The Body Serve

We come to you on the heels of the huge tennis news that the Indian Wells event “will not be held,” has been cancelled, postponed, whatever. We are well and truly in the dark about what the tennis schedule will look like in the coming months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In short, we have no answers. But, we’re back to get you up to date as to what has been happening. After talking about ALL THAT, we get into the tennis results last week, the heinous International Women’s Day ATP video spot, before finishing with another TBS Mailbag. 01:58 The BNP Paribas event in Indian Wells has been cancelled 30:44 Results: Svitolina, Zvonareva, Leylah, Jack Sock and more 36:01 Do ATP players know any women other than their mothers? 42:02 Are we still going to Miami if the tournament is still on? 45:35 Taking a 'bathroom break' to compose oneself mentally after losing a set 49:05 The Body Serve goes country! Who do we like? 56:30 FMK 90s edition: Sampras, Agassi, Rafter 60:53 A pop culture diversion: our thoughts on handling the Sherry Pie RPDR mess 69:09 What the ATP can do to ensure its players treat WTA players as equals 74:14 Are we hopeful we’ll see an active, openly gay ATP player in the near future?

Maria Sharapova became the richest woman in sport, a 5-time Slam champ, and one of the most polarizing figures in tennis. We have not always been Masha proponents, but it's important for us to contextualize her excellent career, her clever self-branding, and the many contradictions and mysteries at the heart of Maria Sharapova, superstar. We'd be remiss if we didn't interrogate the textured relationship between Maria and Serena, and the complex racial and sexual dynamics that colored and drove their money, images, and matches. After that, we chat about the Persian Gulf swing (is that a thing?): Rybakina's 21 wins, Djokovic's 21-match win streak and Monfils' heartache, Sabalenka's huge performance in Doha, and Ons Jabeur's ever increasing confidence. We end with some mess, as is our wont. :45 Maria Sharapova announces her retirement from tennis in an essay for Vogue & Vanity Fair - let's look at her vast influence and great career 10:15 It's complicated! Talking about the Great White Hope myth; the contradictions at the heart of Maria's sparkling image and her gritty, pugilistic game 18:15 Constructing a sex symbol out of an underage girl 25:25 Meldonium - how has it changed the way we talk about her career? 37:00 Results! Rybakina & Halep in Dubai, Garin in Rio, Felix in another final 41:30 Acapulco: Watson & 17-year-old Canadian Fernandez in final; Mexican Renata Zarazua stuns; Venus & Sloane do not 45:00 Doha (Sabalenka! Jabeur!) and Dubai (Djokovic at 21 straight wins!) 52:50 HEALTH: Roger gets surgery, Andy clarifies his injury problems 56:30 MESS: Nick takes his road most travelled (the low one), Naomi claps back, Youzhny writes a sonnet 67:30 RIP Jeanne Evert Dubin (1957-2020)

It's been a while since we last brought you a mailbag episode. They're fun to do, and we get to rely on our listeners to drive the conversation. Thanks to your thoughtful questions, we cover everything topics like the role of Tennis Twitter in the sport, things we'd change about the Slams, to opinions we've changed and our favorite Mariah songs. The questions mentioned below are only a sampling of the whole thing: 1:30 Which cities would you like to see host a tournament? (@ShaneBullen) 4:30 Why are tennis players politically silent compared to athletes in other sports? (@bloodbaymare); AND, how do we reckon with the "platitudinous non-voice voices" of the Big 3 with regard to the Margaret Court controversy (@perspicaciousam) 17:25 What thing, person, incident have we changed our opinions on? (@AnnaClxxmxnn and @DamianTerbiler) 27:30 Tennis journalists we like, plus a tangent 32:40 FMK: Drama Kings (@SholzTalks10s) 35:28 An anonymously submitted question for Jonathan 37:15 What do we expect from Clijsters' return? (@fabianigiraneza) 46:35 What behind-the-scenes stuff in tennis would people be surprised by? (@AfrikaMsanifu) 55:00 How important is Tennis Twitter to the success of the sport? (@theswingvolley) 65:50 An extended meditation on our favorite Mariah songs; and picking just ONE from MC, Whitney, and Aretha (@hextreat)

February is always a frantic time on the tennis calendar. We've just gotten back from a quick vacation in Mexico, and are readjusting to the Toronto winter and the podcast grind. This episode has recaps of Fed Cup and two weeks of tournaments; a segment on the recent anti-doping developments with Farah and Spears; the WTA's new permissive policy toward coaching, and many more odds and ends. 3:00 Fed Cup qualifiers: USA d. Latvia amid concerning play from Serena, Swiss d. Canada, Russia d. Romania, and other notables 10:15 A quick note on the Clijsters comeback 14:50 Catching up on results: Monfils wins Montpellier and Rotterdam back-to-back, Felix reaches 4th ATP final, Pospisil's great runs, Bertens d. Rybakina to win St Petersburg 23:30 New York Open, that was a thing that happened 27:45 WTA implements coaching from the stands 33:00 Las drogas, la carne, las vitaminas malditas; and, the economic context that makes lower-ranked tennis players vulnerable to bettors and PEDs 44:00 Harrison and Sock, and the Benjamin of wild cards between them 48:30 Larry Ellison, owner of Indian Wells, to host a Trump fundraiser! Ok! 50:25 Naomi Osaka announces Netflix documentary about her life

The 2020 Australian Open has mercifully come to a close and we’re back to complete our coverage of the decade’s first Grand Slam tournament. Your winners: Novak Djokovic, for an 8th time in Melbourne; and Sonya Kenin, who shocked the tennis world for her first Slam, beating #1 Barty and the resurgent Muguruza for the title. We’ve also got old-timers taking on Tennis Australia’s dithering on Margaret Court, while Novak and Roger played from the crease and were trapped in front lbw. What else? The Big 3 would like to speak to your manager, the Muguruza and Zverev comeback stories, and what men’s tennis might look like over the next few months. 02:18 Djokovic conquers an ever improving Thiem to win his 8th AO 10:44 The ATP through March, Zverev’s turnaround & other week 2 results 18:53 The Big 3 would like to speak to the manager....of the umpires 32:55 James is feeling a bit hamstrung by a tenet of our show 40:08 Sonya Kenin has got spunk! 54:07 Ash Barty, and her niece, cause all that conversation 60:26 Thomas Muster and Sam Sumyk have incredibly bad, forgettable fortnights 65:27 Martina and McEnroe protest Margaret Court, Novak and Roger remain feckless 74:47 Makarova retires, Delpo has knee surgery (again), and HoF inductees

