Perfect Match?

Serena's comeback at Wimbledon was impressive, adequate, or perplexing, depending on who is commenting on it. This week, we take on Serena's choice, as well as the odd circumstances around her dropping out of doubles at the last minute. What is all this really about? Does Serena herself even know? Also, The danger on the men's side (a Djokovic or Zverev win 😱) We will have a new champion on the w...

As Michele predicted in the first episode of this season, Serena Williams will be playing singles this year at Wimbledon. But don't call it a comeback (as they say), for she is insisting she doesn't care if she wins: she's just wants her daughters to see her play. Hard to believe. Also: Tennis.com has stopped publishing content entirely (boo!) Paula Badosa calls her former relationship with Stefan...

The bonkers 2026 French Open has concluded with the most disappointing Men's Final since Wimbledon 2019 (if you know, you know). The "deeply polarizing" winner (as the NY Times put it) has become a symbol of society's inability to properly address domestic violence allegations, leading to the emergence of the #anyonebutzverev hashtag when he became the favorite to win the tournament. Michele refus...

This week we marvel at the surprises the French Open has produced so far. Is it weird that we are enjoying the Sincaraz absence? And we get early exits on the Women's side to mix it up? This is shaping up to be one of the most interesting Frenches (?) in a very long time. Also: Bryan apologizes (sort of) to unhappy listeners The French Open's woman problem The electronic line call that didn't matt...

This week we're all over the place (or lieu , if you must), going back and forth about the French Open. Alcaraz not playing Wimbeldon 😢 No one is going to beat Sinner at the French Open 😕 Heat wave in Paris 🥵 An emergency "medical timeout" 💩 Naomi Osaka's outfit is 🔥 And...the TV Coverage, the "boycott" and ticket scalping. Okay! Send us your hot takes at perfectmatchpodcast@gmail.com As alwa...

Before we talk about the current issue of players threatening to boycott a slam, let’s go back in time to 1973 when an historic boycott of Wimbledon by the top men’s players completely changed the power dynamic between the grand slams and the players. Also: We got blocked by a Bluesky user. We have arrived. Joao Fonseca admits that his Brazilian fans annoy him too An 11-year-old kid flips off Tomm...

Relationships are delicate entities, and breakups should be handled with care, but it does not appear that the high profile uncoupling of Taylor Fritz and Morgan Riddle is unfolding as planned. This week, we go a bit gossipy and snarky, but get into questions around what people expect out of a Relationship as well. Also: Players are getting "food poisoning" in Madrid and dropping out, but is it th...

After losing the Monte-Carlo Masters Final to Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz posted a fun video of his bestie Jannik diving into the club's pool. Cute! Good for engagement! Bad for winning. This week we talk tennis rivalries and question whether Carlos needs to go darker if he wants to beat Sinner. We also dig up clips of Chrissie and Martina talking about how they had to lose the friendship bracelets to...

The Clay Season is officially in session now with the symbolic opener, the Monte-Carlo Masters, taking place. Why don't we all live in Monte Carlo, with it's zero percent personal income tax, European adjacency and $6300/sq. ft. real estate? Perhaps because we don't have $6.3 million dollars for a 1000 square foot flat. One day... Today on the pod, we talk about the Joy of Clay, Monte Carlo, why A...

A lively, bad faith debate in which Michele defends what Bryan calls "Woke 1.0" while he posits that so-called "Dark Woke" can be better for one's tennis fandom. Do we need to broaden our tolerance for players' questionable posts and comments in order to enjoy the sport more? It's a weird one! But relevant (maybe)! Also: The WTA Finals is out of Saudi Arabia, mercifully Meh about the two Sunshine...

This week due to shifting forces in our lives, we home in on the perennial vignette in which one person lashes out at a crowd that stares on in horror. But who among us hasn't wanted to just flip off everyone around them and storm out forever(ish)? Also, Carlos Alcaraz announces on court in Spanish "I'm can't anymore!" to his team. What's going on with him? LIveNation antitrust suit is dropped by...

The Indian Wells tournament is upon us, as is the tenth anniversary of your hosts bumping into one another at the tourament, encountering an implausible series of rom-com meet-cutes, and somehow staying together for all these years. To commemorate, we dive into the ennui surrounding MAGA enthusiast Larry Ellison owning the Tournament and his looming presence over the media landscape in America (bu...

