Perfect Match?

Okay, we know. Politics! There is too much of it, and it is a complete bummer. However! When we root for a player, we are rooting for more than their playing style; we are also invested in the player as a person. When they say and do political things, it matters. Today, we deliver verdicts on a number of top players (with sound effects). Spoiler alert: Djokovic: no, Draper: no, Gauff: yes, Osaka:...

In which we try (and kind of fail) to be Zen about the rapid change in professional tennis and the world. Next-Gen is out; Next-Next-Gen is on a rampage. With wins from 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva and relative newcomer Jack Draper at Indian Wells, we dissect the coming wave of players, and what it means for Alcaraz, Sinner, Swiatek and Sabalenka. Is it a blip on the radar or something more permanen...

We braved connecting flights, "gate checked" bags and a literal desert storm to bring you this postcard from our trip to "Tennis Paradise", the 2025 Indian Wells Open in California's Coachella Valley. Follow us to the bars, the tournament, the condo and the jacuzzi, as we recap our annual trip, warts and all! --------------- As always tell your friends, rate this podcast, and send us feedback at h...

The Indian Wells BNP Paribas Masters 1000 is the largest and most important tennis tournament that's not a Grand Slam. All the tennis stars will be there, as will we! But before we hop on the plane, we wanted to talk about Coachella Valley's settler colonialist history, as well as the Ignominious Incident in 2001 involving the Williams sisters, old white people and racism that led to Venus and Ser...

Non-tennis people are often shocked when they discover that tennis requires fans to be quiet (like silent) once or twice a minute in a stadium full of fans. It is kind of weird! This prompt takes from the origins of "court tennis" in the 16th Century to the 80's trash comedy "Blame It on Rio". Enjoy! As always tell your friends, rate this podcast, and send us feedback at https://www.perfectmatchpo...

tack·y /ˈtakē/ adjective informal adjective:  tacky ; comparative adjective:  tackier ; superlative adjective:  tackiest showing poor taste and quality. Tennis has never been immune from tackiness (although we like to think, smugly, that tennis is a more elevated sport), but lately there's been some tacky shit going on. From the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders doing a routine...

Professional tennis is an epic tale of heroes and villains, but there are a number of players who just play really good tennis. Is it their job to entertain us? Is it our job to care about them if they don't? In this one, we praise the Alcarazes and the Federers, disparage the Krygioses and the Collinses, and ponder the impact of the boring ones at the top. Is it a crisis for professional tennis t...

In which we unpack various tennis players' thoughts about and experiences with therapy, whether it be "sports therapy" or just plain old therapy therapy. Bryan brings a unique perspective as someone who has been on and off the couch (mostly on) for the last 30 years or so, and Michele, a therapy virgin, threatens Bryan with couples therapy. All very healthy, respectful and empathetic. And you, lis...

There was magic at the Australian Open this year, with American Madison Keys winning her first Grand Slam after 15 years on tour, powering through Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka (Nos. 2 and 1, respectively). Wow! Also, another unnecessary Novak Djokovic controversy (he's basically right this time but still annoying?) and Alexander Zverev gets heckled  before his runner-up speech for those abuse...

During this Australian Open/Sunset of Democracy, we are being bombarded with false narratives and memory erasing. In tennis, we are currently getting "Madison Keys is playing better because she's married now ", and "Novak Djokovic was treated so unfairly when he tried to enter Australia" (under false pretenses). And regarding our perennial (dis)favorite Danielle Collins , the story is "Danielle's...

It's 2025! 🤮 But a Brazilian player inadvertently became the first male player on tour to come out as gay, so there's that! Also, we talk grievance nonsense from Kyrgios and Djokovic about the supposed doping "scandal". Also, Elena Rybakina's disturbing drama with her former/current(?) possibly problematic coach ? He's currently banned from all WTA matches because of an investigation into their d...

Oh, Jon Wertheim, 60 Minutes Correspondent, former Sports Illustrated Executive Editor, former(?) Tennis Channel Commentator, what have you done? Oh, you got caught on a hot mic during a live broadcast of the WTA Final saying something untoward about a top female player's looks? This sounds bad. Like, very bad. But it raises questions about how we all navigate our private vs. public realms. We see...

