26 | Hot Takes & Middle East Tournament Updates

Summary

The Player’s Box – Episode 26 | Hot Takes & Middle East Tournament Updates

Date: February 10, 2026
Hosts: Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula, Jennifer Brady, Desirae Krawczyk

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Episode Overview

In this lively episode, Keys, Pegula, Brady, and Krawczyk deliver a candid, behind-the-scenes look at life on the pro tennis tour. The conversation covers Middle East tournament updates, wild travel mishaps, hot takes on everything from fashion to food, and fan Q&A. The relaxed, banter-filled chat reveals not just the rigors of the sport, but the personalities that keep the grind fun for these tennis stars.

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Highlights & Segment Breakdown

1. Unforced Errors of the Week

[01:05–07:00]

• Madison Keys: Shared failed multitasking while doing laundry, narrowly avoiding a concussion:

  “I was putting laundry away, bent over by the wall and somehow rammed the entire right side of my body into the wall. ...Bjorn was just standing there like, ‘What is wrong with you?’” (01:49)

• Jessica Pegula: Detailed a disastrous Call of Duty night, interrupted by her puppy Mabel throwing up on her lap:

  “She just threw up all her food on me … We lost and I died. … Mabel has now thrown up on both me and Taylor.” (02:34)

• Desirae Krawczyk: Frustrating booking error after a late match loss:

  “I rage-booked a flight to Doha… Got to the airport, realized I booked it for February 21 instead of February 7, paid for excess baggage too, had to buy a new flight, and ended up paying for three flights.” (03:40)

• Jennifer Brady: Couldn’t think of any error, but confessed her car became a mess after leaving it at the USTA for a long time:

  “My car is so dirty… When I drive off, leaves still fly out from under the windshield wipers.” (06:18)

Memorable moment: The group erupts over who “wins” the worst day—flight mishaps versus being thrown up on.

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2. Middle East Tournament Recap & Schedules

[08:00–17:00]

• Krawczyk: Enjoyed Abu Dhabi, made it to semifinals, praised the event, mentioning the “hotel feels like vacation.” (08:08)

• Upcoming tournaments: Keys, Pegula, and Krawczyk play Dubai. Brady targets Austin as her next event.

• Comical Rant:

  • Keys details the convoluted WTA entry rules that prevent her from playing Austin due to top-10 status overlap with Pegula, leading to a two-year lockout:

    “One year I get screwed because I did too well … The next year, I'm penalized for dropping out of the top ten but can't take a wild card. … It makes no sense to me.” (13:33)

• Other updates:

  • Surprise champions in the post-AO week: Sorana Cirstea, Sarah Balik, Katie Boulter.
  • Pegula admits:

    “I also feel like sometimes I don't pay attention and then I'm just like, oh, someone won a tournament.” (17:01)

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3. Travel & Tour Life Anecdotes

[15:07–19:08]

• On bridging tournament scheduling gaps:

  • Players share how logistics force long stays in places like Doha unnecessarily; rookie mistakes referenced.

• Bianca Andreescu’s comeback via ITFs discussed, with Brady:

  “She made me question everything … I love that she’s grinding … It’s tough, especially after you’ve won a slam.” (19:22)

• Mishaps & Fashion:

  • Krawczyk’s choice of “flip-flops with a heel” for the player party in Qatar roasted online, but she takes it in stride:

    “I thought it looked good, but this guy really shut me down. … But the fact—I’m still gonna keep wearing it.” (23:48)

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4. Hot Takes Lightning Round (Rotating Questions & Reactions)

[26:48–47:03]

Engaging, rapid-fire debate on fan-submitted and personal hot takes.

• Cupcakes have too much icing – All except Krawczyk agree.

• Doubles deserves more attention – All agree, with explanations on the unique skills and lack of promotion:

  “I don’t think there’s enough credit given to doubles … The timing, the moving—if I’m up against two doubles specialists, I’m about to get embarrassed.” (28:05 – Keys)

• Other hot takes discussed:

  • Socks in bed is criminal – Mixed reactions, Keys confesses cold toes.
  • Tennis is harder than it looks – Universal agreement.
  • Only one surface for tennis? – All say no.
  • Taylor Swift: business or lyrical genius? – Mostly “business”, Brady makes a case for “lyrical genius.”
  • Folding laundry vs. dishes – Laundry seen as more tedious (except Krawczyk).
  • Cilantro tastes like soap – Divided; Brady can’t stand it.
  • Physical menu vs. QR code – Hard preference for paper menus.
  • Breaking serve vs. ace excitement – The group chooses hitting an ace.
  • Career Grand Slam vs 10 slams – All opt for 10, unless career slam plus additional.
  • Girl pockets suck – Hilarious confusion, cultural debate ensues:

    “You can fit so many things in men’s pockets … keys, wallet, phone, headphones, a hammer…” (47:03 – Keys)

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5. Super Bowl Sidebar

[51:30–55:02]

• Mixed excitement about the Super Bowl; general consensus in favor of the Seahawks.
• Discussion on halftime shows and favorite Super Bowl snacks:

  “I love a good French onion dip with Lay’s chips.” – Krawczyk (53:04)

• Noted past Super Bowl party experiences and the desire to attend pre-Super Bowl events.

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6. Fan Q&A

[56:25–69:59]

• Who Am I?

  • Last week’s answer: Marcos Giron.
  • This week’s (cryptic) clues: “Tennis runs in my family. I took a path less traveled. I have main character energy. Game refuses to stay quiet. If I were to skateboard, it’d be goofy style.” (Hint: a lefty)

• Racket Specs Deep Dive (60:02–68:09):

  • Desirae Krawczyk: Babolat Pure Aero Team, 4 3/8 grip, Luxilon Element 1.25, ~50 lbs, silicone in handle.
  • Jessica Pegula: Yonex Ezone (~323g), leather grip, weighted & balanced, high 40s string tension, specific about equipment equality.
  • Madison Keys: Yonex Ezone, cushion grip, grip size 2, some lead at the top, tension varies, feels-based.
  • Jennifer Brady: Babolat Aero, 4 1/4 grip, 48–52 lbs, cushion/soft grip, loves white overgrips and soft feel.

• Would you swap lives with another host for a week?

  • Pegula picks Brady for “hotel breakfast at a Marriott.”
  • Keys chooses Krawczyk, “to wake up with perfect hair.”
  • Krawczyk: “I want to be Maddie for the skincare gadgets and coffee routines.”
  • Brady would swap with Pegula for the “chaos with the dogs.”

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Notable Quotes

• Keys, on WTA entry weirdness:

  “It’s like I’m penalized for being too good, but then also, like, five days later I won’t be top 10… It makes no sense to me.” (13:33)

• Krawczyk, on fashion haters:

  “I was just going with the trend… thought it looked good, but this guy really shut me down. …I’m still gonna keep wearing it.” (23:48)

• Brady, on doubles credit:

  “I do think there should be more people at the matches...it's still very good tennis.” (27:47)

• Pegula, on Super Bowl pre-game parties:

  “You just walk in and… that’s a famous person. That’s a famous person. They’re all wandering around these sponsor events, putting on performances.” (55:02)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:05 – Start of Unforced Errors
• 08:00 – Middle East Tournament Updates
• 13:33 – Keys’ WTA/Austin tournament rant
• 15:07 – Rookie tour scheduling mistakes
• 19:15 – Andreescu’s comeback & lower-level grind
• 23:24 – Des's “burn those flip-flops” story
• 26:48 – Hot Takes Lightning Round begins
• 47:03 – Girl pockets debate
• 51:30 – Super Bowl segment
• 56:25 – Who Am I? / Fan Questions
• 60:02 – Racket Specs discussion

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Tone and Language

The episode is casual, playful, and full of friendly jabs. The hosts’ camaraderie drives the show, making industry details accessible and personal, with moments of offbeat humor (e.g., the pockets debate, unfiltered travel horror stories) and candid self-deprecation.

