The Body Serve

Whether it was bad shrimp or a virus, the outcome – or the output, rather – was the same. Week one of Madrid was rocked by player illness and withdrawals, with Iga retiring for only the second time in her career and Coco getting sick on court before pulling through against Cirstea. We take a scattershot approach to Madrid, highlighting Pliskova, Jodar, and Grant (and a few lowlights). Plus, we take an extended look at electronic line calling on clay, the untrustworthiness of ball marks, and the imperfections and idiosyncrasies of tennis that make the sport sing. We finish up with some offcourt news – including the surprising departure of the WTA’s CEO – plus rapid-fire listener questions. 

1:40 Carlos is out of Rome and Roland Garros <sob>

4:35 Virus or food poisoning … either way, the players were sick as dogs 

11:40 Plisko, Naomi, Tyra Grant, Rafa J

21:05 Alex and Grigor down bad, Stefanos crashing out but actually winning

26:20 Electronic line calling on clay: the ball mark isn’t as clear-cut as you’d think

35:15 Maria Sharapova is in the podcast business

38:15 WTA CEO Portia Archer has resigned

40:35 The Fritz-Riddle breakup

43:55 A few listener questions

Arthur Fils caps his successful comeback to the tour with the Barcelona crown, while official tennis outlets act h-word on main while they trade on his good looks. Ben Shelton wins his first clay title outside of Texas and marks a surprising milestone for US men. Clay queens Coco and Iga are down bad while Elena, Karolina, and Marta soar; and Carlos’ status is questionable for who knows how long. Finally, we talk about the news that interests me most: Marketa Vondrousova has been charged with refusing to give a sample to a doping control officer. Her social media posts about the incident provide interesting context but – as we’ve seen before – could come back to bite. 

2:15 Arthur Fils is the truth!

8:55 Rybakina wins Stuttgart again, Muchova exorcises some demons

14:00 Join Elena’s crypto community … 

18:35 Ben Shelton, American king of clay?

26:35 Vondrousova’s case

37:40 James talks about books and takes another quiz!

In Monte Carlo, Sinner’s 4th consecutive Master’s title and reclaiming of the #1 ranking adds another wrinkle to the Sincaraz rivalry. We talk about our desire for a little less golden retriever energy from Carlos – or, at least one of us does – but ultimately an unfriendly rivalry is no longer advantageous for today’s player brands. Last week, Pegula defended her Charleston title, 3 Argentines made 3 different finals, and Iga appeared at the Rafa Nadal Academy with her new coach Francisco Roig. We also talk about golf, double bagels, Coco having to defend herself online (again), and an intriguing FMK about three celebrated tennis careers.

1:05 Bestie rivals, a hallmark of this era

13:35 A double bagel to Berrettini, come on man 

16:35 I thank myself 

20:40 Coco defends her Miu Miu look and her hair from online waste yutes and losers

24:05 Pegula wins the first equalized 500 prize money in Charleston

29:10 Men’s results last week: Tommy Paul, first career titles for Jodar and Navone

33:00 Coaching carousel 

36:20 Rory McIlroy defends his Masters title; Caroline still has shooters

39:45 FMK Tennis careers: Sharapova, Hingis, Davenport

Jannik Sinner wins the Sunshine Double without losing a set – a first! – and upends the mini-narrative that said Carlos was running away with the season. Aryna Sabalenka, for her part, snatches back momentum in the Rybakina rivalry and bests bugaboo Coco Gauff in the Miami final. The actual star of Miami turned out to be thirst magnet Arthur Fils, who reached the semis, stunned four-match-point-haver Tommy Paul, and broke containment. We’ve also got: close reading a tweet about the IOC’s new gender policy; the Charleston draw and prize money increase; and the WTA Finals’ departure from Saudi Arabia.

2:30 Sinner’s win reminds the tennis world to chill with the proclamations

9:55 Sabalenka keeps her head on straight for the final

18:35 Coco’s hat: saying nothing was always an option!  

26:35 Arthur Fils breaks out in a big way; a thick way, even

33:30 Charleston increases prize money to match the ATP 500 level

37:50 IOC’s announcement on trans athletes and what it has to do with Wertheim and Navratilova

46:00 What is holding you back from buying a yacht? 

47:45 Listener question: which tennis player would you go on vacation with?

Sebastian Korda is making like Gloria Estefan and coming out of the dark: in a career interrupted by injuries, Seb follows up his Delray Beach title by sending #1 Carlos Alcaraz out of Miami. Iga Swiatek’s frustration continues as her countrywoman Magda Linette packs her up; shortly after, Iga does the same to coach Wim Fissette. On the docket we’ve also got the Matosevic doping story, Danielle and Corentin (we’re way too old for this), a painful and hopefully temporary Body Serve ban, and an ASMR taste test of Vegemite - sure, a few months late in tennis terms, but whatever, we didn’t have Vegemite then. 

2:00 Carlos out of Sunshine swing

5:40 Iga loses her incredible streak of 73 straight opening-round wins

9:40 Let them eat bagels: Arthur Fils is back! 

14:30 Sorry, Leylah

18:45 Danielle et Corentin, you’re both doing A LOT right now

23:05 Marinko Matosevic’s brazen doping scandal

31:40 ATP schedule changes, in concert with the Saudi sports fund

35:15 Betting is a scourge and the players suffer

42:15 Our first (and last) ASMR segment