Halfway through Rome and it’s all peritonsillar abscesses and water bottles knocking down GOATs and Italian stars retiring and fleeing their home country amidst myriad legal problems. You know, the usual. 

0:35 Andrey does not have angina

3:25 Djokovic gets hit in the head by a falling water bottle

9:45 Camila Giorgi retired and lamming it

18:55 Rafa says there’s a tiny, tiny chance this isn’t the end

23:35 Qinwen says no to drama

25:30 More retirement talk: Dominic and Diego

31:45 So how does one qualify for the Olympics?

38:35 How will we know if the extended Masters tournaments are successful?

Madrid stretched nearly two weeks and few of the top men survived without injury. Felix Auger-Aliassime landed in the final after three walkovers/retirements but it was a very ill Andrey Rublev who snatched the title. Iga Swiatek won Madrid for the first time (be scared). Aryna Sabalenka and Ons Jabeur provided lots of food for thought -- in very different ways -- on women’s sports and continuing inequities. Plus, we’re bringing you our thoughts on Luca Guadagnino’s long awaited queer tennis drama Challengers (aka the crowning of Zendaya as a true movie star), and we answer some listener questions!

1:40 Women save the day (after Aryna steps in it)

14:30 More of Madrid women’s draw shining bright

18:25 Ons Jabeur makes a statement about women’s sports + Feliciano Lopez’s change of tone

25:30 Never stay for your farewell ceremony

30:00 Shirtgate: the height of idgaf-ness 

36:35 Men’s draw ravaged by injuries but Andrey overcomes

45:55 Cornet is retiring, Tsitsidosa is breaking up

47:50 Our thoughts on Challengers

65:15 What’s the first thing you’d change if you were in charge of the WTA/ATP merger?

73:45 Players who’ve taken us on journeys of like and dislike (or apathy or indifference or standom, etc.) … 

It’s time to play catch-up with the early results of the European clay swing: Tsitsipas wins his 3rd Monte Carlo title, Casper takes revenge the following week in Barcelona, and Elena Rybakina slays Iga in Stuttgart for her third title of the year. We also talk about Rafa’s return to tennis in Barcelona and Holger Rune’s commitment to remaining messy on social media even after signing with IMG. In off-court stuff: Muguruza retires, the WTA announces their year-end championships in Saudi Arabia, Keith Lee comes to Toronto (yes, there are one or two sneaks). We finish the episode with our thoughts on Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter, the “country” record that smashes genre and takes us to school. 

2:50 Stef takes his 3rd MC title + a Holger Rune dramatic reading 

9:05 What happen-ed in Barcelona happen-ed: Rafa’s return, Casper’s triumph

18:55 Rybakina drives off with Stuttgart title (or will once she gets her license)  

22:25 Sloane back in the winner’s circle

27:30 Live your life: Garbiñe Muguruza ends her HoF career

32:55 Saudi Arabia announcement + becoming an LGBTQ poster child  

39:45 Pop culture et ceteras: Challengers, Keith Lee in Toronto, Mariah in Vegas

54:20 Cowboy Carter!

We've just returned from an amazing experience at the Credit One Charleston Open, a tournament that's been hugely important to women's tennis and continues to be a favorite among players and fans. We do our best to place Charleston in the context of its host city's complex history and explore the tournament’s role in helping to develop women's tennis. Danielle Collins was unquestionably the main attraction of the tournament -- winning her second straight title with the loss of one set. We also chat about watching TBS faves Dasha Kasatkina and Taylor Townsend, Vika Azarenka, Jessie Pegula, and Sloane Stephens on the unique Har-Tru green clay. Plus, some tips on attending and our review of the signature cocktail. 

00:52 We <3 the Charleston Open (and this is not spon con!)

06:09 A little history of the Family Circle Cup, a hugely important women’s tournament 

11:44 Reckoning with the history of Charleston, South Carolina

19:06 Our impressions of green clay and other tournament etcs

28:28 Players and moments that stood out for us 

42:34 Just like Miami, Danielle was the standard

49:46 James is never beating the stalker allegations

52:15 First Serve vs Honey Deuce 

57:18 What does tennis IQ mean and who has it?

62:03 Other results while we were in the Lowcountry

Danielle Collins, you will always be famous. The 30-year-old charisma machine – she of 2 NCAA titles and an unorthodox journey through tennis – wins her biggest title in the final year of her career. On the men’s side, everybody’s fave Grigor Dimitrov beat three top 10 players but fell against the final one, the near-unbeatable Jannik Sinner. Plus, we have more tales from our time at the Miami Open, including one particularly impassioned rant and the key to why Casper Ruud is not beating the Karen allegations.

03:30 Danielle Collins, the woman you are

09:48 She’s still retiring, so stop asking

15:24 Jannik Sinner is the best (*right now)

18:25 Brother Grigor

24:53 Watching Andy Murray + his devastating injury

29:30 Not an impromptu quiz!

31:17 A nightmare on site … 

42:40 What’s the tournament director there for if not to field complaints?

47:43 Extras: Thiem injury, Leylah, Novak-Goran split

53:21 The USTA sexual abuse case will go to jury trial + the failed attempt to bar Pam Shriver from testifying

For the first time, we’re coming to you from Miami Gardens, Florida! Before recapping Indian Wells, we share our first impressions of the Miami Open site and some of the tennis we got to see early on: Halep’s first match back from her suspension, Azarenka-Stearns (with an appearance by early Berry Gordy’s son RedFoo), Ostapenko lighting up Court 1, and more. Alcaraz defends his Indian Wells title -- snapping a title-less stretch going back to Wimbledon -- and Iga regains her title while losing a mere handful of games. Later on, we talk about the competing proposals that aim to overhaul mostly everything about tennis (Premier vs. PIF).

