Ben catches up with Tumaini, who is freshly back from Berlin, about the state of the Laver Cup, which might as well be called the Federer Cup for how it foregrounds the retired superstar. We discuss the relevance, successes, and struggles of the event, and contrast it with Davis Cup, which had a lumpy round of competition in recent weeks to set up for its big final this year later in Spain.

Speaking of the tennis calendar, we discuss the age-old complaints about the tennis calendar which were given renewed voice by Carlos Alcaraz (and pushed back on by his rival Jannik Sinner).

Then we switch to the women's side, and go in-depth on the huge news of Naomi Osaka hiring Patrick Mouratoglou, a collision of two of the biggest brands in tennis. Will they be a good fit? And how do we judge Mouratoglou's pedigree to this point?

We also discuss Coco Gauff's own coaching change, Sinner hiring Djokovic's ex-team members, and what the future might hold in store for both Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

Plus, a little rant on tennis promoters being shady about stars who are unlikely to stay entered in events, and Ben teases a new project!

Thank you for listening! Our Patreon is back up and running to ensure NCR keeps going and stays ad-free, and we hope you can join in supporting NCR! And we especially thank our GOAT backers: Pam Shriver and J. O'D.

Ben is joined by Alex Gruskin of Cracked Racquets for the second half of another home-and-home pair of podcasts looking ahead to the rest of the remaining year (and beyond, a bit) in women's tennis, counting down what we think the biggest stories and questions are.

After chatting about men's storylines over on The Mini Break Podcast, we focus on the women's side here, ranking the biggest curiosities and quandaries on what seems like a tour in transition.

From Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka making coaching changes, to the tour reestablishing itself in China and finally making its highly anticipated venture into Saudi Arabia, there's lots of stories, big and small, to discuss.

Thank you for listening! Our Patreon is back up and running to ensure NCR keeps going and stays ad-free, and we hope you can join in supporting NCR! And we especially thank our GOAT backers: Pam Shriver and J. O'D.

Ben and Tumaini wrap their U.S. Open coverage with a look at the women's and men's singles finals, in which Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner both completed a sweep of the hardcourt majors this season.

The finals were both fairly straightforward, which leaves us for some time to cover related topics and listener questions including the intense celebrification of the U.S. Open (hello, Taylor Swift), Sabalenka's career vs Azarenka's, the shadow of Sinner's anti-doping saga over his win, and Olympics skipping paying off.

We also zoom out a bit to discuss the total, generational European domination of men's tennis, and if a man born in the 1990s is ever going to win another Slam. Thank you for listening! Our Patreon is back up and running to ensure NCR keeps going and stays ad-free, and we hope you can join in supporting NCR! And we especially thank our GOAT backers: Pam Shriver, Jean Simeon, and J. O'D.