The first week of this Australian Open has been something. Serena and Naomi lost on the same night Caroline Wozniacki retired from the sport, Milos Raonic is blasting his way through the men's draw, Rublev extends his win streak, and Novak Djokovic's dominance here shows no signs of slowing. We also take a few moments to ponder a certain 8th-seeded Italian, who allowed Sandgren to flourish. But mostly, we're looking at the many -- often delightful -- surprises of the first week. It's been a ride. 01:20 Camila Giorgi, minimalist tennis philosopher 3:20 Coco Gauff's run 12:15 Team Canada disappoints, except for Milos Raonic & Gaby Dabrowski 17:00 Honoring Caroline Wozniacki's great career: 71 weeks at #1, a heroic Australian Open title, a fighting spirit, and a juris doctor 25:30 Serena Williams loses to Wang Qiang 38:10 M----- B----tt--i enters tennis prison for allowing Tennys to prosper 42:55 Other surprises: Pliskova's Grand Slam problems; Federer snatches victory from Millman; Raonic, Muguruza, Kontaveit, Fucsovics, Ernie 55:25 Zverev slides through the first week by figuring out his serve issues 57:15 Previewing the men's and women's second week 64:20 Swiatek: the pronunciation politics 67:30 What is happening in the press room? Fidanzata & fake feuds 71:15 Dramatic Reading: Serena explains her post-US Open schedule in the past 5 years

The Body Serve is back with our 6th annual (!) Australian Open preview. We break down the soon-to-be-broken draws, key first round match-ups, the dozens of floaters in the women's bracket, and whether the Big 3 stranglehold shows any signs of ending (it doesn't). We also cover the Australian Open's reliably unique approach to internationally accepted science, with their roll-out of a new air quality policy. 2:30 The Australian Open draw ceremony ... err, Power Point presentation? 8:40 Breaking down the women's draw, starting with the Serena-Venus-Naomi-Dayana-Coco-etc quarter 21:55 Women's bottom half - a tough out for #2 Pliskova in a fascinating fourth quarter 31:00 A few probably wrong predictions 32:00 Men's draw: Nadal and Medvedev's paths; Kyrgios, Zverev, Ruby, Dominic, and so much speculation 39:20 Men's bottom half: Djokovic and Federer stuck with each other 46:55 James takes you through the Australian Open's new bespoke air quality policy, "inspired" by science 54:10 Et ceteras: union talks rear their head again, Sir Andy injury, GoFundMe update

Thank you to everybody for listening to our Monica Seles episode! We’re back to officially launch Season SIX of The Body Serve. If you’ve donated to our GoFundMe, please listen to the segment at the top of the show to find out what we’ve done, what we’re planning to do, and the prizes that we’ll be distributing at the end of the campaign. We start the tennis proceedings with a recap of a dizzyingly strange and moody ATP Cup before segueing into Serena Williams’ reassuring week in Auckland. Other topics on the docket: a note on climate change as it relates to tennis, the failures (thus far) of the Australian Open in dealing with the poor air quality in Melbourne, the need for unions in tennis, and a few predictions/wishes for the 2020 season. 01:45 An update on our GoFundMe 09:35 ATP Sippy Cup: an exercise in largesse and insolence 20:18 You get all these men together and they act a fool and a mess 31:44 Pliskova repeats in Brisbane 35:51 Serena has herself a tournament in Auckland, wins title #73 41:24 What this win could mean for Serena in 2020 48:05 A note from us on climate change in tennis and our coverage 51:25 Australian Open puts players’ health at risk & the need for unions 63:02 Jarry and Farrah catch a pair of cases 68:25 Breakout/comeback candidates and our tennis wishlists for 2020

It's clear that from the moment Monica Seles arrived on the tennis stage as a precocious teenager, the tennis world didn't quite know what to do or say about her. She's been constructed as, at varying times: the grunting and giggling wunderkind, an enigmatic superstar, a tragic victim of violence, a worldwide symbol of resilience, and the tour's elder stateswoman. In this episode, we try to make sense of the creation of Monica Seles as a public figure, by combing through the journalism written about her and several books written by her. How did we arrive at the Monica we 'know' today? How do we make sense of her incomprehensible stabbing? Does tennis know how to reckon with this superstar and her place in history? What this isn't: it's not a comprehensive biography, not a litigation of who's The Greatest, nor is it a deep dive into the Seles-Graf rivalry and relationship. This is instead about trying to understand how sports media creates celebrity, how patterns are repeated through generations, and a reminder that your heroes are complicated. :30 Why are we doing this episode? 6:45 The first stage of Monica discourse: prodigy and peculiarity (1988-90) 15:45 Grand Slam debut at 1989 Roland Garros 20:45 Seles' run of firsts in 1989/1990 and the Bolletieri falling out 30:25 The second phase: dominance and drama (1991-93) 33:20 The '91 Wimbledon withdrawal and reappearance at Mahwah 46:30 Let's talk about the endless grunting conversation, which blew up at 1992 Wimbledon 57:00 The stabbing and the subsequent 27-month hiatus (1993-95) 75:20 Monica's return to the WTA Tour, entering another phase of Monica discourse: embraced and beloved (but often underestimated) champion (1995-present) 83:00 Assessing Monica's post-comeback career: full of contradictions and lots of greatness

Y'all, we made it to the end of Season FIVE! First, we MUST thank you for all your generous contributions to the GoFundMe we launched last week. Truly, we are bowled over and so grateful. As for this finale, we're back to recap the year on the men's tour, replete with your responses to our questions we threw at you on Twitter. The season closes with James taking a quiz on the men's season, and be sure to let him know if you fared any better! Thanks again for all your support this season and over the years; we are here only because of y'all! 02:36 Our general thoughts and a rundown of the titlists 12:56 Bautista Agut the Forrest Gumpian bookend to the season? 16:45 Thinking out loud about Nadal and Djokovic's seasons 20:30 Andy Murray's wild ride this year 25:23 Davis Cup. That's it. That's the timestamp 37:45 Y'alls most memorable moments 40:39 Thirst trappers of 2019 44:09 "Federer one good swing from the greatest moment of his career?" 48:06 Your most surprising & funny moments 53:39 Vote for the pettiest moment of the year 57:17 Comeback player and Player of the Year 59:07 Farewell to these men and goodBYE to Tipsarevic 62:44 James takes a quiz

Our penultimate episode of 2019 is exciting for 2 reasons: we get to wrap this hugely entertaining WTA season and launch our first ever crowdfunding campaign. We're asking our loyal listeners to consider throwing a few coins our way to help us expand on our already 5(!) seasons of podcasting. But back to tennis -- we daresay that top tier of the WTA is shaping up a bit more clearly this year. Between stone-cold killers like Andreescu, a consistent no. 1 in Barty, up-and-comers like Gauff and Anisimova, and multi-Slam winners in Halep and Osaka, the WTA is in a great place. With help from our listeners, we chat about the most surprising, funniest, feel-good, and favorite moments of the WTA season. After that, cap off your WTA season by taking our quiz alongside Jonathan (and tell us how you did). 0:30 Announcing our first ever crowdfunding campaign - #GoFundTBS - here's why we're asking and how we'll invest in the podcast 6:00 Assessing the themes of the WTA season: parity but the hierarchies are becoming clearer 10:00 The winners of the WTA's 14 big titles - Barty & Andreescu with 3 each 21:10 Our listeners' favorite moments of the WTA season: Murrena, Townsend, Su-Wei everything, Bianca-Angelique Drama Queen-Gate, Strycova's Wimbledon, and more 31:30 You Did That: Coco Gauff 34:00 Feel Good Moments: Bianca comforts Serena in Toronto, Barty's entire season, Kristie Ahn's US Open 39:15 Most surprising moments: Konta's clay run, Barty/Halep/Andreescu's Slam wins, Serena-Pliskova at AO, Clijsters' comeback announcement 48:10 Funniest Moments: "If it's not one scam" ... you know the rest 55:00 Keeping ourselves honest - how did we do on our January predictions for the year-end top 10 and breakout players? 60:30 Checking in on the #HatchingandSnatching crowd 62:20 Comebacks, retirements, breakups, makeups 65:30 WTA Year-end Quiz - She said WHAT? Our GoFundMe - #GoFundTBS

