The Body Serve

Roland Garros is here, and it’s the first edition since Rafael Nadal’s retirement. We start with a few recollections of our favorite Nadal RG moments, then head straight into draw previews. Is Aryna the favorite? What to make of Iga’s tough draw? Will Novak take advantage and make one more stand in Paris? Is Carlos King? After talking through the draws, we recap some investigative reporting into Muller’s OnlyFans, plus we update you on some imminent retirements, the latest very typical happenings in Camila Giorgi’s life, and That Guy’s 37 trips to -- well, you can just listen. 0:45 Our favorite Rafa Roland Garros moments 3:25 Women’s draw preview 17:45 Mboko makes it in, Bianca doesn’t qualify, Errani retires from singles 24:45 Men’s draw preview 39:00 Prayers up for that guy’s esophagus 40:15 Assorted mess: An OnlyFans scammer, Giorgi does reality TV

At the Italian Open, Jasmine Paolini wins in singles and doubles while Carlos Alcaraz puts on his thinking cap to stop Jannik Sinner at the finish line. We take a beat to compare Sinner’s triumphal return from a doping suspension to that of Sharapova in 2017 (for one thing, she didn’t get to meet the pope). Plus, Djokovic breaks with Murray, Barbie is back, the US Open announces a construction project, and the surprising fallibility of something called Gorillalpha Yeti Juice. 01:45 Welcoming Jannik back from a 12:30 When a delusional era lasts forever 15:45 A note about Lorenzo 20:00 Paolini brings the title back to Italy 31:15 Barbie K is back 33:30 Kicking off Roland Garros qualifying 35:50 Contamination cases have a Gorilla grip on tennis 39:50 US Open announces updates to its site – whether it’s an upgrade remains to be seen

Madrid ends with Aryna Sabalenka further extending her lead as number one, Casper Ruud grabbing his first Masters, and a lot of discourse around Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, and Naomi Osaka. We’ve got updates on: Jannik Sinner’s hero's welcome in Rome, Bianca Andreescu, Anastasija Sevastova, Tyra Grant, and more. We do a quick review of the strange but sometimes interesting Alcaraz Netflix documentary before wrapping the episode with a dive into the Max Purcell doping suspension, which is way more fascinating than he first let on. 01:45 Penko being Penko 5:05 Madrid: the Iga discourse 9:45 Sabalenka d. Gauff to win Madrid, joins the 11,000 points club 13:40 Casper wins his first Masters 1000 20:20 Osaka drops a level and wins! 23:15 Jannik, the ironic vir triumphalis, returns to Rome 26:15 Updates on Andreescu, Sevastova 30:20 The perplexing Alcaraz Netflix doc 40:00 Is Venus quiet quitting (or did she already)? 43:05 The Max Purcell doping case gets a lot more interesting

Clay season is underway, and we’ve seen a Runeaissance, a re-Alcarization, a Penkopalypse even. Stuttgart -- always reliable -- brought a stunning quarterfinal lineup and a surprise winner, while Holger reminded the class that there’s still tons of time to fulfill his promise. There’s much tennis business to talk about, including the first hearing in the PTPA antitrust suit and Opelka’s testimony; Lesia Tsurenko’s lawsuit against the WTA and Steve Simon; and a somewhat voyeuristic ITIA press release. Plus, Dart’s out of left field comment, Shelly Ann clearing the field, and wondering what happened in that Met Gala bathroom meeting. Theme music courtesy of Oleg Fedak from Pixabay 0:40 Housekeeping: catching a case, getting postcards out 4:50 Holger’s back; Alcaraz wins Monte Carlo, returns briefly to #2 15:45 Stuttgart moves like a 1000-level bitch 22:15 Another spectator calls out That Guy, this time in Germany 26:50 PTPA gets their first hearing, Opelka testifies 35:00 Harriet why?! 37:00 Serena on Jannik and … Maria? 42:20 I always feel like somebody’s watching me 45:35 Lesia Tsurenko sues the WTA 56:25 Our other sporting interests: Shelly Ann & Rory

