No Challenges Remaining

It's been a minute, but Ben and Courtney are back together to tee up the 2018 U.S. Open draw and do a little catching up on things we missed or covered in our lost post-Wimbledon episode. First, the draws, which feature Serena Williams being dealt a gauntlet of her sister and Simona Halep, clearly the best player of the year. How do we assess the many threats in that quarter? And who else is well...

NCR was THRILLED to be able to partner with friend of the show Nick McCarvel for his "Open Playbook: Being Queer & Out in Pro Tennis" event on the Thursday before the U.S. Open at the Housing Works Bookstore in SoHo. After a quick intro chat between Ben and Nick, you'll here Nick host a panel featuring out gay former players Brian Vahaly and Casey Dellacqua, who share their different journeys of c...

Together in the Wimbledon Village, Ben and Courtney break down the women's and men's Wimbledon draws.  First, the women, where much handwringing ended with Serena Williams getting the #25 seed. Fair? We discuss. And how do things look for the favorites? And why are those in the know so stoked about Sabalenka-Niculescu.  On the men's side, is it interesting until clear favorite Roger Federer loses?...

In advance of the release of the Strokes of Genius documentary, Ben is joined by friend of the show Jon Wertheim, who wrote the book, literally, on the 2008 Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. We discuss what had made this match so exulted and immortal, what it takes to put together a production like this in the disjointed world of tennis, and how the match did (or didn't) chan...

Ben and Courtney go back to their curtain-pulling roots to bring you the wisdom of Eleanor Preston , who works as Media Manager at the Nature Valley Classic where B+C were this week, as well as other various roles in sporting events around the globe. We discuss credentialing (one of the things we're asked about most), press conferences, diversity in media, and much more. We then finish with a very...

Together in Birmingham, Ben and Courtney look back on the French Open, which ended with creative destruction. But before the "demolition party," there was Rafael Nadal's as-planned crushing of Dominic Thiem. How do we appreciate dominance while not being bored by the inevitable? What progress did Thiem show by reaching his first final? And why should no one be overly impressed by Sascha Zverev's r...

Ben and Courtney rendezvous in Paris once again to discuss the women's and men's French Open draws, which set up two very interesting tournaments (or maybe one and a half?) The women's side is full of intriguing and relevant match-ups throughout, especially the highly anticipated section with Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, and Karolina Pliskova. What can we expect from Garbine Muguruza? Can lig...

After an unintentionally long hiatus, Ben and Courtney are back together on the NCR airwaves from Paris, where they play a bit of catchup and try to set the table for the French Open ahead (with further draw dissection to come once it's out). First, has much really changed compared to this time last year? What do we expect of Serena, and what do we make of the controversy which has arisen about he...

Back from Indian Wells, Ben and Courtney start with a discussion of surprise champ Naomi Osaka, who won her first title at any level in emphatic fashion against a murderer's row of opponents. What caused her breakthrough now, and what should we expect for Naomi going forward? Also, it was the big stage (and press room) emergence of the runner up, Daria Kasatkina. Before that, what to make of the c...

Frequently frantic, February fades out with the latest chat between Ben and Courtney, who have lots to catch you up on. Topics covered include Frances Tiafoe's first title, Wozniacki-Niculescu beefing, Federer reaching #1, Serena Williams' long road ahead, Tennis Twitter falling for Darko Grncarov , Harrison-Young ugliness, the rise of Acapulco, and more! Lastly, a celebration of Logan Lucky and a...

After three days at a very different court than usual, Ben is joined by Daniel Kaplan of Sports Business Journal to briefly discuss Eugenie Bouchard's victory in the liability phase of her lawsuit against the United States Tennis Association. Speaking outside the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn, Ben and Daniel discuss the first three days of the trial, the test...

Ben and Courtney fled to opposite corners of the globe after the Australian Open, so just now bring you this show on the Grand Slam that was, in which second seeds Roger Federer and Caroline Wozniacki won their 20th, and first, respectively.  First, on the men. Why was closing the roof a correct, obvious decision? And indoors or outdoors, has it all gotten a bit too easy for Roger Federer at an ag...

Ben and Courtney are delighted to see their ersatz odometer click over to 200 with their dear friend Mary Carillo at the Australian Open (the 200th Grand Slam of the Open Era, no less!). She's our kind of people.  Mary, in Melbourne for Tennis Channel, is also in the midst of reporting for HBO's Real Sports about the controversy surrounding the Australian Open's Margaret Court Arena, which has fac...

