The Body Serve

Welcome to our week one recap of the 2017 French Open. We kick things off with a look back at some of the big (albeit few) upsets, as well as the biggest surprises left in both singles draws. Rafa and Novak remain on course for a crackerjack semifinal, while Andy and Stan motor along under the radar on the other half of the men's draw. As for the women, your guess is still as good as ours. We talk about Kiki Mladenovic's possible role as villain on the WTA, before following up on our discussion from last time on the real villain at the moment, Margaret Court.

02:12 Kicking things off with the upsets: throwing Zverev in James' face

06:20 Can we talk about the tarp thing? James goes off

07:51 Petko goes to bat for Angie

10:20 Any bigger surprise than Caroline Wozniacki?

17:02 Women's Draw: your guess is still as good as ours

20:32 Talking the Venus-Timea matchup

28:22 Kiki refuses to lose but how much can she have left?

32:26 Men's Draw: marching right along to another Rafole humdinger?

42:42 Good sportsmanship/humanity the big motif of week one?

47:15 Is Kiki a villain? Is she the villain tennis needs? Does tennis need one?

50:15 Forza, Muguruza!

53:45 Margaret Court is definitely a villain

59:55 Why you say "no comment?"

We're breaking down the draws for Roland Garros 2017, perhaps the most unpredictable women's major in memory. We talk about the overarching themes (La Decima, Novak-Andre, notable absences, and the 10+ female contenders) but we also go in-depth with the draws. After that, we devote a long time to addressing Margaret Court's continued and unprovoked attacks on the lgbt community. We consider what exactly free speech means, the responsibility that comes with it, and the necessity to push back when our queer personhoods and families are under attack.

1:30 The themes of the Roland Garros draw: the wiiiide open women's draw

We're breaking down the draws for Roland Garros 2017, perhaps the most unpredictable women's major in memory. We talk about the overarching themes (La Decima, Novak-Andre, notable absences, and the 10+ female contenders) but we also go in-depth with the draws. After that, we devote a long time to addressing Margaret Court's continued and unprovoked attacks on the lgbt community. We consider what exactly free speech means, the responsibility that comes with it, and the necessity to push back when our queer personhoods and families are under attack.

1:30 The themes of the Roland Garros draw: the wiiiide open women's draw

The big news this week is that Sharapova will not play Roland Garros, as she was denied a wild card by the French Federation. There's so much tennis news to talk about that we've broken it down into good, bad, and ugly. And man, is there a lot of bad and ugly. But first: Rafa beats Djokovic for this first time since 2014 and wins his third consecutive title.

1:20 The Good: Rafa beats Novak in Madrid - sizing up Rafa and Novak's form

Maria Sharapova made her return to tennis last week in Stuttgart after missing 15 months for a doping ban. René Denfeld was on site and joins us to recap how it all went down. For the second successive week, Nadal makes double digit history, this time winning his tenth Barcelona title. We finish up with a follow-up to last episode's discussion on geopolitics and nationalism, this time regarding Dan Evans and his continued xenophobia.

01:30 Etceteras: Serena claps back, Roger in Paris, and Khachanov's thighs

07:30 Maria's pressers in Stuttgart

13:43 Maria and Max: an alternate theory

18:34 Talk shit, get hit? Not Kiki

20:35 Noooooobody wants to face Siegemund on clay

26:44 René Denfeld: "one of the brightest lights of Tennis Twitter" reports on Stuttgart

53:04 What to make of Mladenovic and her breakout season

60:04 What's going on with WTA Reactions?

62:32 Rafa's La Décima tour continues in Barcelona

66:07 Dan Evans renews his anti Aljaz Bedene campaign

Maria Sharapova made her return to tennis last week in Stuttgart after missing 15 months for a doping ban. René Denfeld was on site and joins us to recap how it all went down. For the second successive week, Nadal makes double digit history, this time winning his tenth Barcelona title. We finish up with a follow-up to last episode's discussion on geopolitics and nationalism, this time regarding Dan Evans and his continued xenophobia.

01:30 Etceteras: Serena claps back, Roger in Paris, and Khachanov's thighs

07:30 Maria's pressers in Stuttgart

13:43 Maria and Max: an alternate theory

18:34 Talk shit, get hit? Not Kiki

20:35 Noooooobody wants to face Siegemund on clay

26:44 René Denfeld: "one of the brightest lights of Tennis Twitter" reports on Stuttgart

53:04 What to make of Mladenovic and her breakout season

60:04 What's going on with WTA Reactions?

62:32 Rafa's La Décima tour continues in Barcelona

66:07 Dan Evans renews his anti Aljaz Bedene campaign

Episode 78 is our attempt to make sense of the strange happenings of the past week: the Nastase-fueled nightmare at the Romania vs. GB Fed Cup tie; Max Eisenbud's petty and rude comments; Serena's pregnancy and Patrick Mouratoglou's response; and Rafael Nadal's history-making 10th Monte Carlo title. This episode also features an interview with the engaging and hilarious Caitlin Thompson, publisher of Racquet Magazine and co-host of The Main Draw podcast. Caitlin and James talk about Maria, journalism, Racquet's new issue, and the philosophy that drives the magazine. Stick around for Caitlin's take on the Serena/Beyonce vs. Maria/T-Swift analogy.

0:45 So, uh, did something happen this weekend?

Episode 77 truly struggled to be born, interrupted and amended by the news that shook the tennis world: Serena might be -- and then, definitely is -- pregnant. The night before, we recorded a perfectly fine look at the upcoming clay season and a fun #SeeWhatHadHappenedWas about the French Fed Cup madness. All that is still here, but first, we ride the wave of emotions inflicted upon us by the GOAT troll, Serena Jameka Williams. All that and an interview with tennis photographer Daniel Ward, whom Jonathan met at the Volvo Car Open in Charleston, SC.

0:00 Serena's team confirms what we feared: she's pregnant & missing all of 2017

Episode 76 marks the end of our Charleston coverage. We're bringing you our interview with rising WTA star Naomi Osaka, social media phenom and all-around great personality. We recap the Charleston final, the Davis Cup quarterfinals, Eugenie Bouchard's years-long court battle with the USTA, and on-court coaching. We wrap up with some thoughts about protecting queer spaces from bachelorette party madness.

4:25 Wrapping up our reporting from Charleston

Episode 76 marks the end of our Charleston coverage. We're bringing you our interview with rising WTA star Naomi Osaka, social media phenom and all-around great personality. We recap the Charleston final, the Davis Cup quarterfinals, Eugenie Bouchard's years-long court battle with the USTA, and on-court coaching. We wrap up with some thoughts about protecting queer spaces from bachelorette party madness.

4:25 Wrapping up our reporting from Charleston