Perfect Match?

As the Olympics come to a close, the USA is fading in the tennis category...and not without some Real Housewives-style drama! While it is guaranteed that the US will take home one medal in Men's Doubles Tennis, a couple of the non-medal competitors decided to burn the place down on the way out the door. Both Danielle Collins and Emma Navarro had (unfortunate) choice words for their opponents after...

With the Olympics underway with all of its nationalist fervor, we find ourselves rooting for players from around the world, regardless of which country they represent. We started thinking about why we like some players over others. It's highly subjective, sometimes irrational and (admittedly) often based on looks. Today we run through a wide swath of tennis players competing in the Singles categor...

The Tennis Channel shows a lot of ads: ads that are cheap, crass and representative of the dark reality of American life. We dissect a few lowlights in the genre, from a "poop shy" woman who discovers direct to consumer supplements to a recently clear-skinned dad horrifying his teenage daughter in his brand new Speedo! These ads deliver the goods..and the cringe. Send us your hot takes at perfectm...

As part of our Social Justice Series, we take a deep dive into the life and pro tennis career of Renée Richards, a trans woman who successfully sued the US Open in the 1970s for the right to play on the women's side. We will also discuss current takes on trans athletes in tennis (some better than others!) from several tennis luminaries. For background, we watched the excellent ESPN documentary "Re...

In this Midweek Mini, we talk about the ESPN+ series "In the Arena: Serena Williams". Say that 10 times fast! The first two episodes that are available now are an interesting look at the early careers of both Serena and Venus Williams. It includes some excellent rare footage of them playing in the storied Compton public courts, as well as some great moments of them playing on the pro circuit, most...

In which we discuss Serena Williams calling out Harrison Butker, Stefanos Tsitsipas' new controlling/abusive video, and the Wimbledon Champions. Barbora Krejčíková's unexpected win and Carlos Alcaraz' much needed defeat of aggrieved weirdo Novak Djokovic. We weigh in on whether it's okay for a player to mimic sad violin playing at the crowd (after he's won the match!) and then gaslight everyone by...

In our new Midweek Mini episode, we dive into men's hair in tennis, the gym, the subway, and how it relates to "homosocial" definitions of what's okay for straight/cis presenting men to do with their hair and clothes. It's all very weird! Send us your hot takes at perfectmatchpodcast@gmail.com As always tell your friends, rate this podcast in your app , and send us feedback at https://www.perfectm...

Here we talk about the origin of the requirement that players at Wimbledon wear all white. How did this come about? Are its origins unsavory (they are)? Also, John McEnroe has been calling big tennis matches for ages. People wonder if he still should. We wage a defense of Johnny Mac...a measured one. Send us your hot takes at perfectmatchpodcast@gmail.com As always tell your friends, rate this pod...

We are joined by Kathleen Lubey, St. John's professor and author of the book "What Pornography Knows: Sex and Social Protest Since the Eighteenth Century" to discuss Wimbledon, sexuality, and Stefanos Tsitsipas' recent #tradwife Instagram Story - it's cringe! Plus, Tennis Tidbits, Michele and Kathy's TWO in-person experiences at Wimbledon, and how to watch the Tournament this time. As always, plea...

We kickoff our Social Justice Series with a discussion about Margaret Court, the racist, homophobic pre-open era player who the tennis world can't stop talking about. She played in an era when most of her peers were off playing other tournaments, trying to form a professional women's tennis league, yet people still compare her record to that of Serena Williams. It must stop! Also, tennis tidbits a...

Good vs. Evil: Carlos Alcaraz beat Alexander Zverev to win the French Open. This is good! Meanwhile, as US Open tickets go on sale, Ticketmaster successfully makes it as miserable as possible to buy tickets. It's as if it's a monopoly! Also, we discuss our love for the Showtime/Paramount+ show "Couples Therapy", why we probably can't get therapy from the host, and why we are fine with NBC losing t...

