Ben and NCR's Youth correspondent Alex Gruskin discuss Ben Shelton's big win Tuesday night over Frances Tiafoe in the US Open quarterfinals, a big result both within the American tennis ladder and in the big picture of the ATP generations game.

Has Shelton's generation (Alcaraz, Sinner, Rune, etc) already passed Tiafoe's generation (Tsitsipas, Rublev, Auger-Aliassime etc) for good? What about within the American ladder?

And when did the buzz about Shelton, who seemed to come out of nowhere, first start?

Exciting news, listeners! For the next three days members can get 25% off when they pre-order Ben's forthcoming book Naomi Osaka online at Barnes & Noble! Use code PREORDER25, and please message us so we can thank you when you order it there or elsewhere! 

Ben and Tumaini convene in the late hours of the night after Jelena Ostapenko thunderously knocked out Iga Swiatek, emphatically ending both Swiatek's title defense and her 75-week reign at the #1 ranking.

Given Ostapenko's talent and head-to-head record, should this be considered a "bad loss" for Swiatek? Can Ostapenko win the tournament? How does Aryna Sabalenka come into the #1 ranking?

Plus, a bit on Gauff d. Wozniacki, the constant corner chatter of coaches, and on how the worst way to beat Novak Djokovic seems to be to take the first two sets against him. 

You can pre-order Ben's book now, including in the UK and Australia! 

For our fourth daily show from the US Open, Ben is joined by tennis writer AJ Eccles to discuss his return to live tennis at the US Open last night, and what the sport looks like from inside the stadium.

What did it feel like being back at a crowded tennis tournament after years away? What are the differences between watching live and watching on TV And what was it like seeing his favorites Caroline Wozniacki and Petra Kvitova battle it out in one of the marquee matches of the first week?

Ben is joined by David Waldstein of The New York Times, who recently wrote about the disconnect between the US Open and its neighbors, the Latino communities of Corona and other neighborhoods like Elmhurst and Flushing.

Why is the US Open so walled off from these communities? What could be done to make them more connected and invested in one another? And what is lost by hundreds of thousands of people passing over these neighborhoods in "flyover" fashion as the tournament teleports its people from Midtown Manhattan to the island of the USTABJKNTC?

Ben and Tumaini reconvene on Day 2 of this US Open to talk about players retiring at this US Open, including Barbora Strycova (who you'll hear), CoCo Vandeweghe, and Jack Sock.

But mostly, we talk about John Isner, the towering American who had an outsized impact on the sport while being popular among his peers but polarizing among fans. 

You'll hear from Andy Murray, Grigor Dimitrov, Eric Butorac, and John himself about what his legacy has been on the court, where he broke records and uniquely inspired rule changes.

We discuss Isner's spectacular serve, the way it inspired awe in some and boredom in others, and also how he foregrounded a conversation about how fans choose whom to support based on public political opinions, and how tennis players think about each other's views.

Ben and Tumaini are back together again at the US Open, for the first of what will be daily shows here!

We discuss the big story off-court, which is the Saudi bid to move into women's tennis, as well as some of the big headlines on court on Day 1, where Maria Sakkari and Holger Rune were the notable upset victims.

Also, how relevant is American tennis globally?

As he wraps up the book he's been writing about Naomi Osaka (pre-order now, please, thank you!) Ben is back on site at the ATP-WTA tournament in Washington, where he did a short-but-sweet interview with Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion who remains a remarkably engaging presence on the tour as she looks for ways to rediscover her dominance.

Ben and Bianca chat about the stage presence she gets from her "unapologetic" mom, the upsides and downsides of having set the bar so high for what she can do in 2019, and how she works to block out the noise of being in the public arena.

Thanks for listening!

Ben and Reem Abulleil chat about the big stories of the business end of Wimbledon, starting with the massive narrative potential of the men's final. Does Carlos Alcaraz's win over Novak Djokovic in the final represent a passing of the torch, or something less drastic? How surprised were we by this result? And how could this be a good thing for Djokovic going forward?

We also discuss Chris Eubanks and Matteo Berrettini, who both had meaningfully great runs on the men's side.

On the women, we discuss how Marketa Vondrousova went so under the radar on her way to a historic Wimbledon title, and how she ended the fairytales of Ons Jabeur and Elina Svitolina. How does her win change the look of the women's tour? And how do we process Jabeur's disappointing loss at the final hurdle?

We also look at the runs of Svitolina, Iga Swiatek, and toast the doubles win of Hsieh/Strycova.

Lastly, at the end, Dan Bern sings out the show with an original composition in honor of the mythical men's final. 

With their preamble out of the way, Ben and Tumaini Carayol (*who is audible in this fixed, reuploaded audio!) dig into the 2023 Wimbledon women's and men's draws to discuss the favorites and other notable names among the 256 players competing for the singles crowns at SW19.

Both respective top seeds, Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz, have their stocks rising after strong grass lead-ups. Have they improved enough to contend for the Wimbledon title?

We discuss the bottom-heavy women's draw, the continuing joy of Venus Williams, the struggles of Matteo Berrettini (who was the one player in his generation who seemed like a natural on grass), the retirements of Anett Kontaveit and Milos Raonic, the opportunity for Jannik Sinner, and the enduring juggernaut that is Novak Djokovic.

Enjoy!