The Body Serve

We've reached 30 episodes! Here's our recap of the year in women's tennis:

4:30 Serena's year in review
9:00 Is it fair to compare her season with Novak's?
14:30 The intangibles of Serena's season, especially Indian Wells return
18:00 All hail Queen Vee's triumphant season
22:00 James' controversial pick for favorite Venus moment
26:00 Czechs win 4th Fed Cup in 5 years
28:30 Underachievers: Petra & Caroline
32:30 Topsy-turvy Top 10
39:00 Sharapova, the consummate pro
41:45 A quick recap of doubles: Hingis/Mirza and Safarova/Mattek-Sands
44:30 Bouchard's career quagmire & USTA lawsuit
53:30: Quickly, where's Vika at?
55:00 Our biggest surprises of the 2015 WTA season
59:00 Kerber's banner year
1:06:30 Bloopers

In Episode 29, we're celebrating Venus' big win in Zhuhai and her return to the top 10. In #TennisDivas, we try to find diva counterparts for tennis players.

:30 Effervescing because of Venus' Zhuhai win
5:00 Venus' run to the title: Madison, Saisai, Vinci, Pliskova
7:00 Final vs. Pliskova
14:00 Jonathan does some serious rankings math, Olympic qualification scenarios
18:30 Venus as ambassador for the WTA, taking advantage of WTAsia
25:30 Tennis Divas: what is a diva?
31:00 Which diva is Venus? 
34:00 Is Serena a Mariah? Or a Beyonce?
40:00 The non-divas: Ariana, Ashanti, Demi, Selena Gomez
44:00 Sorry, Caroline
46:30 Who gets to be Aretha?
50:30 Sharapova's perfect diva match
55:00 A few male tennis divas: Roger & Rafa get paired with all-time musical greats
1:00:00 The perfect opportunity to shade Justine
1:02:00 Adele and her tennis equivalent, with a digression on Sam Smith

1:30 First things first: Justin Bieber is making good songs. What is going on?
5:00 Toronto is winning pop culture right now
7:00 Masculinity and fandom: how men perform gender through watching sports; excluding women from sports fandom
15:00 TV time! Why Jane the Virgin works (especially for James)
19:00 Nashville, Jonathan's non-guilty pleasure
23:30 James Blake on Jon Wertheim's podcast; avoiding the topic of race
31:30 A sort-of tangential discussion of desegregation and racism in Normandy, Missouri (see This American Life's "The Problem We All Live With")
39:00 Talking Singapore
41:00 Does winning the WTA Finals predict a Grand Slam win?
43:00 Radwanska a victim of bad press for winning fair and square
47:00 Fedal is back!!!
54:00 Our hopes for the rest of the season
56:30 Venus: #thankful #blessed #bringiton

Episode 27 features an interview with Twitter friend Frith (@pluckyloser), who attended the WTA Finals in Singapore:

2:45 Interview with Frith, correspondent in Singapore
7:30 Frith's impressions of Singapore, the tournament facilities, fan experience
13:30 Serena's absence
18:00 Pros of the round robin format
23:45 Sharapova's form and warm reception: biggest takeaway of the tournament?
29:30 Muguruza: "she looked scary"
33:50 Hingis-Mirza: Sania Superstar
37:30 Pennetta's farewell: "I didn't want her to Bouchard the tournament"
41:00 Our favorite WTA moments of the year
46:45 Tournament attendance, the Serena effect?

Fall means a million tournaments in Asia, and players scrambling to snatch last minute points for the year-end championships. Here's episode 26:

1:00 The Good Wife, The Fall, and fall TV 
6:30 Road to Singapore: James says get rid of tour championships
11:30 Who really gets round robin, anyway?
13:30 The top players of the Asian swing: Muguruza, Venus, and Radwanska
15:00 Venus' Wuhan win
17:30 #SeeWhatHadHappenedWas: Vinci gets out of hand and Venus shuts it down
24:15 Talking tennis in China: sparse crowds, stifling smog, and diversifying the sport
32:00 Shanghai ROLEX Masters twitter drama
35:50 Speeding through the ATP side of the fall swing
39:00 Rafa finally beats whats-his-name Pennetta's fiancee; Rafa vs. Nole
43:00 We read your tweets! Which player do you despise most?
49:30 James' mini-rant about Justine Henin
55:00 The usual suspects: Stako, NK, Dolgopolov, Fognini, and listener hate for Djokovic

In episode 25, we welcome our special guest Lindsay Gibbs, co-founder of The Changeover and sports reporter at ThinkProgress.