We welcome our friend and radio/podcast goddess Katya Rogers, producer of WNYC's "On the Media" to discuss the recently reissued 1981 movie "The French", which is more about France In 1981 than the French Open that year. We also touch upon Rafa Nadal's "will he, won't he retire?" posture and what it means. Trigger warning for Rafa fans: we will question whether Rafa should still be playing, but in...

Today we discuss last week’s revelation from Donald Trump’s porn star/hush money trial that among the many ghastly people on the former president’s “close contact” list was none other than Serena Williams, whom Trump apparently spoke to “often” during his presidency. So yeah. Also, we dive deep into Alexander Zverev, the top German player who just won the Italian Open and could likely win the Fren...

Today, Michele and Bryan venture into the treacherous world of coupledom in professional tennis. Can these couples ever work out when both partners want to be number one? Also, we deeply dissect Tennis Channel commentator Jim Courier's recent usage of the adage "happy wife, happy life". What does this mean? Should it be retired? (Yes) Send us your hot takes at perfectmatchpodcast@gmail.com As alwa...

Michele and Bryan dissect the new white-hot Zendaya movie about tennis...and MMF threesomes? We also spend some time dismissing the horrific "Wimbledon", the 2004 Kirsten Dunst vehicle in which top players in the second week of a Grand Slam spend their time drinking, staying up all night and falling in a 2004 movie version of love. Send us your hot takes at perfectmatchpodcast@gmail.com As always...

This time, Michele takes the driver's seat as we lament the now signed deal between the Women's Tour and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Is this "progress"? Also, we consider why there are not and have never been any openly gay male players in professional tennis. We know they're out there! Send us your hot takes at perfectmatchpodcast@gmail.com As always tell your friends, rate this podcast in your...

Today, we tread lightly (or gingerly?) on the topic of Jannik Sinner and his fans, who often show up wearing bright orange wigs and carrot costumes, presumably to show support for Sinner and his bright red hair. But is this okay? We also tackle automatic line calling and how the tennis world came to embrace the robot line judge. What does this say about our relationship to artificial intelligence...

Michele and Bryan decry the Women's Tennis Association's decision to hold the WTA Finals in...Saudi Arabia (of all places), Danielle Collins tells us to "stay bothered", so we do, and is the problem with Pickleball the "sport" itself or the people who play it? Send us your hot takes at perfectmatchpodcast@gmail.com As always tell your friends, rate this podcast in your app , and send us feedback a...

In this episode, we discuss the problematic appropriation of the Civil Rights concept of "Good Trouble" by tennis badboy Nick Kyrgios, Danielle Collin's recent objection to an interview question she considered gender-biased (but was it?), and whether male tennis players (and men in general) are wearing the right length shorts and being sexy enough for Michele. Enjoy! Send us your hot takes at perf...

In this episode, we ponder why men seem to always commentate on all tennis finals (whether men or women are playing), how to pronounce Thiago Seyboth Wild (it's not how you think!), whether Wild's family were Nazis, and whether certain players should retire at a certain age. Enjoy! Send us your hot takes at perfectmatchpodcast@gmail.com As always tell your friends, rate this podcast in your app ,...

Indian Wells, Djokovic hissy fit, Jim Courier...Why?, Coco Vandeweghe as a commentator Send us your hot takes at perfectmatchpodcast@gmail.com As always tell your friends, rate this podcast in your app , and send us feedback at https://www.perfectmatchpodcast.com/ You can also follow us on Bluesky at @perfectmatchpodcast.com or @shellsteak and YouTube at @PerfectMatchPodcast Hosted on Acast. See a...

In this episode, we talk about Rublev's anger, Bublik's chin beard and and the Saudi threat 😱 Send us your hot takes at perfectmatchpodcast@gmail.com As always tell your friends, rate this podcast in your app , and send us feedback at https://www.perfectmatchpodcast.com/ You can also follow us on Bluesky at @perfectmatchpodcast.com or @shellsteak and YouTube at @PerfectMatchPodcast Hosted on Acas...