30 | Indian Wells Update, Combined 1000s & Sam Querrey Joins

Summary

The Player’s Box – Episode 30: Indian Wells Update, Combined 1000s & Sam Querrey Joins

Date: March 10, 2026
Hosts: Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula, Jennifer Brady, Desirae Krawczyk
Special Guest: Sam Querrey

---

Overview

In this lively episode, the full Player’s Box crew gathers in-person at Indian Wells, sharing behind-the-scenes stories, logistical headaches of a combined Masters 1000 event, sponsorship shenanigans, and the latest tournament gossip. With Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula, Jennifer Brady, and Desirae Krawczyk all on-site, the show's camaraderie shines. Topics include practice court madness, fan Q&As, an accidental racy Instagram post, family drama, and a hilarious drop-in from Sam Querrey about his viral "Hot Coach Bracket." The hosts blend candid insights about tennis life with their trademark humor and unfiltered storytelling.

---

Unforced Errors of the Week

(Starts ~00:39)

Jennifer Brady

• Parking Lot Fail: Ignored a “Right Turn Only” sign, got stuck in overflow parking, looped around pointlessly.

  “...I found myself driving all the way through this overflow parking lot to then come out literally like 10 steps away from where I turned in.” (01:17)

• Volley Practice Disaster: While warming up with Jess, hit ~20/25 volleys into the net, despite strokes feeling “so crisp and clean.”
• Notable Moment:

  “It got to a point where I was like, okay, like, this has to be a joke. It wasn’t a joke. I literally could not make a volley over the net.” (05:04)

Madison Keys

• Texting Confusion: Scheduling practice partners with husband Bjorn led to a miscommunication, both misreading each other’s sarcasm.

  “[Bjorn] thought you were saying that she was set with us. I was like, no, definitely not. We don’t have anyone for Tuesday.” (02:30)

Desirae Krawczyk

• Coaching Dilemma: Drew her own coach’s other doubles team in the draw, unsure if he should support either team or just go play golf.

  “Maybe he should go play golf while we play our match because...he obviously can’t coach.” (04:32)

Jessica Pegula (Winner)

• Instagram Mishap: Accidentally posted a story promoting their new podcast episode with an X-rated YouTube ad visible in the screenshot.

  “Jess, you might want to look at the ads that are on your screenshots before you post them. And it was a very like X rated ad.” (06:54, Keys)
  "So I basically was posting like adult X rated content ads on my Instagram story..." (06:54, Pegula)

  • Maddie (Madison) caught the mistake within four minutes; Jess deleted the story immediately.
  • Group teases Pegula: “Yeah, we have about your searches...” (08:07)

---

Life at Indian Wells: Scheduling, Shoots, and Sponsorships

(13:33–16:12)

• Brand Shoots take over:

  • Brady: Did a Babolat shoot, loves the Indian Wells scenery and laid-back weather.
  • Pegula: Busy with back-to-back shoots (Adidas, WTA, Tennis Channel, Goriana jewelry), sponsor obligations, and media sessions. “It’s really easy to get players to do things here compared to Miami.” (14:29)
  • Krawczyk: WTA annual "yearbook photo."
  • Keys: Juggled WTA, Yonex, Tennis Channel shoots; likes frontloading commitments early in the week.

• Eisenhower Cup & Tiebreak Tens

  • Pegula played with Tommy Paul:

    “He just really wants to like win these 10 point tiebreakers. I’m so sick of losing these. And he was like, so upset and I was like, dude, it’s fine.” (16:49)
    “All the guys will be sitting on one side...Fritz is the exo king and he just loves it so much.” (17:37)

  • Describes player camaraderie, gassing each other up unexpectedly (“They’re like just talking about how good everybody is, which I think people probably don’t realize.” 18:06)
  • Notable On-court Nervousness:

    “All of us get so nervous during exos.” (22:45, Keys)
    “It’s so nerve wracking.” (22:49, Pegula)

---

Tournament Gossip & Fandom

Family/Friends at IW (23:53–27:32)

• Desirae’s Mom: More excited to see Alex Eala (Filipina rising star) than her own daughter. Plans to cook Filipino dishes for Eala.

  “I was like, mom, I’m gonna be playing on Thursday... She’s like, oh, oh, yes, you too.” (25:01)

• Brady: Friends from UCLA visiting; notes the strong “Bruin” presence at Indian Wells.
• Dog Tales: Surge in player and coach dogs at tournaments.
  • Pegula: “There are a lot of new dogs on tour, Ash being one of them [Sabalenka’s dog].”
  • Des and Jenny team up to care for Pluto (Des/Krawczyk’s dog).
  • Consensus: More dogs are fun, but messy owners irritate.

  “I only know people, like who their dogs are because of their dogs.” (31:01, Krawczyk)
  “I’m totally cool with all the dogs as long as they’re being taken care of. I forget where we were last year...There was just pee for, like an hour.” (31:33, Keys)

Sabalenka Engagement

• Announced engagement and new dog.

  “She manifested that engagement...She basically was like, you better put a ring on it.” (27:32–28:19)

---

Combined 1000 Event Woes: Practice Court Battles

(41:38–46:38)

• Scheduling Stress:
  • Practice courts must be rebooked each day; can’t hold two practices same day until first is completed.

  “They tell you to call at 7am and then they’ll tell you if there’s any available courts.” (43:16, Keys)

• Doubles Player Pain: Must share courts with three other players during peak hours (10–4); little flexibility.
• Lots of Empty Courts: Frustration about always fighting for time despite clear availability.
• Holding Courts for “Warmup”: Critique tournament’s habit of holding courts in case someone needs them for warmup, even if rarely used, complicating scheduling further.

---

Fast Round: ATP-WTA Crossover

(47:39–52:13)

• Coaches Hogging the Gym:

  “There’s some coaches...won’t drop some names here, but you know who you are.” (47:29, Krawczyk)

• ATP Players Not Recognizing WTA Players:
  • Pegula: “Probably 80 of them.” (47:43, Krawczyk)
  • Sometimes, repetitive run-ins lead to unexpected friendships (e.g., Pegula & Karen Khachanov).
• Biggest Eye-Roll Habit (Men’s Tour):
  • Not cleaning up after themselves in the gym, “drives me up a effing wall.” (49:59, Krawczyk)
• Most Dramatic on Court:
  • Unanimous: ATP.
• “Who Would Start a Dance Party?”
  • Monfils gets shout-out (hilarious video reference).
• Who’s Best at Other Sports?
  • Ben Shelton (“freak athlete”), Casper Ruud (golf), Tommy Paul (general athleticism).

---

Special Guest: Sam Querrey Joins for Hot Coach Bracket

(35:08–38:44)

• Sam Quantifies the “Hottest ATP Coach” Bracket, explains bracket design and seeding.

  “Honestly, there was no rhyme or reason. I just kind of put guys into a chat and...seeded them based on what I thought they looked like.” (36:32, Querrey)

  • Fun stories about coaches voting for themselves, or being upset about unflattering photos.
  • Marks out in round one; fans demand Brad Stein in the draw.
• “Running a tournament is hard work!”