2:30 Lindsay's introduction
3:30 Lindsay talks The Changeover and the online tennis landscape
8:15 "How To Talk About Women's Tennis"
15:00 The infamous Inside Tennis "autopsy" of SW which is racist racist racist
20:00 Media literacy & learning to listen
24:30 "That's not how, like, feelings work" OR checking your privilege
27:00 Serena Williams, Viola Davis, and the burden of history
34:00 Julie DiCaro's piece on online abuse targeting women in sports writing - dealing with Twitter trolls
39:45 Stakhovsky and the ATP's failure to address lgbt issues
43:30 Can the WTA teach the ATP anything about handling lgbt issues?
45:30 Patenting the Erecto-meter, coveting Ferraris
50:30 Our questionnaire: first up, Lindsay's dream tennis comeback
55:30 Who would you put in tennis time-out?
59:00 The most important question: Whitney, Mariah, or Celine?
1:02:00 Remembering the Bravermans and the Gilmores

Episode 24 marks the end of our Grand Slam season. Here's Part 2 of our US Open recap:

1:30 The men's tournament: maybe a bit boring?
3:15 Retirements, the heat, cashing that 1st round check
9:00 Mardy Fish's farewell; his courage turns sports cliches on their head
16:30 James Blake and the NYPD
23:00 Apology does not equal justice
25:00 Stakhovsky update: statements from ATP Players' Council & Sergiy himself
28:30 The inadequacy of "be-who-you-are" politics
31:45 Stako's gaydar and locker room hijinks
37:00 Talking actual tennis: a tough tournament for our faves
38:30 Fabio Fognini def. Rafael Nadal
43:45 Men's QFs; hear Jonathan's (unfair?) disdain for Gasquet
46:30 Tsonga's untapped potential, again
51:00 Men's final - SABR drama and Jonathan lets loose on Boris
57:00 Letting go of resenting Federer
59:45 James on why he can't love Roger, and why he does love Serena
1:03:00 Late-era Roger vs. Sampras
1:06:30 Djokovic's dominance and the nasty NY crowd
1:08:00 Putting the GOAT debate to bed for now

Reading list:

Mardy Fish in The Players Tribune

Stakhovsky, USA Today

Stakhovsky, New York Times

In episode 23, we're recapping the women's side of the US Open:

1:00 James gets a special celebrity serenade for his birthday
4:00 Depth on the women's tour, weakness of the top 10?
14:00 Bouchard and the Kyrgios curse
16:30 Althea Gibson documentary
21:30 Serena-Venus XXVII
29:00 Venus' year and what we can expect in 2016
33:00 Perceptions of the Williams sisters from non-tennis fans
37:30 Simona-Flavia semifinal
39:00 Serena-Vinci, "upset of the century"
48:00 Don't blame Drizzy! The real enemy: Kim K
52:30 Women's final
57:30 Chrissie the hypocrite
59:00 The Flavia/Roberta lovefest & Flavia's big announcement
1:05:00 Max Eisenbud's rude tweet, since deleted

:30 Intro - Rafa's loss

4:30 Interview with sports journalist Michael Lewis

8:00 Talking U.S. junior Reilly Opelka, 2015 Wimbledon junior champ

14:00 Comparisons with current American players

24:00 Opelka's future and potential

30:00 Jessica Pegula and James' hometown newspaper

33:00 Michael at the US Open: court surfer

34:30 Madison Keys as the next evolution of Big Babe tennis

38:30 Serena's longevity

42:00 Can you stand the heat? Retirements and just how hot it was

44:00 Best of 3 vs. best of 5

51:00 Federer's comments from his ivory tower

58:00 Balancing sportswriting and fandom - how do players' personalities affect how writers cover them? 

1:00 Jamaica's success at the track world champs: Bolt, Shelly-Ann, VCB, and Segway drama (see videos below)

8:15 Rafa's Tommy Hilfiger campaign/US Open promotional events

16:00 What is herstory?

19:00 Claudia Rankine's "The Meaning of Serena Williams": Serena as symbol; black feminism; pop stars and "uppity-ness"

29:30 Women's draw analysis: the loaded first quarter & notable 1st rounds

35:30 Quarterfinal match-ups

43:30 Simona Halep's chances and criticism of her

49:45 Men's first rounds

51:00 Rafa's draw

54:00 Murray vs. Kyrgios and a quick wrap-up of the NK saga

58:00 Jonathan's men's pick

Veronica Campbell-Brown changes lanes

Usain Bolt knocked over by cameraman

We're back from Cincinnati to regale you with tales from the final leg of our summer tennis odyssey! 

