The Body Serve The Body Serve Tennis Podcast

It’s been a rainy slog through the first week of Roland Garros. The weather has wreaked chaos on scheduling, the tournament banned alcohol on Philippe Chatrier because the fans didn’t know how to act, and the night session has no women (but who would want it anyway?). We analyze the draw as it stands and take you through the highlights and lowlights: Rafa may or may not have played his last match here, Swiatek-Osaka put on a clinic, Djokovic’s fire got lit at 2am on a Sunday, and Dimitrov completed his collection of Slam quarterfinals. 
1:55 Did Rafa play his last match at Roland Garros? Not 100%
7:05 Zverev goes to court for intimate partner violence, his colleagues remain (at best) indifferent
12:35 Musetti awakens the Djokovic beast
21:15 Rublev is upset as his on-court behavior gets worse 
27:00 Looking ahead to the men’s quarters
32:20 Iga & Naomi throw in a classic, Naomi’s performance inspires optimism
42:35 Upsets: Sakkari, Collins, Ostapenko
46:50 Looking ahead to the women’s quarters
60:25 Rybakina vs the press: the brief journey from drama to indifference
68:00 Nonstop rain + weird scheduling = misery
72:50 Roland Garros enters its Prohibition era

Roland Garros approaches, and the women's draw has a heavy favorite in Iga Swiatek plus a few major contenders. In contrast, the men's tour seems in a temporary state of disarray, as Djokovic enters without momentum and Sinner and Alcaraz are dealing with injuries. What's worse, the 14-time champion, the (possibly) retiring Rafa Nadal, draws a man who starts his domestic violence trial days after their match. As usual, no predictions here but lots of chatter about this clay season and who's primed to show out. And what's a major without a little wild card drama? 
0:50 Wild card drama is constant but a good chance to talk about maternity leave policy
9:00 Rafa draws That Guy
13:15 Men’s draw analysis: what to expect from Djokovic and the walking wounded?
21:20 Men’s draw: the tricky third quarter
28:05 Women's draw: it's Iga's world 
35:40 Women’s draw bottom half: opportunity knocks
47:00 Fedal goes mountaineering 

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