No Challenges Remaining

In this short-but-sweet episode, Ben checks in with Courtney, who is in Rome at the Italian Open this week. Does the tournament still have all its old charm? And what have we learned about the current young crop of players, especially on the men's side? What does this all mean, anyway, when it comes to Paris? And why does the Ukrainian Eurovision singer lady get carried onto the stage by a giant w...

In a very special Episode 38, Ben and Courtney discuss what was a huge weekend in tennis. Sloane went at Serena with her words in a revealing ESPN the Magazine interview that made us all afraid to ever unfollow anyone ever again. Then John Tomic (allegedly) went at his son's hitting partner with his head, in a bloodying Madrid throwdown.  Then we talk about the Madrid tournament itself, and if it...

In this episode, Ben and Courtney wrap the second week on red clay, which saw Maria Sharapova drive off in a Porsche, and Rafael Nadal continue to drive a bulldozer over nearly any clay court opponent.  We then discuss the coming out of NBA veteran Jason Collins, and the state of gays and lesbians in the tennis world. Why haven't more tennis players come out? We have thoughts. We then answer a que...

In this episode of No Challenges Remaining, Ben and Courtney slide into the clay season with all the gracefulness you'd expect. We discuss Novak Djokovic's surprising win over Rafael Nadal that ended his Monte Carlo monopoly.  We also dissect the massive prize money increases that have been awarded to players this year, what impact they will have, and if they were really necessary.  Then we answer...

On this special all-questions Episode 35, Courtney and Ben try to answer all those tennis questions that have kept you up at night.  Like, for instance, what has propelled Roberta Vinci to the top? Is on-court coaching embarrassing to the WTA or is it simply a case of anti-women's tennis bias? What kind of tweeter has Maria Sharapova turned out to be? And what about golf, which there was a lot of...

In Episode 34, Ben and Courtney wrap up their time in Charleston, which was more Jankovic-filled than they ever could have been prepared for.  We share with you some of the highlights of her press, and share what it is like to see her hold court off-court.  We also discuss the sister semifinalists Venus and Serena Williams, and give our thoughts on the documentary about the two which was released...

In Episode 33, Ben and Courtney are live in Charleston, where the pralines (and subsequently their waistlines) overfloweth.  We catch up on the Miami finals, including that last minor bit called a third set tiebreak that CBS decided not to show in lieu of college basketball.  We also discuss the happenings so far, including Courtney's on-court escapades with the one and only Venus Williams.  We al...

In Episode 32, Ben and Courtney look at Miami from afar, and are somewhat underwhelmed. Why has the tournament lacked spark thus far? We also discuss the state of Sloane Stephens, and what fair expectations for her are.  Then we take a couple listener questions, on the lack of early round television coverage at Indian Wells and Miami, as well as on the increasing Gimelstobification of tennis. Last...

In Episode 31, Ben and Courtney wrap the week that was in Indian Wells. How exactly did Rafael Nadal come back to the top so quickly, and what does it say about the rest of the tour? Are comparisons between Federer's willingness to play through back pain and the withdrawals of Azarenka and Stosur fair? Also, we discuss articles this week by Bruce Jenkins and Elizabeth Newman about the Williams Sis...

In this very special 30th episode, Ben and Courtney talk Indian Wells for a bit. But more significantly, we finally unlock the door to the NCR studio and invite in an actual guest for the second half of the show.  Because we like our guests to be awesome, we decided to go with the one-and-only Andrea Petkovic, the three-time Slam quarterfinalist, YouTube star, and general all-around cool lady.  Am...

In this live, on-site, one-take episode recorded in beautiful Indian Wells, California, Ben and Courtney discuss the upcoming 2013 BNP Paribas Open, which sees the hard court return of Rafael Nadal.  Also, Novak Djokovic and Victoria Azarenka are riding big win streaks, and it all seems very familiar.  Also, you'll get to find out which one of us wears a Nike Fuel Band. So there's that.

In Episode 28, Ben and Courtney discuss the week that was in what has been a surprisingly jam-packed February for tennis.  We also discuss the busy week for Rebecca Marino, and Ben's coverage of her story, and follow that with an acknowledgment that Jelena Jankovic hauled her cookies and her entourage to Colombia. We then take questions about why the Memphis field was so poor, if the Putintseva pa...

