No Challenges Remaining

Trying to recreate a Paris tradition in podcast form, Ben and Ricky Dimon try to predict various happenings on Wednesday at the French Open, both on court and off. The questions range from straightforward (How many sets will Pironkova win? How many double faults will Zverev hit?) to more unusual (How many times will the word "ball" be said Nadal's press conference?) 21 prop questions in all, we ho...

We are joined on this Day 2 episode by one of the big winners of the day at Roland Garros: Alexander Bublik (aka Sasha Bubbles in NCRland) who knocked out #8 seed Gael Monfils in four sets. It's a relatively short chat but not short on material: Bublik covers everything from ambition to old men to underhand serving to Faust. And, if you're a Sasha Bubbles celebrator, good news: we'll have a more e...

The marquee matches of the day were both won in decisive straight sets, with Stan Wawrinka romping over Andy Murray, and Coco Gauff controlling play against Johanna Konta. Tumaini Carayol , NCR's newly-enshrined Spain and Sub-Saharan Africa correspondent, joins to discuss these matches and the reactions to them. Is giving a wild card to Murray debatable, as Mats Wilander claimed? Should Konta be l...

Another Slam approaches at a time of year which has never held a Slam before, so Ben and Courtney try to gather their physical and mental strength to take on what is shaping up to be an incredibly challenging Slam in many ways. We start with the women, where Simona Halep is a clear favorite, but parity abounds also in women's tennis, as always. Garbine Muguruza appears set for success, and Serena...

On September 23, 1970, women's professional sports were changed forever by the bravery of nine tennis players who defied the sport's authorities and signed $1 contracts to become professionals with Gladys Heldman, setting in motion what would become the WTA Tour we know today as the world's most successful women's professional sport. Kristy Pigeon, one of these "Original 9," joins from her home in...

On the week of a massive milestone anniversary in women's tennis history, Ben and Courtney set the table for a discussion of the Original 9, the group of women who broke away from the tennis establishment and risked their careers in order to make women's professional tennis into a viable sport on September 23, 1970. An interview with Kristy Pigeon, one of the nine, will be here on NCR soon, so Ben...

Desperately missing Rome as we miss out on covering the Italian Open for the first time in many years, Enrico Maria Riva joins from on the grounds of the Foro Italico to discuss what it's like being at the most sensory and vibrant tournament that suddenly is all but empty. Enrico, who works in television graphics, also discusses that side of the tournament, what changes have been made to televisio...

After a men's final that became a battle of nerves late, Dominic Thiem outlasted Sascha Zverev in a fifth set tiebreak to win the U.S. Open, his first Grand Slam title. Ben is joined on late notice by Reem Abulleil to discuss the scratchy final, in which Zverev started well but went back into his shell, which both players failed to serve out when they had the chance, and which became an exciting/e...

Naomi Osaka, making herself heard on court and off, won her third Grand Slam title on Saturday at the U.S. Open, coming back from 1-6, 0-2 down to beat Victoria Azarenka in the final. Ben and Courtney chat about the match, the incredibly impressive way Osaka has found her voice and her game, Victoria Azarenka's reemergence, who the current alpha is in women's tennis, and more. Also, Courtney gives...

We've got another voice from inside the U.S. Open bubble, man-of-the-people Mike Cation , on NCR to discuss the men's semifinals, from which Sascha Zverev and Dominic Thiem advanced to the final. It wasn't always pretty, especially not for Zverev. What should we think when Zverev, a guy we're convinced can be great wins so unconvincingly? And where does this result leave men's tennis as it seeks n...

The women put on an incredible display in their semifinal showcase on Thursday evening at the U.S. Open, with Victoria Azarenka beating Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka besting Jennifer Brady in two spectacular matches. Nick McCarvel , who was one of the 147 people watching Azarenka-Williams in Ashe (yes, he counted) joins Ben to discuss the experience, the matches, the two finalists set for a Satu...

Mary Carillo, NCR's favorite, joins Ben and Courtney for a third time as the U.S. Open gets to the business end of the draws, as we are now down to four semifinalists for both the men and women. What has it been like calling this completely different tournament from on site at the Open? What have been the unexpected revelations of this new landscape and soundscape? Why does the Chinese restaurant...

Pam Shriver is used to being on the very front lines of tennis reporting for ESPN, running around the grounds of tournaments, hunting down celebrities, coaches, drunk Scottish people on Henman Hill, or whoever else might have something worthwhile to say. In this very different 2020, Pam is at home during this U.S. Open , staying connected to the coverage from afar as she tries to balance work and...