After this episode, we've only got two more to go before we wrap season FIVE of The Body Serve. We try and keep things on topic, but the TBS train gets a bit derailed on occasion in this one. First, we recap the ATP Finals, Tsitsipas' superb title run, and the ramifications from the week's play in London. We then segue into retirements, comebacks, and yet ANOTHER dramatic reading. 01:48 Stefanos soars to London ATP Finals title 17:29 Nadal finishes YE #1 for a 5th time 20:30 Bellis is back, so is Colleen, and Sinner wins again 22:58 An update on the India/Pakistan Davis Cup tie 26:40 Retirement wave begins: Cibulkova, Berdych & Blah Brothers 35:33 Kiki & Dominic call it quits 38:36 Dramatic reading: That's Bullshit! 42:18 An NFL diversion on the latest Kaepernick developments 58:37 James talks his basketball husband & Lizzo

The ATP has a new fella on the rise after Jannik Sinner's bold win in Milan. Team France overcame Ash Barty and Australia in a thrilling Fed Cup final to put a bow on the WTA season. We wade into the latest Margaret Court shitstorm before delivering our latest book reports on John Millman and Ons Jabeur. Also, many many thanks to Sara Errani for providing the material for our latest dramatic reading! 02:20 Sinner blazes through Milan Next Gen field 07:20 A bit of background on Jannik Sinner 10:02 What to make of all this innovation? 15:48 Fed Cup delivers stellar WTA finale 26:24 A follow-up on last week's WTA prize money segment 29:05 Abigail Spears caught up in doping scandal 32:49 Brace yourselves for Hurricane Margaret's shitstorm 40:13 An update on the India/Pakistan Davis Cup tie 42:34 Book Report: Ons Jabeur & John Millman 53:02 An hors d'oeuvre before our dramatic entrée 56:51 Dramatic Reading: Go tell it to Santa

Ash Barty finesses the year-end number one ranking with a tidy and patient display in Shenzhen, with it snatching the largest ever payout in tennis history. Djokovic edges closer to both the year-end number one and the Masters 1000 record with a fifth victory in Paris. Plus, we chat about Shapovalov, Svitolina, and the surface problems that caused a slew of retirements in Shenzhen. Oh, and we've got a dramatic reading for you, too! 04:20 Djokovic dominates in Paris, closes in on year-end #1 14:42 Barty caps breakout year, makes money moves in Shenzhen 18:05 How Ash did it, and why people like/don't like her 23:09 The professionalism of Elina Svitolina 28:43 What's the deal with these retirements and slow ass courts? 33:45 WTA Legacy Fund & taking care of the Tour's elders 39:31 Evolution of WTA Prize Money: It takes more than $4.42 million 44:13 Mariana Alves retires after game-changing start to her umpiring career 46:36 Dramatic reading: Setting the record straight about Chicago's Kamau Murray

Wow, what a moment: Episode 175. The 2019 season (our fifth doing The Body Serve) is coming to a close, and we're back to recap the last two weeks of play. The list of winners is all sorts of impressive: Roger Federer, Aryna Sabalenka, Dominic Thiem, Andy Murray, Andrey Rublev, and Jelena Ostapenko. We give these folks their due before laughing at Nick Kyrgios' absurd tough guy act, coaching changes, ATP leadership appointments, and the ongoing tournaments in Paris and Shenzhen. We close the episode with things we like and dislike, before teasing something exciting? on the horizon for us. 03:28 Catching up on the tennis results, Zhuhai first 07:23 Hats off to Federer on a 10th Basel crown & 103rd singles title 14:34 Dominic Thiem (home)coming of age in Vienna 18:38 Other winners: Andy Murray, Shapovalov, and Ruby 25:06 Wow, what a pairing: Ostapenko & Bartoli arrive 28:30 Current tennis talk: Paris & Shenzhen 35:10 We're not doing this again: Kyrgios flailing in the wind 40:57 The ATP gets new leadership: Andrea Gaudenzi & Mark Knowles 44:18 Spicy B, Sascha splits with Kiki, and Next Genning 52:34 Things we like, things we disklike 62:03 Our hand dem long out ah beg fi tings

It's been a minute since we've covered tennis week-to-week. We're making up for lost time by speeding through the Asian/European fall swing, highlighting the huge steps taken by the ATP's younger generation, Coco Gauff's first title, and Naomi Osaka's dominance in Asia. That's followed by a rapid-fire segment, in which we discuss everything from Kim Clijsters' shocking comeback announcement to the Pospisil-led player movement toward better prize money. 1:45 Coco Gauff, age 15, wins her first WTA title at Linz 5:00 Next Gen steps forward at Shanghai, Medvedev cements his status as the next big thing 9:10 Grumpy Gramps makes an appearance in Shanghai 17:10 Catching up with the rest of the fall swing results - Djokovic recovers from shoulder injury, Thiem bounces back to win Beijing, and Grouchy Andy is back! 27:30 Naomi Osaka wins Osaka & Beijing, beats Andreescu; is this the launch of a new rivalry? Does the WTA "need" it? 39:15 Rapid-fire topics: the Clijsters & Golovin comebacks (?!); revisiting a bad take on Nadal's Hilfiger campaign; Gold badge umpire Moscarella suspended for a whole mess of things 55:30 Players, led by Vasek Pospisil, demand bigger piece of the pie from Grand Slams 64:45 Race to Shenzhen; Shout-outs to all-time greats Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Simone Biles!

TBS Special: In the vein of our Pride episode from last year, we've gone and done a bit of research into the history of tennis and are coming to you with our findings on what tennis was like before and leading into the Open Era. 04:28 What was amateurism and why did it exist? 18:36 So, what did tennis look like in the first 90 years or so? 21:48 What happened when a player turned professional in the pre-Open Era? 29:34 Jack Kramer, professional kingpin & thorn in side of amateur tennis 34:48 The relative quality of amateur vs pro tennis 43:43 The rumblings of professionalization/Open Tennis 51:59 What about the women, you might be asking? 57:50 Margaret Court's record gets a bad rap? It's complicated 64:40 Richard Pancho Gonzalez and his undervalued place in history 71:37 A trio that stood out to us and a story about BJK Partial Reading List: “Open the Door, Stockholm!” - Martin Kane, Sports Illustrated, July 10, 1961 "Goodbye Billie Jean, With Love From Nancy" - Kim Chapin, Sports Illustrated, April 8, 1968 “Open Season For a Test of Time” - Kim Chapin, Sports Illustrated, August 26, 1968 “The Lone Wolf” - S.L. Price, Sports Illustrated, June 24, 2002 “For Love or For Money: A History of Amateurism in the Olympic Games” - L.A. Jennings, Vice, June 7, 2016 The Right Set: A Tennis Anthology, Caryl Phillips.