0:35 Miami Open: Penko-Siegemund, Vika-Peyton (and why RedFoo is here)

9:35 Simona’s return and Woz’s take heard round the world: “It wasn’t a clearance”

18:48 Minding Our Own Business 

22:20 Belatedly wrapping Indian Wells

27:07  Non-problematic beef

29:41 Unnecessary beef

32:28 Miss Beswick strikes again

35:28:Tennis headed for fundamental change: Premier Tour vs. Saudi PIF bid

On March 5, the Court of Arbitration for Sport rendered its decision on the Simona Halep appeal: the doping was not intentional and the suspension was reduced to 9 months, time long since served. It’s the welcome end to a saga that has dragged on and shaken trust in the sport’s anti-doping institutions. But, we’re left with ever more questions: Why were the conclusions of the ITIA and CAS so starkly different? What of the biological passport results? What took so long? Why are tennis players often so successful at CAS? Aside from the Halep news, we talk about the early happenings at Indian Wells, the cancellation of Netflix’s Break Point, the ATP's annual awkward International Women’s Day video, and more. 

01:40 CAS accepts Simona’s contamination defense and throws out biological passport charge 

07:50 Why are the conclusions of ITIA and CAS so vastly different?

15:00 Comparisons to Sharapova, the question of “innocence” 

25:00 So where are the “real” dopers?

35:30 Indian Wells: withdrawals, Sinner’s win streak, Kerber-Woz revival

45:15 Break Point is over: what went wrong?

50:40 Ruby amends his apology, thanks to Sofya Tartakova

51:50 A (very) slight improvement in the ATP’s Women’s Day video!

Rublev’s default from Dubai generated tons of discourse this week, and we devote quite a bit of time to it: the facts, the question of proportionality (of both Rublev’s actions and the umpire’s decision), and why player reactions aren’t the final word. We also recap the end of the lead-up to Indian Wells, with several players showing off the best tennis of their lives. Plus, Murray’s retirement talk; the ATP’s partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund; and the suspension of a low-ranked player for cannabis and how WADA decides to ban a substance.

2:15 Quick results recap: de Minaur, Boulter, Yuan, Humbert, Baez 

8:30 The Rublev Default

13:10 The Act of (non)Contrition

25:35 Proportionality, in a few senses

34:45 Andy Murray talks about the end

38:40 #TheNetflixSlam: it was a bit tacky and very American, but overall a huge win for the sport

46:00 ATP partners with PIF

50:55 A 2-year suspension for weed? Also an opportunity for some nerdy anti-doping discussion

February concludes with another first-time winner at the WTA 1000 level, Jordan Thompson winning 3 matches in one night to double in Los Cabos, and a bunch of hatchers and snatchers in Doha and Rio. We're also talking about the Coco-umpire incident in Dubai, Holger Rune rehiring Patrick Mouratoglou but retaining his reckless social media brand, and the quagmire of ethics breaches with the influx of betting companies into tennis institutions. 

1:40 Jasmine Paolini wins Dubai + Kalinskaya’s fantastic run

7:40 Thompson wins Los Cabos singles and doubles

12:05 Hatching and snatching in South America

17:50 Andy Murray wins his 500th hard court match

21:15 Coco vs. an obstinate (and wrong) umpire

27:25 Holger is back with Patrick: how to fail up in tennis

37:50 James Blake sanctioned under the sport’s betting sponsorship rules; but why can tournaments and other institutions have betting sponsors?

We're catching up with the tennis tours as they wind through Transylvania, South America, the US, and the Middle East. Iga Swiatek threepeats in Doha, Rybakina racks up more wins, Pliskova surges, and Sinner wins his first tournament off becoming a Slam winner. Meanwhile, Ostapenko still hasn't lost a match to anyone but Azarenka. We've got updates on the high profile doping suspensions: Brooksby gets some clemency from the ITIA, and Halep pleads her case to the CAS and sues the supplement company (hey, Scarborough!). Plus: the last one-hander in the top 10 goes out, and major coaching shakeups at a strange time of the season. 

3:20 Iga threepeats in Doha

8:00 The state of Naomi’s return from mat leave 

16:45 Rybakina wins Abu Dhabi, Kasatkina slams the scheduling

19:30 Penko and the aborted racquet shake

24:30 Sinner keeps winning, other men’s results 

31:40 The death of the one-handed backhand

36:30 Doping updates: Brooksby’s suspension reduced, Simona Halep makes her case at CAS and sues the supplement company

41:20 Coaching breakups: Sakkari and Tom Hill; Holger and everybody

The Body Serve is back with what’s become a February tradition, an off-topic mailbag/pop culture episode. Fair warning to Sw*fties to proceed with caution through a few of the early segments (timestamps below). As we all switch modes from Australian Open to the global February tennis schedule, we offer our highlights and the broader themes raised by the Grammys with a massive dose of deja vu; we answer your questions, both tennis-related and not; we take on the idea of “tarnishing” a legacy by continuing to play past your prime; and chat randomly about the Naomi memoir, We Are the World, and The Traitors (spoilers abound). 

1:00 Grammys: the Swift of it all

10:00 The broader problem: the Grammys’ failure to recognize Black women

21:20 Sone actual highlights from the Grammys

30:15 Memoirs

41:25 Will tennis ever change its schedule due to climate change?

43:50 Who will be the next first-time Slam winners?

46:05 Why do they keep protecting that guy? The sunk cost fallacy

48:45 Traitors: spoilers ahead for all versions

55:45 Best-of-5 for women + court speeds

61:00 Ideal tennis dinner guests, the evolution of tennis kits

65:05 Andy Murray and the idea of “tarnishing” one’s legacy