38 | Rome, Pet Peeves & Low Stakes Advice

Summary

The Player's Box - Episode 38 | Rome, Pet Peeves & Low Stakes Advice

Release Date: May 5, 2026
Hosts: Madison Keys (Maddie), Jessica Pegula (Jess), Jennifer Brady (Jenny), Desirae Krawczyk (Des)

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Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the players’ experiences traveling and competing in Europe, focusing especially on their time in Rome. The co-hosts share candid behind-the-scenes stories, pet peeves about European living, reactions to recent tennis headlines, and honest, humorous low-stakes advice to listener questions. There’s also a tribute to their mothers ahead of Mother’s Day, plus a playful “Who Am I?” segment and plenty of laughs about everyday tour life.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Unforced Errors of the Week

(01:09–08:57)

Each host shares their personal mishaps from the week:

• Jess: Caught a cold after visiting Barcelona, and her hitting partner Spencer became even sicker. "He’s like, I feel like I’m a ghost just like wandering around the site right now. I don’t know where I am." (03:03, Jess)
• Maddie: Forgot all her match clothes in Madrid due to a confusing laundry situation; had to coordinate with the hotel to get them shipped to Rome. "I left them in the drawer in Madrid. Which I think I did it because I was at the tournament and I didn’t actually play any matches, so I never used them." (04:35, Maddie)
• Jenny: Keeps hitting curbs or the parking block due to possible issues with her contacts; walked into the wrong building while distracted by the group chat. "Siri said, 'You have arrived.' And she shut off... I just walk into the building...wait, where am I?...I’m not even in the right building." (06:09-07:46, Jenny)
• Des: Had a flawless week on the Amalfi coast; no unforced errors to report.

Notable Moment:
Maddie wins “best unforced error” for her laundry mishap.

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2. Tennis Headlines & Tour Gossip

(13:19–23:09)

• Marta Kostyuk's Madrid Victory:
  Kostyuk’s back handspring celebration was a “big flex”—the group discusses her acrobatics background and the prevalence of Ukrainian gymnasts in Cirque du Soleil.
  "She did a back handspring, not a backflip...I watched it live...That’s impressive." (14:12–15:14, Des)

• On-Court Coaching Drama:
  Greek coach Stefanos"Greeksport" in Potapova’s semifinals—debate on how tough love from coaches impacts players.
  "'You have to believe in yourself.' And she said, 'I do.' And then he said, 'No, you don’t.'…Maybe he just missed the mark a little bit. That’s okay." (17:44–18:34, Jenny & Maddie)

• Racket Smashing & Rising Talent:
  Praise for Haley Baptiste’s iconic racket smash and her breakout season:
  "That was honestly one of the most (memorable) I’ve seen...She’s so talented." (19:35–20:21, Jess & Jenny)

• Emerging Men’s Tour Stars:
  Little-known young men’s players making waves: Raphael Hodar (19), Alexander Blocks (21), comparisons to established young stars like Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
  "These guys are so young. They're babies." (21:17, Jess)

• App Culture:
  The group’s run-in with the horoscope app Co–Star, and its notoriously “mean” daily advice.
  "'Matty, look at the world with gentler eyes.' I was like, rude." (24:36, Maddie)
  Jenny: “I deleted it right when it told me to think with my knees.” (25:25, Jenny)

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3. The Great European Pet Peeves Rant

(26:30–39:51)

• Air Conditioning Frustrations:
  American expectations vs. European hotel AC:
  "The AC is working, just not how you want it to." (27:04, Maddie)
  Limited ice at restaurants:
  "Here, two ice cubes." (27:59, Maddie)

• Room Size & Showers:
  Small hotel rooms and infamous half-glass showers in Europe:
  “The amount of bathrooms I’ve flooded…” (30:21, Maddie)
  Explainer for listeners unfamiliar with European bathrooms.

• Smoking & Restaurants:
  Smoking culture in Europe feels overwhelming; take-away boxes at restaurants are "frowned upon but becoming more normal."
  "They are actually very helpful, but I think it is frowned upon. But I don’t know why, like, I’d rather not waste food." (35:26, Des)

• Restaurant Service Culture:
  Slow checks, non-tipping, portion sizes, and lack of free refills discussed at length. "In the States, it’s like, can I finish my meal in 28 minutes? Go." (36:34, Maddie) "No Cheesecake Factory." (39:30, Jenny)

• Call for Listener Input:
  "Would love for people to write and comment their pet peeves about us… I can’t wait to hear about American pet peeves." (39:34–40:02, Jess & Maddie)

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4. Favorite Rome & Tour Stories

(43:20–52:57)

• Best Tournament Memories:
  Maddie reminisces about reaching the 2016 Rome final vs. Serena.
  "I played Garbine in the semis...it was one of my favorite matches I think I’ve ever played." (43:40, Maddie)

• Des’s Accidental Rome Date Adventure:
  A spontaneous solo tourist day turns into a dinner date with a Canadian at the Trevi Fountain—panic ensues as Jenny can’t reach Des.
  "Hi Jenny, I’m alive. I’m on a date." (46:34, Des)