Bianca Andreescu busted out in a big way at the U.S. Open, beating Serena Williams in straight sets to win her first Slam title. For Serena, it was a 4th finals loss since coming back from having baby Olympia. And for Rafael Nadal, it was an emotional 19th career Slam title, leaving him just one behind Roger Federer for the all-time lead. All this is to say, Championship weekend at the U.S. Open was A LOT! Join us as we recap the action and fill you in on some of the etceteras from week two of 2019's final Grand Slam action. 01:28 Just a bunch of tangential gibberish about the women's final 06:25 The women who were complicit in Bianca's rise 24:21 James makes a case for the similarities between Bianca & Daniil 33:54 Is Nadal playing better than ever or differently than ever? 38:55 Berrettini & Dimitrov get their due 48:41 Crowd control, trashy crowd behaviour, and umpiring discretion 55:11 James gets a better understanding of the Serena/Patrick relationship 58:35 Doubles results and a dramatic reading! 67:57 Jonathan gets DUPED by Naomi Osaka

We come to you midway through the US Open after a first week stuffed with feel-good stories and breakout stars on the women's side, and lots of miserable, crabby men (with the exception of Gael Monfils). We chat extensively about Coco Gauff, the powerful people pushing to relax the age eligibility rule, and that complex and emotionally loaded post-match interview with Naomi. You can also hear about the 22nd meeting of Serena-Maria, the breakouts of Townsend and Ahn, that wild men's third quarter, and Medvedev fully embodying the villain archetype. 4:30 Some thoughts on the Serena-Maria match and why everyone is always mad 11:30 Alexis is everyone's petty spouse 14:00 "I don't know who that is" 20:30 Jonathan institutes the Hall of Shame, major disagreements follow 23:50 Two great American stories: Taylor Townsend and Kristie Ahn 30:00 Coco Gauff dominates headlines again, but Naomi Osaka shows why she is #1 35:45 Why is there a "debate" about waiving the age eligibility rule, when it's been shown to work? 42:40 The unprecedented, emotionally charged post-match interview with Coco and Naomi 49:30 Carla Suarez Navarro is the latest victim of the First Round Performance penalty 50:35 Men's draw stuff: Grigor, Shapo-Monfils, Nick says j'accuse 59:20 Daniil Medvedev becomes cartoon villain, actual villain 67:30 WTA Player Council shakeup, more info on Puig-Murray-Stephens triangle, quick women's draw assessment

We're back to preview the US Open, the final major of the year. Can Naomi defend? Will last year's umpire drama dominate the fortnight? Did the summer tell us anything about who's a real contender on the men's side? Plus, we have a bit of fun with the Sachia Vickery tweetstorm and the clout-chasers who decided to stick their noses in (only for them to be chopped off). Finally, check out our essential R&B Spotify playlist! :30 Buckle up, it's gonna be a bumpy 2 weeks 5:05 Women's draw: Naomi Osaka attempts to defend her first major title 10:15 Women's bottom half: Serena-Maria to play at US Open for the first time 22:10 Men's draw: Djokovic and Federer on the same side 28:15 Men's third quarter is the most exciting quarter of both draws 36:45 Kamau Murray leaves Monica Puig on the eve of US Open, reunited with Sloane Stephens 41:20 #SeeWhatHadHappenedWas: Sachia Vickery is wondering why would you try her, why would you bother 48:55 The Body Serve's first Spotify playlist!

We're back safe and sound in Toronto after covering the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. On episode 169, we put a bow on the event chatting everything from the quarter-finals onward, culminating in Madison Keys and Daniil Medvedev as your champions. On deck: the actual matches, stray observations around the grounds, thanking listeners we met along the way, and finally...DRAMATIC READINGS, back by popular demand. 02:40 Madison Keys wows to win the biggest title of her career 09:26 What more to say about Sveta & QF matches 17:10 Medvedev vs Goffin making us look like fools 19:25 Getting to the bottom of the Cincy crowd & Nole 23:11 Can we stan Medvedev? Should we stan Medvedev? 27:38 Thoughts on players we saw for the first time 35:20 Stray observations around the grounds 40:14 Sloane dumps Sven? Stray observations, and shout outs 44:35 Cow Corner: DRAMATIC READINGS from Cincy

We're pleased to bring you a chat with 2-time major champ Svetlana Kuznetsova, who was one of our first player interviews back in 2016. She chats with us about the problems with her visa, her beautiful dog Dolce, and her outlook on tennis as a 34-year-old veteran. Also on the docket: stories from Cincinnati, how the draws have shaken out, the surprising runs of Rublev and Kuznetsova, and more. :30 Happenings in Cincinnati - some big upsets but a great women's quarterfinal roster 8:00 Sloane goes in 11:10 Court 10 was lit: Sabalenka-Sakkari, Osaka-Hsieh 18:40 The men's draw kind of fell apart ... but there's still defending champ Djokovic, Medvedev, RBA 24:30 Some very quick thoughts on the latest Kyrgios time-waster 31:15 Kamau Murray talks about the Sloane split and how he started working with Monica Puig 37:30 Our interview with the resurgent Svetlana Kuznetsova, returning to our show after 3 years

This weekend we took the deeply boring journey from Toronto to Cincinnati. First, we recap what we saw on the ground at the Rogers Cup, what had happened in the finals, and what we expect to see at the Cincinnati Masters. Then, we've got exclusive audio from Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic regarding ATP politics. Federer and Nadal have recently been elected to the Player Council, while Djokovic remains its president during a particularly tempestuous year. 2:20 Rogers Cup Toronto, as we saw it 6:40 Serena retires to Andreescu in horrible scene 9:00 Bianca Andreescu's run to her hometown title coming back from injury ... damn, what would she be like at 100 percent? 14:20 Coupe Rogers in Montreal: Nadal def. Medvedev 20:00 Nick Kyrgios' magical week in Washington, DC 25:45 The state of the Williams sisters 31:00 To look forward to in Cincinnati: Andy Murray returns to singles! 35:30 Roger Federer speaks to us about his return to the ATP Player Council 41:45 Novak Djokovic, Player Council president, answers a few of our questions about this wild year on Player Council

We're back from the Wimbledon wilderness to tackle the results and major tennis stories of the past few weeks. On the docket for this episode: a doping suspension, Hall of Fame inductees, and Sveta's visa woes. We also debut a new segment, "Book Report," before bringing back last episode's smash, "Dramatic Reading," to finish the show. 00:50 We're heading back to Cincy & Love Island 05:15 Catching up on ALL the winners 11:11 Haddad Maia's doping scandal 17:38 Andy Murray, Kyrgipas, and Lendl leaves Zverev 22:43 Where in the world is Svetlana Sandiego?! 29:50 Williams social blitz & Franckie/Leylah beef 34:25 Comebacks & remembering Peter McNamara 37:36 HOF Inductees: Li Na, Mary Pierce, and Kafelnikov 43:05 Book Reports: Prajnesh Gunneswaran & Jil Teichmann 49:15 Dramatic Reading: the pettiest of letters