  “I got a lot of sympathy for, for tournament directors.” (38:26, Querrey)

---

Fan Q&A

Superstitions & Rituals (53:53–56:35)

• Keys: Her superstition is not having superstitions: “I never do the same thing twice because I don’t want to get locked into something for the entire tournament.”
• Brady: Eats same food, regroups rackets, removes/returns visor/towel depending on set outcome, arranges drinks methodically (to the right/left).
• Krawczyk: Doesn’t step on lines, bounces ball a set number of times, sticks to same meal for the duration of a run (e.g., Chipotle at RG).
• Pegula: Keeps routine similar after wins, but not strict about superstitions.

Adjusting to Opponent’s Age/Experience (56:35–59:50)

• All agree: Respect every opponent, lean on experience vs. newcomers, use big courts to their advantage.
• Keys: Sometimes experience lets you withstand a “hot streak” from a fearless youngster; recalls losing to Patty Schnyder as a rookie and being “veteraned.”

  “They have no scar tissue...sometimes they just kind of light it up and you just kind of have to deal with that.” (57:07, Keys)

---

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On player camaraderie:

  “People probably don’t realize...the guys are gassing people up the entire time.” (18:06, Pegula)

• On family priorities:

  “My mom’s Filipino, so she’s crazy about Alex [Eala]...I was like, mom, I’m gonna be playing on Thursday. She’s like, oh, oh, yes, you too.” (25:01)

• On tennis perspective in world events:

  “Puts in perspective, like, tennis is just a stupid game where we hit a stupid ball over the net...” (34:21, Pegula)

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Unforced Errors of the Week: 00:39–09:09
• Indian Wells – Media/Sponsor Work: 13:33–16:12
• Eisenhower Cup & Tiebreak Tens: 16:12–23:53
• Friends, Family, and Fan Moments: 23:53–27:32
• Sabalenka Engagement & Tour Dogs: 27:20–32:06
• World Events/Dubai Travel Drama: 32:06–35:08
• Hot Coach Bracket w/ Sam Querrey: 35:08–38:44
• Practice Court Battles at Combined 1000: 41:38–46:38
• Fan Q&A (Rituals, Experience): 53:53–59:50

---

Tone & Style

The conversation maintains a playful, self-deprecating, and highly relatable energy, toggling between laughter and inside jokes (“comment in the comments”), genuine insight into tennis life, and deep camaraderie. The group’s authenticity and willingness to poke fun at themselves make it both entertaining and informative for tennis fans and newcomers alike.

Transcript

[A]

This episode is brought to you by White Claw Surge. Nice choice hitting up this podcast. No surprises. You're all about diving into tastes everyone in the room can enjoy. Just like White Claw Surge. It's for celebrating those moments when connections have been made and the night's just begun. With bold flavors and 8% alcohol by volume. Unleash the night. Unleash White Claw Surge. Please drink responsibly. Hard seltzer with flavors, 8% alcohol by volume. White cloth seltzer works, Chicago, Illinois.

[B]

This is the players box.

[C]

Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the players box. I'm Desiree Kraftchick. I've got Jenny Brady and Madison Keys next to me. We are all in the same house recording. Then we've got Jess Vagula down the street from us. We are all in Indian Wells this week and we're so excited to be here. As always, a friendly reminder to please give our podcast five stars and subscribe on YouTube. Like I said, we are all in the desert this week. It's been a while since the four of us have been in the same place at the same time. So this is also the First Combined Event 1000 Event of the year. And we'll talk about that later. But first, let's get into our unforced errors of the week. Jennifer.

[D]

I was exiting the parking lot the other day, lot seven. And I read the sign that says right turn only. And I was like, the last three days I've been making a left turn and I've made it back to my housing just fine. So I'm going to take a left turn and ignore the right turn only sign. So I made a left turn and I ended up. The street was closed and there were about a thousand cones and a bunch of signs that said no exit. So I ended up in overflow parking. So I found myself driving all the way through this overflow parking lot to then be come out literally like 10 steps away from where I turned in. So that is my unforced error. I also had another one, can't remember. And it was good. I think it was better than this one. So I'm pretty upset about that. So maybe I'll. I'll remember. But let's go with Maddie. Do you have one?

[B]

So last week, as we were getting ready to come here, we're trying to set practices, and Bjorn and I are like two of the most sarcastic people in the world, which is probably why, um, we decided to marry each other. But. So he's texting me one day and he was like, hey, I Don't have anyone set for Tuesday. Can you text so and so and see if they can practice? And so I text her, and she was like, hey, so sorry, I'm set on Tuesday. How about Wednesday? And I was like, no, I'm set on Wednesday. Sorry, but, like, maybe next tournament. We'll see. And so then I text Bjorn, and I was like, she's set Tuesday. But the way that I worded it, he thought that, like, she was set with me. And he was like, oh, awesome job. I can't wait. And I thought that he was being sarcastic because we had texted, like, 10 different people for Tuesday and we could not find anyone for practice on Tuesday. So I thought that he was just being sarcastic. And then when he got home, he was. Once again, he was like, dude, we're so locked for Tuesday. And I was like, yeah, we're not locked, but whatever. Didn't think anything of it. We get here on Sunday. And he's like, oh, you're practicing on Tuesday with that person. What time are you hitting? And I was like, no, I told you that she was set. And he was like, I thought you were saying that she was set with us. I was like, no, definitely not. We don't have anyone for Tuesday. And he was like, oh, my God. I even said, good job. And I was like, well, I thought you were being sarcastic. Okay, fair. I would. That is something that I would probably be sarcastic about. So, yeah, we had to scramble. It was fine. We figured we found someone. But yeah, that was my unforced error of this week. Does.

[C]

The only unforced error I can think of is that my coach coaches two teams in the doubles draw, and we ended up drawing each other. So we don't know what to do, what Craig is going to do during our match. And we were, like, joking that maybe he should go play golf while we play our match, because, you know, he obviously can't coach. So I guess it's an unforced error because I can't have my coach there. Are we all four of us can't have our coaches there. So, yeah, Jess.

[E]

I'll let Jenny finish because she just remembered her unforced error.

[C]

Jenny.

[D]

I remembered my unforced error that Jessica and I were practicing the other day, and I was warming up my volleys, and literally, I think 20 out of the 25 volleys that I hit were went into the net, literally every single one. And it got to a point where I was like, okay, like, this has to be a joke. It wasn't a joke. I Literally could not make a volley over the net. And I'm like, okay, like, let's just get under the ball a little bit. Like use our legs here. And they were coming off so crisp and so clean. And they just kept going into the net. And then finally I was just like, okay, overheads.

[E]

I think I just started laughing because of the first couple times she had a couple in the net. But they were like perfect volleys. Like there was nothing wrong with these volleys. Like perfect. And then I don't know how many someone posted a video of it, but it was, it was like six.

[D]

Yeah.

[E]

Like it was just like net, net, net. Like first, second ball, net. And then I just started laughing. I was like, what's going on? Yes. So funny. My head for stare. We purposely. We saved this one last because it's so good. Just happened yesterday. So when I our podcasts coming out on Tuesdays, I put it on my story. I post the apple with a link and I post the YouTube one with a link. And I usually just like use the COVID art for the Apple one. And I screenshot just like a picture of our YouTube one. And usually there's always like a first comment, which is kind of funny. And I don't know, I just keep doing it. And so I did the exact same thing. And then maybe we'll within an hour. Not even like 30 minutes. Four minutes, Maddie.

[D]

Four.

