No Challenges Remaining

While there was certainly on court news on Day 1 at the French Open, led by #4 Dominic Thiem exiting in the first round and further opening up the men's draw in its already wide-open bottom, the news of the day again revolved around Naomi Osaka, against whom the Grand Slams responded forcefully with a $15,000 and threat of further, escalating sanctions if she does not end her boycott of mandatory...

It's our favorite annual episode title! Ben and Courtney dive deep into the draws of Roland Garros to cover themselves in tidbits and terre battue about this draw. Defending champions Rafael Nadal and Iga Swiatek hit together on Saturday; how likely was it that Nadal was going to know anything about possible Swiatek first round opponents? We explore. On the women we go into folks including Barty,...

The surprising story that has dominated the week's tennis conversation is Naomi Osaka's statement that she will not be doing press conferences at the French Open, citing "mental health." To discuss Osaka's decision, which seems small but pulls on many different threads, Ben is joined by Tumaini Carayol of The Guardian. Where did this choice come from? Does it make sense, based on how Osaka has bee...

It's that wonderful time of year, for the first time in two years: Eurovision! At NCR, Eurovision means NCRvision, our celebration of the intersection of tennis and music--main show here ; results show here --where we've found this episode's troubadour. Dan Bern, the singer-songwriter whose song "Isner and Mahut" closed out NCRvision, joins Ben to chat and play a live concert of several of his ori...

After our mailbag fun over on Patreon in past weeks , we return to the main feed of NCR with the first in-person interview we've done for NCR in more than a year. Donald Dell, an agent and promoter who did as much to shape the professional tennis landscape into its modern form as anyone over his decades in the sport, joins Ben near DC to discuss the structure of the sport, how it got that way, and...

Live from Brooklyn, Ben is rejoined by  Andrew Eccles of The Spin to discuss a busy April weekend of tennis (and the Oscars). WTA #1 Ash Barty solidified her hold on the top spot with a title on the indoor clay of Stuttgart; should she be considered the favorite for the French Open, where she won two years ago? And does Aryna Sabalenka get treated fairly by the commentariat? Rafael Nadal and Stefa...

Ben and Courtney(!) join forces once more to discuss the breakout stories of the Miami Open, of which there were many. We lead off with a long chat about Ash Barty, the WTA #1 who seemed to prove her claim to that mantle more than ever with her title. Why did this title feel so big for a player who has already achieved so much? We then discuss Bianca Andreescu and her remarkable charisma and stage...

The Miami Open, which has been in a state of flux in recent years, is underway this week in the parking lot of the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens in front of a scant crowd and limited media, and with an especially depleted men's player field. To get a feel for how it's going on the ground, Ben checks in with Miami Herald columnist Michelle Kaufman , who discusses the vibe on the ground, how it...

Think tennis could work better? So does pretty much everyone who works in tennis. Ben is joined by David Yaffe-Bellany of Bloomberg News, author of a recent piece exploring the long tradition of dysfunction and underperforming within the business side of tennis . What are the roots of the disorganization and the animosity? What are possible fixes to the sports poor earnings and its short payroll?...

As the tours spend another week in the Middle East, the region's tennis queen Reem Abulleil joins NCR once more from (nearly) on-site in Dubai. First, Reem shares her impressions of having been on site at a tournament this week for the first time in more than a year, at ATP Dubai. How different does the empty bubble atmosphere resonate in person? Then we discuss Aslan Karatsev, who keeps winning a...

It was a newsy week in tennis, and Ben is joined by our MENA correspondent Reem Abulleil to discuss it all. Garbiñe Muguruza won her first title in two years at WTA Dubai, and seems to be building meaningful momentum as a top player week-in, week-out. What impact could that have on the tour? Roger Federer returned to competition at ATP Doha for his first matches in more than a year; what is he sti...

With the tours continuing onward amid the pandemic, we welcome NCR's Dutch Lowlands and Caucasus Highlands correspondent David Avakian joins from Rotterdam to update us on the tournament there, which has long been a jewel of the indoor circuit. We discuss what the tournament has done to not look sad despite being empty, the role of appearance fees and entry list uncertainty, and the beautiful syll...

Ben and Courtney (the #ATPOutsider) are back to discuss the men's final in Melbourne, which was weighted with high hopes of a classic but ultimately turned into a pretty one-sided win for Novak Djokovic. We discuss Djokovic's incredible match management skills, Medvedev's disappointing performance, if expectations were unrealistic, how this sets up the GOAT conversation in terms of the race to mos...

