Ben and Tumaini come to you from the rollicking first week of the Australian Open for a quick catch up on the major stories so far through two rounds here.

We discuss Joao Fonseca and Jakub Mensik's non-shock upset wins, Djokovic and Murray's early returns, Gael Monfils solving Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, Naomi Osaka's great wins over tough foes, Zheng Qinwen getting rattled against Laura Siegemund, and big wins by Brits Emma Raducanu, Jacob Fearnley, and Jack Draper.

As mentioned, there will be a bonus episode up on Patreon soon as well featuring Hsieh Su-wei and Jelena Ostapenko. 

Thank you for listening! Our Patreon is back up and running to ensure NCR keeps going and stays ad-free, and we hope you can join in supporting NCR! And we especially thank our GOAT backers: Pam Shriver and J. O'D.

And please check out Ben's new writing home, Bounces! And Tumaini's work at The Guardian! 

Ben and Tumaini have been working away at the Australian Open in the build-up to the main draw, taking a break to enjoy the sublime "One Point Slam," and writing lots of stuff we think you'll enjoy like Ben's piece on qualifying and interview with Goran Ivanisevic, and Tumaini's inside look at Murray coaching Djokovic and his fun story on cheating in tennis practice.

But the Australian Open draws are newly out, and they're our main focus on this episode, as we break down all the big contenders and the fun first round match-ups in Melbourne. 

Can anyone stop Jannik Sinner? Could Coco Gauff be a favorite over Aryna Sabalenka? All that and more! Enjoy! 

Thank you for listening! Our Patreon is back up and running to ensure NCR keeps going and stays ad-free, and we hope you can join in supporting NCR! And we especially thank our GOAT backers: Pam Shriver and J. O'D.

And please check out Ben's new writing home, Bounces! And Tumaini's work at The Guardian! 

Ben and Tumaini are back together again in Melbourne, teeing up a season that started earlier than ever before, and a first week that ended with a classic.

We discuss the United Cup, which reached a peak in the final with Coco Gauff beating Iga Swiatek, turning what had been a hopelessly lopsided rivalry into an absolute thriller, a shift that could have major ramifications atop women's tennis. We also discuss the rest of the United Cup, a successful event that really seems to have found its footing. 

We also discuss Naomi Osaka's run to the final in Auckland, which ended in an abrupt injury retirement after winning the first set. We then cover Tumaini's trip to Brisbane, where there was a servebot renaissance and a chatty Novak Djokovic.

On a more serious topic, we then cover the WTA confirming the existence of an investigation into Elena Rybakina's controversial coach Stefano Vukov, as reported by The Athletic. What do we know and—what don't we know—about the case at this juncture?

Then to end with much more fun, Tumaini takes the "Z" Trivia quiz Ben recently wrote for Bounces. 

Thank you for listening! Our Patreon is back up and running to ensure NCR keeps going and stays ad-free, and we hope you can join in supporting NCR! And we especially thank our GOAT backers: Pam Shriver and J. O'D.

And please check out Ben's new writing home, Bounces!

Ben and Tumaini can't take a break with all the news breaking already in this short tennis offseason, led (so far) by the revelations around Iga Swiatek's positive test and small one-month ban after convincingly proving her melatonin had been contaminated.

This is the second doping case right at the top of tennis this year, and there's a lot to discuss in the fallout: the two-tiered track of tennis justice that seems to favor top-ranked players, concerns over cases increasing, and what recent high-profiles have in common and not.

We then turn to the unexpected announcement from Novak Djokovic that he's hired Andy Murray to be his next coach. Why does this pairing make sense for each of them, and why do we like it more the more we think about it?

Lastly, Tumaini shares final impressions from how Rafael Nadal's career finally wrapped up in Malaga, and why the pageantry at the end left many feeling flat.

Thank you for listening! Our Patreon is back up and running to ensure NCR keeps going and stays ad-free, and we hope you can join in supporting NCR! And we especially thank our GOAT backers: Pam Shriver and J. O'D.

And please check out Ben's new writing home, Bounces!

Ben and Tumaini got a bunch more questions than fit into our previous episode, so, after an amazing musical prelude by Dan Bern, we answer the remainder of ones we got before recording in this separate episode.

We discuss a wide range of topics: Billie Jean King's suggestion that tennis should simply the scoring terminology; padel; ranking points at Challengers; the unpopularity of two-week Masters 1000 events; if Iga Swiatek should play more doubles; unimpressive comments by Ben Shelton and Jon Wertheim; Sara Errani's Hall of Fame candidacy; and the progress toward a possible ATP-WTA merger.