With the U.S. Open reaching the quarterfinal stage, where the draws get considerably more manageable to process on a more granular basis, Courtney and Ben reconvene to reset the table for the feasts of tennis cooking for the men and women. The men's field is ordering off the kids menu, with the men's game tour finally guaranteed a new Grand Slam champion for the first time in six years. Who is bes...

We made a mega mid-Slam episode for today's shocking developments, as No. 1 Novak Djokovic, the prohibitive favorite, was defaulted from the U.S. Open in the first set of his fourth round match after striking a lineswoman in the throat with a ball. Courtney and Ben are joined by Reem Abulleil to discuss this moment, what it says about Djokovic and the rules of tennis, and where it leaves Djokovic...

As the first week of the U.S. Open wraps up, we get into (and hopefully wrap up) the story that dominated the first week: the fallout of Benoit Paire's positive coronavirus test last weekend, and the slow-but-severe effect it had on other players he had contacted before testing positive, ending with Kiki Mladenovic getting defaulted from the women's doubles draw to be quarantined fully in her Nass...

On a typically bizarre 2020 day in which New York Governor Andrew Cuomo had to rule on Adrian Mannarino's U.S. Open eligibility , we at NCR are delighted to bring you a cool, calming chat with Shelby Rogers , who solidified her great year by advancing to the fourth round of the U.S. Open on Friday. Shelby discusses how she used the quarantine time to work on herself physically, mentally, and spiri...

On a day at the U.S. Open on which its co-president Vasek Pospisil upset Milos Raonic, Ben chats about the new Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA, aka pihtihpihAHHH) with Amy Fetherolf , who knows her unions and her tennis. What to make of this new tennis union? Does it need to have more specific goals outlined as it's getting off the ground? What classic anti-union tactics are visible...

Ben and Courtney reconvene on Day 3 of the U.S. Open to recalibrate their forecasts for the top half of the women's draw, which saw top-seeded Karolina Pliskova knocked out, as well as somewhat surprising exits by Alison Riske, Marketa Vondrousova, and Dayana Yastremska. Who is well-positioned for success going forward? Who looks comfortable in these unusual conditions? Is Naomi Osaka a fair favor...

The second day of first round play included many impressive comebacks, both mid-match and several years in the making. Kim Clijsters played her first Slam match in eight years, Andy Murray won ( and stuck up for women again, as per ), and, in her first match in more than three years, Tsvetana Pironkova took advantage of the fast courts to lay a beatdown on Liudmila Samsonova. Ben and Courtney caug...

Day 1 of the U.S. Open was dominated by talk of the decisions made a day earlier, when a number of players who were in contact with Benoit Paire after his positive test for coronavirus were still allowed to play their matches , albeit under tighter restrictions which one referred to as "a bubble within a bubble." You'll hear from two of those double-bubbled players, Adrian Mannarino and Kiki Mlade...

As Ben and Courtney prepare watch and cover this U.S. Open from home, they check in with a buddy who has been on the ground in New York for "Cincinnati" and will be for the U.S. Open as well: Blair Henley , on-court interviewer to the stars and a woman of many varied talents in tennis. Blair discusses her journey through tennis from teaching pro to writer to YouTuber to on-court emcee, what makes...

Ben and Courtney break down the U.S. Open draw amid a tournament build-up which feels very different to that of a normal Grand Slam, particularly as we aren't even in New York this week.  We discuss the women's draw first, where 2018 champ Naomi Osaka impressed on and off the court during "Cincinnati" but comes in carrying a hamstring injury. What to make of Serena's form since the shutdown? Can K...

UPDATE: After Osaka initially withdrew from Thursday's semifinals, she has agreed to play on Friday after the entire day of play was postponed on Thursday.   Postponing the semifinals of the Western & Southern Open because of continuing police violence against Black people, Naomi Osaka joined an escalating wave of anti-racism athlete activism that began in basketball and has echoed across North Am...

For the first time in two-months-but-feels-like-much-longer, Courtney returns to an NCR episode! She graces us with her presence as we discuss tennis getting back underway in earnest now with a few weeks of the WTA Tour behind us and the New York swing of "Cincinnati" and the U.S. Open rapidly approaching. What do we make of the challenge of covering the sport remotely? Who has stood out in the on...