[E]

Okay. After I posted it, Maddie sends a screenshot to our players box group chat. It was like, Jess, you might want to look at the ads that are on your screenshots before you post them. And it was a very like X rated ad. Okay. I won't actually say what it was. Maybe we decide to show it. I don't really know if we're gonna do that, but it was a very X rated ad right above the comment, like underneath the video. And it was really bad. So I basically was posting like adult X rated content ads on my Instagram story. And luckily of course, Maddie catches in like two seconds and sends it. I was like, ah, delete. I have to delete this immediately. I don't think anyone seem to have noticed except Maddie, thank God. But it, the screenshot of it looks whack. It was really bad.

[D]

Yeah.

[E]

So now I'm. I gotta be thinking about those ads. And then obviously I got a lot of jokes thrown at me because like, you know.

[D]

Yeah, it was pretty funny.

[C]

Yeah, we have about your searches.

[E]

Yeah, search engine. My search history.

[D]

PR Ratty came to the rescue.

[C]

Thank God for Maddie.

[E]

Yeah, thank God she's always pr.

[D]

Yeah, we have our pr Maddie.

[B]

I think I was like just in the car going to something that I was doing and I was like, oh, I wonder what Jess posted on her story. Like, oh my God.

[D]

Well, when you first said it in the group, I was like, what was wrong with the ad read?

[E]

Like, same.

[D]

Yeah, I was like, did we do something wrong? Did we do something wrong with the ad read? And then looking at. And then I looked at the photo and I said, I don't, I don't understand. And then I saw it at the bottom, but it took me a minute. So props to Maddie for within four minutes of you posting pr. Maddie. She was on it.

[E]

Yeah.

[B]

So that being said, Jess wins unforced error of the week.

[E]

I think I do.

[D]

Absolutely.

[E]

Thank you. I'm glad.

[D]

You know what's funny? As tennis players, we don't exactly sit in an office 9 to 5. But that doesn't mean we don't hire coaches, physios, trainers, hitting partners. Building a team is everything.

[C]

Trying to hire someone is time consuming. You're waiting for the right people to apply. You're sorting through resumes and trying to actually get in touch with them. Sometimes the best candidates aren't even actively looking for jobs. So how are you supposed to find them?

[B]

Well, the future of hiring looks much brighter because ZipRecruiter's latest tools and features help speed up finding the right people for your roles so you save valuable time. And now you can try ZipRecruiter for free at ZipRecruiter.com players box what I

[D]

love is how fast it works. With ZipRecruiter's new advances, you can easily find and connect with qualified candidates in minutes. If you see someone you're really interested in, you can unlock their contact info instantly. No waiting around.

[C]

Plus, there are over 320,000 new resumes added every single month. That means more options, more reach, and filling roles sooner. Whether you're building a tennis team or

[E]

running a business, use ZipRecruiter and save time hiring four out of five employers who post on ZipRecruiter get a quality candidate within the first day. And if you go to ZipRecruiter.com players box right now, you can try it for free. Again, that's ZipRecruiter.com players box ZipRecruiter the smartest way to hire luxury bedding is one of those things you don't fully appreciate until you sleep on it. That was my experience with quints. The softness, the weight, the quality of materials, you notice it immediately and then more with every night. European linen that gets softer with every wash. Organic cotton sheets. Breathable bamboo that stays cool all night. Plus premium quilts, comforters and duvet inserts. Everything you need to build a bed that feels finished and feels amazing.

[C]

The best part? Like Quince's clothing, their bedding is half the cost of similar brands. By partnering with top artisans, Quince cuts out the cost of the middleman and passes the savings on to us. They only work with factories that use safe, ethical, responsible manufacturing practices and premium fabrics and finishes.

[B]

I have the European linen duvet set and I thought my bedding was soft until I tried Quint's. The difference is unreal. They're so soft that my morning alarm has become even harder.

[D]

Turn up the luxury when you turn in with quint. Go to quint.com playersbox for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Q-U I N C E.com players box free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com playersbox having a skincare routine can

[E]

be hard with how much stress we put our skin under and with how much we travel, I don't want to bring a full medicine cabinet with me.

[C]

One of my favorites is the One Skin Peptide Eye Cream. I use a pea sized amount, tap it around my eye and it melts into my skin with no greasy finish. It's peptide packed so it helps smooth fine lines and calms puffiness. And my concealer sits so much better.

[E]

After I started using the OS1 face serum and love how it's replaced multiple steps and and simplified everything. My skin texture feels really good and I especially love how it absorbs it just sinks in without feeling heavy. I'm someone who actually looks into how skincare ingredients work and how they interact. So learning that their peptide targets senescent cells, one of the drivers behind wrinkles and loss of elasticity, made it feel less like hype and more like legitimate research.

[C]

Being in the sun as much as we are, I'm trying to be proactive about my skin aging and this has honestly become the workhorse step of my routine. It's simple, effective and grounded in science.

[D]

Born from over a decade of longevity research, One Skin's OS1 peptide is proven to target the visible signs of aging, helping you unlock your healthiest skin now and as you age. For a limited time, try one skin with 15% off using code PLAYERSBOX at OneSkin Co PLAYERSBOX. That's 15% off OneSkin Co with code PLAYERSBOX. After you purchase, they'll ask you where you heard about them. Please support our show and tell them we sent you.

[B]

Obviously, we are all at Indian Wells, and there's been lots happening, and that's probably why Jess was a little distracted when she was probably trying to multitask. Um, there's obviously lots of brands, and it seems like everyone always wants to do content capture here. Has anyone had to do things? Jenny, you want to go first?

[E]

Yeah.

[D]

I did a babylot shoot on Saturday. I got here a little bit early. I got here Thursday afternoon, so I was pretty happy just to get that out of the way. And then, you know, obviously I'm not doing the same amount of stuff that you guys are doing, but it's always nice. I think everybody loves the scenery here at Indian Wells, and the weather is perfect. So I think a lot of brands usually do photo shoots or whatever sponsor obligations you have to do.

[E]

I have a really busy schedule here. Like Maddie was saying. I think because the weather's so nice, you can rent houses. There's not, like, a ton of traffic. I think it's really easy to get players to do things here, especially compared to Miami. So I had. I got here Saturday. Last Saturday, and Sunday I had an Adidas shoot. Monday, I think I had a WTA shoot, which we all did. Tennis Channel was kind of tied into that a little bit. And then the following day, I had. What did I have? Oh, media, which was about over an hour. A little over an hour media hour that I had to work in. And then I also have my Goriana jewelry sponsored tonight. I had another sponsor earlier today, so it's always really busy. And I feel like you have to definitely plan out your practices and all your sponsorship schedules, like, very advanced and ahead of time as much as possible, just so it doesn't feel so stressful when you get here, because it starts to become a lot. It's also been pretty hot out, so it's, like, a little draining standing outside for shoots and sitting in the sun and all of that good stuff. And I still have a couple more things I probably have to do going into the weekend, so it's definitely very, very busy. What about you, Des?

[C]

I'm definitely not as busy as you guys, but I did the WTA shoot, which I think took all of 45 minutes, which is. It's kind of like our annual yearbook photo that we do, and the media that, you know, you see on WTA website. But, yeah, that's kind of it. Maddie. I Think you had a decent amount as well.

