The Body Serve

The denouement of the clay season is upon us with the dawning of the French Open. We're back to preview the year's second major with the help of some of our listeners. We solicited questions specific to Roland Garros, and you all came through big time; we structure our draw analysis through your thoughtful offerings. After parsing through the draws, we finish with a few thoughts on the protected seeding drama that erupted again this week. 02:26 Women's draw dark horses 09:34 Muguruza or Ostapenko: who will fare better? 13:57 Players who'll benefit/suffer most from lack of on-court coaching 16:40 Is this the beginning of the end for Aga? 20:00 Other women's draw observations 30:18 Men's dark horses 34:45 Who will be Nadal's fiercest competition? 37:10 The Big 4 as super coaches 42:18 FMK Frenchies edition: Pouille, Chardy, and PHH 44:26 Other men's draw observations 52:06 Wading into the protected seeding WTA issue again Recommended reading: A Maternity Leave Policy for the WTA by @BadToss

Rafa Nadal rights the ship on clay with a gritty win over Sascha Zverev, and Svitolina defends her Rome title with far less drama. We also cover Francoise Abanda's charges of racial discrimination, Sascha Zverev's stunning hot streak, Djokovic's resurgence, and we spend a good while on our See What Had Happened Was: Karolina Pliskova's shocking tantrum in Rome. 1:40 Il Re della terra battuta: Rafa wins 8th Rome title 4:45 Sascha Zverev's game is steadily improving (except the volley) - expect him to change his fortunes at majors 10:00 Djokodal 51 - great signs for a resurgent Novak 15:20 Elina Svitolina defends Rome title, winning 8 straight finals 19:30 The Sharapova-Halep semifinal was - well, it was something 26:50 Canadian no. 1 Francoise Abanda addresses racism in tennis 34:00 #SeeWhatHadHappenedWas: Karolina Pliskova melts down, smashes umpire's chair 40:55 What would be the reaction had someone else done this? (Take your pick) 45:00 The umpire was wrong, Karolina was wrong, but only one of them acted with aggression and malice

The show is back from a two-week hiatus to discuss more clay court tennis! Rafa Nadal got to a record 50 consecutive sets won before bowing out to Dominic Thiem, who in turn bowed out to Zverev two matches later in the Madrid final. Petra Kvitova continued her awe-inspiring run with a third title in Madrid, this after taking the title in Prague the week before. We rag on Shapovalov and Patrick Mouratoglou, take a deep dive into Cornet's ITF ruling, then finish up with a few tennis etceteras. 01:28 #Thirev is a thing? The Bel-Ami Madrid final 07:11 A few clay tangents and musings 10:40 Phallic with a real sense of danger 14:49 The most positive Sharapova segment we've ever done 17:21 Petra won't stop winning, and other WTA standouts 25:00 Taking the piss out of Shapovalov and his "haters" 32:00 Serena is playing Roland Garros? Lord God Patrick says so 35:39 The Cornet case: did they make every reasonable effort? 49:40 Results we missed, injury updates, and Vinci's farewell

Rafael Nadal continued his clay dominance with a second El Undécimo, this time in Barelona. We begin episode 121 with a look at some of the stats within his streak of 46 consecutive sets won on clay. Our #SeeWhatHadHappenedWas features Grigor Dimitrov's "as a man" moment in Barcelona, and we highlight (if you can call it that) some of the coaches who chimed in on social media last week. The episode wraps with a look at Serena's profile in the New York Times, and a Riverdale Daddy FMK. 00:35 46 problems but a set ain't one 04:39 Tsitsipas on the come up and disappointing Domi 10:27 Pliskova halts Vandeclay's Stuttgart surge 18:00 #SeeWhatHadHappenedWas: Grigor as a power top? 25:42 Coaches chiming in all over the place 29:02 Simona, THOSE Romanian men, and the responsibility of #1 35:02 Townsend and Eubanks doing big things 37:15 Taking stock of Maria, 12 months back from suspension 47:04 Serena's profile in the NYT 56:02 FMK: Riverdale Daddy Edition