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For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

This episode is a candid snapshot of real tennis tour life, far beyond scoreboards. You'll enjoy travel drama, comical errors, procedural frustrations, women supporting women, pop-culture riffing, and insider insights into the practicalities of pro gear and scheduling. The banter and inside jokes are matched by genuine hot takes and thoughtful fan responses—making it a must-listen for tennis fans and anyone who likes their sports podcasts spontaneous and unfiltered.

Transcript

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[A]

This is the players box.

[D]

Welcome back to the players box. I'm Desiree Krafczyk alongside Jenny Brady, Madison Keys and Jess Pegula. A friendly reminder to please give our podcast five stars and subscribe on YouTube. Today we'll recap the Middle east tournaments from last week, talk a little bit about the super bowl and share some hot takes. But first, as always, our unforced errors of the week. Jenny, what's your unforced error?

[C]

I was really hoping you didn't call on me first. I cannot think of an unforced error. Can Maddie go and then circle back to me?

[A]

I. The kind of first thing that pops into my head is for whatever reason the other day, like, bent over, I was putting laundry away and I was like standing next to the wall and don't know what happened, but came up and basically like rammed the entire right side of my body into the wall, like, as hard as I possibly could and narrowly avoided a concussion. But yeah, Bjorn was just standing there and was just like, what? What is wrong with you? Yeah, I don't know. That's. Yeah, Jess.

[B]

Oh, I couldn't remember. I was about to ask Jenny what it was because I said it to you yesterday. I was playing Call of Duty the other night. And so we play War Zone, which, like, you're in a circle and the circle gets smaller and smaller and you have to be the last team that's alive. So we're in the final circle, which means, like, it's basically the end of the game. You have a chance to win the game. And Mabel are. My puppy jumps up on my lap and I'm like, mabel, like, what are you doing? And I'm like, trying to Play. And I'm like, this is really bad timing. And then she threw up on me on my lap for dinner. She just threw up all of her food on my, like literally on my lap. And I didn't even realize it at first. And we like lost and I died. And I'm like, people like, what are you doing? And she was like acting really weird. And I'm like, oh my God, you threw up on me. So she has now thrown up on me and Taylor because she threw up on him one time. He woke up and she like jumped on him and he, she threw up on him. So we've both been thrown up on. So that was mine does.

[D]

That's a good one. Well, my enforced error a couple days ago, I lost my match and it was, we finished really late, like 11pm and of course I raged, booked a flight to go to Doha and probably wasn't the smartest thing to do. So the next day, like I get to the airport and I'm like, here's my passport. And they're like, are you, what flight are you on? I was like, oh, the 1220, just right there. And they're like, we can't see you. And I was like, oh gosh, it's probably like another visa issue. I booked my flight for February 21st, so. And they don't. And they don't refund you. And I also paid for excess baggage, so no, I was not happy. But then luckily they were like, oh, we can try and book you on the same flight. And luckily I got to the airport early, so I'm just like, this is just the icing on the cake. And rebooked the flight, paid another $400. I ended up paying for a different class for the same flight on February 21, not February 7, so I don't know how that happened. So I double paid and then I had to pay again for the actual flight on February 7th, so it was just a whole disaster. But I made it to Doha and I lost.

[A]

But it's okay here.

[C]

Oh my gosh.

[A]

Wait, so you paid three different flights to Doha?

[D]

So I paid originally for a flight and then got to the airport. They were like, let's change your flight and changed it but to the flight that was on 21st. And then they were like, oh. I was like, can I get a refund? Like it's been within 24 hours. No, sorry, it's non refundable. And I was like, okay. So then I end up paying for the flight originally for that day, but I got on the Flight. It's fine. Just whatever. But that was my unforced error.

[B]

Oh, God, that's awful.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

Jenny, do you have an unforced error?

[C]

I'm so confused. I'm trying to wrap my head around that whole situation for the first time. I can't think of an unforced error and it's really bothering me.

[D]

Do you have a winner?

[C]

Super bowl Sunday.

[B]

I can't believe Jenny doesn't have a car story.

[C]

I know. I was just trying to think of her Whole Foods.

[B]

Yeah. Grocery shopping or in the car bathroom on the way to the grocery store.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Well, my car is so dirty because I left it in the parking lot at USTA when I went to San Diego. And when I came back, there's like so much dust and dirt on the car and leaves every time still. I need to take it to get a car wash because still when I drive off or like if I get on like. Like the highway or something, like leaves are still falling, flying from underneath, like where the windshield wipers are. Like, these are still coming out. So maybe that's man for Sarah that my car looks awful.

[D]

That's not good for the clean freak.

[C]

Yeah, it looks awful.

[D]

So, yeah, I think Jess wins. Wins unforced errors.

[B]

No, no, I think you do.

[C]

You do.

[D]

I mean, I really want to be thrown up on.

[C]

Yeah. But like, probably just a tiny bit if she didn't even notice. Come on. Like rebooking your flight three times.

[D]

Yeah, no, it was pretty.

[C]

It was pretty bad.

[D]

Just. Note to self. Don't rage book right after you lose and you're just.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah, I've definitely done that.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Like rage booked. And then you're so distraught that you don't even book the right day. And then you have to do all the. The stuff to cancel it and change it.

[D]

And then it's like.

[B]

But here we are. We made.

[D]

We made it.

[B]

Flying colors. You're there.

[C]

You're there.

[A]

Yeah, we're here.

[C]

Now make sure you book the right flight to Dubai.

[D]

Yes.

[A]

Well, Des, you made semis in Abu Dhabi, so at least there's that.

[C]

Yes.

[D]

Yeah, no, it was a. It was a good week, actually. Really enjoy Abu Dhabi. The hotel. You feel like you're on a vacation. It's really nice. And I mean, I felt like I was on a vacation because I played like at 8pm the last couple nights. But no, it's a great event. It's a. Yeah. Really nice place to be. But yeah, had a good week. Highly recommend. Not that anyone. So you guys will go There.

[A]

You, Jesse, and I are all playing Dubai next. Jenny, what are you playing?

[C]

I am playing. The next tournament I'm playing is Austin, so. Yeah, so I won't be playing a tournament. Dubai starts next week.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Yes. Yeah.

[D]

So Austin is the following week.

[C]

Yeah. And then Austin is the following week. So I'll see Jessica there.

[D]

I heard it's a great event, though.

[B]

It's fun.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

I feel bad because I keep screwing Maddie from.

[A]

Yeah. Every single freaking time I try. Screws me.

[C]

So why fans? Yes, I was just about to say. So I'm sure fans are probably like, why isn't Maddie playing? Maddie, would you like to explain Two.

[A]

Years in a row.

[B]

Wait, explain what happened last year? Because it was like, a whole thing.

[A]

Okay. So last year. Last year, I won the Australian Open on Saturday. And, yeah, that's not the sad part of the story. It won that on Saturday. And the deadline for the Austin tournament and the rankings. The rankings updated, and the deadline for the tournament happened, like, the same day. So I had already entered in Austin, had, like, committed to it, had told the tournament that I was coming, we were going to do stuff, had talked to the tournament director. And then that Monday, I moved into the top 10. And because Jessica is also playing Austin, she was two spots higher than me, something like that. Three spots higher than me, something like that. So she got to stay in the tournament because it's a 250. There's only one top 10 player allowed. So I was removed after I had entered because when I entered, I think I was like, 6:17 or something in the rankings. And because I had moved up, I was removed because Jess was ranked higher than me, so she got to play. So then this year comes around, and I was like, oh, okay, I didn't defend all of my points in Australia. I'm going to drop out of the top 10. I can go play Austin this year. And they. So I was like, oh, maybe I can ask a tournament for a wild card. I'll see if he has any extras or, like, if he's been holding any. So, like, I can finally go. And so this year, I reached out to the tournament and was like, can I get a wild card? And whatever. And the WTA told me that I couldn't take a wild card because even though after the Australian Open I would drop out of the top 10, they said, I'm not eligible for a wild card because when the deadline closed, it's during the Australian Open this year, and I'm still top 10.