[B]

I had the WTA shoot, I had a Yonek shoot, I had Tennis channel, which now I think I should cut my hair into a bob if, you know, you know. But I kind of made my Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday busy and now I'm done and I just get to play tennis. So it's been not so bad. Um, Jess, you also played in the Eisenhower cup and played the tiebreak tens. Do you have any good stories from that?

[E]

I just played last night. You know, we're filming this right after, so it's fresh in my mind. I played with your last year, your partner Maddie, when you guys made finals. Tommy, Paul. Tommy's great. Love Tommy. I think we all love Tommy here. He is a lot of fun, good energy. But we, I think we might be done. We're. We're just. I don't know if we're meant to play mix together. He was a little distraught because besides making the one year the finals with Maddie, he's lost first round. The three other years, two of them with me, one I think with Sloan, he said. And then he also came from the MGM slam thing they did with. It was a 10 point tiebreaker tournament and he lost first round there and he got, he said he got killed like 103 to Fritz. So he's just like, I just really want to like win these 10 point tiebreakers. I'm so sick of losing these. And he was like, so upset and I was like, dude, it's fine. But I mean, those events are fun. I think it's something different. Um, it's obviously not as fun when you lose first round and you're kind of supposed to stay throughout the entire rest of it. Um, so we watched Fritz and Rockin a win again. And the guys all just talk about how Fritz is the exo king and he just loves it so much. Like, he's so into it and he loves like the crowd. So, like all the guys will be sitting on one side and if there's like a good point or a bad point, he doesn't care. He like looks over and has to make a comment and like, if the guys feel like, if they're not paying attention to him, it was like me and Emma Navarro were sitting next to each other and then he kind of like, look at us and we'd be like, what? Like we're not joining in on this commentary because he always has to like, say something. It was so funny. Um, but yeah, it was cool to see. I've never really seen Lerner Play like in person person. And he's really very good at tennis. All the guys were hyping him up. They're like, dude, Lerner's so good. He's so good at tennis. Like, he's legit. He's the real deal. So it's funny because someone asked me afterwards, like, oh, are the guys just like talking like shit the whole time? And I'm like, no, they're like gassing people up the entire time. Like Ben, Tommy, Taylor even. They're like just talking about like how good everybody is, which I think people probably don't realize. So it's pretty funny. They're definitely a funny group to be around. And then there was also Bublek, Felix, Layla was there, iga, Casper, I don't know if I think Mateo, Jasmine. So it was. It was cool. It was a full stadium, so that's always fun.

[D]

I watched a little bit on TV and you're having a little bit of mixed. Maddie, what's the word I'm looking for? My brain cell. She's giving us false information because she said after the match that Tommy's always going to be her partner. And now she's telling us that her and Tommy are done so well.

[E]

Tommy and I need to have a heart to heart about, like, if this partnership needs to continue

[B]

to figure out what your strengths and weaknesses are and how to better support each other.

[D]

Yes.

[E]

He was like. I was like, what side do you want to play? He's like, what did we play last time? I was like, I don't know what we played last time. Tommy was like four years ago. And then he like, also, like right before he starts telling me that like, he can't volley all of a sudden. And I was like, what?

[B]

Great.

[E]

We're about to go play a mixed doubles tournament and you're telling me you can't.

[B]

He was so tight last year too. Cuz literally we were talking before we went out and he was like, I just want you to know I've never won a match at this. Awesome. Can't wait to just sit on the side of the court. Good calm D. We started playing and we won the first one and he was like, I think we can go deep. Okay. I like how we just totally switched gears here. But yeah, we actually had lots of fun last year. I do kind of think that Taylor and Elena are like total cheat codes at a 10 point tiebreaker. It's like they're serves.

[D]

Yeah. It's not fair.

[B]

Also last year, as soon as they won, Taylor was talking to me. And he was like, do you think she has a partner for the US Open mixed doubles? I should go ask her. And he literally like ran over and was like, yeah, we're locked. We're winning.

[C]

I saw him a couple days before and he was. I was like, are you playing Tybre 10s? He's like, yeah. And I was like, are you playing with the same partner? He's like, yeah, I gotta play with someone with a good serve, like Elena. Like, I gotta play with her every time. And I was like, oh, okay. And here they are winning it back to back again.

[D]

Oh.

[E]

And then we didn't realize that we only had a minute. Like, I. I remember now after the fact that we only had a minute to warm up. But when we started hitting, they were still interviewing the other team that won before us. So I assumed that we like, he hadn't started the time yet. So I was kind of waiting for him to say, like, okay, one minute warmup. So they come in to hit volleys. Mira and Bu Blake. And they're hitting volleys. And then he's like, time. And Tommy and I look, look at each other and we're like, wait, we haven't hit a volley and overhead or a serve, which are the only make, like, thing. I don't need to hit the ground strokes in a tie break. I need to like, maybe hit like one volley, one overhead and like two serves. Like, that would be very great. And we were like, what the heck? Like, we don't have any time. And so then of course, I like, double. We all double faulted, actually. I don't think Tommy did, but I think Buick double faulted twice. Mirror double faulted twice. I double faulted the first time. Cause I was so tight. And I have like, no, like, you have like, no like perception of anything when you just can't hit two serves. So it really. It threw me off. So we started off, we were very tight at the beginning.

[B]

It's so funny, but all of us get so nervous during exos.

[E]

It's so nerve wracking.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

So you guys don't look like it.

[E]

I get tight.

[B]

We're good actors, I guess.

[E]

And then I almost hit Alina like in the chair.

[D]

Yeah, you were like, I was there.

[E]

So.

[C]

So what happened? What ended up happening?

[E]

Like, I was very there. Uh, I hit like a serve and then Tommy kind of hit. I. We both like, very barely got to it. I don't know, he like stabbed at it. So it kind of went low and Tommy kind of closed the middle but hit, like, a drop volley. Basically, Bubbleg ran up, hit an angle volley towards where all the players were sitting. So it was like Fritz and Rabakina basically sitting there in the chair. And I run over, and I'm like, oh, my God, I'm going to take out Rock and his knee, like. And they're like, the big chairs, too, like. Or I'm gonna break my wrist hitting the chair. And so I had to just stop. And I was like, what? Like, this is a hindrance. But obviously they don't call hindrance. I don't care. So it was just a funny. Like, it was a funny video because I was annoyed.

[B]

Does anyone have any friends or family coming out this week to watch and support?

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Does.

[C]

I definitely do. Obviously, being at home, there's tons of people are like, we can't wait to watch you. And I'm like, yay.

[B]

Can't wait to see you.

[C]

But then during practice, it's just like, they're like, if they don't know tennis, they're kind of like, oh, my God.

[E]

Tess.

[D]

Hi.

[B]

Hi.

[C]

In the middle of practice. And I'm trying to, like, stay locked in, but then they're probably like, oh, my God, she's being rude. She's not saying hi to me. Like, what? But obviously, at the end of practice, I'll go and say hi. But, yeah, I've had some family and friends come watch. My mom actually came out and watched, but watch me practice. She. Jenny knows the story. That's why she's giggling. She came out to watch, and she's like. She's like, oh, I want to go watch Alex Ayala play. Like, oh, my gosh, I want to watch. My mom's Filipino, so she's crazy about Alex. And she's like, I'm gonna come watch her when she plays on Thursday. And I was like, mom, I'm gonna be playing on Thursday. She's like, oh, oh, yes, you too. Yes, yes, I'm gonna come watch you, too.

