No Challenges Remaining

Episode 73: Sliding Señoritas

Reunited in Rome on Saturday afternoon, Ben and Courtney hop back into the studio for a special look ahead to the women's final in Madrid, which will pit claylovers Maria Sharapova and Simona Halep against one another for one of the biggest women's titles outside the Slams. What do we make of the form each have shown on clay so far, and how it sets them up for the French Open? Is Sharapova the immediate favorite in any match that doesn't include Serena? And don't you guys miss that blue stuff? As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing and reviewing on iTunes! You, dear listeners, get the douze points from our hearts.

Episode 72: Alize Cornet

Ben and Courtney slide into the clay season with the graceee you'd expect of North Americans, so please forgive their lateness. What sort of clay landscape do they find? A confusing one! What's going on with Rafael Nadal losing on clay to lesser Spaniards? What's up with Novak Djokovic's wrist? That Stan Wawrinka guy is keeping himself awfully relevant, isn't he? Is Wawrinka more likely to pull off the Aussie-French double than Li Na? And what of the women winning titles on clay so far, from Maria Sharapova to Caroline Garcia to Taylor Townsend? Lastly, we share with you our interview with the charmant Alize Cornet, who shares her thoughts on her own resurgent career, the ecosystem of the WTA locker room, and on-court dramatics. As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing and reviewing on iTunes!

Episode 71: Andrea Petkovic (The Petkopalooza)

Ben and Courtney are super, super excited about this episode, you guys. We did an interview for the show with Andrea Petkovic after her second round match in Charleston, and it was predictably awesome. Then Petko kept winning and winning, so we kept seeing her at press the whole rest of the week, which ended with her walking away with the trophy. So we recap the week that was briefly, bring you our interview with her (which touches on handling losing, the differences between men's and women's players, tour gossip, and much, much more), and then bring you some highlights of her press conferences. If you like Andrea Petkovic (and obviously you do), then you'll love this episode (and certainly you will). As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing and reviewing on iTunes!  You, dear listeners, are way cooler than Coldplay. 

Episode 70: Madison Keys (and Miami)

Episode 70 is a big, big, big one, and you'll like it quite a bit! Live from Charleston, Ben and Courtney discuss the tournament that was in Miami, and what it means for both Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams to have emerged from Key Biscayne victorious. Also, how do those two tournaments stack up against each other? We then flash forward to Charleston, and (through some studio magic) discuss Serena's surprising first round loss to 78th-ranked Jana Cepelova. Lastly, we are joined by our first guest of 2014, Madison Keys, who discusses dancing with Andrea Petkovic and life as an Eisenbuddy. As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing and reviewing on iTunes!  You, our listeners, deserve all the tiaras.

Episode 69: Been to the Desert

Episode 69 offers you delayed gratification! Live from the NCR West Studios, Ben and Courtney discuss the goings on of Indian Wells. What do we take of Roger's resurgence and Novak's reliability? And how about Flavia Pennetta's surprise triumph? Is that a satisfying result? We then discuss what to expect from Miami. But Miami is almost over, you say? Who asked you? But seriously, you guys, thanks as always for listening, and thanks for following us on Twitter, liking us on Facebook, and subscribing and reviewing on iTunes!

Episode 68: Upsets in the Desert

Ben and Courtney come to you midway through Indian Wells, where many of the top seeds have already dried up and withered in the thin desert air. What do we make of the players who lost and the players who beat them? What, first of all, of Rafael Nadal, and the inspired play of Alexandr Dolgopolov to knock him out. Is Maria Sharapova's loss to Camila Giorgi cause for concern? And what do we make of the tough questioning Giorgi faced in press? And should Victoria Azarenka have taken the court at all? All this and a little more is waiting for you! As always, thanks for following us on Twitter, liking us on Facebook, and subscribing and reviewing on iTunes! You occupy a king-sized bed on our hearts, dear listeners.

Episode 67: Indian Well To Do

For Episode 67, Ben and Courtney are live on location in beautiful Indian Wells, recording under the desert stars at a tournament which has exploded by leaps and bounds since we first came here. The growth is impressive, but is it all for the best? We discuss. We also talk briefly about the men's and women's draws, and about the highlights of the WTA All-Access Hour. We announce the arrival of this episode with all the enthusiasm of Jelena Jankovic, and we hope you receive it the same way! As always, thanks for following us on Twitter, liking us on Facebook, and subscribing and reviewing on iTunes!

Episode 66: Back From Russia, With Tennis

We have so much to catch up on, you guys! Unable to find recording daylight through the thick iron curtain while Ben spent the last five weeks in Sochi, Ben and Courtney finally reunite to catch you up on all the happenings in tennis! Like Stan Wawrinka winning a Slam! What was that about? Also Li Na did big things, too! What are we still learning about her? We also look at many of the other big players from this time period, including Dominika Cibulkova, Agnieszka Radwanska, Genie Bouchard, Sloane Stephens, Simona Halep, Venus Williams, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Maria Sharapova, Caroline Wozniacki, Grigor Dimitrov, Ernests Gulbis, and more! We also try to make sense of the IPTL and what the Winter Olympics tell us about why women's tennis is more successful than so many other women's sports. We have so much to give, you guys! As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing and reviewing on iTunes! You are the bears on unicycles of our hearts.

Episode 65: Aussie Ana Sinks Serena

In Episode 65, Ben and Courtney return to the airwaves (internetwaves?) live from Melbourne once again, this time to sort through the rubble of another injury-laced exit from Melbourne by Serena Williams, this time at the unlikely hands of Ana Ivanovic. What does the win mean for Ana? And what does the loss mean for Serena? What do we make of the way Serena (and her coach Patrick Mouratoglou) handled her injury? And how does her exit change the landscape of the women's draw? Could Li Na actually be considered a viable favorite? The men haven't done much, but Bernard Tomic, who only played one set in Melbourne, is always one to get a conversation going. Thanks for waking up with us, dear listeners! As always, thanks for following us on Twitter, liking us on Facebook, and subscribing and reviewing on iTunes!

Episode 64: Australian Open/James McGee

In Episode 64, Ben and Courtney break down the draws for the 2014 Australian Open. What do we make of the flat, even women's draw? And the men's draw that's more top-heavy than Dolly Parton? Who is on upset alert, and who got lucky? And why did Gilles Simon insist on trying to valiantly play when pulling out would've made our show so much simpler? Plus, we share with you Ben's interview from during qualies with Ireland's James McGee, who has lots of great stories and thoughts about life on the lower rungs on the pro tour. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll wish you were Irish. As always, thanks for following us on Twitter, liking our page on Facebook,and subscribing to us and reviewing us on iTunes!