Novak Djokovic is your repeat, and now five-time champion at Wimbledon. He was joined by Simona Halep at the Champion's Ball, after the Romanian swept aside Serena Williams in the women's final. We sort through both finals, and the notable matches of Wimbledon's second week, before wading into some of the notable off-court happenings since our last episode. Chief among these: the Konta press conference and Serena addressing the 2018 U.S. Open. 01:00 The much talked about Djokovic-Federer final 16:20 How we got to the men's final 19:40 What in the HELL happened to the younger guys? 23:12 How Simona did THAT 26:54 Where it went wrong for Serena 34:43 The Simona-Tiriac-Nastase nexus as strong & troubling as ever 41:46 How we got to the women's final 45:38 Don't patronize me: the Jo Konta press conference 52:00 Doubles results, Tomic docked, and Muguruza dumps Sumyk 60:01 Serena writes about U.S. Open final, we discuss

Week one of Wimbledon is in the books and we're back to recap the carnage, the drama, and the surprises. Without question, Coco Gauff was the biggest story through the first three rounds; her win over Venus Williams was part of an onslaught of suffering for some of the biggest names. We talk her magical run, the Nadal-Kyrgios match, the latest ATP Council drama, before taking a look at the remaining 32 players in the men's and women's draws. 02:05 Seeds and such: oh, the carnage 08:34 Segueing into Coco Gauff's dream run 22:42 Nadal-Kyrgios delivered on the court 30:12 Parmentier dances on Maria's grave & Fabio's latest 36:31 Stan's doing the MOST. Why? 37:46 Novak, Gimelstob, and more ATP Council DRAMA 47:55 What we're not being told: reading between the lines 53:41 Andy and Serena headline Mixed Doubles 58:04 Serena caught up in manufactured drama 61:44 Perusing the remaining singles matches

It's a short turnaround and a holiday weekend in Canada, so we're bringing you our Wimbledon preview from the car, driving down I-90 in Upstate New York. We touch on a few of the off-court rumblings from the past few weeks, including the history-repeats-itself row over Wimbledon seeding, Coco Gauff's historic achievement, and Serena's Wheaties debut. We finish with an analysis of the men's and women's draws, armed with the knowledge that our predictions could be moot in a matter of days. 1:50 Let's get the seeding drama out of the way 6:30 Fed Cup gets the Davis Cup treatment - 12-team final in Budapest in April 9:15 Herbert pauses the Mahut bromance to play doubles with Sir Andrew Murray 12:05 Serena on the Wheaties box! 14:35 Coco Gauff becomes youngest Wimbledon qualifier in Open Era, gets Venus Williams in Round 1 19:30 What's on the agenda for ATP Players Council? 23:00 37-year-old Feliciano Lopez wins Queens Club singles and doubles, stays on court for roughly 95 hours over the weekend 26:00 Getting to the draws - who has a shot here? 34:30 Women's draw analysis: I know we've said this before, but the women's top quarter is absolutely, historically stacked 44:20 Men's draw analysis: Rafa and Roger land on same side, Anderson's grass performance does him a huge favor in the seedings

As tennis transitions to grass, we're scrambling to catch up on the post-Roland Garros results, beefs, surprises, and clunky, poorly conceived solutions to ongoing problems. Barty is steps away from the no. 1 ranking, Berrettini eases onto the turf, Felix's rise continues unabated. Since it's Pride Month, we're giving a mini-reprise of last year's Pride episode: looking at the difference between genuine allyship and tokenism, how capital subsumes real LGBTQ issues, and what Taylor Swift has to do with it. 2:00 ATP retroactively counting Laver Cup matches in head-to-heads ... huh? 5:50 A thought experiment on alternative ranking systems 16:00 A propos of nothing, the US Open says they want to allow coaching during matches, delighting Patrick Mouratoglous everywhere 24:45 Grass results: Garcia wins, Vekic gets frustrated, Berrettini & Felix take to the grass 31:30 More grass: Venus charms in Birmingham, Barty eases into the grass season, Sir Andrew Murray returns! 36:35 WTA finally acknowledges its LGBTQ fans 42:30 Marco Trungelliti blows the whistle on match fixing, gets trashed by fellw players 46:00 What Jonathan is mad about: Sania Mirza getting blamed for the Pakistani cricket team's loss 51:20 Discussion: how to feel about the proliferation of corporate Pride branding? What is for-profit queerness? Do we risk straight people co-opting and blunting the force of queer politics? You know, really laidback stuff like that.

What happen-ed at Roland Garros: Rafa Nadal leaves Paris with a TWELFTH title and Ash Barty with her unexpected first. Dominic Thiem made further strides up the ATP mountain, but fell just short to a ruthless Nadal, again. The women's draw saw a stampede of dark horses make the second week, cementing the WTA as a tour ripe with would-be winners. All that plus wind, rain, scheduling mishaps, and Madison Keys hunting down a towel snatcher on this recap episode of the 2019 French Open. 01:59 Ash Barty surprises and delights in her maiden Slam singles run 16:45 The weather causes poor scheduling, yet again 21:39 Konta's resurgence, fatigue in defending the WTA, and defending Jo 32:43 The other decimation that happened in Paris: Nadal's duodécimo 46:41 Fed's ball launch: subjectivity falls in favour of some while it doesn't for others 49:23 In defence of Nole, despite his "I'd like to speak to your supervisor" disposition 53:51 Holding organizers responsible for their shit decisions rather than blaming players 61:49 Double take: Kiki's TIME at world #1 and Thiem's #1 supporter 69:40 Rankings watch: Naomi & Ash top the WTA & a pair of new ATP top 10 entrants 73:29 Madison rectifies, James judges Simona, and G.E.M.S. Life vanishes

We've made it through the first week of the 2019 French Open, and as you might imagine, there is LOTS to talk about. Before the tournament even began, we were dealt a few high-profile withdrawals that affected the shape of the draws. We discuss those as well as the big upsets in the opening rounds. Nonetheless, both the men's and women's fields are nicely poised heading into Championship Weekend, with breakthrough runs mixed in with some of the usual suspects doing what they do best. As usual, some of the biggest news was made off the court; we cover the latest Serena Williams drama after her third round loss. 02:05 Kicking things off with some notable WTA performances 14:53 Let's talk about Sloane Stephens 21:00 Assessing Serena's three matches & where she's at 28:15 Virgil A-blah & our lukewarm reaction to Serena's kit 33:15 Unnecessary sets, and the top men progressing nicely 36:34 Zverev is still alive and kicking, and condescending 39:37 Tsitsipas' pedigree on full display, so too his gamesmanship 51:21 A not-so-good, pretty bad tournament for the Canadians 59:35 Fandom as a fetish: tennis twitter going off the rails 63:24 The Serena-Thiem affair: the misinformation campaign 78:54 Lucie Safarova, one of the good ones, hangs up her racquet