[B]

And I was like, what, Mom? What?

[E]

What are you doing?

[C]

So it's funny, but it's great to have everyone out here and just have family and friends out here. So, yeah, funny story.

[D]

Wait, didn't you say she was on site yesterday? And you're like, mom, I'm already. I already left.

[C]

Yeah. She didn't tell me she was on site. And she's like, hi, I'm here. And I was like, what? Why didn't you tell me you were here? She's like, I came to watch you practice. I Said I was practicing at one. She's like, oh, okay. Well, I just came to watch.

[E]

Okay.

[D]

I came to watch Alex.

[E]

Yeah. Warm up on the. Didn't you say that she wanted to make her a Filipino dish and, like, meet her mom or something too?

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[C]

My mom went to US Open last year, and she was just. Alex was obviously huge then, and she was like, oh, my gosh, I want to see Alex. Maybe I'll get a picture with her. But I also want a picture with Jenny. I want a picture with everyone. And I was like, okay, mom, let's take it one at a time. But then obviously, when she knew Alex was playing at India Wells, she's like, I'm gonna make her pancit, which is a famous noodle dish in the Philippines. And then lumpia, which is like these egg rolls. And I told Alex about it, and she's like, oh, my gosh, I would love that. And if I tell my mom that my mom will probably make, like, three big, like, bowls of noodles. So I don't know if I should

[B]

give it to Alex.

[C]

But, yeah, they just go balls to the wall with that stuff. So, yeah, it's fun to have them around.

[D]

Well, we can have the leftovers.

[C]

That's true.

[E]

Yeah.

[C]

Anybody else have friends and family out here?

[D]

Yeah, actually I do. I have friends from UCLA that are coming to watch me play tomorrow. Eliza and Kenzie. And then also my friend Lauren Embry is actually flying in for. She got here yesterday and she's staying for two days and she'll come watch me play tomorrow as well, her and her fiance. So I'm excited to see them. And, you know, there's a lot of UCLA Bruin fans out there, so that's also fun playing here in the desert. It's only about a two and a half hour drive, depending on what time you drive with traffic to ucla. So there's a lot of Bruin fans out here.

[E]

Nice. Well, in other tennis headlines, obviously, the big talk today, because it just happened last night, I believe, was that Irina Sabalenka is now engaged.

[C]

Congrats.

[E]

And has a new dog.

[B]

She manifested that engagement.

[E]

Was it here where she said the. Like. She basically was like, you better put a ring on it. Or she said it, like, a couple times.

[B]

I feel like she knew.

[D]

She knew.

[B]

Well, she knew. And then she also said she didn't know because she was mad. She was like, I have no makeup on. My outfit is so boring. Someone should have told me.

[E]

That is kind of, like, rough when. Yeah, when there's, like, Such a nice setup and like some girls want to look nice for their pictures and their videos and the flowers are beautiful. Doesn't quite work out.

[C]

Yeah, it was a really nice.

[E]

Flowers were crazy. Her ring and the.

[C]

And the ring.

[E]

I. Did you anyone see it in person?

[C]

I did see it. That's all I can look at. It's massive.

[B]

I saw it from a beautiful and

[C]

I could see it so it looks massive.

[E]

I would love. I want to get a close up look. I did meet her dog Ash the other day on the. The grass field. Everybody seems to have their dogs obviously here in Indian Wells especially. But there are a lot of new dogs on tour, Ash being one of them. Which is Irina's new dog. She is very, very cute and like a baby. She's so soft and small right now. Mira's dog Rassie, which was promised to her as a reward for reaching the top 20 from her mom. I have not met her.

[C]

Him.

[E]

I don't know if it's boy or girl. Does you have Pluto here? Your. Your slash your mom's dog?

[C]

We share him. I steal him whenever I'm here. But yes, Pluto is here and Auntie Jenny gets to hang out with him and she' great taking him in all walks and everything. So it's been nice to have him around. And then he met Jess as well. And Uncle Taylor gave him some treats, a lot of treats.

[E]

Gave him a lot of treats the other day. And then Taylor was also watching Basil, who is Julian almost his dog. Another player. She always brings him here. The last couple years I was playing fetch with them out on the lawn earlier before I left. Have they played? Have they played together?

[C]

Yeah, they actually. We actually did a tennis warehouse shoot which I forgot to mention. But they were there just hanging out. And they're familiar with each other? Yes, they're friends.

[E]

Does everyone like having dogs at tournaments or do we think it's possibly too many dogs because all of a sudden we've added like four or five in the last year.

[C]

To be honest. I love that there are dogs, but there are some dogs that. And some owners that don't take reign

[B]

of their dogs well enough.

[D]

There's actually more dogs than what you listed. There's like five or six more that I can think of.

[E]

There's a lot, yes. Mar decostciuk got another dog.

[D]

She already has one.

[E]

She has two. Anna Kalinskaya has a dog. Hailey Baptiste just got a new dog. Like there's been a lot of new dog additions to the tour.

[B]

There was a dog in the Locker room earlier today, too. And I was like, whoa, who's that? Oh, my God. I'm totally blanking on who it was. Lefty. Italian.

[C]

Oh, Trevisan.

[E]

Trevisan. Yeah.

[D]

Yes.

[B]

Yes. She also has a dog.

[C]

I only know people like who their dogs are because of their dogs. Like, I only know, oh, my God, that dog is this person. But there are tons of dogs.

[B]

Yeah.

[E]

But I think we definitely see more here in Miami because we have, like, the big open fields, and it's easier to bring them, I would say, than. Yeah. In Europe or other places.

[D]

And they're peeing.

[C]

Yeah.

[E]

Where

[D]

we stretch and warm up and everyone runs barefoot on the lawn.

[C]

That's some grounding.

[B]

I'm totally cool with all the dogs as long as they're being taken care of. I forget where we were last year, but it was in the middle of the players lounge. There was just pee for, like an hour. And I was like, can someone please clean up the dog pee, please?

[E]

Yeah, that's. Yeah, that's brutal.

[C]

Yeah, I'm with you. I mean, like, if they're obviously behaving and having the owners are doing a good job with it, then I don't mind. I love dogs, so all the dogs are great for me.

[E]

Switching topics here, but there's been a lot of talk about what's been going on in Dubai. Some of us just obviously played the tournament and flew back. And then the men, actually, their tournament's a little staggered, so it starts a little bit later than ours, into the following week. And obviously we all know the current event situation that's going on. There were quite a few players and I think a ton of staff that was actually stuck in Dubai because obviously no one can fly out for. Or nobody could for a while. So that's been a pretty crazy, just world event that's been going on. But I think the ATP did release some sort of statement that some of the players were able to drive somewhere and get a plane out of the region. And actually, I think are on the way here. Some of the top. Medvedev, I think they Rublev and catch

[B]

off and Rublev, I think.

[E]

Yeah. And I. There's a lot of players that we know that live there as well. So I know, Des, you were saying there were some doubles players that live there or were there.

[C]

They were there for the. For the tournament there. And they. I think it was a few of them that were there for the finals and they were trying to get out, but obviously airspace was suspended or closed, and a few of them drove to Oman, which was six hours away from Dubai. Got turned around at the border. They couldn't get through, so they had to turn back around and drive another six hours back. So I think they are on their way out here now because I think the men start doubles in a few days or this weekend on Sunday.