It was a very busy week in tennis considering it's February, so Ben and Courtney had lots to talk about.  We discuss the changing dynamic atop the WTA, with the interesting coinciding happenings of Serena Williams ascending to No. 1 but losing to Victoria Azarenka.  We also discuss Rafael Nadal's week in Brazil, and that he won, but also if he's been given a free pass for diva-like behavior when i...

On this episode, Ben and Courtney talk about Rafael Nadal's return to the tour in Chile, and what to make of his loss in the final to Horacio Zeballos.  We also discuss the even more surprising news out of La Famille Bartoli, with Marion and Walter parting ways.  We then tackle the ATP/Indian Wells prize money increase debacle, and offer to take any spare cash that may be lying around.  Then we ta...

On this long-awaited Episode 25, delayed due to oceans between us and technical difficulties, Ben and Courtney finally wrap the 2013 Australian Open.  This, of course, means lots on Victoria Azarenka's injury timeout, and an evaluation of the backlash she received.  We also consider the current state of American men's tennis, particularly Ryan Harrison.  We then discuss Davis Cup, its flaws, and t...

In Episode 24, Ben and Courtney discuss the first week of the 2013 season, in which the youngin's did good and lots of people threw in the towel.  We looked toward to the Australian Open, and sympathetically at Sam Stosur, who seems to find the entire continent to be made of kryptonite.  And does love mean nothing to tennis media, or should we be deciphering every glance that Grigor Dimitrov throw...

In Episode 23, Ben and Courtney had to jump back in the booth to address Rafael Nadal's early withdrawal from the Australian Open, and whether or not it was the right decision.  It's a new year, so we discuss what we want to see in this year,  and what we don't want to see. We also discuss the age rule at length, as well as Andy Murray and which Grand Slam will have the best final in 2013.  Also,...

In Episode 22b, Ben and Courtney continue to power through your winter questions like a snow plow through a blizzard--except with way more sarcasm and debates over Ke$ha.  Topics include tournament travel recommendations, federation funding of less achieving players, and what sport we'd like to write about besides tennis. Also, we recognize the wonder that is Tsvetana Pironkova against Venus Willi...

In Episode 22a, your questions keep Courtney and Ben from starving in the harsh tennis winter, for which they are very appreciative.  Topics include Australian things like Bernard Tomic, Sam Stosur, and Hopman Cup, as well as guilty pleasures like Jelena Jankovic and Serena Williams appearing on the Home Shopping Network.  This episode is ruched and very slimming--you should totally download one i...

In another post-season episode, Ben and Courtney answer lots of listener questions. You people help get us through this long, cold winter, and for that we are grateful. Topics include Kim Clijsters and Yulia Putintseva, who have faiiirly different personalities.  We also resurrect Take a Number and introduce the world (and ourselves) to Tita Torro. And then we discuss doping for a while because we...

In Episode 20, Courtney and Ben are back stateside and back on the mic(s).  We talk or ways through the WTFs in London, our ballots for Player of the Year, Most Improved, Best Newcomer, and more. Then we audibly shake our heads when discussing what Bernard Tomic does atop buildings. Also, we end the episode by discussing whether or not Rafael Nadal will congratulate us for getting back in the reco...

In Episode 19, Ben and Courtney stick with the Asian swing to discuss Victoria Azarenka's domination over Maria Sharapova on hardcourts, Kei Nishikori's history-making in Tokyo, and the merits of tennis in China when all we see are empty seats and stadiums. We also discuss the upcoming TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships in Istanbul, the freshly revealed lineup for next year's Hopman Cup, and per ou...

Asia is still going, but if a seed falls in the middle of the night and almost no one is watching, does it make a sound? Ben and Courtney therefore make plenty of other sounds about other things, ranging from the Party Rock Open to Ryan Harrison, and from Andy Murray's rank in the pantheon to hands in pants.  It all makes sense in context, sort of.

When we last left our heroes Ben and Courtney's cup overfloweth with the U.S. Open.  The chalice has been considerably drier in Asia thus far, but our dear listeners quenched our thirst with a deluge of questions which we answered for the majority of the show.  We also resurrected our "Take a Number" segment, and when we didn't like the first number we did it again because we are grown-ups and we...

On Episode 16b, Ben and Courtney continue their recap of the U.S. Open and answer a flurry of questions from email and Twitter. They talk about the USTA's bungling of Taylor Townsend, whether Ana Ivanovic has topped out, the merits of best of five matches at the Slams, Vivica A. Fox: Superfan, the best current ATPer not to win a Slam, and all this prize money mumbo-jumbo.