Thank you for listening! Our Patreon is back up and running to ensure NCR keeps going and stays ad-free, and we hope you can join in supporting NCR! And we especially thank our GOAT backers: Pam Shriver and J. O'D.

And please check out Ben's new writing home, Bounces!

Ben and Tumaini join up once again to discuss the tennis season that is *still* going in mid-November, somehow.

We start with Jannik Sinner's dominant run at the ATP Finals in Turin, where he never lost more than four games in any set en route to a title that moved him even further from the pack. How discordant are these magnificent triumphs with the backdrop of his still unresolved anti-doping saga?

We also discuss the impressive season put together by finalist Taylor Fritz, express concern over the present and future of Daniil Medvedev, and discuss the ATP reupping for another five years of this event in Italy.

We then go to Tumaini's beat in Spain, where he is on the ground in Malaga for Billie Jean King Cup, Davis Cup, and the Rafael Nadal retirement. We recorded this before Nadal played his final match, but you can get a sense of how big the hype was around the city for this occasion. 

More of your mailbag questions get answered in an upcoming episode!

Thank you for listening! Our Patreon is back up and running to ensure NCR keeps going and stays ad-free, and we hope you can join in supporting NCR! And we especially thank our GOAT backers: Pam Shriver and J. O'D.

And please check out Ben's new writing home, Bounces!

Ben and Tumaini reunite for the first time in nearly a month to discuss the inaugural WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, at which Coco Gauff won the trophy and a record $4.8 million prize.

We discuss Gauff and her resilient resurgence to finish her year on a high, and then we discuss the many conversation points around this event, both the positive and the negative. There's truth to be found on both sides, many various stakeholders with different priorities, and a lot of nuance in how this event can be understood.

We then pivot to the men to discuss the field being set in Turin, the final edition of Paris-Bercy, the current state of indoor tennis, and recent Eurovision-arena champs Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Jack Draper.

Thank you for listening! Our Patreon is back up and running to ensure NCR keeps going and stays ad-free, and we hope you can join in supporting NCR! And we especially thank our GOAT backers: Pam Shriver and J. O'D.

And please check out Ben's new writing home, Bounces!

Sometimes, as we've been reminded, life doesn't always turn out how you think it should. 

In this episode of NCR you'll hear from the recently retired Dominic Thiem via his appearance on a recent episode of the podcast A New Way of Being hosted by Simon Mundie. 

Simon joins Ben on this episode to expound and annotate on Thiem's journey, and what the lessons he learned might hold for us. We also discuss the unprecedented generational chasm between Thiem's generation and the one that came before, and what smartphone technology might have to do with it. 

Thank you for listening! Our Patreon is back up and running to ensure NCR keeps going and stays ad-free, and we hope you can join in supporting NCR! And we especially thank our GOAT backers: Pam Shriver and J. O'D.

And please check out Ben's new writing home, Bounces!

In an annual tradition, Ben and Ricky Dimon convene the day after the Marine Corps Marathon to discuss the year in men's tennis.

This year the top line story is pretty clear: Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz dividing and conquering the calendar, claiming the tour for their generation. Which one of them had a better year? And how much of a shadow (or a doubt?) does Sinner's positive test morass cast over his stellar year?

We also discuss the generation of 90s-born guys getting passed by, Djokovic hanging on, and young guys like Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard who have arrived in a big way. We also salute some of the guys saying goodbye, including Dominic Thiem (much more on him soon).

Thank you for listening! Our Patreon is back up and running to ensure NCR keeps going and stays ad-free, and we hope you can join in supporting NCR! And we especially thank our GOAT backers: Pam Shriver and J. O'D.

And please check out Ben's new writing home, Bounces!

Rafael Nadal, one of the all-time greats who we have been lucky to watch and cover over the past two decades, made his retirement official today.

After learning a few days ago that his announcement was imminent, Ben and Tumaini pre-recorded an episode on their reaction to this long-anticipated news.

We discuss what led to this decision, share our favorite memories of Nadal from watching him on court and interacting with him off court, and discuss his legacy and how he completely disrupted the game.

Thank you for listening! Our Patreon is back up and running to ensure NCR keeps going and stays ad-free, and we hope you can join in supporting NCR! And we especially thank our GOAT backers: Pam Shriver and J. O'D.