After an injury-riddled start to 2018, Rafael Nadal returned to his best in Monte Carlo. The King Of Clay won the tournament for the 11th time, while Novak Djokovic made signs of progress in an encouraging three match stretch. Some tennis folks have gone "a step too far" and we give our takes on Jared Donaldson, the continued disregard for player safety, and Caroline Wozniacki's foot-in-mouth syndrome. We finish the episode with a typical pop culture diversion via a Grown-ish/Riverdale FMK. 03:53 Rafa masters Monte Carlo for the 11th time 10:56 Clay Kei is back and we're here for it 12:02 Other Monte Carlo assessments 17:24 The "inevitability" of Rafa on clay & not getting his due 23:06 A step too far: Jared Donaldson loses control 30:39 When tournaments give zero fucks about player safety 37:28 Fed Cup: Sloane secures the bag...and the tie 44:34 Many steps too far: Who are you, Darko Grncarov?! 48:08 Wozniacki still (rightfully) mad about Miami, steps in it 60:44 FMK - Grown-ish and Riverdale edition @Hypotemuse wrote a piece on John Isner and why it's OK to push back on his politics. Give it a read!

Before the clay season kicks into gear, we're bringing you a mixed bag of topics: Madison Brengle alleging mistreatment at the hands of the WTA and anti-doping authorities; the controversy over the Davis Cup proposal seems to be heating up; Aussie favorite Casey Dellacqua retires from tennis; and we discuss the ways players create branded images and connect with fans outside of the traditional press. Stay tuned for our new segment on divas, the first of which celebrates our fave Mariah Carey. 4:15 Players' self-presentation through social media - how the relationship with traditional media has changed 13:20 Madison Brengle files suit against the WTA and ITF over anti-doping practices 24:05 ITF chief hits back over Davis Cup proposal amidst rumors of player discontent (h/t @markalannixon) 28:30 Does the Davis Cup overhaul pass the eye test? Just who will benefit? 33:00 Farewell to Casey Dellacqua, who retired from tennis this week 36:30 Jonathan takes a quiz on clay court tennis - take the quiz at home! 48:45 Our new segment Diva: our foundational diva, Mariah Carey, and her brave statement this week on her bipolar disorder

Jonathan is back in Toronto after his trip to Charleston for the Volvo Car Open, and reunites with James to bring you #118. On deck for this episode: the WTA's uphill battle for equal footing with the ATP, a reflection on Naomi Osaka and her openness, Cornet's conundrum, the Davis Cup echo chamber, and #ThingsWeLike. 01:26 Tying up some Charleston odds and ends 05:37 The WTA's constant struggle for a piece of the pie 11:05 Naomi's sense of wonder and vulnerability 24:30 Bertens wins in Charleston, Muguruza secures her bag 28:01 Strike three: Cornet's whereabouts 34:36 Davis Cup weekend and James' misstep 39:52 The entrenched opinions surrounding proposed DC changes 48:01 Capital Tennis' out-of-nowhere statement on Tennys Sandgren 54:13 Shoutout to Carol, TBS listener Jonathan met in Charleston! 56:30 Things we like: Jesus Christ Superstar and Love, Simon

Episode 117 comes to you again from Charleston and Toronto. This time, Bri (@4thetennis) joins the show from the Volvo Car Open to "set the record straight" on all things Sloane and offer her insights on a potpourri of tennis topics. You will also hear from a handful of WTA players in a segment featuring audio from the players' All Access Hour in Charleston, before James makes his appearance to close the show with part two of our listener mailbag. This episode is a bit unorthodox, but we hope you enjoy! 1:00 Welcome our guest, General of the #SloaneHive, Bri! (@4thetennis) 2:45 Bri makes sure we put some respeck on Sloane's name 9:00 Talking Rafa's return, the state of Novak 17:20 On the ground in Charleston: Genie, Tortellini Queen, Stosur, college grads in women's tennis 28:00 Press goodies: Konta, Garcia, Keys; and Osaka talks Big Sascha 35:20 Listener Q&A: why hasn't WTA Rising Stars taken off like ATP NextGen? (@_clarkeshannon) 43:15 What would you change about tennis? (@gaygroundzero) 46:00 Who are your favorite (and least fav) tennis commentators? (also @gaygroundzero) 49:15 Where is the line when it comes to poking fun at your least favorite players? (@SholzTalks10s) 53:30 Will Sharapova return to the top 10 or is she done? (@michaelomusic) 56:50 What will it take for Novak to fix himself? (@TylerGreenDC)