No Challenges Remaining

Ben  and  Tumaini , fresh off their collaboration on Ben's Victor Barber interview , catch up on everything in the first four rounds of Roland Garros. We start with the big results of the day--Bublik d. Draper and Boisson d. Pegula--and then discuss the scheduling and the morass of night sessions. We then check in on the various shortlist contenders--Alcaraz, Sinner, Swiatek, Sabalenka, Gauff--and...

Ben and Tumaini (whom Redditors agree has " quietly become the best tennis journalist on the planet ") are delighted to have "Episode 400," which is actually the 566th episode of NCR with real counting, coincide with an annual favorite episode title. After a long media day in Paris, we break down the men and then the women. Is anyone there to disrupt a Sinner-Alcaraz final, which would be their fi...

Forestalling NCR's imminent quatercentenary ever so slightly,  Ben  and  Tumaini turn on the microphone together for the first time in their shared Paris abode, just to wrap up some loose ends from Rome before our big French Open draw show later this week. Tumaini discusses the incredible superstar status of Jannik Sinner, who enraptured the public and put on some dominant performances en route to...

Ben is joined by his longtime NYT teammate Christopher Clarey to discuss the release today of his new book,  The Warrior: Rafael Nadal and His Kingdom of Clay , exploring both the prolific 14-time champion at Roland Garros and the dusty red landscape of his triumphs. Topics include: how Nadal's frenetic, obsessive energy shaped Chris's own writing process, Nadal's language proficiencies (or lack t...

Ben  and  Tumaini (who can also be watched in a video version of this episode on NCR's Patreon ) found a moment to meet up between the end of a wild Madrid and Jannik Sinner's big comeback in Rome. We discuss the post-apocalyptic vibes of Madrid, including a detailed rundown from Tumaini on how he navigated the power outage early in the event. Along with discussing the big runs by Casper Ruud, Jac...

Ben  and  Tumaini (who can also be looked at as they talk in a video version of this episode on NCR's Patreon , if you're into that sort of thing) catch up after a few weeks apart at various stops on the tour. We first, though, discuss why odd stories like Harriet Dart complaining about how her opponent smells wind up being the tennis stories that really break through to the mainstream. What can g...

Ben  and  Tumaini reconvene to try to make sense of the big lawsuit filed by the PTPA and a group of lesser-known players against the powers-that-be in tennis, what we make of the organization, and this big swing they're taking after years of not being recognized. What do we make of the PTPA's 163-page laundry list of claims? What points resonate and which don't? And is there an inconsistency betw...

Ben  and  Tumaini are back together again after tennis traveled through the desert of Indian Wells, discussing crowning a new queen teen, a steady Brit, and women's tennis going for a new look. We discuss Mirra Andreeva's success, her improvements, her admirable coach Conchita Martinez, and how her Russia nationality might play into her role as a new star. We also discuss Aryna Sabalenka's saltine...

Ben  and  Tumaini reconvene for the first time back in their cold home hemisphere to discuss tennis happenings in February, which involve several complex stories. First, we discussed the late-breaking news of Stefano Vukov receiving a one-year ban from the WTA, and the details that were reported by The Athletic about the WTA's reasons . Is this new proactive approach correct? Second we discuss the...

Ben  and  Tumaini recorded one last show from this lovely trip to Melbourne, discussing the two singles finals. We start with the triumphant, tour-de-force title run by Madison Keys, who was the best version of herself in many ways as she tore through a historically tough draw to win her first major after years of struggling with expectations. What made Keys so impressive? There are many correct a...

Ben  and  Tumaini are together after four singles semifinals are in the books, one of which was an epic and one of which was a short story. We start with the women, where Aryna Sabalenka played perhaps her best match of the tournament so far to beat Paula Badosa, booking a spot in the final against Madison Keys, who played perhaps the best match of her career to beat Iga Swiatek in the other semif...

Ben  and  Tumaini are back after another round is in the books at this Australian Open, looking back at the quarterfinals and setting up the semifinal slate. We start with the women, where Coco Gauff suffered a surprising unraveling at the hands of experienced thread-puller Paula Badosa. Badosa will play Aryna Sabalenka, while Madison Keys will face Iga Swiatek in the other semifinal. On the men's...