Roland Garros starts with a cracking schedule on Sunday ... settle in for our draw analysis and wide-ranging conversation about the clay season, the democratization of the men's clay events, and some odds and ends. How will Naomi fare as a first-time no. 1 seed? Will Novak complete Novak Slam 2.0? Will we get another first-time women's Slam winner? 3:00 A Redistribution of wealth in the clay season 6:15 Men's draw: Djokovic gets Thiem, Rafa gets Fed/Tsitsipas 12:00 The unpredictable men's 3rd quarter and Rafa's soft draw 20:30 What it means that Roger is back; and resisting "grace" 24:50 Women's draw: first time no. 1 Osaka gets a wild draw 30:20 What to make of Serena, troll extraordinaire 36:30 3rd quarter: Sloane the star, Venus/Elina, Muguruza, Bertens, Bencic 49:40 4th quarter: will dark horses Vondrousova or Mladenovic take out the consistent Pliskova? 53:35 Nick Kyrgios spends a week "managing expectations," then withdraws 55:30 Sir Andrew Murray expects to play doubles at Wimbledon 58:00 We asked y'all what you were looking forward to 1:05:50 Katie Boulter didn't do anything wrong, for the record ... 1:09:00 Bigging up #KinderGirlWorld Day, props to Madison Keys

We're back from our big trip with a big (way too long) episode. It's not entirely our fault, there were two massive tournaments the past two weeks, and some major off court happenings to cover as well. We begin with a recap of Madrid and the questionable dealings of Ion Tiriac before getting into the action in Rome. While it was a pretty tragic time for us at the Foro Italico, it was the site of a return to glory for Rafael Nadal. We segue into the Nick Kyrgios drama that dominated the tennis news cycle as well as the latest updates from the ATP Board election saga. We couldn't end the episode without a few (disappointed) words about the Game Of Thrones final season and even worse finale. 01:20 Thanks for the well wishes, a few words on our trip 06:04 Ion Tiriac, Madrid, and his war against the WTA 11:37 Where the Madrid women's trophy at?! 14:26 Our dire thoughts on the Rome tournament 25:19 What happen-ed in Rome happen-ed 35:50 A resurgent turn for many of the women in Rome 41:06 A tale of two gay stories: Janowicz and Ferrer 48:41 Nick Kyrgios had a WEEK 59:13 Djokovic and the latest ATP Board developments 76:41 Game of Thrones finale: yes or mess?

The Body Serve is back, answering your thoughtful and tough questions with -- we hope -- a bit of knowledge and a lot of honesty. Although we recorded this previously, we believe the questions are still topical, relevant, and fascinating. Thanks to all who submitted questions; the below list doesn’t even cover all of them! 2:20 Jonathan asks James a gotcha question! 6:45 What are our 3 favorite pop duets? (or in Jonathan’s case, like 10 (Thuan, @delsarto13) 13:00 Who is the player you most disagree on? Any players one of us is a big fan of, and the other is not? (Stuart Masheter, @topsmmash) 22:15 What is the deal with appearance fees? (Julian, @holdmyracquet) 29:00 Tackling the many questions on the Gimelstob situation 37:45 Which women should the ATP be recruiting to run for its board? (Tyler Green, @TylerGreenBooks) 41:00 Which tournaments would you add, remove, upgrade, or relocate? (Arun, @arknight12) 47:00 Game of Thrones characters as tennis players (Peter, @thaiguy84) 50:55 Do you think any young WTA player (

Dominic Thiem absolutely bodied the Barcelona field to join Federer as the only two-time titlists on the ATP Tour this season. Petra Kvitova's turn as renaissance woman and most consistent player of the WTA continued in Stuttgart, leaving her oh-so-close to finally ascending to world #1. Of course, we revisit the ongoing Justin Gimelstob saga and get you updated on the latest shenanigans. Oh, and have you heard, Sloane Stephens got engaged! 01:21 Dominic BODIES his way to the Barcelona title 08:53 Petra Kvitova the WTA renaissance woman 12:18 Vika's back? A chat about her comeback 22:30 Rafa makes it CLEAR where he stands on equal pay yet again 31:37 From queer excellence to straight fuckery 33:08 Gimelstob can't stop, won't stop 38:48 Gimelstob's narcissism stays jumping out 48:04 Fiiiiiiinally, folks in tennis are starting to speak up 51:59 Why are we still here? For what? And at what cost? 57:10 #RoadToRome candidates and some juicy petty tidbits 61:40 Andreescu injury, Genie coaching split, and Sloane's big news!

This week on The Body Serve, we've got a surprising week in Monte Carlo to recap, an exciting weekend strewn across the globe in Fed Cup, and a resolution to the Justin Gimelstob court case. Fabio Fognini beat Rafael Nadal in the Monte Carlo semis on his way to a maiden Masters 1000 title. Meanwhile, Ash Barty and Sam Stosur headlined the Fed Cup action, leading Australia to its first final in over 25 years! We finish the episode with an expanded discussion on the developments in the Justin Gimelstob case, and what it means for his place in tennis going forward, among other things... 01:01 A surprising loss for Rafa in Monte Carlo? 04:59 The Princes of Clay not up to the task in week one 09:00 Fognini's past and how it frames his present 15:32 Team Australia headlines Fed Cup semifinal weekend 20:46 The reunited Garcia/Mladenovic tandem take out Romania 23:15 Great Britain, despite the drama, advances to World Group II 32:02 Gimelstob pleads no contest to felony assault 35:52 The weak responses from Tennis Channel and the ATP 43:25 Gimelstob begins the process of re-integrating himself into tennis 48:00 What is it about this situation that renders so many mute?

The clay season is upon us and Sloane Stephens is tired of f#@*ing losing! We recap the last two weeks since we've been away, starting with the action in Charleston where Madison Keys scored an impressive title win on the green clay. Other tidbits: Sveta is back! Muguruza bosses Monterrey, and Anisimova wins her maiden WTA title. We offer an ATP clay season preview, before segueing into a spirited discussion on Patrick Mouratoglou's latest bout of opinions. Also, look out for the return of The Rant at the end of the episode! 01:50 Madison matures on the green clay of Charleston 07:40 WTA roll call: Muguruza, Azarenka, Anisimova, Sveta, Swiatek 12:28 ATP roll call: Paire, Andujar, Garín, and Sandgren's big streak (of losing) 19:54 ATP clay court preview: much of the same but a bit more 23:58 Alexander Zverev in a precarious position 32:32 Mouratoglou has opinions on how to save tennis, and so do we 53:43 The Tsitsipas/Medvedev feud LIVES! 55:24 A golf diversion: Tiger Woods wins The Masters 63:42 The Rant: you'll have to tune in to find out

Ash Barty and Roger Federer closed out the Sunshine Swing with titles at the Miami Open. For Barty, it was the biggest win of her career, and one that catapulted her into the WTA top 10 for the first time. Federer, fresh off a finals loss the week before at Indian Wells, went one further to add trophy #101 to his collection. The Canadian takeover of tennis continued to take hold as Auger-Aliassime made the semifinals before losing to repeat finalist, John Isner. We cap the episode with a discussion on the difficulties of making a living from covering tennis, and why it's vitally important to welcome as many diverse voices to the table as possible. 02:51 Vegemite Queen dripping in power and finesse 08:31 In celebration of the superb, underestimated Hsieh 12:56 The weekly battle for WTA #1 continues 15:35 A whole, grown ass, salty loser: Kerber v Andreescu 24:25 The potpourri of f*^kery surrounding Isner and his "niceness" 28:22 Federer wins #101 in tip top form 33:33 Felix just can't wait to be king 41:29 HOW DARE YOU?! say anything bad about the Miami Open 46:27 A discussion on covering tennis for a living...or not