[E]

But yeah, it's just.

[C]

It's crazy what's going on.

[D]

And it's.

[C]

And then also my boyfriend who was there, there's a Challenger event 90 minutes outside of Dubai, all over. But they. There was a challenger there and a missile struck 15 minutes away from them. It's just crazy how close it is. And you don't think about it when it's. You know, when you're. You're here and then people are obviously there. So luckily they got out Tennis Australia was able to get their Aussies out and hopefully back to Australia. So. Yeah.

[E]

Yeah. Pretty crazy stuff. I feel like. Puts in perspective, like, tennis is just a stupid game where we hit a stupid ball over the net. And I think. Yeah. Puts in perspective realistic events that happen. So we hope everybody obviously stay safe and, you know, the guys that are traveling get out safe and the rest of, you know everybody there, not just them. So. Yeah. Yeah. Hoping that. Yeah. Ends as best as it can. Touching on a lighter subject now, I. I think we can talk about the nothing majors. Hottie, hot coach bracket. Totally change the topic here. Lighter.

[C]

Sam.

[E]

Yes. We all know it was Sam. Queries.

[D]

Yeah.

[E]

Yes.

[B]

I don't know how Sam chose, but unfortunately Bjorn went. Went out in round one. He was pretty tough.

[C]

Who did he lose to?

[B]

Oh, my gosh, Rob.

[C]

Oh, that's a tough draw, though.

[B]

I know. Tough draw. He's up against the second seed, first round. Really tough. And Jesse, I think the Marks were up against each other first round. That felt just like an insane first round.

[E]

Yeah. Mark Knowles and Mark Mirkland. Mark 1 Though the first round, but then he took a hard loss to Ryan Harrison. I'm not gonna lie. I did message them and was like, is there any way that Ryan Harrison could have like, twisted his ankle and he needs to retire and we can get Mark through this round? Because I saw they did like a. I think Casper. Casper's dad's dad. I forget his first name. Christian, but Christian Rude. Yeah. Yeah. He took a walk over or basically they pulled him out. So Marat got a walk over.

[D]

I mean.

[E]

Oh,

[B]

wow. This is saying thank you to the tournament director.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

Yes. Jessica. Oh, my God.

[E]

This is hilarious.

[C]

Yeah.

[E]

How did you go about making this.

[F]

It's been in the works for like a year. And the I had a draw set like eight months ago and then my co host vetoed it. So then I had to redo the draw because obviously there's like some new coaches since then. And honestly there was no rhyme or reason. I just kind of put guys into a chat and I was like, how is these 16 guys sound? And basically they're like, that's good. Let's do a few changes. And then I just seeded them based on what I thought they looked like.

[B]

Has there been any people that have gotten through to the next round with maybe a little bit of help from the tournament director? Or have we just been fully honest with how the draw is playing out?

[F]

Been pretty honest. I think Matt Reed got some late night Aussie votes at the last minute. Other than that, I think it's been what happened to Bjorn? See, I don't control behind the scenes. I don't exactly know what's going on with the voting. I need to be more involved next time.

[B]

I should have opened a few more burner accounts to put some votes in.

[F]

But you should, you should have.

[B]

That's on me. You're right.

[E]

My coach was not happy with the pictures that you chose.

[F]

You know, Mark Knowles text me right after and told me that he's like, I don't like the picture. My wife didn't even vote for me. We had a few coaches reach out that like didn't like their photos of their seat.

[D]

Yeah. Or did you have any that reached out that were pissed that they weren't in the draw?

[F]

No coaches, but a few players reached out that like, oh, we wish, like my coach or why isn't this person in the draw? I feel like a lot of people felt like Brad Stein should have been in the draw.

[D]

Oh, I'm sure Brad thought he should have been in the draw.

[F]

I haven't heard from Brad directly for sure, but I can't keep everyone happy. There's only 16 spots.

[E]

Hey, it's tough being a tournament director.

[C]

Some wild cards.

[F]

Very tough. I got a lot of sympathy for. For tournament directors.

[E]

Yeah.

[F]

All right. Anyway, you guys got any more questions? It's semi final day.

[E]

Thanks for popping in.

[C]

All right, we'll make sure to vote.

[D]

Murat is my vote.

[E]

That was totally a surprise guest appearance.

[D]

Yeah.

[E]

That was not fun. Query the nothing major tournament director. That was amazing.

[B]

Body bracket.

[C]

Wow.

[D]

Sam joins the pod. Was not in the notes.

[C]

March is my get it together month and I love to maximize my time at home, which means less time meal Prepping same.

[B]

That's why we've been on Factor. Fully prepared meals designed by dietitians, crafted by chefs. And we literally just heat them up.

[D]

Two minutes. That's my attention span. Perfect.

[C]

Okay, wait, what did you guys end up ordering? Because I went heavy on the high protein.

[B]

Of course you did. I tried the garlic herb salmon and it was unreal. Roasted veggies, healthy fats, actually filling and no refined sugars or weird artificial stuff.

[D]

That's my thing. No refined seed oils, no artificial sweeteners. It feels clean but still tastes good. I did some calorie smart meals and one of the Mediterranean ones, zero regrets.

[C]

And they rotate around 100 meals a week so you don't get bored. There's high protein calorie smart GLP1 support, ready to eat salads, even the new muscle pro collection if you're training hard.

[B]

Also always fresh, never frozen. That's the key.

[D]

No prep, no dishes, no what are we making tonight? Spiral. I ordered these myself and loved them. The grilled chicken with sweet potatoes has been my go to easy filling and it keeps me on track when I'm busy.

[C]

It just makes eating well feel doable.

[B]

And in March, we love doable.

[E]

Head to factor meals.com playersbox50off and use code players box50OFF to get 50% off and free breakfast for a year. Eat like a pro this month with Factor New subscribers only. Varies by plan. One free breakfast item per box for one year while subscription is active.

[G]

Monster Energy. Everybody knows White Monster Zero Ultra. That's the OG it kicked off this whole zero sugar sugar energy drink thing. But Ultra is a whole lineup now. You've got Strawberry Dreams, Blue Hawaiian Sunrise and Vice Guava. And they all bring the Monster Energy punch. So if you've been living in the white can branch out. Ultra's got a flavor for every vibe, and every single one is zero sugar. Tap the banner to learn more.

[H]

What if you could use your home to build more home? It's possible with a SOFI home Equity loan. A home equity loan allows you to leverage your home's equity at a typically lower rate than a personal loan with low fixed monthly payments. And all without increasing your mortgage rate. Whether it's a new bathroom, updated kitchen deck or more, your home could help grow itself. View your [e-mail] homeupgrade today. Mortgages originated by SoFi bank and a member FDIC and MLS 696891. Terms and conditions apply. Equal housing lender.

[D]

Okay, so it's the first combined 1000 of the year. What's it like trying to schedule practice for everyone? Since it's a combined event and both the men and women are sharing practice courts and match courts, it is a

[B]

battle to get a practice court.

[C]

You're telling me.

[B]

Welcome to my world, honey.

[E]

I was complaining the other day and she's like, shut up.

[C]

This is a normal day for a double split player.

