No Challenges Remaining

In the second (and longer) part of their recording session this week, Ben and Tumaini fanned out into a range of recent events topics from the last month of tennis, catching up on what's been both a busy yet also quiet stretch of the season. 

We start with the uncertainties around Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz for New York, after both missed both Canada and Cincinnati. We also discuss Alcaraz's cornrows (remember those?). 

Of players who did play up north, we discuss champs Ben Shelton and Iga Swiatek. We also catch up on rising stars Alex Eala and Rafael Jodar, both of whom are inspiring strong reactions. 

We also cover the Marketa Vondrousova doping ban decision in full, and also the WTA's decision to start doing genetic sex tests on its players, news first broken on Bounces.

Tumaini then closes the show by describing his in-person experience going to see Ms. Lauryn Hill.

Thank you for listening! You can read Ben's work at Bounces and Tumaini's at The Guardian. 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.

Catching up after a month away from the mic, Ben and Tumaini discuss events and characters of the past month, catching up with recent events in Cincinnati.

And we had so much to say about the present states of the defining players of our tennis lives, Venus and Serena Williams, that we decided to make this lengthy first topic of discussion into a standalone episode. 

Venus and Serena brought us both into tennis; how should these legends leave the sport, now that it's become increasingly clear that their time as competitive players has run out?

More on everything else—Canada withdrawals, Shelton, Swiatek, Vondrousova, Eala, Jodar, genetic testing, Lauryn Hill—soon, but we clearly had a lot to say about the Williams Sisters in what looks like their closing chapter.

Thank you for listening! You can read Ben's work at Bounces and Tumaini's at The Guardian. 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.

In their last Court 15 recording of the fortnight, Ben and Tumaini talk about the women's and men's finals at Wimbledon, in which sleeper pick Linda Noskova recovered from what could've been a nightmare hiccup to win the all-Czech women's final over Karolina Muchova, and Jannik Sinner won a serving contest against Alexander Zverev.

We discuss getting to know Noskova (Knowskova?) and where she goes from here, and how important this title was for Jannik Sinner--and how important Montreal should be for him. 

Thank you for listening! You can read Ben's work at Bounces and Tumaini's at The Guardian. 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.

In a rare before-sunset recording, Ben and Tumaini talk about the women's semifinals at Wimbledon, in which sleeper pick Linda Noskova rolled and Coco Gauff lost a heartbreaker against Karolina Muchova after having a match point and what might've been an easy forehand.

We preview the all-Czech women's final, and then transition to the men, who are still yet to play their semifinals.

We discuss Arthur Fery's fairytale run, his small height, wealthy background, and dual citizenship. Does he have a shot against Zverev? Maybe! We then discuss how the Sinner-Djokovic semifinal might be different this time compared to the last time in Melbourne.

Thank you for listening! You can read Ben's work at Bounces and Tumaini's at The Guardian. 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.

After being delayed by a day by a Wimbledon Fery-tale, Ben and Tumaini returned to Court 15 at Wimbledon once more to cover the third round and the top half quarterfinals, which concluded with Novak Djokovic's epic win over Felix Auger-Aliassime in more than five hours.

We discuss the men, including those guys, Arthur Fery, Taylor Fritz, and more. We break for the Djokovic and Auger-Aliassime press conferences.

We then discuss the women, particularly sleeper pick Linda Noskova, the impressive run of Coco Gauff, and Naomi Osaka's incredible win over Aryna Sabalenka, which was followed by a loss to a very sharp Karolina Muchova in the quarterfinals.

Thank you for listening! You can read Ben's work at Bounces and Tumaini's at The Guardian. 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.