Bianca Andreescu's coming out party continued in a big way by winning the Indian Wells title. The breakthrough theme in the "tennis paradise" also featured a first Masters 1000 title for Dominic Thiem, rendering Roger Federer beaten finalist for a second successive year. We recap some of the other notable performances on both sides of the draw before getting into a discussion of how the ATP is failing in its efforts to police the dissemination of its product on social media. Lastly, James takes a quiz about his favourite tournament on the tennis calendar. 03:05 She the north, but where can we watch her? 17:33 Other notable performances from the women at Indian Wells 19:30 Venus vs Petra: to squawk or not to squawk or when to squawk 27:50 Serena's illness & her terrible volleys? 32:08 The harnessing of Dominic Thiem 37:50 Nadal's knee, Nole's loss, and Denis' rapping 46:31 The ATP policing dissemination of its product on social media 50:57 James takes a quiz on his beloved Indian Wells

The calendar is ratcheting up - March brings the Sunshine Double, with all its excesses, star power, and crackling match-ups. Our IW ambivalence aside, this week has already given us the Vika-Serena reunion, Petra & Venus, and Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime achieving yet another first. We also cover the ATP governance drama, Martina's wheel-and-come-again on the trans athlete argument, and Osaka's strikingly perceptive words in The Undefeated. 2:30 The star power of Nick Kyrgios, when he wants it 14:20 Roger Federer joins the 100 club! Jimmy Connors is shaking 18:00 Naomi Osaka names Jermaine Jenkins head coach 21:30 Serena & Vika reignite their rivalry, and it doesn't disappoint 31:15 Felix Auger-Aliassime quietly, methodically gets his first top 10 win 37:30 An update on the ATP governance shake-up: Kermode is out, but who is in? 50:45 Martina Navratilova is back with another essay on trans women in sport ... but is it better? Taking on the straw man argument. 60:10 Genie Bouchard moves into film production - a rom-com classic is coming 64:10 Will Smith to play Richard Williams on screen 67:00 The fascinating, thoughtful Osaka interview from The Undefeated - her place in things

On the occasion of our Sesquicentennial, we thank all our listeners, both old and now, who have been along for the ride. We recap all the tennis news from the past two weeks and the winners on both tours: Bencic, Monfils, Opelka, Mertens, Cecchinato, Albot, Djere, Tstitsipas, and Van Uytvanck. We chat about the Osaka-Tsitsipas social media mess, as well as Naomi's words on her split with Sascha Bajin. Finally, we try to grapple with the mess that Martina Navratilova has gotten herself into. 03:26 Recapping a long list of winners the last fortnight 06:25 The dire Long Island Open gets a lift 13:52 Bend it like Bencic in Dubai, if you can! 20:14 Our Québécois fav busts out in Rio 27:44 Tsonga to miss Indian Wells due to Sickle Cell Trait 31:29 What in the hell was Stefanos thinking?! 36:47 Osaka talks Bajin breakup 45:18 Martina Navratilova and her controversial op-ed 68:55 Sometimes you need to call something by its name

February can be a moment for tennis to catch its breath. But Fed Cup brought us some cracking match-ups, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga re-entered the top 200, and everyone's favorite maybe-catfish started and suspended a GoFundMe. Naomi Osaka stopped the world (momentarily) when she announced that her winning partnership with Sascha Bajin has ended. Plus, we finally catch up with the shakeups and infighting in the ATP Players' Council and Board of Directors. 1:20 Tsonga is back and he's spectacular (or; I will be your father figure) 5:45 Fed Cup blockbusters: Czech team loses at home, Ash-stralia takes out USA 13:30 The Darko saga continues - stop snitching and enjoy the drama, folks 21:45 Serena re-enters the top 10 23:35 Naomi Osaka shocks the tennis world by announcing split with Sascha Bajin 27:00 Maybe there's not actually any "there" there 40:00 Catching up with the ATP governance shakeup 54:45 Questions to consider moving forward: does the anti-Kermode wing reflect the views of most players? Is there a push for unionization among the rank and file? 57:00 Things we dislike (we disagree on that) and things we like (Netflix's One Day at a Time)

We're here to wrap the 2019 Australian Open: crowning a new WTA number 1 and watching Novak make history with his 15th major. Petra Kvitova came close to her first major off grass, Rafa Nadal stunned until he didn't, and the ATP Next Gen inched forward; while one member of the WTA Next Gen won 2 straight majors and took over the sport entirely. Stick around for a critique of "race science," the minefield of Naomi's racial identity, and why the locker room needs to remain private (oh hi, John McEnroe). 02:30 Naomi Osaka becoming the woman to beat 10:30 Petra! Don't call it a comeback! 17:00 The other women's late-stage women's matches: Pliskova's improved movement, Serena's loss 22:45 Why do y'all want us to drag Danielle Collins? 30:00 Men's final: Novak raises his level to neutralize Nadal's strengths 41:45 Other happenings on the men's side: Tsitsipas stared into the abyss and doesn't like what he sees 44:00 Stosur & Zhang win doubles title - Zhang's first major and Stosur's first Aussie 46:20 When what happens in the locker room doesn't stay in the locker room 49:00 Talking about black athletes with race pseudoscience 57:30 John McEnroe's naked obsession with Rafa's naked body ... wtf? 63:00 Men's tennis manspreading into women's tennis -- how microaggressions become a 50-year pattern 71:05 Naomi Osaka's fraught and contested racial identity

We're checking in midway through this Australian Open, marked by a few welcome breakouts but high quality match-ups on the horizon. This episode's title borrows from Frances Tiafoe's impromptu description of Amanda Anisimova's decimation of Aryna Sabalenka. We recap the matches, the controversies, the fashion, and the issue that won't die: mid-match coaching. 1:00 Andy Murray says goodbye ... for now ... maybe 5:30 Tsitsipas takes down 2-time defending champ Federer 8:40 Frances Tiafoe, an American many forgot 15:00 5 US women in the 4th round, and not who we thought 20:25 #HatchingandSnatching: Anisimova snatches the wig snatcher 25:45 Danielle Collins, a curious but certainly not boring figure 31:10 Serena storms through first few rounds 35:45 What's left in this draw: who is going to be the women's number one? Is RBA the real deal? 48:45 Walk walk fashion baby: Serena's romper; Rafa's sleeveless; and Nike rocks the classic black & white but misses with bunchy, ill-fitting skirts and shorts 54:00 Vika's revealing press conference 55:45 The "rules are rules" brigade created a monster: the double standard detectives 1:04:50 Get your G.E.M.S. life