[E]

But I'm like, I can only get an hour.

[C]

Go ahead and explain these practice rules that we got in play.

[D]

I had a practice at 12 o' clock and so I booked it the day before and I called to book another hour early in the morning. I figured, okay, nobody's going to be there at 8am But I just wanted to put my name on there just to confirm. So I said, hi, yeah, can I book at 8am and I was told to call back at 7am the next day to confirm my booking for 8am So.

[C]

Is that it?

[D]

Yeah, it was just like, okay, like you can't book two, two practices like for the same day until you finish your first practice. So you can't put book the second hour until you finish the first hour. But I was like, okay, but I'm booking my second hour before my first hour.

[B]

If you want an early court. Yeah, like between 8 and 10, let's say they tell you to call at 7am and then they'll tell you if there's any available courts. So like the other day I wanted to hit before my afternoon practice that I had confirmed and I was like, surely no one's going to be there at 9am because QALYs hadn't even started yet. Or maybe it had, but it was like a light day. And so I was like, okay, cool. Like can we go to court at 9? I'll even go at 8:30, just let me know. She was like, no, no, you have to call at 7 in the morning and then I'll tell you if you can have a court. And I was like, okay, I guess. And we call at 7 and we're like at our house. And obviously it takes time to get there and then to warm up and everything. So it's 7am and she was like, you can have a court at 8. And I was like, well, if you told me last night I can have a court at 8, I would already be on site, but I'm not on site. So now even like, that's just not going to work. She's like, okay, well okay fine, you can have a court at 9. And I was like, awesome. And then I got there and There was like 15 empty courts at 9am and I was like, why am I grinding to just like get a court? So, yeah, I think it's also very hard because a lot of us have things that we have to commit to and those are scheduled things that we cannot get out of. And a lot of us put them at the end of the day because at that point we should be done with our days. So it's just really difficult here because when you have to wait until your first practice is done to book another practice, a lot of times the only open courts are much later in the afternoon, which a lot of us can't do because we have photo shoots and stuff. So there's just been a lot of battling just to get our days set the day before.

[C]

That's just a normal day in the dub's life. But yeah, I'm glad you can get a little taste of that. But no, I will say, I will say for us, like, we can't. If it's between 10 to 4pm for doubles players, you have to share with another. We have to share with four people. So you can never just have you and your partner. And we're like. And they're like, no, you need to have. Who are the other two players? And we're like, well, we know we want to just hit with just ourselves. And they're like, well, you can do that before 10am or after 4 or 5pm because it's obviously so congested at that time. So I booked a practice this morning at 9 to 10. But the night before they're like, no, you can't. Like everything's busy from 10 to 11 on. We had the neck, we had the court for an extra hour after that. And it is annoying because there's so many courts that are open, like Maddie said. And some people won't even cancel their practice. They'll just like let it be. Where those can just be open for other players who actually want to use that court. That's what's frustrating, I think from I'm going to speak for myself and maybe some doubles players, but that's what's frustrating when they say you can only go at 8am because those are the courts that are open. But yeah, it's nice that they try and change it, but.

[E]

So I also think too, they always, they always try to like hold a lot of courts in case someone needs them for warm ups, which is the response I always get. And I'm always like, I don't think anyone's booking their warmup the morning of before the matches. This is like on a match day. So that can get kind of frustrating. So sometimes you're literally like, you'll wait an hour and you'll be like, oh, I have 30 minutes that are open up. Or they'll tell you, oh, you can take the 30 minutes before. But like you have to warm up and all this stuff so you're not really ready 30 minutes earlier, ET cetera, et cetera. But it's all the same stuff you guys said. It's just with the men and women, it's really. It can be very complicated.

[D]

Yeah, it's. It's pretty much like this. At every combined event, is there an ATP player most likely to hog the gym?

[C]

No, but I know there's some coaches.

[D]

ATP. Pst.

[E]

That's again, that's definitely some coaches. Definitely some coaches.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

Won't drop some names here, but you know who you are.

[E]

We won't name names, but who is

[D]

an ATP player that you think has absolutely no idea who you are?

[C]

Probably 80 of them.

[D]

Rinder Knish.

[C]

Hopefully he knows after the many times we've butchered his name.

[E]

We've name dropped.

[C]

Apologize for that.

[D]

We've name dropped Rinder Knesh more than any ATP player on tour.

[E]

I was thinking about this earlier, so I made notes about it. There was a couple people that I put. But I was gonna say Dardari is probably the highest ranked person where I don't really think he would know who I am. I honestly don't know if I would pick him out of the top. Like, we have no interaction with each other. There is no. We have nothing. And he's ranked like 21. And I, I don't think we. We don't have a connection at all.

[D]

No connection.

[E]

No connection, no chemistry.

[D]

You guys aren't gonna be getting coffee?

[E]

No.

[B]

I think more of the ATP players know me just because of Bjorn. And Bjorn is like every single person's best friend. So I think they know me because of him. But I would confidently say there's like half the draw. They'd be like, who.

[C]

Who is that easily.

[E]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[D]

Like Zizou Burgs.

[B]

Zizu and I were pals. I told him his TikTok content has been fire lately.

[D]

Oh, yeah, he's. He actually has been good ever since United Cup. I feel like he let his personality out.

[C]

I feel like there's some players that they will say hi and you're kind of like, huh, I wonder if they even know my name. They probably don't, but they're just, you know, being nice and just head nodding and saying hi. But you're probably like, probably doesn't know who I am.

[E]

And then I think sometimes there's that one tournament where you run into the same person over and over and over again. And then you kind of become, like, friendly with them. And then you kind of do have a little bit of a connection because you're, like, always in the gym at the same time or the practice court or eating together. And maybe you had never talked to them before. I do think sometimes that kind of randomly happened. That happened to me with Katzen off here, like, years ago. We literally were going to the gym at the exact same time where like, after, like, four days, we're like, oh, hey, again. And that was kind of like the start of us, like, knowing each other.

[D]

What's something the men do on tour that makes you roll your eyes?

[C]

The gym in itself, they just don't pick up after themselves. But I have to say, it's not only them. There are some females that don't do it as well. But I think it's also their pst who just leave it and laying around, which drives me up a effing wall.

[E]

Anybody else tell us how you really feel?

[D]

Who's more dramatic on court, the ATP or WTA?

[E]

ATP, I think the ATP.

[D]

Yeah, I think so.

[C]

The drama.

[D]

Which ATP player is most likely to start a dance party?

[B]

Foe gal?

[D]

Yeah. Oh, either one of them. Oh, yeah, that's good.

[E]

Does faux dance, though.

[B]

He just, like.

[E]

There's no way he has any rhythm.

[B]

I don't think I've ever seen foe dance.

[D]

Yeah, true. Maybe I have more rhythm than him.

[C]

Maybe the hoster of the dance party. I don't know.

[E]

He would just be, like, there for the vibe.

[B]

Wait, hold on. I'm gonna text him.

[D]

He would be. He would be dabbing if he could dance.

[E]

I've never seen him dance. He's so stiff. There's no way.

[C]

He's probably gonna hit you with a FaceTime.

[B]

Yeah, I know. He probably is gonna FaceTime me. We can get back to this. I'll let you know if he hits me back.

[E]

I think Gail, though, for sure, because he, like, will dance.

