No Challenges Remaining

The fall out from the Adria Tour coronavirus cluster took an unexpected trip to the dance floor within a week later, with video surfacing of Alexander Zverev partying in Monte Carlo just days after being repeatedly exposed to the disease (and promising to follow health protocols) enraging people around the sport in tennis and severely damaging trust in tennis players. To discuss the ramifications, and the notions of a code of conduct, Ben is joined by NCR's Middle East correspondent Reem Abulleil (please do support her Patreon as well!) to talk about what the tours can and can't do, the corrosive effects of selfishness in tennis, and more.  Should tennis continue on without putting super rigid restrictions on personnel behavior in place? And if tennis has to do so much in a pandemic that it stops being fun, should it just stop all together? Big, bleak conversations are had here, but we also had a lot of fun. If you'd like to support our show, particularly as our normal work has disappeared along with the s

Two programming alerts for you here, one sort of a bummer but the other one super-duper. Firstly, we decided that the US Open roundtable episode we recorded after the press conference in New York had become instantly outdated when the positive tests started rolling in from the reckless Adria Tour, so we made the tough decision not to publish it since it was feeling obsolete. In much happier programming news, we have some very fun stuff rolling onto our Patreon now: games of tennis-themed Codenames with Ben, Courtney, Blair Henley and Nick McCarvel! We had a TON of fun with our friends, and hope you'll have just as much watching the three-part video series, the first round of which is up now. To access these shows, and for the hook up on how to play this tennis-themed game with your own crew of tennis-loving friends, please join the 200+ wonderful listeners who are backing us on our Patreon.  If you'd like to support our show, particularly as our normal work has disappeared along with the sport, we've launc

Between the recording and posting of an episode about the U.S. Open going forward, a big tennis news item dropped on Sunday: Grigor Dimitrov announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19 after participating in the Adria Tour events, making this the most high-profile known incidence of coronavirus in tennis yet and casting a pall over the sport's plans to go forward with tour events soon. Ben is kindly rejoined by Reem Abulleil and Tumaini Carayol to have another discussion of what the Dimitrov test result means for the sport, both in terms of lessons to be learned from what went wrong at the Adria Tour (seems like a lot!) and what it might mean for events like the U.S. Open which had optimistically planned on forging ahead. Can be players be trusted to behave responsibly enough to keep a fragile thread of optimistic hope intact? If you'd like to support our show, particularly as our normal work has disappeared along with the sport, we've launched an NCR Patreon where you can do just that! Check out o

The U.S.T.A. confirmed today that it plans to hold the U.S. Open in its regular dates, albeit without fans and with players and their teams kept in a isolated bubble. The Western & Southern Open will also be played, but at the U.S. Open venue rather than in Ohio. But before those, the first tournament back on the ATP Tour will be the Citi Open in Washington DC. To talk about what it's taken to get there, and what comes next for the tournament, Ben is rejoined by tournament owner Mark Ein to discuss how his tournament is preparing, what challenges lie ahead, and what an event could look like this summer. If you'd like to support our show, particularly as our normal work has disappeared along with the sport, we've launched an NCR Patreon where you can do just that! Check out our five tiers and see which might be right for you! And thank you to the many listeners who have already given their support! (And thank you to G.O.A.T. backer J O'D!)  As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook (leave comments on

For our second episode of the week, Ben is joined by Patrick Mouratoglou, the coach of Serena Williams, founder of the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy, and most recently the creator of the Ultimate Tennis Showdown, a tennis event with lots of new ideas on rules to make tennis more appealing to a new, younger audience. Patrick discusses the need for more open displays of emotion in tennis, how to make tennis more competitive in a crowded entertainment marketplace, his thoughts on the U.S. Open's proposed rule limiting player support personnel to one person, what his charge Serena Williams has been doing during this shutdown time, tennis-wise, and lots more.  If you'd like to support our show, particularly as our normal work has disappeared along with the sport, we've launched an NCR Patreon where you can do just that! Check out our five tiers and see which might be right for you! And thank you to the many listeners who have already given their support! (And thank you to G.O.A.T. backer J O'D!)  As always, thanks

Ben and Courtney are delighted to bring you a conversation they had last month with Sandra Zaniewska, a rare former WTA player who now coaches on the tour (or did before the tour stopped, anyhow), working first with Petra Martic and now with Alize Cornet. We discuss finding meaning during the shutdown, her own journey through the sport as a player and a coach, how coaches can cope with this stoppage, what she makes of Dominic Thiem's controversial comments, and her own nascent adventures in podcasting. If you'd like to support our show, particularly as our normal work has disappeared along with the sport, we've launched an NCR Patreon where you can do just that! Check out our five tiers and see which might be right for you! And thank you to the many listeners who have already given their support! (And thank you to G.O.A.T. backer J O'D!)  As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook (leave comments on the episode thread! Engage with other listeners!), following us on Twitter (discuss this episode with hasht