[D]

Oh, my gosh.

[A]

And I was like, wait, but what if I just take the wild card on, like, Tuesday after the rankings update? They said no. And then they're like, well, Jess is playing. And I was like.

[D]

Damn, you just.

[A]

Only one top 10 player can play. And I was like, but I won't be top 10 when the tournament starts. And they're like, yes, but you'll be top 10 or you are top 10 and the entries have closed, so you're currently top 10, so you can't play.

[B]

Do they seed off of live ranking or.

[A]

No, seeding is live ranking. Entry is.

[B]

Four weeks before Sitting is live ranking entries four weeks before. Okay, that's a wild. Just.

[D]

So basically, it's just wild.

[B]

Got it. Set of. Yeah. I asked if I took a defending champion because I won the tournament, so technically I'd be a defending champion. But I think because I entered. That's only for wild cards, right? Or is that just spots?

[A]

No, it's still. Because Only one top 10 player is allowed to play, no matter what wild cards people take. So. Because it closed during the Australian Open this year because. Whoops, the schedules one week later.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

It messed up all of the entries. So. Yeah.

[C]

So you just need to be ranked higher than Jess next time.

[B]

So Maddie literally subbed her out of two years in a row.

[A]

But I was like. I was so mad because I was like. I was like, rage, Emailing, texting the WTA because I was like, this doesn't make any sense. One year I get screwed because, like, I did too well somewhere. And then the next year, I'm, like, trying to go to a tournament again, and, like, I'm. It's like, somehow. It's like I'm penalized for being, like, too good, but then also, like, literally five days later, I'm going to drop out of the top 10. Like, that makes no sense to me.

[D]

But.

[B]

No.

[A]

I'll just have to talk to my council member and be like, jessica, can you please fix.

[B]

Which is also weird.

[A]

Make no sense.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

Do something about this.

[B]

Me going to the pizza or player board reps being. So it's kind of my fault. But, like, why does this keep happening?

[C]

I'm the problem.

[B]

My bad. Yeah. But excited to see you in Austin, Jenny.

[C]

Yeah, me too.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

Wait, Desert.

[C]

Terry Blacks. Terry Blacks.

[D]

No, no, we. We might. We were gonna. Well, Jenny.

[C]

Jenny had asked me and Des were gonna Austin do the Little Dubs run, but it would have been fun.

[D]

But I just. I need to go home for just. Yeah.

[C]

Be home. Yeah.

[D]

We're on the couch.

[C]

She's Been grinding since Australia started.

[D]

The year going.

[C]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

Since before.

[D]

Not as bad. I feel like there's some players here. They. They're like, oh, like, I didn't go home. I talked to Vicky and Boko. She lost an ao.

[A]

She.

[D]

She's been in Doha for two weeks. And I was like, what are you doing for two weeks? You're just here. And I was like, why didn't you stay in Oz? And she's like, oh, this is my rookie year. Like, I don't know. I didn't. I was just. I don't know. It's like, oh, my gosh. But yeah, she was here for. She's been here for two weeks and she's playing today.

[B]

But that's rookie.

[D]

She's like, I'll learn for next year.

[A]

I think. I think Amanda did that last year.

[B]

Two weeks, won the tournament, so maybe it's. Yeah, she'll be used to the conditions.

[D]

Yeah, true. Yeah. No, no Austin for me. I'll be home. But excited to watch you guys play there.

[A]

We had some crazy, like, tournament winners, champions this week. We had Kirstea won at home in.

[C]

Her.

[A]

Retirement year, maybe question mark. We'll see how she does. Yeah. And then who won Abu Dhabi? Someone won. Was it her first?

[D]

Sarah Balik?

[B]

Is that how you say.

[D]

I don't think she's 20 years old. First.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

WTA qualified title. Yeah. Qual. I think she qualified. Yeah. She beat Alexandrova in the finals.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Crazy.

[D]

Yeah, Crazy.

[A]

And then I saw Katie.

[B]

Katie Bolter won Strava Ostrava.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. Interesting week.

[C]

A lot of tours feel like the week.

[A]

Yeah. There's a lot of tournaments the week after a slam. I feel like you never really know what's gonna happen.

[B]

I also feel like sometimes I don't pay attention and then I'm just like, oh, someone won a tournament. I was home and I wasn't paying attention to any tennis. Trying to, like, shut it off for a while.

[D]

Yeah. Some people were saying that they were like, there are two 250s going on and then a 500 that same week. That. Because the tournaments, like these Masters, they're starting qualys on, I believe, Friday, so they can't even get to those tournaments. So they're losing out on those thousands events. So they're like, oh, these are tournaments we want to play. But qualities is starting so early. So a lot of them were like, they were trying to like, see if they can change it or figure out a way to push back the Qualities day. Because I think it's usually Saturday on some of these events, but now these past events have been on Sunday.

[A]

Main draw starts, but I think also, like, kind of what Jess was saying, where it's like, you don't really know what's going on. It's like the men's finals on Sunday. And then I, like, completely checked out of tennis until, like, Wednesday or Thursday. And then I'm like, whoa, it's the semifinals in three different places.

[B]

Yeah. It happened so fast. And then, like, Doha starting, like, art people already playing. And I'm like, like, des, your turnaround was crazy. I literally checked my phone. I was like, wait, what? I was like, wait, did she. Is she still winning? And I would have it, like, I was so confused, and I looked at the score, and I'm like, oh, my God, she's playing. You had, like, what one. Did you even have one day in between?

[D]

So I. Yeah, rage book. The flight flew the next day, then played Sunday, thinking I wasn't going to play on Sunday, because usually they don't put you on the next day, but because I was playing with Sonia Kennan, she's got singles. She's playing on Monday. They didn't want to double her up, so then they were like, oh, you're playing Sunday? And I was like, whoa, okay. Just quick turnaround. Different courts, too. Just conditions, but they're both slower, so it wasn't as bad as going from Doha to Dubai, which is complete. Yeah, turnaround. But, yeah, quick turnaround.

[A]

Did anyone else see that Bibi Andreescu is on her comeback?

[C]

Yes, I did.

[D]

Yeah, I saw that, actually.

[C]

Me.

[A]

And then grinding.

[C]

Yeah. Me and Jess were texting about it earlier this year, and I was like, should I go grind some ITF's and not play Australian Open quality?

[B]

I feel like she kind of inspired you.

[C]

She did inspire me.

[A]

She.

[C]

She made me question everything. And I was like, I'm not ready. And Jess was like, yeah, do it. Like, of course. Great idea. She's like, I love it. Yeah. So I love that she's grinding and she's just getting matches and, you know, building up her confidence, making sure her body's ready to compete again. It's smart. It. It's a tough decision. Like, it's very tough. Especially, you know, she. She was playing last year, right? Like, she was. Was she injured or.

[B]

She, like, twisted her ankle, remember, in Montreal?

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

That was because that was the night the fire alarm went off and she won the match. She twisted it, like, two points before match point, ended up winning the match. And then the Fire alarm was going off in the tournament hotel, and I literally come up to hang out with Maddie in the concierge floor because the alarm wasn't going off. And she was there, like, on crutches.

[C]

Oh, no.

[B]

And I was like, oh, man. Tough day. Like, have to. Whatever. Sprain your ankle and then that. And then I. I don't think she's played since.

[C]

Okay, maybe.

[B]

No, no. China. She played Asia. She did. She played China.

[C]

Why not?

[A]

The fact check that number. But I think her match in Montreal hadn't. She had been out or she had been injured before that, and it was like, her first match back in a little bit, and she was playing really well, and then she got re. Injured.

[B]

Yes. Yeah. A lot of injuries for her, but I respect it.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

I mean, takes a lot to go and play challengers after you've, like, won a slam and you've won.

[C]

Thousand.

[B]

Like.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. To put your pride aside and your ego aside and just go and battle, like, good for her. Yeah. And to win them is pretty cool.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

To win them.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. Wait, I kind of want to talk about.

