Ben and Tumaini reconvene for the first time back in their cold home hemisphere to discuss tennis happenings in February, which involve several complex stories.

First, we discussed the late-breaking news of Stefano Vukov receiving a one-year ban from the WTA, and the details that were reported by The Athletic about the WTA's reasons. Is this new proactive approach correct?

Second we discuss the retirement announcement of Simona Halep, whose legacy became much more complicated in the last few years. How should her career be remembered?

We then cover the many changes happening to the August schedule, including the elongated Canada and Cincinnati events, the US Open's Sunday start, and then mostly the U.S. Open's radical revamp of the mixed doubles event. 

After some results chats and thank yous, we end with a discussion of Serena at the Super Bowl and our memories of her time with Drake.

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 recorded one last show from this lovely trip to Melbourne, discussing the two singles finals.

We start with the triumphant, tour-de-force title run by Madison Keys, who was the best version of herself in many ways as she tore through a historically tough draw to win her first major after years of struggling with expectations. What made Keys so impressive? There are many correct answers.

Then on the men's side, we discuss Jannik Sinner's demolition of Alexander Zverev, not facing a break point in the entire final, and where Sinner goes from here. We also discuss the protestor who disrupted the trophy ceremony by shouting support for Zverev's ex-girlfriends/accusers (an incident Ben wrote about at 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! And Tumaini's work at The Guardian! 

Ben and Tumaini are together after four singles semifinals are in the books, one of which was an epic and one of which was a short story.

We start with the women, where Aryna Sabalenka played perhaps her best match of the tournament so far to beat Paula Badosa, booking a spot in the final against Madison Keys, who played perhaps the best match of her career to beat Iga Swiatek in the other semifinal. (Also, if you're interested solely in the women, FYI we circle back to talk more about Iga Swiatek at the very end of the show.) 

We then move onto the men, where Jannik Sinner was very solid against Ben Shelton, and Novak Djokovic stopped after just a set, putting Alexander Zverev into the final abruptly and drawing boos.

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 after another round is in the books at this Australian Open, looking back at the quarterfinals and setting up the semifinal slate.

We start with the women, where Coco Gauff suffered a surprising unraveling at the hands of experienced thread-puller Paula Badosa. Badosa will play Aryna Sabalenka, while Madison Keys will face Iga Swiatek in the other semifinal.

On the men's side, Novak Djokovic won a thriller against Carlos Alcaraz to book his spot in the semifinal, and Ben Shelton sounded off about the on-court interviews after booking a spot in the other semifinal. 

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 checking back in midway through this Australian Open, just as the quarterfinals are about to begin.

We break down the women's stories first, including check-ins on top contenders Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, and Iga Swiatek. We also discuss all the fuss over Danielle Collins giving it back to a hostile crowd, Madison Keys' resurgence, and Elina Svitolina's transformation.

On the men's side, we discuss the upcoming showdown between Djokovic and Alcaraz, why Djokovic's boycott of Channel Nine was justified, and Jannik Sinner struggling in the heat.

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 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!