It's not easy to say goodbye to Andrew Murray -- and we're not saying goodbye yet. But, we begin our Australian Open preview with a tribute to the authentic, generous, straight-to-the-point Scot who has changed our sport forever. It's not all doom and gloom: we also talk through this week's results and the Australian Open Heat Stress Scale, followed by an analysis of both the men's and women's draws. We conclude with an update on the ever-tempestuous ATP leadership battles; this time, the Board will vote on Kermode's future, and what a Board it is. 1:00 Appreciating Andy Murray: present tense only 18:00 Results from this week: Kvitova and Barty beat a boatload of AO contenders between them 21:45 The new Australian Open heat protocol: you down with AOHSS? 26:40 Women's draw - "dangerous floaters" and the Simona-Serena-Venus quarter of death 38:15 Women's bottom half - we disagree on whether the women's draw is lopsided 43:40 A diversion on Sloane Stephens and star power - the mainstream press isn't sure what to do with her 52:15 Men's draw: who could possibly stop Novak from getting to the final? 1:01:00 Men's bottom half is crowded af 1:03:30 ATP Board set to vote on Kermode's contract ... digging into the almighty mess that is men's tennis governance

Welcome to our Season FIVE opener. Our brief offseason is over and week one of the 2019 season caught us off guard with SO MUCH action right off the bat. We recap the seven titlists who emerged from the first week of play before tackling some of the offseason happenings while we were away. We have a message for the fandoms, a few things we're keeping our eyes on for the season, as well as a few predictions. The episode wraps with a dip into our listener mailbag as we attempt to tackle your questions with a bit of (hopefully) levity. 02:59 Week one results: 7 champions crowned 22:45: #SaveHopmanCup and its unique place in the tennis landscape 29:40: Injury updates & Sveta's Insta prowess 32:37 AO super tiebreak rule change 36:50 To the left, to the left: Venus cleans house 39:23 This is who they are: ATP elects Stakhovsky AGAIN 41:08 Calling all fandoms: let Naomi be, sit there & eat your food 47:45 A few things we'll be keeping our eyes on in 2019 53:23 Our 2019 year-end top 10 picks & breakout/comeback candidates 60:46 Listener mailbag: thanks for all your submissions!

As our fourth cycle comes to a close, we recap the men's tour with its continued Big 3 dominance, Djokovic's herculean comeback, and NextGen banging on the door (well, more like politely ringing the doorbell). We look at the latest Gimelstob debacle as a mess that tennis governing bodies made for themselves, one that echoes MeToo stories across every industry, and which the sport continued to ignore and pave over until things blew up spectacularly. Finally, we finish with some levity: our TBSMoments awards, including feel-good moments, WTF moments, and most bizarre off-season story. 01:00 Who won the big titles this year? Is the Big 3 still a thing? Yep. 13:00 Rankings leaps and tumbles: NextGen isn't quite here yet, but they're really close 22:40 The Gimelstob Debacle: Tennis has a whole mess on its hands, much of its own making 33:30 Tennis governance and how conflicts of interest can rot an organization from the inside out 38:50 Why the resounding silence from the tennis world? 48:35 Other controversies: Novak sparks unionization rumors, Sandgren comes out as an Alt-Right dabbler, Darko gets exposed(?) 55:40 Retirements and comebacks 57:45 Our favorite and most impactful matches of the year 61:00 Jonathan takes a quiz on the ATP season - play along at home! 68:15 The #TBSMoments awards, starting with Denis Shapovavovavorlov, WTF moments, and wildest off-court story 72:00 Men being d---s ... as always, fertile ground on the ATP Tour 75:55 Finishing this season with Feel-Good Moment and the You Did THAT Moment

We consider a WTA season that was by turns tumultuous and gratifying, full of tedious controversies and long-awaited breakouts. This episode takes on the major themes of 2018, the title winners, the comebacks and retirements, a few surprising events that almost faded from memory, and our #TBSMoments. Oh, and as if 2018 wasn't annoying enough, take our WTA Quiz alongside James. 02:00 Who won what? Parity was the name of the game 13:10 How'd we do on predictions? Well, there's a reason we don't usually make them 17:00 Moving on up (and down) 23:45 Matches that stood out ... most of them feature Simona 27:40 #RememberTheTime 35:55 Moments that had people mad this year: Miami crowd, Pliskova lumberjack, the endless Serena controversies, Peng gets snitched upon 51:15 Your favorite comebacks of the year, and a few farewells 56:30 Quick update on WTA streaming and Tennis Channel 58:05 James takes a quiz on the WTA season! 68:00 Our #TBSMoments: first up, funniest moment of the year 72:00 WTF Moment: the Plisko-chop 75:10 The You DID THAT Moment and Feel-Good Moment

Y'all know by now we're a pair of Mariah stans, and we are HERE for her new album. We chat briefly about her tightly spun new effort at the top of the show, before segueing into the tennis action. Zverev and Tsitsipas won the ATP & Next Gen Finals respectively, two banner results for the future of the ATP. The meat and potatoes of this episode is a convo about conflicts of interests in tennis, precipitated by an interview given by Julien Benneteau. We finish with a new segment called, "Yes or MESS," before bidding adieu to Aga Radwanska and Lucie Safarova. 03:15 Going the distance: Zverev wins ATP Finals 13:47 Proceed with caution: On-court advertising boards 16:14 Thank you, next (gen): Tsitsipas runs the board in Milan 18:26 A No No: Federer & conflicts of interest 29:05 GTFO: We ain't buying it, Craig Tiley 40:00 Giving Me Life: Yes or MESS (New Segment!) 50:50 (No longer) With You: Coaching carousel continues 53:46 Portrait of a career: Farewell, Aga & Lucie

It seems like we've been talking about the next generation of ATP players a lot recently, and Karen Khachanov keeps that trend going with a massive first Masters 1000 title in Paris. Elsewhere, the WTA officially ends its season with Ash Barty hoisting the trophy in Zhuhai. Although he was unable to keep his win streak going, Djokovic leaves Paris with the #1 ranking secured into 2019. We talk a bit about the upcoming ATP & #NextGen Finals, before finishing the episode with more news in the ongoing tennis culture crisis of ballkid abuse. 00:32 Khachanov rides momentum to dream week in Paris 04:09 Federer shows up and shows out vs Nole 08:01 Hats off to Ash Barty and her beautiful game 20:33 Luksika Kumkhum winning out loud 24:57 Rafa shuts it down, has ankle surgery? 27:42 Nole secures year-end #1 for a 5th time 31:55 What next for the Saudi exhibition? 34:28 James goes to bat for Isner at ATP finals 37:48 The #NextGenFinals sowing some good seeds 50:04 Yet again: THESE ARE CHILDREN!

Elina Svitolina ran the table in Singapore to secure the biggest title of her career. Meanwhile, Sloane Stephens has shown -- to us and herself -- that her standing in the game cannot be denied. Other topics on offer this episode: Wozniacki reveals her arthritis diagnosis, Grigor's alarming hairline, the absurd Sampras "boring" debate, and the growing calls for Rafole to abandon their Saudi exhibition. Thanks as always for listening! 03:10 Svitolina reverses course, goes undefeated to win Singapore 09:55 Sloane makes herself undeniable 13:12 What next for Svitolina & the Year End Championships 20:05 9s across the board for Federer & other ATP results 29:01 Wozniacki's big, worrying news in Singapore 31:50 Long story very short: Grisha, where your follicles at?! 35:44 To play or not to play: A Saudi saga 47:41 The boring Sampras debate and considering him as tragic figure 53:08 Tennis Jesus shows Verdasco how to apologize 58:42 How NOT to do a Naomi Osaka costume: NO BLACKFACE