Ben  and  Tumaini are checking back in midway through this Australian Open, just as the quarterfinals are about to begin. We break down the women's stories first, including check-ins on top contenders Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, and Iga Swiatek. We also discuss all the fuss over Danielle Collins giving it back to a hostile crowd, Madison Keys' resurgence, and Elina Svitolina's transformation. On...

Ben  and  Tumaini come to you from the rollicking first week of the Australian Open for a quick catch up on the major stories so far through two rounds here. We discuss Joao Fonseca and Jakub Mensik's non-shock upset wins, Djokovic and Murray's early returns, Gael Monfils solving Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, Naomi Osaka's great wins over tough foes, Zheng Qinwen getting rattled against Laura Siegem...

Ben  and  Tumaini have been working away at the Australian Open in the build-up to the main draw, taking a break to enjoy the sublime "One Point Slam," and writing lots of stuff we think you'll enjoy like Ben's piece on qualifying and interview with Goran Ivanisevic , and Tumaini's inside look at Murray coaching Djokovic and his fun story on cheating in tennis practice . But the Australian Open dr...

Ben  and  Tumaini are back together again in Melbourne, teeing up a season that started earlier than ever before, and a first week that ended with a classic. We discuss the United Cup, which reached a peak in the final with Coco Gauff beating Iga Swiatek, turning what had been a hopelessly lopsided rivalry into an absolute thriller, a shift that could have major ramifications atop women's tennis....

Ben and Tumaini can't take a break with all the news breaking already in this short tennis offseason, led (so far) by the revelations around Iga Swiatek's positive test and small one-month ban after convincingly proving her melatonin had been contaminated. This is the second doping case right at the top of tennis this year, and there's a lot to discuss in the fallout: the two-tiered track of tenni...

Ben  and  Tumaini got a bunch more questions than fit into our previous episode, so, after an amazing musical prelude by Dan Bern, we answer the remainder of ones we got before recording in this separate episode. We discuss a wide range of topics: Billie Jean King's suggestion that tennis should simply the scoring terminology; padel; ranking points at Challengers; the unpopularity of two-week Mast...

Ben  and  Tumaini join up once again to discuss the tennis season that is *still* going in mid-November, somehow. We start with Jannik Sinner's dominant run at the ATP Finals in Turin, where he never lost more than four games in any set en route to a title that moved him even further from the pack. How discordant are these magnificent triumphs with the backdrop of his still unresolved anti-doping...

Ben and Tumaini reunite for the first time in nearly a month to discuss the inaugural WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, at which Coco Gauff won the trophy and a record $4.8 million prize. We discuss Gauff and her resilient resurgence to finish her year on a high, and then we discuss the many conversation points around this event, both the positive and the negative. There's truth to be found on b...

Sometimes, as we've been reminded, life doesn't always turn out how you think it should.  In this episode of NCR you'll hear from the recently retired Dominic Thiem via his appearance on a recent episode of the podcast A New Way of Being hosted by Simon Mundie .  Simon joins Ben on this episode to expound and annotate on Thiem's journey, and what the lessons he learned might hold for us. We also d...

In an annual tradition, Ben and Ricky Dimon convene the day after the Marine Corps Marathon to discuss the year in men's tennis. This year the top line story is pretty clear: Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz dividing and conquering the calendar, claiming the tour for their generation. Which one of them had a better year? And how much of a shadow (or a doubt?) does Sinner's positive test morass cas...

Rafael Nadal, one of the all-time greats who we have been lucky to watch and cover over the past two decades, made his retirement official today. After learning a few days ago that his announcement was imminent, Ben and Tumaini pre-recorded an episode on their reaction to this long-anticipated news. We discuss what led to this decision, share our favorite memories of Nadal from watching him on cou...

Ben (who formally announces and thanks folks for following along at his new writing home, Bounces !) and Tumaini catch up on the happenings in the Asian swing so far, led by the star-studded results in Beijing that marks changes from New York. On the women's side, Coco Gauff bounced back from a disappointing summer to win her second WTA 1000 title, beating Muchova in the final. Is this a meaningfu...

Ben catches up with Tumaini , who is freshly back from Berlin, about the state of the Laver Cup, which might as well be called the Federer Cup for how it foregrounds the retired superstar. We discuss the relevance, successes, and struggles of the event, and contrast it with Davis Cup, which had a lumpy round of competition in recent weeks to set up for its big final this year later in Spain. Speak...