With a second Australian Open title and fourth Grand Slam win overall, Naomi Osaka is into what feels like the beginning of the resume-padding phase of her already illustrious career. Ben and Courtney discuss Osaka's impressive run in Melbourne that ended with a win over Jennifer Brady, where she goes from here (particularly on clay), and the current state of the top of women's tennis. We also dis...

Both the men's and women's finals are set at the Australian Open, and we're thinking they'll be pretty good! Reem Abulleil joins Ben to discuss the semifinals that were and the finals that they set up, starting with Jennifer Brady backing up her U.S. Open run to book another blockbuster match against Naomi Osaka. Also, what do we make of Serena's exit from Melbourne, which many perceived as a poss...

The wonderfully multitalented Nick McCarvel joins NCR now that the Australian Open semifinals are set, with Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka set to face off in a blockbuster clash, and Jennifer Brady and Karolina Muchova following as a compelling undercard on the women's side. On the men's side, Novak Djokovic faces previously unknown Aslan Karatsev, while the interesting dynamic of Daniil Medvedev...

It was a blockbuster day of women's tennis at the Australian Open, and Ben, Courtney, and Reem had a great time watching and discussing Osaka-Muguruza, Serena-Sabalenka, Halep-Swiatek, and the magical run of Hsieh Su-wei. What to make of these great matches? Which was the best? And how does the top half compare? Also a bit on Thiem-Dimitrov, Olivia Gadecki, and more. Thank you again for the incred...

As we reach the end of the Australian Open's first week, saying goodbye to Nick Kyrgios, the crowd, and Novak Djokovic's lock status, Ben is joined by Tumaini Carayo l to wrap up the week that was and set the stage for the prize fights looming. How does this tournament feel so far? What were our impressions of Thiem-Kyrgios? How would the tournament change if Djokovic can't compete? And what is ma...

After a pretty flat opening round (and week before at Melbourne Park) the Australian Open seemed to be jolted to life on Wednesday night by Nick Kyrgios, and several other intriguing moments emerged on Thursday as well. Ben and Courtney discuss their concerns about #1 Ash Barty, who struggled down the stretch. They also discuss the strangely self-defeating attitude of #4 Sofia Kenin, who bowed out...

Venus Williams showed such staggering resilience, toughness, and determination on Wednesday that it almost didn't matter that she won only one game. Andrew Eccles , founder of The Spin , joins to discuss Venus' loss to Sara Errani, what it showed us about her, and why he has such love for Errani. We also discuss Hsieh Su-wei's win over Bianca Andreescu, Stan Wawrinka's five-set flameout, and the u...

It's been a different feeling Australian Open so far, with more scant crowds than anticipated, but also emphatic early performances by contenders on the women's side. Ben is joined by three tremendous women on this episode to get a sense of the tournament so far: NCR's Middle East and North Africa correspondent Reem Abulleil (who is delighting in the first ever Egyptian win in a women's Slam main...

Another Slam is around the corner, and, in a surprise to no one, there are many players who seem wildly competitively relevant in the women's draw. Serena and Osaka are very good! Barty and Andreescu are back in action! Kenin and Halep remain legit! And then a whole bunch more people! On the men's side, there's Djokovic, who just about always wins in Melbourne. And then, we guess, Nadal? Thiem? Me...

Amid his busy schedule of creating photos and music , ATP #6 Stefanos Tsitsipas joins NCR this week, chatting with Ben about all sorts of things in a wide-ranging interview from his hotel room in Melbourne.  We discuss topics including how he's handled the quarantine so far, his lifelong interest in creating things on the internet, his relationship with Nick Kyrgios, the pressures of the junior to...

With conditions tougher than many players had expected for the mandatory quarantine period in Melbourne, and with gripes about how unevenly players have been treated, there were plenty of complaints to be heard from players, and then even louder complaints from the Australian public about those complaints. Ben and Reem Abulleil discuss what's been going on in Melbourne, whether or not players are...

The Australian Open lead-up has hit more snags than players expected, with 72 of them (and counting?) facing a hard lockdown that could keep them from leaving their hotel rooms at all for 14 days, presenting major challenges to their Grand Slam preparation. To discuss that predicament, Ben is joined by one of the 72, ATP player Taro Daniel , who was on a flight from Doha where another passenger te...