• Hotel Fails:
  Des accidentally puts her coach in a hotel with suspiciously noisy nighttime activities ("I can’t name the hotel, but...we can never put you in that again!") (48:38, Des)
  Jenny’s favorite: a man enters her hotel room at night “with no bottoms.” (48:47, Jenny)

• Favorite Foods:
  Quickfire: Pasta wins over pizza, especially Roman specialties: "Rome is known for cacio e pepe. Yes." (49:45, Jenny & Maddie)

• Gelato Obsession:
  Maddie shares her quest for nightly gelato; everyone agrees Rome’s gelato is a tournament tradition.
  "I’ve been here for four nights and I’ve had it four times...My goal for the tournament is to have it every single night." (50:12, Maddie)

• Off-Court To-Do’s:
  Cooking classes are recommended.
  "A cooking class is actually really fun to do here." (52:20, Des)

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5. Mother’s Day Shoutout

(52:39–52:59)

• Heartfelt message to their mothers and all moms for Mother’s Day. "We love you, moms." (52:57, Des)

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6. Who Am I? Segment

(52:59–54:27)

• The previous week’s clues pointed to Turkish player Zeynep Sönmez; the new “Who Am I?” features a male player at a career high, whose father played ATP.
• “My father also played on the ATP tour and I may like to indulge in a post match beer occasionally like myself.” (54:12, Jess)

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7. Low Stakes Advice—Listener Q&A

(54:27–61:38)

Anonymous listener dilemmas tackled by the hosts:

• Confess to boss after clipping his van and CCTV is being checked?
  • "You gotta come clean." (56:12, Jess)
• Dealing with a mean coworker:
  • “You have to talk to them and say what’s the deal? …You don’t have to be friends, but you could be an adult.” (56:39–57:01, Jess & Maddie)
• Friend’s “good advice” driving you crazy:
  • “Thank you, but like, no, thank you. Thank you, but I need to make a decision on my own.” (57:58, Jess)
  • "Is this a vent session or do you actually want advice?" (59:00, Des)
• Guy best friend ghosted for a girlfriend, now wants to talk:
  • "No, no." – Des & Maddie (59:16, 60:02)
  • "I would say yes. I’d be so curious just to know…" – Jess (60:11–60:21)
  • The group decides this is Instagram poll material as reactions vary by zodiac sign!

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the woes of European showers:
  "Is there anything worse than the half showers?...The amount of bathrooms that I flooded." (30:06–30:21, Jenny & Maddie)

• On slow restaurant service:
  "It’s a full event. And in the States, it’s like, can I finish my meal in 28 minutes? Go." (36:34, Maddie)

• On Rome adventures:
  "Hi Jenny, I’m alive. I’m on a date." (46:41, Des)

• On European ice rations:
  "When you ask for ice, they’re like, here, two ice cubes." (27:59, Maddie)

• On pet peeves:
  "Would love for people…to write and comment their pet peeves about us because we understand it’s a two-way street." (39:34, Jess)

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Important Timestamps

• Unforced Errors: (01:09–09:02)
• Tennis Headlines & App Culture: (13:19–26:29)
• Pet Peeves in Europe: (26:30–39:51)
• Rome Memories: (43:20–52:57)
• Mother’s Day Shoutout: (52:39–52:59)
• Who Am I? Segment: (52:59–54:27)
• Low Stakes Advice Q&A: (54:27–61:38)

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Tone & Style

Conversational, irreverent, and candid. The hosts tease each other, tell self-deprecating stories, and welcome cultural differences with open curiosity. The episode leaves listeners feeling like part of a close-knit group sharing travel tales, tennis tidbits, and life lessons beyond the baseline.

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Summary for New Listeners

Whether you're a diehard tennis fan or simply love real-life stories with a sense of humor, Episode 38 of The Player’s Box is a fun, insightful window into the quirks of tournament road life, the unique culture shocks of Europe, and the bonds between four friends navigating high-stakes sport and low-stakes living. From the eternal hunt for air con and ice, to the emotional calculus of reconnecting with flaky friends, this episode delivers laughs, love for Rome, and plenty of practical advice—court-side and beyond.

Transcript

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[Maddie]

This is the players box.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Hey, everyone. Welcome back to the players box. I'm Desiree Krafczyk alongside Jenny Brady, Madison Keys, and Jess Bagula. As always, a friendly reminder to please give our podcast five stars and subscribe on YouTube. Well, happy Cinco de Mayo day. Grab a margarita or mocktail and join us for today's episode. Most of us are in Rome, so we'll talk about the upcoming tournaments, give our opinions on the European living. And Mother's Day is coming up, so we will tell you a little bit about our moms and why they are so special to us. But first, let's get into our unforced errors. Jessica.