1:00 Drake + Serena = Aubrena

6:00 The Mason, Ohio Applebee's, tennis hangout

10:00 Meeting new friends!

20:00 Food food food

23:30 The tournament venue

28:30 Rafa's much bigger in person 

32:00 Pospisock doubles & new fave Vasek

39:00 Madison-JJ

41:00 A "what-in-the-actual-fuck" moment

43:30 Venus-Diyas

45:45 Serena

50:30 Annoying fans

54:00 Some things we didn't like

We wade into the NK fracas, but first we recap our only day at Rogers Cup Toronto this year, highlighted by a Petkovic Q&A, a Vika-Petra night match, and Halep's efficiency.

1:45 Our day at Rogers Cup Toronto: Simona Halep vs. Jelena Jankovic
5:00 The Toronto crowd & tennis etiquette
8:00 Petko vs. Watson
11:00 Stosur practice (and autograph!), Safarova holding babies
16:00 Azarenka vs. Kvitova, Wednesday night's marquee match
20:00 Lahyani superstar
23:00 Petkovic Q&A!!! And our high-tech audio clip
28:45 He Who Must Not Be Named takes over Tennis Twitter
33:00 Stanley's official response 
36:00 Why do folks assume tennis "needs" a character like NK?
41:00 The Kyrgios Family Attack Squad
43:00 Hewitt as mentor
49:00 Bandwagonists is a word, says Jonathan
50:00 Sincerity vs. irony, the great postmodernist battle

Listen to our thoughts on the city of Montreal, the Uniprix Stadium grounds, practice court hangouts, and our observations on the early days of the 2015 Coupe Rogers. 

0:30 Impressions of Montreal, Uber adventures, and much smoked meat
11:00 Uniprix Stadium and the tournament grounds
18:00 Practice court hijinks
27:00 Rafa's practices
36:00 Our quixotic quest to see the Rafa/Verdasco doubles match
41:00 Wrap-up

 

4:00 Serena Slam 2.0

10:00 A note on Sharapova and being the butt of jokes

14:30 Women's final

22:30 Martina Hingis

25:45 Kvitova/Halep/Jankovic

29:30 Men's side - the supremacy of Djokovic

33:00 Federer

37:00 Great returners vs. servers

39:00 Rafa: what's next?

43:00 Court assignment drama

45:15 Having some fun with stodgy Wimbledon traditions

In Episode 16, we're grappling with some of the social and cultural issues that popped up during Wimbledon. Specifically: the controversial New York Times piece on body image in women's tennis; Stakhovsky's homophobic comments and the ATP's role in dealing with them; and the circus surrounding Nick Kyrgios.

2:30 NY Times story on body image in women's tennis

18:00 Rothenberg's response to the controversy

32:45 Sergiy Stakhovsky's homophobia

37:30 The ATP's responsibility

44:30 The Nick Kyrgios Show (and our evolving views on it)

49:00 Kyrgios and race (and blackface)

Reading material: 

Ben Rothenberg

Dave Zirin

08:40  What is feminism and why does it matter?

17:15  Andy Murray and feminism; what has he done to earn the label?

22:00  Women in sports - why Mauresmo's appointment matters

28:00  Complicating Murray's feminism

30:00  Why men (and women) fear identifying as a feminist

33:00  Andy vs. his colleagues in men's tennis

34:00  Spanish Davis Cup and Rafa Nadal showing his ass, and not in a good way (Hi, @TrollandGarros!)

38:30  A few final thoughts on defining feminism, and how misogyny limits both women and men

Read Jonathan's essay on why Andy Murray's feminism matters. 

We're recapping the wild, bizarro, and ultimately rewarding 2015 Roland Garros:

- Celebrating the extraterrestrial accomplishments of Serena Williams, and her unrepentant, flawed, and pioneering Serena-ness.
- We marvel at Stan Wawrinka's power, backhand, and competitive will.
- We tout our wisdom in avoiding predictions.
- In #SeeWhatHadHappenedWas, we give our perspective on the Tara Moore Twitter Catastrophe. Consequential? Not really. It's tea, though.
- Learn what to bring to a verbal knife fight with Jonathan.

It's a prediction free French Open preview!

- The controversy machine that is the British tennis press 

- We recount a favorite shady men's tennis moment

- Getting to the bottom of the Rafa time violation hoopla in #SeeWhatHadHappenedWas

- Most importantly, we look at the highlights of the 2015 Roland Garros singles draws: the loaded top halves,      Federer's luck, the Nadal-Djokovic quarter from hell, and the chances of some dark horses.