[C]

I mean, Carlos brings 20 pairs of shoes. That is insane. I don't even own 22 pairs of shoes.

[A]

Oh, I.

[B]

What is going on?

[D]

Do you think that Nike gave them? Like, he must have gotten shoes from Nike, like, or do you think he actually brought 22 pairs?

[B]

Like, I think he brought a lot of them.

[C]

I'm sure he's a lot.

[B]

Brought 15.

[C]

Yeah. I mean, does that.

[D]

Tennis shoes when you're.

[B]

We're have to ask. I think it did. I thought I saw the picture, and it was.

[A]

I was going to say, is that 22 pairs of casual shoes or. Well, I guess for. For any fans since we jumped straight into this. Carlos, Allegedly. We're gonna say allegedly brought 22 pairs of Nike shoes to Australia. That seems like a lot.

[C]

But this is pretty excessive. This doesn't include tennis shoes. These are like.

[B]

I saw the picture. No. Yeah. They weren't tennis shoes.

[A]

Just casual shoes.

[C]

Wow.

[D]

How many times. What do you. You really need to.

[A]

I think I took two pairs of casual shoes to Australia this year.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

Literally, I brought one pair of casual shoes and maybe, like, three different sandals.

[C]

Does.

[A]

Does. Do you want to talk about your sandals in Doha? So.

[D]

So for those of you who didn't know or see this. But. So I had gotten this message. I saw it after the match, but it says, at Jenny Brady, someone tell DEZ she must burn those flip flops with the heel that she wore. The players party in Qatar. And I was like, oh, okay. And so I went and looked at it and I was like, was it that bad? And I was like, oh, maybe that wasn't. Maybe it wasn't a good outfit.

[C]

I mean, the dress was so cute.

[B]

I mean, I love the dressing way where I didn't.

[D]

Yeah, like, does look like you're wearing flip flops. It does look like you're wearing flip flops. But, you know, I was just going with the trend, you know, these little kitten heels. I thought it looked good, but this guy really shut me down. So, you know, but the fact I'm still gonna keep wearing it, I'm just.

[C]

I just want to know why he tagged me because maybe I responded and.

[A]

Immediately send it to death.

[C]

Yeah, except DEZ beat me to it. She went on Instagram before I did.

[D]

Yeah, I was just looking to see if there's any hate mail sent my way after today.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Icing on the cake after taking an L. Some guy telling you to burn yourself.

[A]

It was pretty funny, though.

[D]

It's pretty funny, though.

[B]

Gotta laugh. I sent the video. Did you see the video? Because I did see you, like, all the arrival, the players arriving at the party. So I did randomly see it before you sent that text. So I, like, I was like, oh, my God. Wait, I know what he's talking about. I'm sorry.

[D]

Jess is like, oh, I saw those heels, those little kitten heels.

[B]

And I was thinking, like, how cute the dress was. I didn't really think about the rest of the outfit, but yeah, she's cute.

[D]

Enough that she didn't even notice it.

[B]

Yeah, it was fresh in my brain. I was like, wait, what? I just saw that.

[D]

Well, I guess there can be a hot take on that.

[C]

Yeah, we should hot take that icing.

[A]

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[D]

We asked them on how she does it.

[A]

With Karen Feinerman. You'll get insights from leaders like today's Jenna Bush Hager.

[C]

There's a lot I say no to.

[B]

And I think it's a really important word for women to use.

[A]

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[C]

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[A]

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[B]

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[C]

Let's move on to some hot takes. So each person, well, me and Des are going to rotate on this. I'll ask one and then she'll ask one and we'll just flip flop back and forth and we'll give a hot take and then see how everybody reacts. Okay. Starting with cupcakes. Have too much icing.

[D]

Jenny, I know what your answer is going to be.

[B]

Yeah, agreed.

[C]

Yeah, I hate icing.

[D]

I like icing. Doubles deserves more attention than it gets.

[A]

Ladies, singles, ladies. Do you have big feelings?

[C]

Do you have big feel first, Des, go first.

[D]

You know, I definitely think that there should be more tension in doubles. I think it's more fun. I think we've talked about it before, but yeah, but I'm a devil's advocate. So, yeah, it's definitely more fun to watch.

[C]

I do think there should be more people at the matches. It is kind of sad. Like when you see even at a grand slam, there's, you know, there's not many people there watching and, you know, know it's still very good tennis. So I agree. I'm on Des's side.

[D]

Thank you.

[A]

I don't think that there's enough credit given to doubles and doubles players for the different skills that are required to be a good doubles player. Like as a singles player, I can go and play doubles and be okay, but then if I'm on the other side of like two, two doubles players, I'm like, oh, I'm about to get embarrassed. Yeah, like the timing of the moving. What was Bjorn calling your. Your angle volleys?

[D]

I don't even know. But yeah, it's like your niche. I don't know. I don't even know what that was. But he was just. He knew I was gonna go there every single time.

[A]

Yeah, he just like Bjorn was standing on the court. He was literally like, up by the chair, umpire's chair, like in the corner, ready for all of DEZ' like angle volleys. She's just gonna like, smack down into there.

[B]

I think that it deserves a little bit more love. I do think that everyone, especially in the us when they play, they play doubles, like, predominantly. Like when you're playing at a country club, it's all doubles leagues. So I definitely think there's a space for it. So I do think it needs more attention. I do think there's some really good matches. Like whenever they feature a match, I always feel like it's really fun to watch and it's enjoyable to watch and people like it. It's just kind of like Indian Wells, for example. Like, people pack the courts for doubles matches because it's become like a, like a thing that they always do there. I feel like maybe at some of the other tournaments, I don't know, it's not as much of a trend, but I think people would really enjoy it if they, if they watched it.

[D]

It's also not like, even on social media, they don't really promote it as much, which I think they could do a better job with that. But I think at some of these tournaments, Indian Wells, like you said, a lot of fans, like people in the desert. I mean, they're only playing dubs. Most of them are playing devils. And so they want to go out there and watch and see dubs, even in, like, Miami. But I think it's funny Also, like, these 10 point breakers, you don't really know what's going to happen. So, I mean, you just. Everyone's watching, I feel like. But yeah, it definitely needs the credit it deserves.

[C]

Yeah. Socks in bed is criminal. Agreed.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Sometimes my feet get cold.

[C]

I definitely don't wear Madison.

[A]

Look at Jenny's face.

[C]

I'm shocked. You do you.

[A]

I have bad circulation and my toes get cold.

[D]

That's fair. Tennis is harder than it looks.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yes. Yeah.

[B]

Actually, I think people tell me that. Yeah, like, it looks a lot, you guys. Everyone makes it look easy and then they go out there thinking, like. And then they're just horrible.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

But I feel like it's a little bit kind of like. Like the Winter Olympics is on right now, obviously. And it's like you're watching them and you have no concept of like how good they are because you don't see a normal person doing it like, I would like to see a normal person attempt to figure skate and then I'll watch the figure skaters and I'm like, whoa, they're even better than I thought they were. Yeah, like, tennis is a little bit like that.

[C]

Yeah. Yeah. That's funny. I was actually watching the snowboarding last night where they like go off the ramp and do like the crazy tricks and the guy like didn't land his trick and I'm like, how did you not do that? Like you spun eight times in the air. Like, how do you not land that? Yeah. Tennis should be played on one surface. No, no, no, my sister gave me that one.

[B]

No, no, Sorry. Jess.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

What did she think?

[C]

She thinks. Yeah.

[A]

Why?

[C]

Really? I don't know.

[D]

Is it?

[C]

Oh, yeah, I didn't, I didn't really ask her a follow up question. I said, give me some hot takes.

[D]

Taylor Swift is more of a business genius than a musician.

[B]

Yes, yes, yes.

[D]

Yeah, I mean, she's a genius, but she's also a lyrical genius.

[C]

She's a business.

[A]

What?

[C]

She's a business mogul.

[A]

I'm sorry, did you say lyrical genius?

[C]

Yeah, have you heard her lyrics? Have you read her lyrics? What?