Professional tennis players are some of the least represented athletes in professional sports. From the grueling schedule to the relatively low share of revenue, even down to the type of balls used in tournaments, the players have little to no say in decisions that affect their lives and health immensely. This week, we break down the issue and ponder if there is any reason to hope that things will...

There's long been an argument in tennis against women receiving equal pay that it's because they don't play full Best of Five matches in the Grand Slams. It's a weak and weird argument because outside of the Slams, everyone plays Best of Three, and some of those tournaments *still* don't have equal pay. Regardless, Australian Open CEO Craig Tiley wants to change all this. He's pushing for the wome...

In which we draw the line between a "lie" and a "lie-lie". We all lie! Whether it's your "colonoscopy appointment" on the day of your sister's "baby shower", or "does a hangover qualify as a 'sick day'?", we all lie at least once in our life. What kinds of lies are okay? Who gets to decide? What does it matter? Also: There were too many cameras at the Australian Open! Enough with all the cameras!...

The Aussie Open closes the roof when their bespoke heat index level reaches 5. The AO knows beforehand exactly when this index will reach 5 because we all know this, because we all have a weather app on our phones. Is it antithetical to their "Safety Culture" that they don't close the roof when they know it's going to be too hot? And what is this "Safety Culture" anyway? It's probably not what you...

Carlos Alcaraz is playing his first matches on tour without the help of his only coach since childhood, Juan Carlos Ferrero, and we are all wondering how this will go. What we aren't wondering anymore is if Juan Carlos will be coming back. We don't usually talk about who is coaching which player (because it's insider-y and kind of boring), but this coaching relationship is unlike anything we've ev...

While the temperature plunges here in the Northeast US, it's high summer Down Under, and how we wish we were there. But due to the miracle of low-cost audio equipment and free podcast hosting, we can at least talk about the Australian Open on the internet. So, that's something! Roger Federer's return to tennis! (in an exhibition doubles match) ESPN gave Brad and Pammy the boot Heated Rivalry and o...

Happy New Year! Wait, it's too late to say "Happy New Year", everyone stop saying "Happy New Year". But it's Tennis New Year here in the run-up to the Australian Open, and Michele has predictions for 2026: How long will Venus Williams play (and how long will the sun continue to shine)? Will Serena return to tennis? Nick Kyrgios' dumb podcast, Nadal's hair, Djokovic's final tournament, Carlitos' co...

Let's face it: 2025 sucked. Life got measurably worse for most people in the world who are not billionaires (although life got measurably better for them, so there's that). But within this swirling sewer of a year, we dug up some memories that reminded us why we need tennis in our lives and why we need to podcast about it. Enjoy these highlights from this past season, and thank you, dear listener...

It’s spooooooky season, and for our final episode of the year we are summoning the ghouls and goblins of tennis and counting down the scariest trends we are seeing. What evil lurks on the tennis courts of the world? In the stadia and tennis villages, from the hard courts of Melbourne to the grass courts of Wimbledon and beyond? 👹 Higher ticket prices? 👻 Novak Djokovic hangs around? 👿 A Saudi Sl...

Today, we dive into the 2nd edition of the Six Kings Slam. On the same day that millions of people rallied around the world in the No Kings protests to defy Trump and defend democracy, the final match of the tennis exhibition “The Six Kings Slam” was played in Saudi Arabia between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. Was the exhibition tacky and tone deaf? Yes. Was it entertaining? No. Was it good fo...

This one we recorded in March when we were all fairly new to this political reality. Since then, we've see politics become a taboo subject, and supporting any form of liberalism feels almost risky. But fuck it, we have to talk about politics and take a stand. This is our take on several current and former top players. Send us your hot takes at perfectmatchpodcast@gmail.com As always tell your frie...

Proper sleep impacts every aspect of one's life. For tennis players – and athletes in general – it’s a relatively new insight. Only in the last 20 years have experts and players realized just how much sleep can affect performance. Even the smallest adjustment can help a player reach peak performance. This week, we dig into the details of top players and their sleep habits. Roger Federer: 12 hours...

We are not a podcast that assesses the pricing and collectibility of Labubu dolls. We are not a companion podcast to the hit TLC series "Sister Wives". We are not a MAGA podcast that aims to take down and take out the woke left. We are a podcast that discusses the culture through the lens of tennis (and sometimes our relationship). Weekly for the entire tennis season. Short: about 30 minutes per e...