murky landscape more clearly for listeners.

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 #NCR252!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 251b: NCR Book Club Author Chat - Jon Wertheim

To enhance our discussion and understanding of NCR Book Club selection Venus Envy, Ben and Courtney are joined by Jon Wertheim to chat about his experiences writing the book and how he looks back on it, two decades later.

How has the tour changed since? How will history remember Anna Kournikova? And what is the current state of tennis in the publishing world?

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 #NCRBookClub!), 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 250: Courtsiding with Brad Hutchins

To distract you all from the bizarre world in which we live, Ben introduces you to one of the more unusual characters from the tennis ecosystem: the courtsider.

(For more of an explainer on what courtsiding is, you may want to read this piece first)

Brad Hutchins, author of the book Game, Set, Cash, reminisces about his time on tour as a courtsider, the highs and lows of that job, and what it's like to be the mouse in a cat-and-mouse chase around the globe, working lawfully but against the wishes of the tennis powers that be.

He's got quite a story to tell, which makes him something of an honorary selection for the upcoming NCR Book Club, which launches next week with *two* episodes on Venus Envy by Jon Wertheim. 

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 #NCR250!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 249b: What the French?! (Mini Episode)

This tiny update is mostly to alert followers who track our show primarily through this feed that Ben and Courtney got together earlier this week to record an episode about what quarantined life is like.

Since it didn't have tons to do with tennis, we put it on our Patreon page for supporters there. But since we were told many people had missed it and would have liked to have known it was there: voila, this mini episode. It's available to our backers there, and you can become one if you're not already.

Also, the French Open did some wild stuff. 

Thank you to the many listeners who have already given their support! (And thank you to G.O.A.T. backer J O'D!)

Episode 249: Closing For Coronavirus, With Dr. Chris Worsham

With the tennis tours now officially being suspended for at least more than the next month (goodbye Indian Wells, Miami, Charleston, Monte Carlo, etc), Ben is joined again by Dr. Chris Worsham, a pulmonologist at Mass General and Harvard Medical School, to discuss the spread of the virus and why events are ceasing.

What makes a tennis tournament such a bad idea during a pandemic? Would the suggested fixes (like ballboys wearing gloves) have done much? And when might we see a light at the end of the tunnel?

In happier news, NCR is using this hiatus to get the NCR Book Club up and running! Our first pick is Venus Envy by Jon Wertheim, which is available as an e-book as well as at libraries and other used book purveyors. Please read along with us!

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 #NCR249!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.