[A]

What do you mean?

[B]

They're catchy.

[A]

I.

[D]

Very catchy. And she also is like. Well, no, she's pretty.

[C]

Your favorite.

[B]

I wouldn't say, I think she.

[D]

Not my favorite song, but one of that.

[C]

Why she's a lyrical genius.

[D]

I mean, it's pretty good. You have to admit. It's pretty pun.

[A]

I mean, I can't lie. I will say whatever. Whatever song is like circulating all over social right now from her latest Opalite. Yeah, that is really catchy. I find myself, like, catchy. Oh, okay.

[C]

Oh, yeah, that the. The chorus.

[B]

Here we go. Yeah, they're very catchy, but to me, that's more of her business mind. Like, I'm gonna make these catchy things that just get stuck in people's head. Would I say she's a lyrical, like a genius? Like Shakespeare.

[D]

Like, I wasn't thinking Shakespeare.

[B]

Well, that's what I think of, like when I think of someone that's really good, good with words. I'm not like Taylor Swift, but she is a business. I mean, 100% she is. The way she's built.

[C]

Her lady, though, seems like a nice lady, right, Jess?

[B]

Yeah, she seems like a nice lady.

[C]

I love folding laundry is worse than doing dishes. 100%.

[D]

Yes. What?

[B]

Yeah, I'd rather do dishes.

[A]

Yeah, I don't mind dishes.

[C]

Yeah, me either.

[B]

It's kind of like dishes.

[D]

I think laundry. Folding laundry is more therapeutic.

[C]

No. Because then once I get. No, it makes.

[B]

I have to put it away.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

Cilantro tastes like soap.

[C]

Yep.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

False.

[C]

Absolutely.

[A]

Oh, cilantro is delicious.

[B]

I love cilantro. But when I heard that, like, this whole thing, I can kind of see how it tastes like soap, but I don't think it tastes like soap, if that makes sense.

[C]

Yeah. I. When I would go to Chipotle, I asked for the rice with no cilantro.

[D]

Oh, I didn't even know they had that as an option.

[C]

Yeah. You can ask.

[A]

Isn't it, like, a genetic thing if you don't like cilantro?

[C]

I'm out here fighting genetics every day.

[B]

It's supposed to be genetic. Yes. People either love it or think it tastes like soap.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

Not for me. Toilet paper goes over, not under.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

I don't really have a preference.

[D]

It bothers me when it's behind because then I'm just like, wait. I'm, like, searching for it, and it takes forever. Sometimes you just can't get the right. Like.

[A]

In hotels. If it's the other way in a hotel, I'm like, no, no, no, that's not right.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

I don't know. I guess I do both. I don't really have a preference. The handshake moment is the most awkward part of tennis. No, not the most awkward.

[D]

No, it's fine.

[B]

Sometimes the coin toss is worse.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

Well, yeah.

[C]

Somebody's jumping around, heads or tails, and they're, like, doing shadow swings. Shadow swings at the coin toss.

[A]

I always feel like when I'm just standing there and I see someone doing, like, sprints, I'm like, should I do something? Am I. You're, like, looking around, are they already winning? Like, do I need to catch up?

[C]

Yeah. Like, do I look at my opponent, or do I look at the chair umpire doing the coin toss?

[D]

Or I feel like I don't look at the opponent when I'm doing the coin toss. I'm just looking at the chair empire and, like, fiddling with my strength.

[B]

I'm just kind of looking around, and.

[C]

They'Re explaining the whatever rules or whatever. And I'm like. And then they're like, any questions? And I'm like, huh? Yeah.

[B]

Exactly. Didn't hear anything.

[C]

Any questions to what? Yeah.

[B]

And then the first game, I'm like, what towel box am I again? I know you don't.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

But was not listening to anything that you said. Video. We actually. My last coin toss, one of them. I Don't know. In Australia, the Now they have a lot of the kids do it, and this kid was this little boy was so nervous, and I felt so bad. And he, like, went to, like, flip the coin, and it, like, didn't come off of his hand. And he was like, I knew I was going to mess it up.

[C]

Oh, my God.

[B]

Oh, my God. I'm like, I can't believe I did that. And I was like, oh, my God. It's okay. Like, he was so upset and I felt so bad. And I mean, it was like. I feel like sometimes with the kids, it's not really awkward, but it's like, a lot of them, like, either don't know how to do it or they're, like, really, really nervous. So I feel like I always just, like, say hi and, like, try to make them feel better because it is kind of intimidating. We're just, like, walking up, standing there with our rackets, like, and obviously some players are, like, jumping up and down and doing sprints, and they're just standing there with the coin like, I have one. And they're so nervous. But, yeah, that kid had a total freak out when he, like, it didn't come off of his hand. I felt so bad. Poor kid.

[C]

Oh, and then at the end when they're like, okay, take a photo. Take your time. Take a few. Take a photo.

[B]

And they don't know where to go or where to turn.

[A]

Oh, God forbid. They're like, photos both ways. And you're like, oh, no.

[D]

Oh, no. Yeah, turn around, buddy. The beach kind of sucks.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

Yeah. I'm not a beach person.

[C]

Sand. Ugh. I hate.

[D]

I'm the person at the pool looking at the beach with the sand.

[B]

Yeah, same for sure.

[D]

Sounds great.

[A]

Agreed.

[C]

Yeah. The physical menu is better than a QR code menu. A hundred percent.

[B]

100%.

[C]

I love the physical menu. I want to flip through the pages. At Cheesecake Factory.

[B]

I get kind of a.

[A]

They don't have them at all.

[C]

Yeah. Oh, yeah.

[B]

That bothers me.

[D]

All sauce should come on the side.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

Yes.

[D]

Yeah, I agree with that.

[C]

I hate.

[D]

Sometimes they just drench it too much.

[C]

I hate saucy things.

[B]

Yeah, agreed.

[C]

Grocery store.

[B]

I should think about it, but. Sorry. Yes.

[C]

Jesse loves saucy.

[B]

I had to think about that. I was like, I don't really know if I though. I. I'd rather have it on the side.

[C]

She loves saucy, though.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

I guess grocery shopping is relaxing. Yes, I love it.

[B]

No, sometimes.

[D]

Oh, my God, it sounds awful.

[C]

I love it.

[D]

It's like too stressful. Well, I guess I don't sometimes go in there. I just say the food will tell me what. Or I'll go in there and I'll just find out what I need.

[C]

But I feel like, yeah, I never have a plan that means more unless I have a plan. For me, I don't have a plan unless I have a plan.

[D]

Tennis scoring is confusing to new fans.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Yes. I am still confused by it.

[D]

Yeah, I don't keep track ever.

[C]

My mom is still learning. No, I'm kidding.

[A]

I mean, it doesn't help when we're like, okay, so the final tie break in the third set is seven. Except for four times a year when it's 10.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

I mean, even players will be confused. Clearly.

[B]

Or doubles. But in a regular season, in doubles, you play a third set, 10 point tiebreaker. But in a Grand slam, you go regular scoring, and then people really are like, what the hell?

[C]

Yeah. Or 40 love. Does anyone ever say 40 zero?

[B]

No.

[A]

No.

[D]

Well, we don't really call out the score.

[C]

Yeah, I know, but like, even like when you were growing up, I've never.

[B]

Heard anyone say that.

[D]

It's kind of like an ick.

[C]

0. Yeah. 40 0. Yeah.

[B]

No.

[A]

Even if you're like saying, like, if someone gets bagel, would you say like six zero or six love?

[C]

Oh, six.

[B]

I've heard.

[C]

I've done both.

[A]

I think I flipped that back.

[D]

I say 6o.

[C]

Yeah, yeah. Six, zero, six.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

I six instead. But not zero, not zero, six, zero. It's too aggressive. Really emphasize this. The bagel. Zero. The driver should control the music. If I'm driving.

[D]

Jenny. Yeah, that's. That's you. 30 seconds max.

