No Challenges Remaining

Episode 146: Rounding up Maria Sharapova

As the dust settles on a week that saw Maria Sharapova (and several busloads of other athletes) test positive for the newly-prohibited substance meldonium, Ben convenes a roundtable of tennis talkers to discuss the case and it's implications near and far. With friends of the show Jon Wertheim, Carole Bouchard and Simon Cambers, we discuss the test itself, what it means to Sharapova's legacy, how it could have happened, and all sorts of other related stuff, including French people who should keep their mouths shut about Rafael Nadal.

As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing/reviewing on whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 145A: Maria Sharapova Tests Positive for Banned Substance

Talk about your emergency episodes. After Maria Sharapova dropped the bombshell that she had tested positive for a (recently) banned substance at the Australian Open, Ben discusses the facts of the case with doping expert Richard Ings. Who is to blame here? What is the likely punishment? Was it fair to expect Sharapova to realize that something she had taken without incident for a decade was suddenly verboten? What can be done to prevent this happening again?

We'll have much more on this story as it unfolds in coming days, so stay tuned to NCR. 

As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing/reviewing on whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 145: Tennis Goes Hollywood

As February and its unexpected results take a flying leap, Ben and Courtney discuss the month that was, and who emerges strong (looking at you, Sloane). We then pivot a bit, as we do annually, to the Oscars, which had more of a tennis hook than usual because of the attendance of Roger Federer, Serena Williams, and Maria Sharapova. Tennis stars are popular, you guys! Then, we discuss why women's tennis in particular gets so much more respect stateside than other sports, going off of a conversation on ESPN's Will & Kate (starting about 17 minutes in here). Lastly, we give shoutouts to our $25-level Kickstarter backers, each and every one of whom is an awesome person. 

As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing/reviewing on whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be!

Episode 144: Overpromised, Underdelivered

This week, Ben and Courtney come to realize that things just aren't what they used to be. Like Rafael Nadal's tennis, which Courtney bore witness to this week in Rio, where he again looked mortal on clay. Also, Caroline Wozniacki's reliability, since she fell out of the top 20 for the first time in nearly eight years. And even with Nick Kyrgios winning his first title, is there a stable foundation to build on for him? We're then joined by Reem Abulleil of Sport 360 in Dubai to talk about the tournament there, which was rocked by WTA withdrawals and upsets. Reem is cool. Then we talk about Ash Barty, comeback kid. Rantily, Courtney doesn't like getting asked if she bought things but does like getting things she didn't buy, and Ben is amused in a muscovial way. 

As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing/reviewing on whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be. 

And here is that Lizzo & Caroline Smith track that Courtney adores. 

Episode 143: Twitchy on the Trigger

February is a choose your own adventure sort of month in tennis, and Ben and Courtney have all sorts of fun on a windy path through results of debatable relevance. Are wins by players like Thiem, Klizan, Vinci and Venus meaningful? How about more dodgy losses for Nadal? And what is a fair level of hype to be putting on Taylor Fritz right now? Then we take a number like we never have before, and follow our chosen man into a battlefield that might explain some of his losses. There's still time to respawn, though. 

As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing/reviewing on whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be. 

Episode 142: Gaming the System

Ben and Courtney are delighted to be back stateside, and delighted that Andy Murray's child (it's a girl!) arrived at a convenient time. Less delightful is the latest corruption scandal in tennis, and Ben is joined by Sean Ingle of the Guardian to discuss his report into the silent banning of two chair umpires for misconduct at the Futures level. Less ickily, Fed Cup happened this weekend, so we do a deep dive explainer-thing into what makes that competition tick, and how it gets messy with competing interests, ranking points, etc. Then, because we're American sportswriters, we discuss Cam Newton and what all that means from a tennis lens. 

We're also thrilled to introduce our two 2016 executive producers in this episode: Francisco Resendiz of 10sballs.com and Tal Woolley!

As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing/reviewing on whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be. 

Episode 141m: Australian Open Day 14/Wrap: Novak Sends Us Home

Another Australian Open, another Novak Djokovic title. Ben and Courtney know the unsurprisingness of it all is unsurprising, because it's becoming clear that Novak Djokovic is just in a league of his own. So, how will he do against a tougher opponent than any now on tour: history? And where does this tournament leave Andy Murray, besides once again cementing his trophy ceremony tearjerker crown? Then, we wrap up the tournament with a brief look at Petra Kvitova splitting with longtime coach David Kotyza, and who we're going to be watching coming out of Australia.

Thank you guys for hanging with us on this Australian Open spectacular! As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing/reviewing on whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be. 

Episode 141l: Australian Open Day 13: Kerber Stuns Serena for Title

Angelique Kerber stunned Serena Williams in three sets to become the 2016 Australian Open champion, and Ben and Courtney are here to take you through how it happened. Why did Serena keep crashing the net with no success? How will this change how Kerber is seen and what she can do in her career? How does Serena recover from this? Will this finally get women's tennis naysayers to shut up for a bit? Hear from us, as well as Kerber, Serena, Torben Beltz, and Patrick Mouratoglou.

As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing/reviewing on whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be!

Episode 141k: Australian Open Day 12: Djokovic-Murray Will Go Again

The Australian Open final is set and it's the fourth time Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are going to be squaring off on a Sunday night in Melbourne. It's a lot. Are Ben and Courtney excited aboutt his match-up? We're...not sure. But we dutifully break down the striking semifinals, including Novak Djokovic's incredible early mastery of Roger Federer and then Andy Murray's escape against a Milos Raonic whose body betrayed him (but sure was snappily dressed!). Lastly, we acknowledge how the strain on Kim Sears might put economic strain on the Australian economy.

As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing/reviewing on whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be!

Episode 141j: Australian Open Day 11: Serena and Kerber Into the Final

We're wrapping up just the women's semifinals from Melbourne today (chat on both men's semifinals coming to you tomorrow), and Ben and Courtney are pretty happy with the final we got. Serena was crazy good against Radwanska, and you'll hear about it from *both* coaches involved, Tomasz Wiktorowski and Patrick Mouratoglou. Serena will face Angelique Kerber in the final, so we hear from both Angie and veteran German reporter Doris Henkel  about the state of German tennis and other such bossly goodies. Will this final be a good one? We think/hope so. 

As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing/reviewing on whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be!