Yes, it’s been a minute, but we’re back to catch up on Monte Carlo, Charleston, and sadly yes, all the way back to Miami. The top men have utterly failed to capitalize on Sinner’s mandatory vacation, while on the women’s side, Sabalenka extends her rankings lead and Pegula snatches #3 with her strong start to the year. We’ve also got: Kasatkina’s move to Australia, the top WTA and ATP players sending a letter to the Slams a few weeks after the PTPA lawsuit, a few listener questions, and more. 1:10 Monte Carlo updates: why, Grigor, why? 9:10 Charleston results 14:20 Miami: Eala stuns Iga, Aryna extends her lead 25:30 Don’t count your chickens before they hatch 28:20 Dasha Kasatkina is now representing Australia 31:00 The players do love an epistle 37:20 Coaching and baby news 40:35 A listener question

This week, we’re diving into the antitrust lawsuit brought by the PTPA against the tennis ‘cartel.’ The wide-ranging complaint takes aim at prize money, scheduling, ranking points, anti-doping, and what they broadly view as anticompetitive and illegal activity by the tennis governing bodies. What does the PTPA hope to gain? Which parts make sense, and which leave us with some skepticism? Is unionization a goal, and if so, is it even possible? After spending most of the episode breaking down the major issues in the lawsuit, we hop over to Miami, where all 4 male Indian Wells semifinalists have crashed out, Rafa Nadal Academy grads are making waves, and Djokovic is hobnobbing with the Establishment. 0:55 PTPA files an antitrust lawsuit in three countries - first up, yes we know it doesn’t technically matter, but why these plaintiffs? 06:55 What are the allegations? 24:15 What is the desired outcome? 28:05 Is unionization possible (and is it even a goal)? 36:10 What works and what doesn’t 40:05 The parallels with LIV Golf 46:00 Crashing out in Miami 55:00 You are the company you keep

Well, well, well, what do we have here? Have we entered the Mirra era? If you know us, you know we’re not saying that, we just wanted to say Mirra era. Andreeva fashioned a Keys-esque run to the title in the desert, beating the same four players Madison did to win the AO from the fourth round onward...in the same order! We talk about Iga, we talk about Jack, and we field some more listener questions on TBS 375 02:15 The Mirra Era 12:19 The Conchita Effect 17:01 What’s up with Iga? 26:28 Jack Draper arrives 37:34 Taking a question about Larry Ellison … 46:32 Finding joy in tennis when things outside of tennis are generally terrible 51:22 If tennis were played on only one surface, which would you keep? 53:38 RHOP and other Bravo musings

We’re back to a regular schedule, and up first it’s week one of Indian Wells: Nick and Novak struggling with injury and form, That Guy simply struggling to avoid the #1 ranking. We chat about the draw, the WTA’s new maternity leave benefits program, plus Danielle Collins’ clothing collab and the impetus behind it. Later on we get into some fun listener questions, with subjects as diverse as cricket, gospel music, the Knicks, and public transportation. 03:15 Question from @lisacrispin on Bluesky: how long does it take to produce each episode? 08:35 Nick’s wrist injury 12:50 Dutch tennis rolls over Novak and That Guy 17:25 Danielle Collins’ merch drop 24:55 IW draw recap 29:15 WTA announces maternity leave benefits program funded by PIF 33:55 How are we feeling about the Knicks? (question from @dabigjoker on Bluesky) 38:00 Jonathan picks his test cricket XI from tennis players (question from @edwardpolsen) 46:55 Public transit fun (@irascibly) 49:25 Since it's Oscars season, what actors could you see playing various players in imaginary biopics? (@lobjan) 54:45 And finally, what’s with our nickname for Kimberly Birrell? (@tomcharles2710)

February ends with Andreeva’s arrival, players getting flewed out by Jessie Pegula, Stef’s mystery racquet saving his career, and Andrey live laugh loving in Doha (but in all seriousness, happy for him!). We’re also covering the WTA’s anti-purple rebrand alongside Billie Jean King’s “tear it all down” approach, Venus Williams’ momentary wild card to Indian Wells, and Serena coming to our town with the WNBA! 1:20 My favorite season: awards 5:25 Stef’s boat 8:35 Something rotten in the state of Guerrero 15:35 Other results: Navarro, Djere, and Peggy’s private plane 20:30 Rublev wins Doha, opens up about learning to be kind to himself 23:40 Andreeva arrives as a genuine teen prodigy 28:00 Who jumped out the gate in 2025? 32:20 Venus is back! Oh wait, no, she’s giving a talk in Denmark! 36:25 Indian Wells surface change - let’s wait and see, ok? 38:40 The WTA rebrand: no more charity language and no. more. purple. 54:45 The WNBA (and Serena!) are coming to Toronto