[C]

If I'm driving. Everyone would argue that I should not control the music, but rarely am I the driver.

[D]

I think the driver should control the music.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

But I don't really care either way.

[A]

I just pass a difference strongly.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

Splitting the bill evenly is unfair.

[C]

Yeah, unless you all get the same thing. But most of the time I'm the one who's not getting alcohol. And some people are getting two, three cocktails or beverages. And then I'm like, paying for your drinks, which it evens out in the end. I mean, not.

[D]

Not always.

[C]

Yeah. I guess Jess and Maddie have no say.

[D]

No, I mean a bunch of friends. Like, I feel like you would.

[B]

I think it's totally context.

[C]

Yeah, I think it depends on who and the situation, to be honest.

[A]

I also don't really feel like getting an itemized receipt and like, being on my phone trying to calculate the $8 difference.

[C]

Yeah. I mean, if it's an $8 difference. Yeah. But if it's like a 52 drink dollar difference.

[D]

So expensive.

[C]

Yeah, yeah. Apparently there's absolute.

[D]

That now, like, if, like. So if everyone had like a drink or two drinks here and then would you still split the bill amongst everyone?

[A]

If we all have.

[D]

You didn't give drinks.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

Besides one person. Then you probably wouldn't make them pay for your drinks, right?

[A]

Well, no, I would just be like. No, you just pay a little bit less. I don't know. Right.

[D]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[C]

Breaking serve is more exciting than hitting an ace.

[A]

No.

[B]

Nothing.

[D]

Yeah, it's nice hitting an ace.

[B]

Come on.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Hitting multiple aces.

[C]

Yeah. How about four in a row?

[B]

Do you literally feel like you're on top of the world?

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

You're like, am I the greatest?

[D]

Yes. Okay. Completing a career Grand Slam is better than winning 10 slams.

[C]

I'll take 10.

[D]

No, I'll take 10.

[B]

I think I'd take 10.

[A]

Well, is it just like four to 10 or is it like you have eight and the career.

[C]

Oh, four to 10.

[D]

Technical.

[C]

Here you have one from every slam or 10 spread out between Australian Open and US Open.

[A]

Yeah, I mean, I would. I mean, I'd take 10.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, same.

[A]

That's over double.

[B]

Yeah, I don't know why. That's why we were all like, 10 for sure.

[A]

Okay, but. But if you had won like eight and you had a career slam, would you take that over 10?

[D]

Well, wouldn't that.

[B]

That'd be 12.

[C]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

If you won a career slam twice, but you also won the math. Four more.

[C]

The math is, would you take that?

[A]

Or would you just take 10 from 2?

[C]

Wait, I think I.

[D]

Whatever slams I can get, I think.

[C]

I do career one.

[B]

I think I would do career slam plus four. That's what you're saying. Over 10 total. Yes, I would take that.

[A]

I would do that.

[B]

Career Slam plus four other slams. Over ten total.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Cause, I mean, at that point, you have eight. Okay, seriously, like, who's gonna really knock you for. You have the career Slam.

[A]

You're unreal on every single surface.

[B]

Every surface. Yeah.

[C]

Dez wants 10.

[D]

I want 10.

[A]

Des is like, I want 10 at the exact same tournament. I don't care.

[C]

Yeah, yeah. I don't care.

[D]

It's away from my Oz.

[A]

Dang it.

[C]

Take one. Girl pockets suck.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

Yeah, no, but girl pocket. Like, are you.

[A]

No, but like, this versus men's pockets.

[C]

Like, where you're like, put your phone and then like half the Phone is hanging out.

[D]

Oh, I'm thinking, like, in a dress. Like, you've got pockets. Like.

[C]

No, you're thinking wrong.

[A]

Girls. Girl pockets versus boy pockets.

[C]

Yeah, like, they're too short.

[D]

They're too shallow.

[C]

Yeah, they're. They're like this big.

[B]

But I feel like everything falls out of guys pockets all the time. Like, if I had loser headphones and.

[D]

Their wallets are coming out, I think.

[B]

I would just lose everything. So I actually don't mind just like, shoving stuff in my yoga pants or having.

[C]

Wait, Maddie, I don't. About two different things. Me and MADD on the same. Me and girl pocket.

[B]

Oh, you just mean, like.

[A]

Everyone pause. I'm confused. Everyone pause. You have a pair of jeans on. You're sticking. You can't stick your phone in the front pocket because your pockets are this big. They're not big enough. You stick your phone in your back pocket and half of your phone is sticking out. Men have pockets in the front and. And the back where they can fit their keys, their wallets, their phone, their headphones. A hammer. Like.

[B]

Yeah, but it's also just like, the fit of the jeans. Like, it also depends on the butt.

[C]

Actually, that's actually so good. A Red Bull sometimes you got a big butt, like, pocket.

[D]

I don't know.

[C]

And a hammer.

[D]

You can't fit everything.

[C]

You actually can fit a hammer.

[A]

You can fit so many things in men's pockets.

[B]

I just don't think I. I can't even, like, understand because girls jeans are different anyway. Like, I could probably wear boyfriend baggy, go put on Taylor's jeans if they were loose. Like, is that what we're talking about? Like, would I appreciate jeans that don't fit me?

[C]

Like, I don't understand how they don't understand what we're talking about either.

[B]

I'm not saying how would you fit a man? I think we need to pause a girl's je.

[A]

No, that's not the question.

[C]

No, that's not the question.

[B]

I can't answer it because it's a.

[C]

Hot take.

[B]

That I can't even, like, answer the question because I just don't.

[D]

Even think I'm gonna need, like, a video of this. Girl pockets. They're just too shallow. But like, guys, I mean, yeah, girl pockets.

[B]

I don't know, but like, yeah, that's the hot take.

[A]

That's the hot take. That.

[B]

That's literally.

[A]

You just said it.

[C]

So you would ever.

[B]

Well, I guess I disagree so much that I'm already past that. I'm like, moving on to like, how do we into the.

[D]

This is hilarious.

[B]

Woman's jeans. You can't.

[C]

A taser. You forgot a taser.

[D]

Oh, my God.

[B]

Oh. Girl pockets versus men's pockets.

[C]

Yes. Literally look like.

[A]

Oh, my gosh.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Like, I didn't. Of all of the hot takes. It didn't think.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

I mean.

[D]

Okay, moving to our last one. People don't actually read the terms and conditions. I definitely don't.

[A]

Of course not.

[B]

Who reads time for that? How is that even a hot take?

[C]

People have too much time on their hands.

[D]

I'm glad we agreed on that one, you guys, because girl pockets. One of them.

[B]

We ended it on a good note. Girls pockets. Men's pockets, though, to be discussed again. Future, let us know in the comments if girls pockets suck.

[C]

Yeah, seriously, let us know if you knew if you were on the same braid and length wavelength as Maddie and I or you were on the same whatever situation Jess and Des were on.

[B]

So I think I've just here. I don't even know. I mean, I was going, when you.

[A]

Go out, do you carry a purse? Yeah.

[B]

Yeah, right?

[D]

Some sort of. Sort of satchel.

[A]

Does your boyfriend or husband carry a purse, or do they put all their stuff in their pocket?

[D]

Well, also. Okay, to be fair, I would also give. If I don't bring a purse, I'd also give them something to carry. So. Yeah, I do agree. Correct.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

Yes, you are right.

[C]

Thank you.

[D]

But I just never thought that. I just never thought girl pockets. That I'm not like, oh, God, these jeans suck, because the pockets are so shallow. I just bring a purse.

[B]

I don't put things in my pocket. Even if I had men's pockets, I don't even think I would use them. I guess that's why I'm just like. I would just.

[D]

This hot take sucks. That's all I got to say.

[C]

Jessica, you just said that you put things in your yoga pants.

[B]

That's not a pocket.

[D]

Yeah. And they don't go anywhere.

[B]

I shove my phone in there. But, like, I'm not putting my wallet in my key.

[D]

It's not a pocket.

[B]

You can just throw it underneath, shoving it. Your yoga pants.

