No Challenges Remaining

Episode 364: WTA Goes Saudi; Huge Premier Tour Changes on the Table

Ben and Tumaini reconvened this week to react to the news that the WTA Finals are going to Saudi Arabia, a move that felt unfathomable five years ago but has more recently felt inevitable. What do we make of the news? Should women's sports be held to a different standard when it comes to selling out? And what does the deal say about both the recent past and near future of women's tennis?

We then shift to a conversation about the proposed Premier Tour, a radical revamp described in detail in an interview of USTA CEO Lew Sherr in his interview with  Jon Wertheim. What would tennis be losing with massive streamlining? Would the gains offset the losses?

We also discuss the cancellation of Netflix's Break Point after two seasons. In a time of discord in tennis, nearly everyone can agree on how disappointing it was; what went wrong?

Next time, a review of Luca Guadanigno's Challengers! 

Episode 363: Sun Shines on Sinner, Collins, Swiatek and Alcaraz

Ben and Tumaini answer listener questions and recap the month that was in March, where Indian Wells and Miami formed the Sunshine Double and changed some of the forecasts of the sport.

We start with Indian Wells, where Swiatek and Alcaraz won their second titles and Novak Djokovic lost early and bailed on the swing. We then head to Miami, where Danielle Collins won the biggest title of her career and Jannik Sinner cemented his spot as the dominant player on tour. We also discuss recent form of Dimitrov, Gauff, Sabalenka, and more.

From our mailbag, we also discuss the fairness and merits of wild cards (including for returning dopers), the shrinking status of the Miami Open.

(Another episode soon on the huge changes afoot on tour from the Saudi money and Premier Tour jockeying!)

Episode 362b: The State of the Union in Women's Tennis, Golden, Oldies

Picking up where we left off on the last episode, Ben and Tumaini cover several other big stories from the first part of this season. We talk about the diverging fates of Brits in tennis, as Andy Murray sets a dispirited retirement date while Katie Boulter surges to a new high.

We then spend quite a while on the health of women's tennis as a product, which seems to be getting left in the dust while the men surge, with no apparent strategy for building interest in their product. What can be done? And how transformative can the looming infusion of Saudi cash be? (Here's a link to a separate Cracked Racquets podcast Ben did on the Saudi ATP sponsorship.)

We also catch up on recent results in men's tennis, talk about the pleasant alternate tennis universe that is the South American "Golden Swing," and cover the Netflix Slam (we recorded before Break Point was cancelled), with a bit on its uncertain star Rafael Nadal.

Thanks for listening! 

Episode 362a:A Halep Reversal and a Rublev Removal

Ben and Tumaini had a lot to catch up on this week, so we are splitting this episode into two parts.

The first part, here, begins with the Court of Arbitration for Sport issuing a radical reversal of the first decision on Simona Halep's positive test, which means Halep can return to tour immediately. We don't have all the answers yet, but what does the dramatic disparity between the two decisions say about the dysfunction of the tennis anti-doping system?

In the second part of this episode, we discuss Andrey Rublev getting defaulted from his semifinal in Dubai for berating a line judge, and how that moment should be instructive.

Thanks for listening!

Episode 361b: Sabalenka Smashes Australian Open Women's Field

Ben and Tumaini turn to the women (and the miscellany) in this second Australian Open wrap show.

This one was more straightforward, resultswise: Aryna Sabalenka was the best player, by a lot, defending her title in emphatic fashion. What do we make of her consolidation as a champion? And where is the sport at now, geopolitically?

We also cover the strong runs of Coco Gauff and Zheng Qinwen, as well as early exits of Swiatek, Wozniacki, and Naomi Osaka.

We also cover some other miscellaneous stories of the tournament, including the delightful Hsieh Su-wei, the tacky trophy boxes, and new the freedom of movement.

Episode 361a: Sinner the Winner of Men's Australian Open

Jannik Sinner is the winner of the Australian Open, dethroning the Djokovic dynasty and prevailing in a thrilling comeback final to claim his first Slam win.

We discuss Sinner's ascendance and what the defeats mean for the two men, Djokovic and Medvedev, whom he beat to clinch this title. 

We also discuss other various things on the men's side of the tournament (we also recorded a women's episode which will come soon), including late finishes.

We then close with a discussion of the darkening shadow that the abuse accusations against Alexander Zverev cast over this tournament, and why they got so much more traction here than ever before.

Ben and Tumaini start this episode with a remembrance of our colleague Mike Dickson, who passed away suddenly while covering the Australian Open. He is much loved and much missed.

Episode 360: 2024 Australian Open Draw Show

Coming full circle, NCR begins its 13th(!) season with our look at the Australian Open draws.

Ben and Tumaini start with the men. Who can meaningfully challenge Novak Djokovic?

And then we talk about the women. Have you heard that Ben wrote a book about Naomi Osaka? We really think you'll like it, and we thank you for buying it!

We'll be back with you with more shows during the tournament!

Episode 359: ”Naomi Osaka” - Behind the Book

At last it's finally publication day for Ben's new book, the biography Naomi Osaka: Her Journey to Finding Her Power and Her Voice! 

After months of copious plugs on the show, we are excited to finally be able to talk about the book in more depth and detail, with the tremendous help of NCR's intrepid correspondent Reem Abulleil who interviews Ben about the book, his process, and some of the key moments of Naomi's career.

Reem was also a close observer of Naomi's since her earliest days on the tour, so there's lots to discuss here about this singularly fascinating and complex person. Enough to fill a book, even! 

We also plan on doing a listener mailbag episode about the book once y'all have had a chance to read it, so please do buy a copy (or check it out from a local library) and think about what you might want to ask!

Hope you enjoy the episode and the book! Thank you for your support!

Episode 358: Women’s Tennis Turmoil Reviewed

Ben and Tumaini have a lot to cover as they try to make sense of the year in women's tennis and explain the forces behind the stormy finish to the year, on-court and off-court, and where it leaves the sport going forward.

After a brief discussion on the last couple events of the men's calendar—including if Jannik Sinner was right to keep Novak Djokovic in contention in Turin—we dig into the year that was on court, first by running through some of the headlines off court, and then covering how that turned into headlines off-court with player criticisms roiling the final event of the year.

Are the criticisms justified? Who is fertilizing the seeds of player discontent against WTA leadership? And where does the sport go from here?

Thanks for listening to NCR in 2023! And if you've enjoyed NCR this year, please do pre-order Ben's new biography of Naomi Osaka! 

Episode 357: The Year in Men’s Tennis (With Ricky Dimon)

With Ricky Dimon in town to run his sixth Marine Corps Marathon, he joins Ben for their annual wrap show on the year that was in men's tennis, which was another season of Novak Djokovic, now 36, lording over a much younger field.

Ben and Ricky get somewhat granular, going over the top seventeen men in the rankings and spending a few minutes on each, assessing their years and their prospects for next year.

In order: Dimitrov, Shelton, Tiafoe, Khachanov, de Minaur, Paul, Ruud, Hurkacz, Fritz, Rune, Zverev, Tsitsipas, Rublev, Sinner, Medvedev, Alcaraz, and Djokovic

Plus a few honorable notable mentions: Murray, Auger-Aliassime, Kyrgios and Nadal.

Thanks for listening! And thanks for pre-ordering Ben's new biography of Naomi Osaka!