Ben and Courtney are joined by The Guardian's Tumaini Carayol to discuss his reporting on Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff, two young stars who have emerged as leading voices among players as America is gripped by protests following the murder of George Floyd. How are these two women using their voices? What sort of shift might this represent in the public persona of Osaka, particularly? Are there any drawbacks to athletes speaking out? And how might the stoppage change social awareness in the sport? If you'd like to support our show, particularly as our normal work has disappeared along with the sport, we've launched an NCR Patreon where you can do just that! Check out our five tiers and see which might be right for you! And thank you to the many listeners who have already given their support! (And thank you to G.O.A.T. backer J O'D!)  As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook (leave comments on the episode thread! Engage with other listeners!), following us on Twitter (discuss this episode with hashtag #NCR2

At the suggestion of a few listeners, we thought it might be useful to alert listeners on this main feed when we upload a Patreon-only episode. And Ben and Courtney just put up their biggest Patreon-only yet, with over two hours across all sorts of topics, mostly non-tennis though with a few decided tangents into the sport we find ourselves without currently.  This is our fifth Patreon-only episode, and backers to our Patreon can access all episodes and other discussion threads and posts. We're currently at 192 backers--just eight short of 200?--and would love to have your support. And we think it's a deal worth your while if you enjoy Ben and Courtney talking (which hopefully you do if you're reading this). Hope everyone is well out there! And thanks to our G.O.A.T. backer J.O'D!

Four years after we launched NCRvision into this world, we're finally able to bring some closure to the adventures of our 26 heroic songs inspired by tennis, and to enjoy a whole lot of fun side quests along the way!  We've counted the 411(!) ballots that our listeners cast, and we reveal the finishing order of the songs from 26th to champion, having a whole lot of fun along the way. We start with a recap of the show and an interview with Eurovision expert William Lee Adams who lends his expert eye to our field. Then we have tons and tons of montages of bonus songs, interviews of artists, and more surprises along the way. Hopefully you'll have as much fun with the way this whole NCRvision journey wraps up as we have had putting it together. Thank you again for your votes, and for your patience. Getting this done was a major undertaking, and we're very relieved it is finally complete. If you'd like to support our show, particularly as our normal work has disappeared along with the sport, we've launched an

The 2020 Eurovision Song Contest final was slated to be held today in Rotterdam, but alas 'twas not to be given the coronavirus situation around the continent and the world. The world is a far less glittery place than it should be.  But fear not if you're missing that song contest fix! We're reairing our beloved NCRvision Song Contest from 2016 here for your renewed enjoyment. There's also a purpose behind this reairing: to get you refamiliarized with the songs for when our results show finally drops later this month! You're going to love it, we promise. If you'd like to support our show, particularly as our normal work has disappeared along with the sport, we've launched an NCR Patreon where you can do just that! Check out our five tiers and see which might be right for you! And thank you to the many listeners who have already given their support! (And thank you to G.O.A.T. backer J O'D!)  As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook (leave comments on the episode thread! Engage with other listeners!), fol

In light of recent developments, Ben is joined by a Novak Djokovic superfan, Katrina aka @returnwinner, to talk about her journey as a fan of Novak's from the beginning to now. We talk about what drew her to Djokovic initially, her journey as a fan of a less popular player, and what she most admires about Djokovic. Then, pivoting to more recent developments, we discuss Djokovic's frustrating fall into the fray of faux-wellness charlatans, and how we should react to a favorite having some undesirable traits. If you'd like to support our show, particularly as our normal work has disappeared along with the sport, we've launched an NCR Patreon where you can do just that! Check out our five tiers and see which might be right for you! And thank you to the many listeners who have already given their support! (And thank you to G.O.A.T. backer J O'D!)  As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook (leave comments on the episode thread! Engage with other listeners!), following us on Twitter (discuss this episode with

As the world works from home, we thought it might be useful to give you perspective from the folks who work remotely in tennis even under normal circumstances: the world feed commentators. Ravi Ubha, veteran journalist and commentator, talks about what it's like to call matches that happen around the world from a small studio in England, how to prepare, how to create atmosphere, and more. If you'd like to support our show, particularly as our normal work has disappeared along with the sport, we've launched an NCR Patreon where you can do just that! Check out our five tiers and see which might be right for you! And thank you to the many listeners who have already given their support! (And thank you to G.O.A.T. backer J O'D!)  As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook (leave comments on the episode thread! Engage with other listeners!), following us on Twitter (discuss this episode with hashtag #NCR255!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may b

For another perspective on life without tennis from someone inside the sport, Ben is joined by NCR favorite Mike Cation, co-host of the Behind the Racquet podcast, who shares his experiences now that his commentary work has ceased indefinitely with the sport halted due to coronavirus. We discuss the impact of the current moment on both financial and mental health, how lower-ranked players might be especially affected, and on the strains of exhibition match ideas which are popping up in all sorts of various places. We also discuss payment ideas, for players and coaches alike. These are tough, weird times, but there is comfort to be found, for sure, in knowing just how many people are in this together. If you'd like to support our show, particularly as our normal work has disappeared along with the sport, we've launched an NCR Patreon where you can do just that! Check out our five tiers and see which might be right for you! And thank you to the many listeners who have already given their support! (And thank

