Perfect Match?

Love, 15, 30, 40: Music to tennis fans' ears and seemingly more complicated than A.P. Calculus to non-tennis people. This week, we attempt to explain how to explain tennis scoring. Bryan takes particular joy in this exercise as a man who loves to explain things (they should have a word for that!). Can tennis scoring be explained, or must it be lived?

Also,

• Elf and Polymarket are running the latest annoying Tennis Channel ads
• The history and possible future of the tiebreak in tennis

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Michele is out of town this week, which happens to also be Bisexual Awareness Week. I kept myself occupied by recording this short, (I believe) thoughtful essay on bisexuality. For all our bisexual listeners, you are awesome 💜

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On Sunday, we had a Brodown: (Total Bro) Ben Shelton battled (Toxic Bro) Alexander Zverev, not for the title of Top Bro but for the adjacent title of 2026 US Open Men's Champion. This week we break down Bros in Tennis: the Total Bro, Partial Bro, Nouveau Bro, Not a Bro and Toxic Bro. We feel that these entirely made up categories of bro-dom are a useful framing device for Men's Tennis in 2026. Or are they?

Also:

• Sabalenka is a sore loser at the US Open Final
• Two out gay male players compete in a final in a Challengers match for the first time 🏳️‍🌈

And other stuff...

Send us your hot takes at [email protected]

As always tell your friends, rate this podcast in your app, and send us feedback at https://www.perfectmatchpodcast.com/

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In this extended episode we talk about the emerging Gay Sports Romance genre and nerd out on behind-the-scenes library stuff with New York Public Library Senior Librarian and Cataloger Julia Lubey! How do books get tagged as Queer Fiction vs. Bisexual vs. Young Adult? What about The Open Era, which is perhaps all of the above?

Also:

• Alcaraz' nipple slip shirt 👀
• Djokovic's mysterious long-COVID-like condition 🤢
• The USTA's decision to make the Open unaffordable 💰💰

And more!

Send us your hot takes at [email protected]

As always tell your friends, rate this podcast in your app, and send us feedback at https://www.perfectmatchpodcast.com/

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The US Open Fan Week: loud, crowded, disorganized, chaotic! But we got a chance to see Serena and Carlos play doubles as well as the return of the one and only Roger Federer. Michele refrained from putting them on the glass for Roger, and Bryan remained relatively sober despite spending ~$200 on booze. Only at the Open!

Also,

• The Arthur Ashe stadium renovation that reflects the disappearing middle class
• Zohran Mamdami shames the US Open into providing some more affordable tickets
• The book talk for Finding Renee Richards, the new autobiography of the only trans pro tennis player in history by Julie Kliegman

Send us your hot takes at [email protected]

As always tell your friends, rate this podcast in your app, and send us feedback at https://www.perfectmatchpodcast.com/

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No sooner did we record an episode about Carlos' cornrows than he took them out (and pulled out of Cincy 😞). Regardless, there's a history of white people adopting/appropriating(?) black style with mixed results. We were initially becringed by the cornrows, but a new generation of social media users has put the whole topic into grey area.

Also:

• Jessie Pegula is hard to root for
• The ticket scalpers buy another year of profiteering
• "The Dink": the Pickleball movie with a heart of gold
• WTA sex testing update

Send us your hot takes at [email protected]

As always tell your friends, rate this podcast in your app, and send us feedback at https://www.perfectmatchpodcast.com/

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Jannik Sinner made headlines last week because he passed on a potentially unprecedented and historic opportunity: win all Masters 1000s tournaments in a single year. Nobody has ever done it. With all the talk about how maladapted, weird and lazy Gen Z is purported to be, we wondered if there's a generational theme here (spoiler: they said the exact same things about Gen X, but no one remembers anything about us).

Also,

• The DC Mubadala tournament's noble origin story
• Player boycott of the US Open Mixed Doubles event: still happening?

And more...

Send us your hot takes at [email protected]

As always tell your friends, rate this podcast in your app, and send us feedback at https://www.perfectmatchpodcast.com/

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The Women's Tennis Association, arguably the most progressive sports association in history, has decided to require every female professional tennis player to prove that they are a woman. What certification will be acceptable to pass this new test? Oh, it's something called an SRY test, which checks for the presence of Y chromosomes. Funny story, the man who discovered the SRY marker thinks that the test shouldn't be used this way. Good times!

Special shout out to Ben Rothernberg for breaking this story. Read his piece here.

Also:

• Alcaraz is coming back!
• Aussie Open to limit cheap tickets
• Thoughts on (partially read) new gay tennis romance novel "The Open Era"

Send us your hot takes at [email protected]

As always tell your friends, rate this podcast in your app, and send us feedback at https://www.perfectmatchpodcast.com/

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Men's tennis is failing us, in our view. It's top priority should be preventing Zv*r*v and Djokovic from winning a Grand Slam, and with Carlos out, the only one up to the challenge is Jannik Sinner. This is unsustainable!

This week, Michele puts on her HR hat and puts Men's Tennis on a Performance Improvement Plan, complete with milestones and actionable goals (sorry I just barfed a bit in my mouth typing that).

Also:

• Alcaraz is on the mend 💪
• Paige Lorenze is now Paige Paul 💍
• Alex DeMinaur and Katie Boulter got married the day of the Wimbledon Men's Final 🤔
• New tennis movies 🎬

And more!

Send us your hot takes at [email protected]

As always tell your friends, rate this podcast in your app, and send us feedback at https://www.perfectmatchpodcast.com/

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Serena's comeback at Wimbledon was impressive, adequate, or perplexing, depending on who is commenting on it. This week, we take on Serena's choice, as well as the odd circumstances around her dropping out of doubles at the last minute. What is all this really about? Does Serena herself even know?

Also,

• The danger on the men's side (a Djokovic or Zverev win 😱)
• We will have a new champion on the women's side
• Players fail to stage collective action around prize money
• No dogs allowed at Wimbledon

And more!

Send us your hot takes at [email protected]

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.