The post-US Open stretch is always a little strange. Case in point, Lleyton Hewitt was suspended for two weeks because he pushed an anti-doping official last year(?!). Taylor Townsend squandered a lot of good will after she mocked Chinese cuisine (though she swiftly apologized). The Italian dynasty captures their 6th BJK Cup title via Paolini, Cocciaretto, and Errani heroics. Plus, we issue a … clarification(?) of our comments on the USTA last episode, discuss the Canada-Israel tie, and tackle the allegedly imminent Kyrgios-Sabalenka “battle of the sexes.”
1:50 A retraction/clarification on our USTA crashout
6:20 We read the Lleyton Hewitt v. ITIA reports so you don’t have to
17:15 Results: Iga wins #25; WTA hatching and snatching continues
24:45 Team Italia continues to dominate BJK Cup
29:05 Taylor Townsend’s self-own
37:45 USA crashes out of Davis Cup / Canada’s decision on Israel DC tie
48:35 Kyrgios vs. Sabalenka will ultimately be a zero-sum game
Theme music courtesy of Oleg Fedak from Pixabay
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1:01:46
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1:01:46
The Corporate Sleaze
Thanks for your patience as we finished up our US Open wrap! One of our birthdays coincided with Rolex inviting a certain president to the tournament, and we conscientiously objected. Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz are your winners (for the first time together). The tournament was a barnburner on the women’s side, a fantastic cap to a year which saw four different Slam winners and a few players rewriting their own stories. On the men’s side, Alcaraz faced only 10 break points (a record) and pushed a dominant Sinner into rethinking his own game. As is our wont, we talk extensively about other things … including using Mary Carillo’s commentary as an example of the necessary risk of expanding sports commentary into something more worldly and immediate.
01:46 Aryna Sabalenka wins with smarts and steadiness
08:56 Animisova-Osaka, now that was a moment
18:27 The Townsend-Krejcikova match was a stunner
21:31 Mary Carillo and the risk of telling the truth
35:47 Carlos figures out Jannik (7 of the last 8 times)
42:19 Thanks, Rolex! The USTA makes a problem worse
50:34 Breaking down the prize money increase
55:45 Allez Félix!
64:50 Novak and everyone else
71:11 Duchess of Kent, Wimbledon icon, dies at 92
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1:17:34
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1:17:34
Packed Up and Gone
We've just returned from the US Open, excited to share some stories from the site. We cover our night session with Venus, the debut of Carlos' buzz cut, Felix vs some fake fans, and the luck of seeing Barbie K's opening match at two consecutive Slams. This has been something of a whiny US Open, though -- kicked off by Medvedev’s calculated tantrum, then followed by Ostapenko’s shameful display against Townsend (which Jonathan witnessed in person!). Later, we chat about the experience of a stretched out schedule, Serena inducting Maria into the Hall of Fame, the draws as they stand now.
1:30 Daniil Medvedev’s desperation
11:10 Stefanos, another pissy baby
15:50 Your primary source for Townsend-Ostapenko
32:00 Victor Barber we are so sorry (this time)
36:20 Night session with Venus Williams!
43:10 An overwhelming sense of ickiness
53:05 Félix and the fake fans
62:50 How the Sunday start impacted the on-site experience
70:20 Inductrination
77:35 The draws at the cusp of week two
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1:33:13
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1:33:13
Why Is It a Crime To Be Locked In? US Open Preview
We're kind of winging it for this US Open preview. It's a bit too late for a Cincy recap, so we're talking about major themes -- like Coco’s coaching overhaul, Iga’s mid-season surge, the guys not named Carlos or Jannik -- and sprinkling in some results. We talk about what worked and what didn't in the mixed doubles exhib-- I mean the prestigious and successful mixed doubles tournament featuring the world's best players. Plus we settle some scores and probably create a few new beefs, but what the hell, this is the last major of 2025 and literally our 43rd Slam preview.
1:00 The major storylines in the women’s draw: I warned you Iga was coming! + Coco drops the GripMD
15:00 Men’s storylines: Djokovic LoseWatch, the also-rans
21:05 The mixed doubles experiment
31:30 Mardy Fish comes for Rajeev Ram out of nowhere
35:50 Not Parks and Vavassori liking fake news homophobic posts on IG
38:45 Women's draw preview
51:25 Men's draw preview
67:10 US Open artwork: Honoring Althea Gibson in death but not in life
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1:15:43
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1:15:43
I Think I've Done Enough
The Canadian Open (finally) ends, and with a shocker: Burlington, Ontario’s Victoria Mboko snatches her first WTA title after starting the year outside the top 300, and Ben Shelton wins his first Masters event. Honestly, the longer format, the withdrawals of the top men, and the Cincinnati overlap all really hurt this tournament (the second-longest running in tennis history, btw!). We didn’t want to contribute to this Naomi speech discourse, but I guess we do in a small way. Plus: Stefano Vukov’s suspension has been overturned, That Guy is delulu (but in a very intentional PR type of way), and we take a question or two from the mailbag.
0:40 Burlington’s Very Own
13:50 The Naomi Discourse - not doing it again! (well, a little)
25:00 Performance, Bye
29:20 The longer format is sucking the life out of the Canadian Open
39:45 Shelton wins his first Masters 1000, electronic line calling loses (again)
48:00 Stefano Vukov’s ban by the WTA has been overturned in arbitration
59:50 A few questions from the mailbag
Colombia