Tennis, stop. Give us a minute, my God. The chaotic February schedule gives us a first-time 1000 title winner (Anisimova), a first-time ATP titlist (Fonseca), Ostapenko’s fifth unanswered defeat of Swiatek, and Bencic winning a big title soon after her return from maternity leave. While trying to keep track of tennis results, we also saw the resolution of the Sinner’s WADA appeal, the conclusion of the WTA’s investigation into Stefano Vukov, and Simona Halep's retirement. 01:40 Anisimova wins Doha, Penko turns her year around 5:35 Fonseca’s first title, Schwartzman’s swan song, and will the South American swing go hardcourt? 11:40 Alejandro, por qué??? 15:10 Last week: Bencic, Alcaraz, Shapo 19:40 The Sinner Agreement 31:05 US Open makes mixed doubles a glorified exhibition 40:55 Compton’s most famous daughter 47:05 Rybakina’s coach Vukov suspended for a year 53:30 Simona Halep retires 62:20 We don’t need straight men’s takes on which men are hot

Madison Keys has been a major champion for over a week now! This episode isn’t really about that, but it bears repeating. Checking in on tennis in February, we’ve got Felix winning yet another indoor title, Mertens and Alexandrova making up for somewhat disappointing Australian Opens, and a whole heap of man drama at Davis Cup, featuring one of the only head-on collisions you’ll see in tennis and the current state of ATP umpiring. This episode covers lots of odds and ends including Petra’s imminent return(!), more from the AO men’s final protestor, Ymer’s unretirement, and the US Open’s expansion. 0:35 WTA titlists Mertens and Alexandrova; Felix wins his second title of the year 6:55 Davis Cup: Garin gets literally run over by Bergs 17:40 Certainly not while wearing that moustache 20:00 Mikael Ymer did the opposite of “break up with your [tennis], I’m bored” 20:55 Petra Kvitova is coming back, maple syrup magnate Vasek Pospisil is leaving 28:05 One more thing about Madi 34:20 Craig Tiley’s comments on the AusOpen protestor are … lacking 39:35 The US Open’s manspread

This was one of those rare finals weekends where pretty much everything we hoped for came true. A perennial fave of fans and her own coworkers, the one-time prodigy Madison Keys showed remarkable maturity and grit to win her first major title. She let go of the “need” to win a Slam, and then managed to defeat #2 Iga Swiatek and the 2-time defending champ #1 Aryna Sabalenka back-to-back. Jannik Sinner defended his title without facing a break point in the final. Tennis keeps trying to make his opponent happen, alas to no avail. Plus, we got cracker women's doubles matchups, Novak HIPAA-violating himself, and Sakkari attending the inauguration instead of winning tennis matches. 1:25 GoFundMe update: Thank you!!! 6:05 Once a tween prodigy, then a best-never-to-win, now a Slam winner 12:05 Madison said therapy works … can’t argue with that 27:50 After a diversion, a few more notes on the women’s draw 33:40 The ceaseless pushing, literal and figurative 38:00 “Australia believes Olya and Brenda” 46:45 Ben Shelton v. the media 53:05 Women’s doubles: SMASH on the girls 62:25 Call me OptaAce because I’ve got stats

Just past the midway point of the 2025 Australian Open, the big favorites are mostly still here; a few NextGenners made a big splash in week one, including Joao Fonseca and the episode namesake Learner Tien. We'll take you through the draw, the first week highlights, the upsets, and the reverse hex I put on Alejandro ;) As always, we spend a lot of time with all the extra stuff happening on top of the tennis: coaching pods, the Danielle Collins mini-controversy, Djokovic’s ‘boycott,’ Nick’s non-event, and a few notes on commentary. 1:55 The first week upsets (aka James was wrong about pretty much everything) 12:00 How the faves are doing? Monfils, Coco, Alejandro (you’re welcome) 24:15 The quarters and how we got here 30:15 He came for the nepo baby and that was the last straw 33:30 Coaching pods! (At least they’re not mic’d) 38:50 The Danielle Collins (and Colleen?!) Fund 46:05 WADA will not appeal Swiatek’s case 50:30 Tony Jones gave Novak a grievance. Thanks a lot, Tony 55:05 Erin Routliffe with the quote of the tournament 57:25 The kits: Coco’s is a hit, but the Nike spaghetti straps … please