With All Hallows' Eve upon us, we dig into our fears: specifically our greatest fears for the world of tennis (and one about the future of this country, ahem). Prepare yourself for the prospect of the servebots taking over tennis 😱 Novak Djokovic winning another slam 👻, Danielle Collins winning her first slam 😈, and Donald Trump becoming president again 🤡😳🤮. Rather than follow us on socials...

In light of Saudi Arabia's recent "Six Kings Slam" tournament for men and the WTA Finals in Riyadh coming up, along with Danielle Collin's announcement that she's not actually retiring (surprise, surprise!), we decided to rebroadcast an episode from April, in which we decry the Saudi influence in tennis and question Danielle Collins' good faith. As always tell your friends, rate this podcast, and...

In which we address The Handshake: that perfunctory, sometimes awkward moment at the net when the players pretend to be aligned on the outcome of the match. You win, you are overcome by joy, you feign empathy with your opponent. Or sometimes, you don't! Today, we will explore some of the lowlights: the sarcastic digs, the bitchy rejoinders and the handshakes that didn’t happen – and why what happe...

This time we consider the Tennis Grunt: the sometimes loud (and often unpleasant) noises that male and female players make when hitting the ball. The Grunt is much more problematized on the women's side than on the men's (and Michele has THOUGHTS about this), but it can't be denied that players make more noise than they used to! We go into the history of the Grunt, it's appearance in an old Curb Y...

This time we are very happy to welcome Scott Lazer , the director of the beautiful short film “Ball People”, about the young and not-so-young people who tried out for the 2022 US Open Ball Crew. Scott is an award-winning filmmaker and creative director who has directed multiple documentaries, dramas and commissions, including “West by God” which won a Special Jury Award in 2022 at SXSW, and “Commu...

Although we may seem like the "Perfect Match", there is a question mark in the name of this podcast. This time we dive into...OUR RELATIONSHIP, specifically around competition between us in tennis and cards. As usual, Michele comes off as very reasonable, measured and self-assured, and Bryan...struggles a bit. Tell us who is right and who is wrong at https://www.perfectmatchpodcast.com/ As always,...

This week we are thrilled to have on Caitlin Thompson. She is a journalist, podcaster, blogger, editor and the founder of Racquet Magazine . Racquet is a quarterly magazine that celebrates the art, ideas, style and culture that surround tennis. It combines high design and photography with thoughtful essays and is a beacon of tennis print journalism. We had a bunch of questions for Caitlin, but the...

With the US Open now behind us, we reflect on a few of the American players who made deep runs, not about their tennis but rather a detail that isn't discussed much in the tennis commentariat: their exorbitant wealth. We break down the family money of Jessie Pegula, Emma Navarro and Taylor Fritz as well as some of the utterly clueless things they've said about their wealth. It's exasperating! Also...

On this bonus episode, we continue examining the awesome legacy of Billie Jean King. This portion of the story looks at her complicated coming out story, involving an affair with her assistant, a palimony lawsuit, and ultimately the acceptance of openly gay players in professional tennis. As always, follow us on socials, rate us in your podcast app, tell your friends (!), and send us feedback at h...

As the US Open kicks off at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center in Queens, NY, we discuss the Billie Jean King story. From her role in founding the first professional tennis tour for women, to the founding of the Women's Tennis Association and beyond, King has established herself as the Godmother of Tennis. To this day, she towers over the sport and sets the tone for debate on various issues affect...

The US Open is almost upon us, and we frequently hear from people who are thinking of going but don't know when to go or what kind of tickets to buy. So we set out to answer these questions and discuss pretty much everything else you may need to know about attending the Tournament. We talk tickets, transportation, stadia, events, food, drink and rules of the event (you technically can't bring that...

Bonjour from Montreal! Michele and Bryan ate and drank their way through a visit to the this delightful city for the Banque Nationale Open tennis tournament, which featured the men this year. These poor players had to put up with endless rain delays resulting in a chaotic schedule, meaning a number of players had to play two full matches the same day. Quel drame! Come with us as we explore the cit...

With the tennis now complete at the Olympics, we’ve been spending some time investigating a strange, sometimes embarrassing phenomenon in the world of tennis: the players’ pet music projects. Some of these players take their music very seriously, some not so much. None of these releases (with the possible exception of an Argentinian player's) can be considered legitimate music. The quality varies...