Podcast
The Body Serve
Hosted by The Body Serve Tennis Podcast · EN
Tennis podcast featuring casual, semi-respectable conversations about the ATP & WTA.
39episodes
Episodes
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Fifteen Minutes to Save the Tour
May 2200:56:20Tap to summarizeAs The Body Serve heads to Paris for the first time, here’s our preview of the 2026 edition of Roland Garros, where Jannik Sinner seeks to make more history and a number of top women find themselves in position to snatch. As usual, we take you through both draws: a surprisingly balanced women’s draw (except for Iga -- sorry, girl) and a men’s draw with not much intrigue, at least on the surface. The players associated with Project Red Eye have staged a work-to-rule labour action, refusing rightsholder interviews and committing only 15 minutes to pre-tournament media activities. Also, the federal judge in the PTPA case couldn’t order Wimbledon and the French to give up those coveted press credentials. I guess they’re stuck buying tickets like everybody else! 1:05 Qualifiers: Sloane through; Plishy & Greg are not :( 4:45 This week: Casper, rest! 7:20 Women’s draw 20:20 Men’s draw 39:55 PTPA credentials drama: judge says it’s petty but what can I do, babes 42:50 Players stage a labour action! 49:05 Stevie Wonder, randomly
Transcribe →Big Mama
May 1800:55:54Tap to summarizeElina Svitolina wins her third Rome title with her most impressive run yet, while Jannik Sinner completes his box set of Masters titles and sets all sorts of records at the tiny age of 24. Daniil Medvedev tried his best to derail Sinner, and Casper went with a similar playbook – we shall see if prevailing through that rough semifinal will fuel Jannik further or give the other guys some hope (or both!). Darderi made a huge breakthrough on home soil, while That Guy crashed out in Tennis Channel’s IG replies (sad). Meanwhile, Carlos is on injury break and they’re still slutting him out in Vanity Fair. See you in Paris! 1:55 Mommy. Mamacita? 13:00 Jannik wins the Career Masters thing 19:25 Daniil, one of the few to shift a wig or two 28:05 Darderi breaks out, That Guy crashes out 34:50 Extras: Big Mama didn’t pay for Coco’s gelato; PTPA begs for a credential 38:35 Clay baby 42:50 We love delusion (respectful) 46:30 Random: trying Malta India from Puerto Rico (gracias, Francisco!)
Transcribe →Get In Loser, We're Going On Strike
May 801:01:42Tap to summarizeJannik Sinner extends his Masters series win streak and his utter dominance over That Guy, while Marta Kostyuk back handsprings through her unbeaten clay season, grabbing her biggest career title over a bereft Mirra Andreeva. Now in Rome, the top players are demanding a fairer prize money split and genuine player consultation with Slams; several top players even endorsed a boycott if they can’t make progress, an utterance that would have been unheard of even a few years ago. We take some forays outside of the week’s news, as usual, chatting about tennis history, Whitney Houston, and the provenance of one of our social media handles. 1:50 Jannik wins 5 Masters in a row 5:10 The Gap™ 13:20 Absolute cinema: the Madrid trophy presentation 26:05 Et ceteras: Prakash and Arthur, the Bezos Gala, Flavio says NO 31:05 Players take aim at RG: prize money/revenue split, player welfare, and consultation are the big issues 41:00 Italian Federation president said “Yes, and” 49:50 Whitney Houston dedicates Arthur Ashe Stadium 57:25 10 years ago: one of tennis’ great unhinged moments
Transcribe →Good Riddance to Bad Shrimp
Apr 2800:52:20Tap to summarizeWhether 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
Transcribe →Decades of Destitution
Apr 2100:49:15Tap to summarizeArthur 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!
Transcribe →How Can We Be Rivals If We Can't Be Friends?
Apr 1400:51:27Tap to summarizeIn 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
Transcribe →Whack Him Again
Apr 100:55:49Tap to summarizeJannik 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?
Transcribe →A Dark Hole
Mar 2400:50:14Tap to summarizeSebastian 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
Transcribe →Mar-a-Lago West
Mar 1701:03:42Tap to summarizeIndian Wells saw two new champs settling old scores – Sabalenka winning her first and upending a worrying finals trend vs. Rybakina, and Sinner flying under the radar to grab the title over the more headline-grabbing Medvedev. Daniil has managed to refashion his game without losing the old antics, including asking for (and getting) a confounding hindrance call – and no, I don’t feel bad for Jack. We talk about Mirra’s crashout, IW misplacing the Venus-Leylah wild card, my certified hater status, and Iga’s trajectory. Plus, James takes another quiz and we give our Letterboxd 4, just like the players did this week. 03:45 Aryna hit the I Will Always Love You drum kick and the rest was gravy 15:20 Jannik overcomes Medvedev in two tiebreaks 21:00 Medvedev had an interesting week, to say the least 26:35 Let’s not make “F*** you all” your new tagline 33:30 They lost Venus and Leylah’s wild card 38:55 Letterboxd 4 46:25 The Oscars 56:20 Not another quiz!
Transcribe →20/20
Mar 300:56:12Tap to summarizeSports and politics … it turns out they DO mix! A few dozen ATP players and staff are stuck in Dubai as a result of Trump’s attack on Iran, as the Mexican tournaments go forward without a hitch after last week’s unrest. On court, Medvedev wins a second Dubai title, Longhorn Stearns grabs Austin by the horns, Bucsa becomes the Spanish #1, and Darderi and Cobolli win Latin tournaments on two continents. For fun, James takes a tennis geography quiz and we do an extended diatribe (requiem?) on The Traitors. 1:40 ATP players and personnel stuck in Dubai 6:45 This is not a drill!! 9:00 The Ellison data-media-government-tennis empire 15:35 Craig Tiley is coming to America 19:50 Results: Dubai, Acapulco, Merida, Austin 31:10 They didn’t tell Stefanos you’re not supposed to talk about appearance fees 34:35 James takes a tennis geography quiz! 44:55 A Traitors diatribe
Transcribe →