The Tennis Tragic

David Kalina, Matte Rochford, and Alex Dawson
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  • TENNIS
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The Tennis Tragic is a talk opera about dreams, romance, style, grace, conflict, history, art, and service motions.

  1. We Digress

    22 MAR

    We Digress

    The Tennis Tragic #071 / We Digress / Butch Buchholz. Who is Butch Buchholz? Matte and David discuss recent events, including Sabalenka stealing the Upset Game title for David at Indian Wells, the Tennis Robot picking the Opelka Servebot at Miami, and various other tangential topics. Johnny Five, Cooperstown Tarot, sycophancy, "chalk", the Upset Game demographic, Slay the Spire 2, SOUL.md, Peter Falk, the Matildas. Roger paints a picture of himself.

    1hr 8min
  2. The Crunching Sound

    1 MAR

    The Crunching Sound

    The Tennis Tragic #070 / The Crunching Sound / David and Matte leave voicemails for each other and accidentally make a podcast. Tsitsipas defeats Medvedev, which means nothing. David recounts his two weeks as a curling tragic. David and Matte discuss the merits of dentistry. Matte shatters his phone under a car while recording the sounds of his city. Mensik stuns Sinner, Denmark pretends it is a summery Scandinavian country, Atmane loses a match on the umpire's call, B-surnames have a big week, and Tiafoe goes Hard 75 but loses the Pear to Cobolli. David's back persists. A video game is coming. The green man flashes.

    44 min
  3. Fading Into Her Prime

    10 FEB

    Fading Into Her Prime

    The Tennis Tragic #069 / Fading Into Her Prime / Matte and David find a little time to recap the 2026 Australian Open... eventually! But first... Matte tries to cast a spell, and fails to influence the #1 tennis tournament for vampires. David speculates about Sinner's potential dominance in ice tennis. We talk about cramp, ski jumping, the Super Bowl, the T20 World Cup, Serena's potential comeback, people who peaked in high school, how to build a better mop, and recap the latest Upset Game.

    1hr 13min
  4. The Tragedy Watchlist

    17 JAN

    The Tragedy Watchlist

    The Tragic Three reconvene for the first time in a long time, to pay tribute to Milos Raonic (sort of), marvel at Roger Federer (yet again), and unveil the 2026 Tragedy Watchlist as we move into the first Major of the year down under. We discuss Matte's unfortunate withdrawal from the One Point Slam, Alex's United Cup experience in Sydney, and David's brief dalliance with a 125 in Austin. We share our enjoyment of the One Point Slam (despite its ridiculous length) and our disdain for the (new, pointless) Battle of the Sexes.

    1hr 15min
  5. Bidi Labubu Badu

    20/09/2025

    Bidi Labubu Badu

    The Tennis Tragic #067 / Bidi Labubu Badu / Matte and David meet to talk about the style selections on show at the 2025 US Open. First, Ian collects his plate graciously, while Adi slides into his World Number One ranking with a US Open trophy and an impassioned Rublev defense. Then, we break out the slide projector and chat Naomi's kit, Andre Swagassi, the Y3 "blur tool" design, Alcaraz as "happy Buddha", Magdalena Frech's Bidi Badu dress, Kostyuk's popped Wilson collar, and all of Venus's glory. David confesses to the superiority of Test Cricket, while Matte explains the difference between a tie and a draw and shares his experience at a silent meditation retreat.

    1hr 17min
  6. The Tribunal of Tennis Etiquette

    01/09/2025

    The Tribunal of Tennis Etiquette

    The Tennis Tragic #066 / The Tribunal of Tennis Etiquette / Matte and David begin the hard work of establishing a committee for regulating behavior on a tennis court (and in the stands). Given their recent statements and actions, as well as their consistent efforts to model proper behavior for others, we feel that Jelena Ostapenko, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Daniil Medvedev should be on the board. Who better to correct us gently and kindly during our missteps? We also give Taylor Townsend her flowers, take a call from Adi about the Upset Game's impact on his fandom, look forward to Coco vs Naomi, talk about tennis redheads, express excitement about Venus and Leylah playing doubles, and channel Charlton Heston receiving the Ten Commandments from God.

    1hr 15min
  7. Return to Doubles Alley

    24/08/2025

    Return to Doubles Alley

    The Tennis Tragic #065 / Return to Doubles Alley / The US Open spotlight shines brightest on the Mixed Doubles exhibition (tournament).  Matte and David re-visit the dark and mysterious zone between the tram lines, while glancing back at the US hardcourt summer and peeking forward towards the upcoming major (a little).  We get into the depths of the upset game, discuss radical-but-unlikely future rule changes, express confusion about the identity of our podcast, learn some Australian taxi-based idioms, and revisit Matte's encounter with Australian doubles star Ellen Perez on line at an event merchandise store.  In a rank?  On line?  Finally, Matte foreshadows some upcoming spells.

    1hr 1min
  8. Goran's Knee

    06/07/2025

    Goran's Knee

    The Tennis Tragic #064 / Goran's Knee / Must we suffer for our art?  Have we been coddled, and can we triumph in spite of our soft hearts?   The great ship Wimbledon finds itself mid-stream.  Matt finds the random button, and we all discover August Holmgren as a result.  Players get more serious about the Upset Game.  Marin Cilic pauses and we flashback to the Match That Time Forgot.  Arthur Rinderknech stops the darkness, while Laura Siegemund practices the dark arts.  A fishing trip organized by Craig Boynton is described.  Goran Ivanisevic dishes out some tough love (on one leg).  Trinity Rodman gazes lovingly at Ben Shelton.  Matte and David consider a lateral career move and re-imagine the Tennis Tragic as a Tennis Podcast Podcast.

    57 min
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About

The Tennis Tragic is a talk opera about dreams, romance, style, grace, conflict, history, art, and service motions.

Information

  • Creator
    David Kalina, Matte Rochford, and Alex Dawson
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    66
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © David Kalina, Matte Rochford, and Alex Dawson
  • Show Website
    The Tennis Tragic