[C]

Okay, moving on to the next section. Jessica, we are.

[D]

You're the one who brought this up. And sorry.

[B]

We are filming on Super Bowl Sunday. So the question is, do you guys care about the Super Bowl?

[C]

Not this year.

[A]

Deeply.

[B]

Do you care about Bad Bunny?

[A]

Yes.

[D]

Yes. I just don't know enough of his songs.

[B]

Did you see it? Right? The Instagram guy that was like, he was teaching Everybody Spanish up until the super bowl so people would know what I watched last night. He's like, this was my last. My last post. You guys should know.

[C]

Yeah, Actually, yeah. Last night I was watching a video on the lyrics of Titi Me pregunta prigunto.

[B]

Prigunto is I conjugation.

[C]

So it's his aunt asking a question. Yeah, I'll watch the halftime show. I wonder who he's gonna bring out.

[B]

Isn't there Charlie Puth doing something? Because I saw him doing some.

[D]

The national anthem.

[B]

He's doing the national anthem. Okay. I didn't know.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

What is anyone making? Yeah, is anyone making any food? What's everyone's favorite, like, super bowl bar food situation? Yeah. Oh, I think a nachos sounds so good.

[C]

Oh, I'm gonna get me some wingy wings.

[A]

Oh, and pretzels with, like, cheese dip. So good.

[C]

You know, I love.

[D]

I love a good French onion dip with, like, lay's chips.

[B]

Oh, have you guys ever had, like. Like, chicken wing dip? No.

[C]

Like, I'm not a huge dip person.

[B]

It's like a buffalo chicken dip. And you. Yeah, it's like cheese, like, usually, like, shredded chicken, and it's kind of, like, almost, like, buff. You can put, like, hot sauce in it, so it's kind of got a kick. Yeah. Like, Frank's hot in it.

[C]

And Are you making that dress really good?

[B]

I am not planning on making really anything. You know what I've been dreaming of, though, since we talked about the other day is the sub tub.

[C]

Oh, yeah. I might go get that for lunch.

[B]

I was like, great idea. Really good. I might do something like that.

[A]

It's literally a sandwich in a plastic box instead of bread.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

So it's like a salad.

[C]

Yeah, it's a salad.

[B]

Yes, it's salad. Yeah.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Does anyone care who wins the Super Bowl? Everyone. Why doesn't everyone just name who they want to win? Jenny?

[C]

Seahawks.

[B]

Yes, Seahawks. Maddie.

[A]

Seahawks. Love them.

[B]

Same. Don't want the Pats to win. So I'm glad we're all on the Seattle bandwagon. I did. We were just talking, though, the week before the Super Bowl. There's all those crazy events, so hopefully one year the Bills make it, and I would love to attend all of them.

[C]

Yeah, I'll be there, too. Yep.

[D]

Plus two, plus three.

[C]

I just. Just. At least the game. Come on, Jessica. At least the game. Like, I don't need the. The pre activities.

[B]

I know you don't.

[C]

You don't need.

[B]

You don't need that.

[A]

I was gonna Say I'd prefer the pre activity.

[B]

Yeah, it is pretty cool though. I've gone. I. When they were in Miami here, I think I came probably back from Australia or I didn't go to Middle east or whatever. And we went down to Miami for like two days for the super bowl. Like, leading up to the super bowl. We weren't in it. I forget who was playing. And it was pretty cool. They have so many events, like. Like they have all these events that you can go to and they have all the celebrities, like singers performing. I saw like G. Eazy was performing one night and it's. It's cool because it's like more intimate and there's just like millions of those things going on all the time. So I would just like walk in and be like, oh, my God, that's a famous person. That's a famous person. That's a famous person. And they're just all like wandering around these sponsor events, like, putting on performances. It was kind of. Oh, it was post. Post was like hammered. And he just like went up on stage and started singing. And I was like, this is so cool. And he sounded unbelievable. And he was completely wasted. I think that was like maybe a ERA party or something like that. I don't know. It was cool.

[C]

Okay, so next year, all of us.

[D]

Yeah, I'll be there for the previous.

[C]

The players box.

[B]

Oh, yeah. We'll take on the Super Bowl.

[C]

We'll take on the Super Bowl. Heard it here first.

[D]

Sports. So we are going to do our who Am I? And my clues from last week were. Played four years of college tennis and won NCAAs before turning pro. Reached a career high ATP ranking before turning pro. Earned his first top 10 win in his 30s. And the answer was. Marcos Giron.

[C]

Go Bruins. I got that.

[B]

Yes, Jenny got that. Quick job.

[D]

Anyone else?

[C]

Yeah, yeah, you got it real quick.

[D]

But Jenny, you're up for who am I?

[C]

Yeah. Okay. Who am I?

[D]

It's like a poem.

[A]

It's like a callover. Can you do like an ASMR thing here? Who am I?

[B]

It was like open mic night. Like poetry night at the club.

[C]

This is a haiku.

[B]

Who am I.

[C]

Saying I should have made it into a haiku.

[A]

Damn it.

[D]

Next time.

[B]

Oh, my God. He should. Dang. Next time, who am I by Jenny Brady.

[C]

Okay, next time I'll do a haikyuu. Okay. Tennis runs in my family. I took a path less traveled. And I've got main character energy. Who am I?

[A]

Mean? Mean.

[C]

Main, Main, main. Not mean. Okay, I'll repeat it. Tennis runs in my family. I took a path less traveled, and I've. I have main character energy.

[A]

I feel like you didn't actually give any clues as to who could be.

[B]

You gave, like, traits. Like, personality traits. Yeah.

[C]

Tennis runs in my family. Okay. Okay. Okay, good. I'll add another one.

[D]

Oh, chat.

[C]

Gbt. I have a game that refuses to stay quiet.

[D]

Okay, so your three clues are. Can you just repeat this and we'll just.

[A]

So someone who grunts. Someone who has made.

[C]

Not necessarily.

[D]

And they play tennis.

[C]

Who in their family plays tennis? Had played tennis.

[A]

Yeah, guys, some real clues.

[C]

I'm not making it easy. I bet you people in the comments will know.

[B]

We will see that then maybe.

[C]

Okay, a real clue. Well, this will give it away.

[D]

I'm just gonna do other clues that.

[A]

I mean, these clues are like, they have two eyes.

[D]

They breathe.

[C]

I am.

[A]

They breathe.

[C]

If I were to. If I were to. To skateboard, it would be goofy style. That's a good one. It's like saying it without saying it.

[D]

This person a tennis player?

[A]

What?

[B]

Yeah, let's. Okay, lefty question.

[C]

I'm a lefty. Okay. It's Tony Hawk.

[A]

Keep working. I'm so confused.

[D]

This guy doesn't. I was like, does he play tennis or what?

[C]

Well, you. Yeah, it could be a he. Okay, let's move on to some fan questions, and hopefully we'll get some answers.

[A]

Oh, my gosh.

[C]

Okay, first question from Peter Martinez. Underscore U3H. Love the podcast. Do an episode showing your tennis rackets. Why you like it so much? What is your grip size? What string and tension do you use for.

[B]

All gss Grand Slams.

[C]

Grand Slams.

[A]

Jesus.

[C]

Do you add lead tape, etc.

[B]

Well, I think.

[A]

God, Jenny, there's your unforced error paused.

[C]

Yeah, my unforced error of the week. I didn't know what GS's means when referring to string and tension.

[B]

How does that go together to a tennis podcast? To a tennis question?

[A]

It's kind of like your clues.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

Okay.

[C]

Would anyone like to answer?

[D]

Sure. I'll go first.

[C]

Desiree, we know you have your racket next to you.

[D]

Everyone, I have my racket next to me. I came well prepared with my equipment, but, yes, this is my racket. I use the Bablot Pure Arrow team because the other racket is way too heavy, so I had to go to a lighter one and then build it up. I use luxalon element string, 1, 2, 5. My grip size is 4 and 3, 8. And tensions. I mean, I think they vary on the surface, but I'm usually. My tension is usually 50 all around lead tape. To be honest, I don't know if I have any lead in here, but I definitely have silicone in my handle of my racket. But, like, this is my first. I remember the first year I was on tour, I didn't even know that rackets weighed different off the shelf. So I just started getting my. My rackets weighted the last few years. So that was a. A tip I got.