Ben and Courtney are back in your ears after far too long, and are in Melbourne ready to tee up the first Grand Slam of 2018. On the women's side, we discuss the women who have surged to start the year (Halep, Kerber, Bencic...Giorgi?) and go through the draw thoroughly to find where openings might emerge.  On the men's side, Rafael Nadal is a clear draw winner, but there still manage to be lots o...

Ben and Courtney reunite on this packed episode and start with a discussion of the legacy of the late Jana Novotna, who passed away at age 49 due to cancer. How should her legendary breakdown and resilience continue to influence how we see the sport today? As the WTA and ATP seasons wrapped up, what did we learn about the respective year-end champs, Caroline Wozniacki and Grigor Dimitrov? Will eit...

While the best women battle it out in Singapore, we look ahead to the men's season wrapping up with guest Ricky Dimon back on the show to talk some men's tennis. How did everything get so flipped around in the Big 4 this year, and how does it set up 2018? Also, we go over our (unsubmitted) ATP awards ballots and dish out some before-and-after fun (full thing on our Facebook page). As always, thank...

With the field set for Singapore, Ben and Courtney look back at the fall that was, including the sudden surge of Caroline Garcia to defy the odds and grab a spot among the elite eight. On the men's side, Roger beat Rafa yet again--that means he's the best player of the year, right? And who gets our player of the year votes on the women's side? And how can we assess the field of play when it's all...

As she returns from covering the inaugural Laver Cup, NCR's Middle East correspondant Reem Abulleil chats with Ben about the new competition, which proved to be stunningly successful and compelling despite being an exhibition made out of thin air by Roger Federer's marketing team. What did Laver Cup get so right in its first try? Why were players so invested in it? And how can the stale and neglec...

The 2017 U.S. Open wrapped up with an unsurprising men's champ in Rafael Nadal and a very surprising women's champ in Sloane Stephens. How did we get there? We discuss. What do we make of how the draw broke in Rafa's favor? And how was Kevin Anderson the one able to seize the opportunity on the bottom half?  On the women's side, how did Sloane Stephens go from not being able to walk to playing her...

In one of the biggest and best Slam first rounds ever, Maria Sharapova beat #2 Simona Halep in three thrilling sets. Ben and Courtney didn't quite see that coming, so we break it down in this special Day 1 episode from the U.S. Open. What are Sharapova's chances going forward in what's turned into a very open quarter suddenly? There were some other upsets, too (Ferrer? Konta?). Also, Aleksandra Kr...

It's our U.S. Open preview show! Ben and Courtney catch up on the happenings of the hardcourt season, and make all the tough picks as we breakdown the women's and men's draws in New York this year. With Andy Murray's withdrawal the last of five from the ATP top 11, how should we feel about the men's field? And just how open is the women's draw, really, with eight women who can reach #1? Lots of fu...

To set the table for the upcoming US Open, Ben chats with two guys who see tennis through very different lenses. First up is Paul Annacone , a former ATP #12 and a past coach of Pete Sampras, Roger Federer, Tim Henman, and Sloane Stephens, who is out with his first book Coaching for Life.  We talk all sorts of aspects of coaching relationships, and how they evolve with a player's age and experienc...

Long-time friend of the show Lindsay Gibbs joins Ben this week to discuss the intersection of all sorts of societal issues--which she covers in her work as the sports reporter for Think Progress--specifically as they apply to the world of tennis, which has plenty of layers of equality and inequality, both visible and invisible. There's lots of work still to be done in women's tennis, even just how...

Wimbledon 2017 is done with two great champions in Garbine Muguruza and Roger Federer...but why does it still feel unsatisfying? On the letdowns that defined the second week of this tournament too often. Ben and Courtney talk about what their wins mean, why scheduling remains a crucial variable for both, and other various stories from the undercard draws at Wimbledon.  As always, thanks for liking...

Second week already? I was just in the middle of a dream (about flying ants, probably). With four rounds of Wimbledon in the books, Ben and Courtney chat about what has happened and what will at a Wimbledon that hadn't been super eventful, really, until Manic Monday clarified some things. What do we make of Angelique Kerber, who will depart the #1 ranking? Should Bernard Tomic face scorn for his c...