The Body Serve

Welcome back to regularly scheduled podcasting! The tours have gone to South America, Transylvania, the Netherlands, Texas, and the UAE -- regional tours ftw, btw -- over the past two weeks. Karolina Muchova finally gets a big title, Mboko notches an incredible run to the Doha final, Zheng announces herself, Felix becomes king of Canada, and most importantly we’re back from Mexico, caught up on sleep and armed with fresh takes. We decide to finally dip our toes in the apparently imminent Serena comeback, whatever it shall be, and how it interacts with her endorsement of GLP-1 drugs (and her family’s vested interest). We’ve also got random takes on Bad Bunny, Brad, Puerto Vallarta, and Destanee Aiava’s eye-opening retirement announcement.

0:30 Catching up with us

12:00 Shelton Does Dallas; Canada’s Indoor King; the ATP’s hottest final 

17:05 Muchova finally gets that elusive second title. A big one!

25:30 Zheng, Sakkari, Iga’s d****e b****e  

36:00 Red card!

39:50 I guess we should tackle the “comeback” 

50:15 Odds and ends: Jack’s gateway haircut, Naomi picks on a podcast (not us, confirmed)

55:20 Destanee Aiava drops a hell of a retirement announcement

The first Slam of the year is in the books, and we’ve got the youngest Career Slam winner in the history of maleness, Novak’s 38th major final, and Rybakina continuing her hot streak and bagging her second Slam. We talk you through the scintillating men’s semifinals that injected the tournament with a much-needed spark. You’ll also hear about the smoking gun pickle juice bottle, That Guy’s tantrum, Coco’s semi-covert racquet smash, and Djokovic religious iconography. We finish up with a few serious matters: Craig Tiley’s future, the investigation into coach Rafael Font de Mora, and the PTPA’s latest proposal for … something.

2:30 Youngest male player: Carlos makes history

6:15 I’m not chasing anyone, let’s start there 

13:15 Excuses, excuses 

21:30 The 5-set king 

26:10 Rybakina: don’t underestimate WTA Finals swagger!

37:30 Women’s semis, Cocosmash; Mertens is Australian Open queen 

47:50 WTA launches investigation into WTA coach

51:15 What is the PTPA actually going for?

58:00 Remembering Canadian icon and the world’s mom, Catherine O’Hara

It's not officially a Slam until Jelena Djokovic accuses Naomi Osaka of being so nasty and so rude while Jelena’s husband narrowly avoids a default for something completely of his own making (again). Anyway, how was your first week??? The Australian Open has given us some exciting breakouts (Jovic, Bartunkova, Tien again) and a marquee quarterfinal lineup, with the top 6 men and women through for the first time in the Open Era. Osaka reminded us who she is – and what tennis is missing – with her audacious walk-out jellyfish look. But to be serious for a minute, American players are being asked to speak during this unprecedented and dangerous period in our history, and most are failing miserably. It's time to be brave.

3:45 A historically great quarterfinal lineup

5:45 Highlights of the first week of the men’s draw

11:30 The extreme heat rule: Jannik gets lucky, but it’s not unfair 

18:35 Women’s first week: Mboko and Jovic break out; Sabalenka sails; Iga wants a day session, dammit

32:05 The Osaka-Cirstea dustup + a Dramatic Reading

45:25 American players, it’s time to be brave

57:25 It’s fashion! God forbid a girl wants to be a jellyfish! 

66:15 Lulu, K-Swiss, New Balance, and a shoulder blade

We had a little time and a lot to cover, so why not jump in for a mid-first round Australian Open episode? First, we cover the upsets, injuries, and highlights of the first few days. It wasn’t a great day two for Canada. Jonathan brings you the in-depth coverage about Venus Williams you’ve come to expect. We also pick up stories on Frances’ gallon-a-day habit and nonfiction reading schedule, Naomi’s break with Evolve, Novak’s split with the PTPA, and the PR moment That Guy couldn’t have scripted better himself.

2:10 Upsets and injuries: Knowing too much about Flavio

8:20 Other highlights from the first few days

15:50 Venus Williams is always learning

27:40 But why nonfiction?

33:15 My people are not sending their strongest soldiers

43:25 Australian Open our favorite TV viewing Slam?

49:40 Tennis Australian settles with the PTPA

Who, if anyone, will challenge Aryna? Will the Alcaraz-Sinner machine make it nine in a row? What's Craig Tiley up to this year? We're dusting off the cobwebs to bring you our Australian Open preview, complete with draw analysis (if you want to call it that), major storylines, and a quick review of the “Opening Week” and the successful 1 Point Slam. Tune in to find out the new hottest man in the ATP and who Jonathan thinks might have a career resurgence this year (there's two). 

2:30 Catching up with this week’s results

8:45 The 1 Point Slam: success!

16:50 This year’s (and last year’s) major questions

27:25 Women’s draw: “… or Mboko!”

38:15 Men’s draw: will Novak slice through his section?

54:15 Qualifying intrigue: Nishesh and the choking gesture