And just like that, the 2025 Australian Open is nearly underway. It’s the 40th major we’ve covered as a podcast, and our draw previews are still as prediction-free as always. We touch on a few of the themes to watch out for in Melbourne – Sinner’s emotional state, Rybakina’s coaching situation, Novak as #7 seed and poisonee – but mostly this is a lighthearted preview with draw breakdowns and our most intriguing first rounds. GoFundMe: help fund our 2025 season! 3:15 Stories to follow: heavy metals, jumping ants 13:50 Comebacks and withdrawals 18:50 Women’s draw analysis: a tough one for Coco 27:40 Women’s bottom half: will Iga reverse her luck in Australia? 38:05 Men’s draw analysis: the top tier and the middlemen 54:50 Men’s bottom half: Djokovic as a #7 seed sounds wrong

Welcome to season 11 of The Body Serve! We're catching you up on the barely existent off-season, including the most important Joaos, Max Purcell turning himself in, and Jenson Broosky’s brave statement about autism. Even though one of us rejects any “2025” tennis that occurs before January 1, 2025, we talk through the season’s early results, including the United Cup fracas, the Opelka and Nishikori comebacks, and the shifting Big 4 allegiances due to the Murravic pairing. We also take on the decidedly more serious situation with Elena Rybakina’s former and would-be current coach, Stefano Vukov, who is currently under investigation by the WTA. Finally, we end with our 2025 breakout picks and a game that James was entirely unprepared for. Happy 2025! 1:05 GoFundMe update 4:05 First week results: Reilly, Kei, the pairing from hell, plus the top tier of the WTA smashes their first week 14:00 United Cup: the “drama” is honestly not that serious 23:30 Rybakina, Vukov, WTA safeguarding, and the childishness of “I told you so” 31:25 Max Purcell turns himself in for an anti-doping oopsie 35:55 Kyrgios’ obsession + Osaka’s allegiance to him (aka: I knew things would get rocky when he came for the nepo baby) 40:45 Jenson Brooksby tells the world that he has autism spectrum disorder 44:50 The Year of the Joao: Reis da Silva comes out as gay + Fonseca wins Next Gen Finals 50:15 Our breakout picks for 2025 54:50 James plays a game! Play along at home

We never knew how much we’d miss “hola a todos” until it turned into an adiós. Rafael Nadal Parera ended his tennis career at this year’s Davis Cup, leaving with with 22 major singles titles, a Career Golden Slam, every clay record you can think of, and a litany of quotable moments. We’ve been Rafa fans since the early days, when they said he was a dirtballer whose body would force him into retirement in his 30s. But it turned out Rafa was nothing if not adaptable -- a rational thinker whose love for the game made him a global superstar and helped build two of the sport’s most enduring rivalries. In this episode, we’re less interested in a chronological retelling of his career than complicating some of the cliches about him and talking about our favorite moments, Rafa’s inimitable Rafa-isms, and what made Nadal an athlete like no other. 1:55 How we became fans 4:45 It’s not about stats, but here are some stats 10:00 Adaptability: the key to understanding Rafa as an athlete? 12:55 A quick career recap - the notable eras 32:35 Rafa as sufferer 37:30 Fedal & Rafole: the cliches eventually fell away 43:45 Rafa as sex symbol 52:05 (Not) talking about the GOAT conversation 62:25 Our favorite Rafa moments: the 2022 Australian Open was a gift 65:40 Rafa-isms : if if if …

