Ben and Tumaini Carayol break down the women's and men's draws at the year's first Grand Slam event, and also discuss some of the early season storylines like United Cup and Netflix's "Break Point" that have dominated discussion in the build-up.
Is Iga Swiatek clear favorite to win this tournament against the field, or are rising threats like Jessie Pegula or Aryna Sabalenka ready to thwart her?
And on the men's side, is Novak Djokovic ready to resume business as usual in Australia? And what is the outlook for Rafael Nadal's future?
We also discuss Naomi Osaka's baby news, and Craig Tiley's lack of accountability.
Also! Ben's forthcoming book about Naomi Osaka is now available to preorder!

Episode 348: Australian Open Draw Show, 2023

A podcast discussing the happenings in the wacky world of professional tennis. Hosted by Ben Rothenberg and Courtney Nguyen.

Sports

Tennis

Ben and AJ Eccles attended screenings of the new movie CHALLENGERS this week, and are here to discuss this bold new entry into the growing tennis movie canon (NB: we very carefully avoided any significant spoilers until a very clearly marked intermission at the 41-minute mark).
Directed by Luca Guadanigno and starring Zendaya, Josh O'Connor, and Mike Faist, we discuss how CHALLENGERS compares to recent tennis movies like KING RICHARD and BATTLE OF THE SEXES, and how fiction can actually allow for greater truths.
We also discuss what big and small things new movie gets right about the experience of life on the professional tennis tour, what it explains about tennis culture, and how the campy action sequences do or don't affect the film. We also discuss what the film shows that Netflix's Break Point failed to do.
Again, no spoilers until 41 minutes into the show (and even then we hardly give away everything). AJ also wrote about CHALLENGERS for The Second Serve, so please do check that out as well! Thanks for listening!

Episode 365: "Challengers" Changes the Tennis Movie Genre

Ben and Tumaini reconvened this week to react to the news that the WTA Finals are going to Saudi Arabia, a move that felt unfathomable five years ago but has more recently felt inevitable. What do we make of the news? Should women's sports be held to a different standard when it comes to selling out? And what does the deal say about both the recent past and near future of women's tennis?
We then shift to a conversation about the proposed Premier Tour, a radical revamp described in detail in an interview of USTA CEO Lew Sherr in his interview with  Jon Wertheim. What would tennis be losing with massive streamlining? Would the gains offset the losses?
We also discuss the cancellation of Netflix's Break Point after two seasons. In a time of discord in tennis, nearly everyone can agree on how disappointing it was; what went wrong?
Next time, a review of Luca Guadanigno's Challengers!

Episode 364: WTA Goes Saudi; Huge Premier Tour Changes on the Table

Ben and Tumaini answer listener questions and recap the month that was in March, where Indian Wells and Miami formed the Sunshine Double and changed some of the forecasts of the sport.
We start with Indian Wells, where Swiatek and Alcaraz won their second titles and Novak Djokovic lost early and bailed on the swing. We then head to Miami, where Danielle Collins won the biggest title of her career and Jannik Sinner cemented his spot as the dominant player on tour. We also discuss recent form of Dimitrov, Gauff, Sabalenka, and more.
From our mailbag, we also discuss the fairness and merits of wild cards (including for returning dopers), the shrinking status of the Miami Open.
(Another episode soon on the huge changes afoot on tour from the Saudi money and Premier Tour jockeying!)

Episode 363: Sun Shines on Sinner, Collins, Swiatek and Alcaraz

Picking up where we left off on the last episode, Ben and Tumaini cover several other big stories from the first part of this season. We talk about the diverging fates of Brits in tennis, as Andy Murray sets a dispirited retirement date while Katie Boulter surges to a new high.
We then spend quite a while on the health of women's tennis as a product, which seems to be getting left in the dust while the men surge, with no apparent strategy for building interest in their product. What can be done? And how transformative can the looming infusion of Saudi cash be? (Here's a link to a separate Cracked Racquets podcast Ben did on the Saudi ATP sponsorship.)
We also catch up on recent results in men's tennis, talk about the pleasant alternate tennis universe that is the South American "Golden Swing," and cover the Netflix Slam (we recorded before Break Point was cancelled), with a bit on its uncertain star Rafael Nadal.
Thanks for listening!

Episode 362b: The State of the Union in Women's Tennis, Golden, Oldies

Ben and Tumaini had a lot to catch up on this week, so we are splitting this episode into two parts.
The first part, here, begins with the Court of Arbitration for Sport issuing a radical reversal of the first decision on Simona Halep's positive test, which means Halep can return to tour immediately. We don't have all the answers yet, but what does the dramatic disparity between the two decisions say about the dysfunction of the tennis anti-doping system?
In the second part of this episode, we discuss Andrey Rublev getting defaulted from his semifinal in Dubai for berating a line judge, and how that moment should be instructive.
Thanks for listening!

Episode 348: Australian Open Draw Show, 2023

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