Let's face it: 2025 sucked. Life got measurably worse for most people in the world who are not billionaires (although life got measurably better for them, so there's that). But within this swirling sewer of a year, we dug up some memories that reminded us why we need tennis in our lives and why we need to podcast about it.

Enjoy these highlights from this past season, and thank you, dear listener for your continued support, and all of the kind words and feedback you've given us 🎾🍸♥️

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It’s spooooooky season, and for our final episode of the year we are summoning the ghouls and goblins of tennis and counting down the scariest trends we are seeing. What evil lurks on the tennis courts of the world? In the stadia and tennis villages, from the hard courts of Melbourne to the grass courts of Wimbledon and beyond?

👹 Higher ticket prices?

👻 Novak Djokovic hangs around?

👿 A Saudi Slam?

😨 Coco Gauff's Serve Woes Continue?

And more!

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Today, we dive into the 2nd edition of the Six Kings Slam. On the same day that millions of people rallied around the world in the No Kings protests to defy Trump and defend democracy, the final match of the tennis exhibition “The Six Kings Slam” was played in Saudi Arabia between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. Was the exhibition tacky and tone deaf? Yes. Was it entertaining? No. Was it good for tennis? Absolutely not.

Also:

• A Portuguese player gets busted for crystal meth
• Nick Kyrgios is de-bro'd by Andy Murray

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This one we recorded in March when we were all fairly new to this political reality. Since then, we've see politics become a taboo subject, and supporting any form of liberalism feels almost risky. But fuck it, we have to talk about politics and take a stand. This is our take on several current and former top players.

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Proper sleep impacts every aspect of one's life. For tennis players – and athletes in general – it’s a relatively new insight. Only in the last 20 years have experts and players realized just how much sleep can affect performance. Even the smallest adjustment can help a player reach peak performance. This week, we dig into the details of top players and their sleep habits. Roger Federer: 12 hours a night! Pete Sampras needs freshly pressed sheets. Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz get a LOT of sleep.

Also:

• The Court Speed Conspiracy Theory, hatched by...Roger Federer?
• The Asian swing is running out of gas
• Michele's perfect sleeping habits and Bryan's highly disordered routine

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We are not a podcast that assesses the pricing and collectibility of Labubu dolls. We are not a companion podcast to the hit TLC series "Sister Wives". We are not a MAGA podcast that aims to take down and take out the woke left. We are a podcast that discusses the culture through the lens of tennis (and sometimes our relationship).

Weekly for the entire tennis season. Short: about 30 minutes per episode. Unafraid: we talk a lot of shit.

Check it out!

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Cocaine, Coke, Booger Sugar, Bolivian Marching Powder. Whatever you call it, the worlds of professional tennis and all night coke binges once overlapped.

The talk of the tennis town this week is the new Bjorn Borg memoir “Heartbeats", in which he admits to using cocaine, saying it almost ruined his life many times after he quit the tour. But was his drug use really confined to his post-playing years? It was the ‘70s after all. And who else on tour has dabbled with “non-performance enhancing” drugs.

This week we dive into a pile of (metaphorical) white powder and break down who has used, who has denied and who has danced around the issue (they did coke too).

Enjoy!

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As we have all heard, Jimmy Kimmel Live! was suspended at the behest of the Trump administration, then reinstated after an enormous public outcry. What is less discussed is the influence of the two main networks that own many of the local ABC affiliate stations, Nexstar and Sinclair Broadcast Group, the latter of which owns…The Tennis Channel. Prior to ABC’s blanket suspension of the show, both networks were blocking Jimmy Kimmel Live! on their local stations, because they are right-wing, Pro-Trump organizations.

What's a tennis fan to do? Cancel your Tennis Channel account? Boycott their advertisers? There aren't a lot of good options here, but we can and must keep speaking out. As Jamelle Bouie put it, "Stand up...and say no."

Also:

• Carlos Alcaraz doesn't know what "Meta Glasses" are
• Taylor Townsend screwed up on social media
• Anti-Asian racism in tennis isn't all that uncommon

It's a dark time. Keep the faith.

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With Serena Willams' recent announcement that she takes a GLP-1 (and that she is the global spokeswoman for the online drug compounder Ro), these drugs are more visible and talked about than ever before. While they are a miracle for some, Michele has questions. Bryan mostly stays out of the way but then reveals his own journey losing, gaining and maintaining his weight.

Also:

• 2025 US Open TV ratings were impressive
• Saudi Arabia is showering money on top male players again this year for their "Six Kings Slam" event
• Novak Djokovic is displeased with Serbia and moving to Greece
• Nick Kyrgios and Aryna Sabalenka will play in the Naomi Osaka-produced "Battle of the Sexes Redux" (is this necessary? no)

Send us your hot takes at [email protected]

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The US Open, the final Grand Slam of the year, has concluded. While always outsize among slams in its sheer lunacy, this is 2025, and boy did the US Open deliver! Today we countdown the worst people and the best people the last 3 weeks has presented us. God help us all.

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The outro music this time is the brilliant "You're Gonna Win" by Lady Wray. Pre-order here: https://ladywray.bandcamp.com/album/cover-girl

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.