The tennis world is stopped, but it got suddenly busy on Wednesday with Roger Federer expressing a view that he'd like to see the ATP and WTA tours merge into one organization after decades of being side-by-side but separate. More curiously, Rafael Nadal, not a supporter of equality measures in tennis, quickly endorsed this idea. What is going on? Ben is joined by Reem Abulleil try to figure out what's happening here, where it's coming from, and what it might mean for the futures of the tours. We have a lot of questions and a lot of suspicions. If you'd like to support our show, particularly as our normal work has disappeared along with the sport, we've launched an NCR Patreon where you can do just that! Check out our five tiers and see which might be right for you! And thank you to the many listeners who have already given their support! (And thank you to G.O.A.T. backer J O'D!)  As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook (leave comments on the episode thread! Engage with other listeners!), following us 

With the traditional European clay swing and the grass court circuit both off the calendar for the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the next possible start line for the sport is the summer hardcourt stretch in North America, on which the first big combined event would be the Citi Open in Washington. To discuss how the tournament is preparing and thinking currently, Ben is joined by Citi Open owner Mark Ein, who gives his insights and perspectives about how tennis might return after months away, and in what form. Though the event is still months away, there's lots of ideas and contingencies already floating around, and Mark walks us through several different scenarios which should help to illuminate this murky landscape more clearly for listeners. If you'd like to support our show, particularly as our normal work has disappeared along with the sport, we've launched an NCR Patreon where you can do just that! Check out our five tiers and see which might be right for you! And thank you to the many lis

To enhance our discussion and understanding of NCR Book Club selection Venus Envy, Ben and Courtney are joined by Jon Wertheim to chat about his experiences writing the book and how he looks back on it, two decades later. How has the tour changed since? How will history remember Anna Kournikova? And what is the current state of tennis in the publishing world? If you'd like to support our show, particularly as our normal work has disappeared along with the sport, we've launched an NCR Patreon where you can do just that! Check out our five tiers and see which might be right for you! And thank you to the many listeners who have already given their support! (And thank you to G.O.A.T. backer J O'D!)  As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook (leave comments on the episode thread! Engage with other listeners!), following us on Twitter (discuss this episode with hashtag #NCRBookClub!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Ben and Courtney are delighted to bring you the long-awaited first discussion of the NCR Book Club, chatting about one of our favorite tennis tomes: Venus Envy by Jon Wertheim, which covers the 2000 season on the WTA Tour We discuss the colorful characters, what's changed in the sport in the last two decades, and how the book is a great snapshot of a moment on tour which is often sanitized or glossed over in modern narratives. Plus, a whole lot more. We will have another episode on Venus Envy featuring author Jon Wertheim later this week. The NCR Book Club next continues on to our next selection: Hard Courts by John Feinstein. After the book chat, Ben and Courtney debrief on life in our current quarantines. It's a weird time, y'all.  If you'd like to support our show, particularly as our normal work has ceased, we've launched an NCR Patreon where you can do just that! Check out our five tiers and see which might be right for you! And thank you to the many listeners who have already given their support! (A

To distract you all from the bizarre world in which we live, Ben introduces you to one of the more unusual characters from the tennis ecosystem: the courtsider. (For more of an explainer on what courtsiding is, you may want to read this piece first) Brad Hutchins, author of the book Game, Set, Cash, reminisces about his time on tour as a courtsider, the highs and lows of that job, and what it's like to be the mouse in a cat-and-mouse chase around the globe, working lawfully but against the wishes of the tennis powers that be. He's got quite a story to tell, which makes him something of an honorary selection for the upcoming NCR Book Club, which launches next week with *two* episodes on Venus Envy by Jon Wertheim.  If you'd like to support our show, particularly as our normal work has ceased, we've launched an NCR Patreon where you can do just that! Check out our five tiers and see which might be right for you! And thank you to the many listeners who have already given their support! (And thank you to G.O.

This tiny update is mostly to alert followers who track our show primarily through this feed that Ben and Courtney got together earlier this week to record an episode about what quarantined life is like. Since it didn't have tons to do with tennis, we put it on our Patreon page for supporters there. But since we were told many people had missed it and would have liked to have known it was there: voila, this mini episode. It's available to our backers there, and you can become one if you're not already. Also, the French Open did some wild stuff.  Thank you to the many listeners who have already given their support! (And thank you to G.O.A.T. backer J O'D!)

With the tennis tours now officially being suspended for at least more than the next month (goodbye Indian Wells, Miami, Charleston, Monte Carlo, etc), Ben is joined again by Dr. Chris Worsham, a pulmonologist at Mass General and Harvard Medical School, to discuss the spread of the virus and why events are ceasing. What makes a tennis tournament such a bad idea during a pandemic? Would the suggested fixes (like ballboys wearing gloves) have done much? And when might we see a light at the end of the tunnel? In happier news, NCR is using this hiatus to get the NCR Book Club up and running! Our first pick is Venus Envy by Jon Wertheim, which is available as an e-book as well as at libraries and other used book purveyors. Please read along with us! If you'd like to support our show, particularly as our normal work has ceased, we've launched an NCR Patreon where you can do just that! Check out our five tiers and see which might be right for you! And thank you to the many listeners who have already given their s