Finally our 2024 season is coming to a close! Although bonus December content is coming soon, we finish regular coverage by wrapping the ATP season: it was basically the proof that Jannik Sinner’s late-2023 rise was for real, and that he and Carlos have taken the reins of the (mostly) post-Big 4 ATP. Just like the women’s wrap, we’ll take you through the events of the 2024 season, evaluate our picks for 2024 breakout players, and choose our ATP Award winners. We finish up with your memorable/funny/enraging moments (“do you want to change the lady?,” Indian Wells bee attack) and the many players saying goodbye to the sport. GoFundMe 3:10 Where were we at the beginning of 2024? 10:30 Starting in Australia: Sinner risen 16:30 Clay: Rafa’s brief return, Watergate, and Carlos’ apology-fist pump-championship pipeline 22:20 Channel Slam and Novak’s white whale 29:20 Rafa’s retirement at Davis Cup 37:55 Off-court “drama” 41:55 Our 2024 breakout players + thoughts on the ATP Awards 50:00 What will you remember? Bees. 53:25 Moments that pissed you off / made you laugh (sometimes both) 57:55 A ton of retirements this year, even beyond the big names

We were soooo close to wrapping this season, but we’ll always change the schedule for a doping story. The news of Iga Swiatek testing positive for a banned substance provoked shock, confusion, and even resignation among tennis watchers who are, by the day, becoming more versed on the fine details of doping cases. Our immediate questions were: Is the story plausible? Why is the suspension broken into pieces? When should news like this be made public? As always, we like to dive into the report itself, making sure we’ve got the facts straight before offering any hot takes. Later, we try to answer a few of our own questions, touching on player reactions and the danger of comparing one case to another. 1:35 GoFundMe Update 3:25 Iga Swiatek tests positive for trimetazidine in Cincinnati, gets a 1-month non-consecutive suspension 9:05 A timeline to make sense of things 13:10 Iga’s team sends a boatload of evidence to the ITIA 17:30 What’s the difference between No Fault or Negligence and No Significant Fault of Negligence? 31:30 Public disclosure: balancing a player’s privacy with building transparency and trust 36:05 Tara Moore has a more legitimate beef than most 42:30 Simona said this case is identical to hers (it is not)

This year in women’s tennis, the top tier took further steps to entrench themselves but the WTA retained its signature depth. Sabalenka, Swiatek, and surprise – Krejcikova – added majors to their hauls; Paolini and Zheng broke out in a big way; and Gauff managed to rewrite her season in the fall. We’ll take you through the highlights, the comebacks, the ‘remember whens,’ and moments both infuriating and hilarious. As usual, we also choose our WTA Award winners and do a self-assessment on our 2024 WTA breakout picks. Thanks for a great WTA season! 0:55 Launching our crowdfunding campaign! 3:00 The season’s major themes: Steadiness at the top (+ Babs!), the Zheng and Paolini breakthroughs, Coco’s two seasons, and many comebacks of varying success 12:20 Picture it: Australia, January 2024 17:20 Danielle makes a career-best run, Iga dominates clay 26:25 Babs snatches Wimbledon, Zheng ascendant 33:20 Aryna bookends her year at the US Open 38:30 Our choices for the 2024 WTA Awards 44:10 How did our 2024 breakout picks do? 47:55 Your most memorable moments: our listeners love Jasmine 50:55 Moments that pissed you off and moments that made you laugh: Babs and Qinwen keeping the girlies entertained 64:35 Farewells and farewells for now

Coco writes a new story to end her year -- beating the bad season allegations, as she said -- by taking out Swiatek, Sabalenka, and finally Zheng Qinwen to win the WTA Finals. (Barbie K tried to shake the table, as usual.) In Turin, Jannik Sinner showed that anything you can do, he can do better. He won his first year-end title and notched a 70-win season, the first since 2016. After that, we talk about the retirement of legendary umpire Carlos Bernardes, Frances Tiafoe’s big fine, Jon Wertheim’s hot mic incident, and more. 0:30 Housekeeping: a transition to BlueSky? 6:40 Coco beats the bad season allegations! 19:55 Barbora Krejcikova will f*** it up if you invite her (respectfully) 24:45 ATP Finals: starting with the group photo 29:55 Nice job, Taylor! But Sinner does it better 41:35 #NameTheTennisPlayer is back! 45:15 Umpire Carlos Bernardes retires from tennis 48:00 Wertheim’s hot mic moment 53:15 Tiafoe fined $120,000 for tirade