[C]

Do you remember that video that he made with Alina? And it was like, it's Friday. Then he was dancing on the boat. That's what I literally think of, too.

[D]

Oh, yeah, that was good. Which ATP player is the best at other Sports? Ben Shelton. 100%. The guy can play.

[E]

Very athletic.

[D]

Yeah, the guy can play tennis, soccer,

[B]

Football

[D]

probably can hit a baseball.

[B]

Didn't he. Wasn't he like his school's quarterback until like in high school?

[D]

Yeah, I think so. Yeah. He's just a. I think freak athlete. Tommy.

[E]

Tommy's pretty athletic.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

Casper is a really good golfer.

[D]

Yes, Casper is a very good golfer. Didn't he say that grass is for golf, not tennis?

[E]

Yes, yes. I was talking to him last night and he was talking about golf and he missed this last year and he's like, yeah, I miss the golf. All the good golf that's here. He loves it.

[B]

So who am I? I had last week's clues and some people got it right. I said, olympic silver medalist and slam champion, career high of three in the world. One handed backhand. And I was talking about Sabatini.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

No one in this group got it, but there were some fans that got it.

[D]

Yeah, that was a great.

[E]

Super nice.

[D]

That was a great. Who am I? I know at dinner the other night, I looked at Maddie and I was like, is it Dominic team?

[B]

I thought we were like sticking with bta.

[E]

I know.

[D]

I was like, maddie, I know it.

[B]

I never specified. I never specified which tour. But yeah, it was very funny. She was sitting there and all of a sudden literally went, I have it. Dominic team. And I was like, no, sorry.

[C]

Okay, so my. Who am I? This week the clues are reached at least the semifinals at all four Grand Slams and I even won one. Grew up practicing in an empty swimming pool. I'm under the same flag as the goat. If you know the answer or if you want to guess, please comment in the YouTube page. The comments, comments, comments, comments, comments in the comments, please. Wow, you can edit that little part out. Oh my goodness.

[B]

No, no, no. They have to keep it and comment in the comments.

[D]

Yeah, comment wherever you comment.

[C]

Comment in the comments where you see all the ads there.

[E]

All the.

[C]

All the ads.

[D]

Okay, let's move on to some fan questions. First question from Clevin3170. Do you have any superstitions or pre match rituals?

[B]

I don't really have any superstitions. I guess my superstition is like not have superstitions. So I never do the same thing twice because I don't want to locked in to something for the entire tournament. So I just try to do something different literally every single day. Which might be more psychotic than having a superstition. But here we are.

[D]

No, that's fair. Sometimes mine are really weird. I eat the same thing, that's for sure. That's not weird. But I will listen to the same song. I will. I always, like regrip my rackets. What else? Sometimes if I lose the first set, I have to take off my visor and put it back on. And if I take a towel out from the first game, I keep the towel out there. But if I don't and I win the first set, then I don't take the towel. But if I lose the first set, sometimes I'll be like, okay, I'm gonna take the towel. Have to take the towel out.

[B]

I think I'm gonna stick to,

[E]

I want that clip of the freaking whatever you just talked about with your towel.

[D]

And sometimes like depending on like, I put my water to the right and my electrolytes like carb mix on the left. So like, you know, it has to be.

[C]

Wow.

[D]

I think, you know, I think everybody has some superstitions.

[C]

Each their own. Yeah, I've got, I've got a couple. I mean, I don't step on the lines. I take the same ball, I bounce the ball a certain amount of times. I do eat the same meal. Like at French Open one year when we made finals, gosh, long time ago, I had Chipotle every single night. Didn't even care if I was sick with, sick of, worked.

[D]

See, we have similar ones.

[E]

If I like fall into a routine after, like, I win a couple rounds and I'll try to stay in the same routine, but I'm not, I don't ever feel like I have to do the same thing, but I do like trying to keep it as close as possible. But I'm not really, I'm not superstitious.

[D]

Last question from Anthony. Do you all approach a match differently based on a player's age or tour level experience? I don't, I, I'd say I respect everybody who's playing tournaments at, you know, a WTA event, any, whether it's a thousand, two hundred and fifty, five hundred Grand Slam. I think I respect whoever's on the other side of the net, regardless if they're 18 or 38, I would say.

[B]

I think the only difference is that I think if it's like one of their first years on tour, I think sometimes depending on the situation, you can kind of lean into experience a little bit more. Like, I vividly remember playing Patty Schneider and Kiba Skane and she veteran the hell out of me. It was like a three set match. We were on that court way in the back and I just got so overwhelmed by the situation and I came off the court and I was like, I don't even know what happened? So I do think those things can happen, but at the same time, I also think a lot of times that they can be really hard to play and, like, dangerous just because they have no scar tissue. So they just go out and they're taking big cuts and sometimes they just kind of light it up and you just kind of have to deal with that.

[E]

Yeah, same. I think you have to respect everybody, but at the same time, I think young players, you have to know that they can come out with nothing to lose or they could also come out and be, like, extremely overwhelmed. And I think there's just. You kind of know there could be like a big drastic change. And so even if they come out hot, I think you can always have in the back your mind, like, okay, are they really going to be able to, like, keep up this level? Like, it's probably not something that they're used to all the time. Doesn't mean they won't. It's just something I think I like to tell myself also just to be like, don't, like, freak out that they're playing really well. Like you still have a lot of experience that you can lean on or something like that. And then I think sometimes too, on big courts, I like to lean into experience because that was something that I think does take some time getting used to. And I do think when you play someone with less experience, I always, like, just try and start off as best I can because then I feel like you can. They can never really get settled in a. Especially in a big stadium if it's like a little bit deeper in a tournament or there's a big crowd. I've felt that before. And it's not a good feeling when you can never, like, win a couple games and get settled. But if you come out and you start hot, I think that can be really overwhelming to players with less experience.

[C]

Yeah, I think for doubles, for my side of things when I'm playing people, I do respect them all, but I think leaning to. Leaning into my experience, like you said, Jess, is something that you have an advantage to. And in doubles, you know, they're not used to maybe being in those pressure situations of playing no ads. So I think you can take advantage of that. But like we all said, I think you have to respect your opponent and in all levels anyways.

[D]

All right, thanks everyone. For your fans questions this week. Please 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 pod gmail.com thanks and see everyone next week.

[E]

Close your eyes, exhale, Feel your body relax and let go of whatever you're carrying today. Well, I'm letting go of the worry that I wouldn't get my new contacts in time for this class. I got them delivered free from 1-800-contacts. Oh my gosh, they're so fast. And breathe. Oh, sorry. I almost couldn't breathe when I saw the discount they gave me on my first order. Oh, sorry. Namaste.

[C]

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

[E]

1-800-contacts lifelock.

[B]

How can I help?

[E]

The IRS said I filed my return, but I haven't.

[F]

One in four tax paying Americans has paid the price of identity fraud.

[D]

What do I do?

[B]

My refund though.

[E]

I'm freaking out. Don't worry, I can fix this.

[F]

Lifelock fixes identity theft guaranteed and gets your money back with up to $3 million in coverage.

[E]

I'm so relieved.

[B]

No problem. I'll be with you every step of the way.

[F]

One in four was a fraud. Paying American. Not anymore. Save up to 40% your first year. Visit lifelock.com podcast terms apply.