It's Episode 12, and we're reviewing the clay season, including the Nadal narrative, Serena's disappointing swing, and the other standouts.

BUT FIRST: 

- we chat about Mad Men's finale and the fates of our heroes: Peggy and Joan.

- we lament Game of Thrones and its unimaginative reliance on sexual assault.

- we generally go way off-topic! 

In #SeeWhatHadHappenedWas, we:

- Introduce a new segment, in which you'll hear our expertise on a salacious happening in the tennis world, past and  present (starting with Andy Murray's dressing-down of Lukas Rosol)

- Indulge our nostalgia by recounting what sparked our interest in tennis.

- Talk about our favorite players from yesteryear.

- Discuss why tennis inspires such a devoted following.

On the docket for episode 10:

- Eugenie Bouchard's fateful snub.

- Professionalism, likeability and comparing successful women (or, the Mariah effect).

- Rafa's hard road on clay and Novak's dominance.
- Featuring our impersonations of Genie and Rafa.

It's episode 9, and we're looking at:

- The perceived weakness of the WTA vs. one player's historic dominance.

- Sexist double standards as they apply to dominance and parity.

- Simona Halep's continued ascent and the question of rivalry with Serena.

- Djokovic's bad behavior and the "boys will be boys" ethos.

- Our new game: #NameTheTennisPlayer

In Episode 8, we revisit racism in tennis:

- Re-assessing Serena's return to Indian Wells
- Why we're just a tad skeptical
- What it means to do anti-racist work
- Rafa's struggles, Federer's future, and Djokovic's dominance

- Why are we so obsessed with choking? Revisiting Jana Novotna

References:

Louisa Thomas

Jana Novotna

Tumaini Carayol

We're back for episode 7:

- What makes an effective tennis commentator?

- The assorted errors, gaffes, and malapropisms of the ESPN set (or: The McEnroe Effect).

- Tennis' complex web of conflicts of interest.

- Justin Gimelstob, the Teflon Commentator.

- How has Gimelstob managed to keep his job(s)?

- Failure of leadership, and the organizational chaos that keeps tennis directionless.

 

Late-Winter Blues:

- Requiem for a fruitful tennis partnership: Serena & Big Sascha part ways

- Caroline tried it, but Vika prevails yet again

- The fortunes of the Big 4 heading into the Fifth Slam(s)

- James' brush with fame: a tweet from his Queen

- Checking in with Venus, Hingis, Daveed, and Juan Martin

- James confesses his disgust at the current crop of ____ players.

In this episode, we discuss Serena Williams' decision to return to Indian Wells:

- The 2001 IW final and the Williams' ensuing boycott

- How race and racism have shaped the Williams' careers

- Serena's legacy and her evolving politics

- Does the U.S. celebrate its black athletes like it does white athletes? Are there strings attached? 

- How do blackness, patriotism, and racial politics intersect?

In episode 4, we recap the Aussie Open:

- Serena gets 19, Maria tries but fails to overcome the coughing SW. 

- Madison Keys slams her way to the semis.

- Venus re-emerges as a contender?

- What, if anything, does Rafa's showing in Australia mean for his quest for 10 in Paris?

- Jennifer Capriati's twitter woes and the horror of watching your heroes become human.

- Andy Murray the mental case? Andy succumbs to Novak's bizarre dramatics.

- Hingis wins first slam since 2002, Mladenovic is unimpressed.

In this episode, we chat about the first week of the Aussie Open:

- Notable scares, battles, flops, and the dearly departed

- Venus' resurgence and Serena's conservative play

- Kyrgios and nationalism in sports

- We preview our favorite quarterfinal match-ups

- What have we learned this week? 

Our preview of the Happy Slam:

- Who are the favorites? Does anyone outside the top 4 seeds have a chance? 

- Who is poised to have a breakthrough year, and who will endure a sophomore slump?

- The difficulties of analyzing the draw - and the folly of predictions.

- Nonetheless, we name our men's and women's picks!

- Our tribute to Li Na and that sweetest of backhands.

In which we discuss the top stories of 2014 and what we're looking forward to this year:

- In Praise of Her Holiness Venus Williams, Queen of the WTA

- Rafa and Serena's roller coaster seasons

- Federer's comeback from the brink to reach 11 finals & almost win Wimbledon

- Doling out controversial forgiveness to Stanford

- A bit of light Sharapova bashing (we are much gentler than Serena would be)

- Speculating what the future holds for the Big 4

- The present and future of Canadian tennis, or: what's in store for Milos' arm sleeve