[C]

Yeah. Nice.

[A]

Well, if. If you had to build up your weight, you probably definitely have, like, see it.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

Because this racket is a lighter version of the Bablot arrow.

[C]

Yeah. I think that one weighs 285 grams.

[D]

So I think it's underneath the head. The head garment and then the silicon in the handle.

[C]

Yeah. Yeah. Nice. Okay, next question. Oh, next question from.

[B]

No one else is going to talk about the racket.

[D]

No one else wants to talk about the racket.

[A]

We just want to know what that.

[B]

I mean, we can just talk about this. This.

[C]

I mean, yeah, we.

[A]

Sorry.

[C]

We can.

[D]

Jennifer just did not want to give everyone's information.

[C]

I mean, I don't know.

[D]

Like, I think he wants. I think people want to know everyone's things.

[C]

Okay, well, you were the only one prepared with the actual rackets, so it threw me off.

[B]

I play with the Yonex E Zone. Love it. I do weight and balance mine. I also play with a leather grip, so I actually changed that as well. I'm around 3, 23, 18 grams, so it's actually pretty heavy. It's been like that for probably like seven or eight years now. The coach that I was with, same thing as Des was just saying, basically got me to start weight and balancing them because at that point I was just buying them off the shelf and I didn't know that they're not all the same. So I've been weight and balancing mine to like a pretty balanced weight throughout the whole racket, but then also making sure that they're all the same. But now since I've been Leonyx for a while, they do an amazing job and they're actually like, very good at making sure that the rackets that they manufacture are the same when they come out of the factory. So, yeah, I've been doing that for a long time. And then I put a leather grip on it. And, yeah, I think you just have to mess around with weights and stuff. And like every year or two, sometimes in the off season, I'll try putting lead tape on or changing the weight and balance or going Lighter or putting the weight somewhere else just to see. But I usually just end up going back to what I've been using for the last seven or eight years now. So, yeah, don't really change much anymore. And my tension, I'm usually like high 40s, £40 now. I used to be like really high when I used to play with gut because it would fly a lot. So my tension was much higher. But now I'm probably like high 40s. But it definitely changes depending on where I am. Maddie.

[A]

I also use the E zone. I have no idea what it weighs, Know what the swing weight is. I know I use a grip size 2. I use a cushion grip because I actually don't like leather grips at all. I'm very picky about handles. Actually. I have some lead tape on it. I don't remember if it's at 10 or 2 or if it's at 12, but I've got some lead tape at the top. Yeah, I mean, I've been weighing and balancing my rackets forever. I just don't ever really know any of the specifics. I'm way more just like feel. I'll pick it up and I'll hit with it and like five minutes later I'll be like, yep, love it or hate it. And tension just really depends. I'll. I'll go pretty extreme. Like I'll change it a lot depending on the balls and where we are. Mostly from like maybe high 40s, but mostly low 50s all the way up to like high 50s. Jenny.

[C]

Yeah, I play with the Babylot arrow. I use a four and a quarter grip size, which is a number two string tension, usually high 40s, like somewhere between 48 and then maybe like low 50s. So like 48 to 52, depending on where I'm playing, what stream machine is being used, how it feels, what balls are being used, how the court's playing, all the different conditions. And I'm also using a cushion grip, which for the first time hearing what a cushion grip is today. Didn't know it was called that. So I use a cushion grip. So thank you guys for teaching me something new. I hate the feel of leather grips. I like things soft and I also love white over grips. So I use Babot white over grips. I know a lot of people use like a Turner grip or something like that. And I hate the feel of that. I like it soft and squishy and.

[B]

Wow.

[C]

Moving on to.

[A]

To.

[C]

I have lead tape. Yes, I do have lead tape. Couldn't tell you where it is. Probably should know that I'm actually going to get my specs, the exact numbers very soon tomorrow. So maybe I'll let Peter Martinez know my exact weights and. Yeah. Okay.

[D]

Wait, I have a question.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

Has anyone changed their racket or string or weight of the racket because of injury?

[B]

Yeah, like, okay, string for me, a long time ago, that was like, the last time I changed my string, actually. My shoulder was not doing well.

[C]

Next question from Francis. If you had to swap lives amongst yourselves for a week, who would you pick and why? And what would be the first thing you do when you wake up as them? Jess, do you want to start?

[B]

I pick you. And I'd go to the hotel breakfast and just, like, see what it's like to be Jenny at a hotel breakfast. Not even like a good hotel. I just mean, like, not. I'm not talking four Seasons. I'm just talking, like, Jenny, what hotel are you at? At Hilton. Just a.

[A]

Like.

[C]

Just like a little Marriott.

[B]

Yeah, like a normal Marriott. And I want to be Jenny at the hotel breakfast, Maddie.

[A]

I think I'd want to be dez and I'd get up and I'd look at, like, my perfect hair every morning and be like, wow, look at that. Feeling great all the time. Yeah. Thanks.

[C]

Oh, gosh. Well, all of you have, like, flawless skin.

[D]

I just want to be political here.

[C]

No, I was just like, Jenny's going by.

[B]

By skin hair.

[D]

Not even violet.

[B]

Who do I want to look like?

[C]

It's really hard.

[A]

Should we move to Des and you can.

[D]

Yeah, I. I want to be Maddie because I want to make the perfect, like, coffee in the morning. And I want her interior designing skills. And I also want, like, the first thing I do when I wake up is use all her skincare gadgets and products, you know? Sounds amazing. That red light. And just lay there.

[B]

In front of.

[A]

My red light panel with your.

[D]

With my perfect hair.

[C]

Okay. I know.

[A]

Well, you don't have your perfect hair anymore. You have mine.

[D]

I'll have yours, which is. No, your hair is great. Everyone loves.

[C]

Yeah, all of you have perfect hair. I think I would want to be Jessica because I want to wake up to chaos with the dogs. There's always something, always something.

[B]

That is true.

[D]

You want to be thrown up on.

[B]

This morning they were like.

[C]

There's always chaos. So the pictures and then just where.

[A]

You'Re sleeping and your dogs are just, like, all on your body. I could never.

[B]

My dog. Dog does to specify is obsessed with me. And so she just lays on my head. This morning, her and the puppy were they were like, it's like gross because they're like, they're like a pack, right? So they, like, clean each other. And they literally started, like, licking, like, my hole, like, my ear. And I was like, okay, I'm not, like, in the pack. Like, just leave me out of this, like, weird grooming session that they, like, were starting to do because it was the morning and they, like, I mean, it's really cute, but, like, when I was involved, I was like, okay, just get away for me. So, Jenny, I'm. I hope you would enjoy that. Great. Yeah.

[C]

Pure chaos. Okay, thanks, everyone for your fan questions. Please be sure to leave us a rating and review. It helps people find out about the podcast. And don't forget to watch us on the players box YouTube page and send us fan questions on Instagram or to our email at the players box podmail.com thanks, everyone and see you next week.

[D]

Close your eyes. Exhale. Feel your body relax and let go of whatever you're carrying today.

[B]

Well, I'm letting go of the worry.

[D]

That I wouldn't get my new contacts.

[B]

In time for this class. I got them delivered free from 1-800-contacts. Oh, my gosh. They're so fast.

[C]

And breathe.

[D]

Oh, sorry. I almost couldn't breathe when I saw the discount they gave me on my first order.

[B]

Oh, sorry. Namaste.

[D]

Visit 1-800-contacts.com today to save on your first order.

[A]

1-800-Contacts.

[D]

You saw the game winning play once but have to replay it three times on the way back to the hotel. Because some moments don't end at the buzzer. Life's a trip. Make the most of it at Best Western. Book direct and [e-mail].