[Jess Bagula]

I would say my unforced error would be I went to Barcelona. Barcelona, if I'm saying it correctly, for a few days before I got to Rome, which was today. And oh, yeah, I started getting sick. And then my hitting partner really went down. So we were like, had a full day, walk the whole city, whatever, got back. I was like drinking water or something. And you know when you just kind of feel the throat just feels a little. You're like. I was like, no. I was like, oh, what? Like, no, this isn't happening. And so, like, I just hydrated a ton, went to bed, woke up 5am my throat hurt so bad. I. It was bad. But luckily I fought it off for like a day. Somehow ended up being okay. But, yeah, Spencer, poor guy, he's still. Did you see him today? Des?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I did. I was coming back to the hotel and I saw him checking in. He just looked so, like, just not good. And then I was like, hey, Spencer. And he was like, are you staying here? And I was like, yeah. He's like, oh, okay. Thank God. I was like, okay, see you later. I can't be around you.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah, he's He's. It's struggle bus from him a little bit. He was at the site dropping some rockets off or whatever. And he's like, I feel like I'm a ghost just like wandering around the site right now. He's like, I don't know where I am. I need to get out of here.

[Maddie]

So.

[Jess Bagula]

Poor guy. But yeah, so I had a little hiccup this week, but all in all, I'm okay. Maddie.

[Maddie]

I forgot all my match clothes in Madrid. And I realized yesterday because Madrid laundry became like a whole situation where like we didn't know when we were gonna get our clothes back. And I was leaving, so I was like, oh, I'll just wait and do laundry in Rome and then laundry here. I won't get my clothes back until a day later than I thought. Whatever. So I was talking to Bjorn and I was like, dude, I'm literally like not going to have clothes, clothes to practice in. Like I'm gonna have to go to a laundromat or something. And he was like, what do you mean? Like, just like, just like unfortunately like tub wash a sports bra or something and just wear a match outfit. And as soon as he said that, I was like, wait, I don't remember unpacking my match clothes here. And then I was like, yeah, I left him in the drawer in Madrid. Which I think I did it because I was at the tournament and I didn't actually play any matches, so I never used them and I just totally forgot about them.

[Jess Bagula]

Oh, I didn't even think about that. You didn't even play a match.

[Maddie]

I unpacked them and then I forgot that they were there because I never needed them.

[Jenny Brady]

Oh my gosh.

[Maddie]

It just totally slipped my mind so I had to like get in contact with the hotel. Luckily they have been located and they are in route to Rome, so.

[Jess Bagula]

But I can't believe they actually still had them. Like, that was a long time ago. Yeah, not a long time ago, but a long time ago to leave clothes kind of.

[Maddie]

But shout out to the Thompson Hotel in Madrid. Yes, you are saving me. Yeah.

[Jenny Brady]

Jenny, wait, I thought you just had left them there on site and didn't pick them up.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I thought you from the drawer.

[Jenny Brady]

I didn't know you left them in the drawer in the hotel. Sure. That's why I don't unpack.

[Maddie]

I can't do that.

[Jenny Brady]

I have like maybe two on four series. I have a couple, but maybe I'll just say two. But lately I've been doing this thing where when I park My car, I either ram into the curb or hit the. The parking blockade thing. Like, literally, like, full on. I. I don't know if, like, my depth perception is off and I really need to purchase some contacts and actually lock in on my.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Or just one contact?

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, my one.

[Jess Bagula]

Wait, is that why you keep asking about contacts?

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, because I'm like, is something off here? Like, every single. I'm not joking you. Almost every time I've literally rammed into the curb or the parking curb. So I need to hit up Warby Parker and fill that prescription that I went to the eye doctor for. But I have a bigger unforced error. So the group text was really popping off the other day, and I was going to an appointment, and I had my Siri. Siri was giving me directions, and as soon as I turned down the street, she said, you have arrived. And she shut off. And so I was like, oh, okay, so it must be this building right here. And so I turned in and immediately just parked my car, hit the curb, get out. And then immediately I'm just looking at my phone, and I'm not even paying attention to where I'm walking, and I'm just looking at my phone, trying to catch up on the text messages, and I'm walking, walking, walking, and I just walk into the building, and I'm in the building, and I'm like, wait, where am I? And I was like, the names aren't on this building. And then I walk out of the building and I look up and I'm like, oh, my gosh, I'm not even in the right building. It was literally like a six minute walk away from where I was. So I got back in my car, put on the directions, and drove, you know, half a mile down the street and went to the right building. So

[Desiree Krafczyk]

what building did you walk into?

[Jenny Brady]

It was just an office building, and someone definitely ordered McDonald's. Smelled like French fries.

[Maddie]

They were fresh.

[Jenny Brady]

They were fresh. It was lunchtime.

[Maddie]

So your next license plate should just say unforced air.

[Jenny Brady]

The front should say, watch out,

[Maddie]

will

[Jenny Brady]

hit Herb or iguana. Actually, the other day, there was in the exact same spot where I hit that one iguana. There was another one that was dead for a split second. I was like, holy crap. Holy crap, did I hit it? And it wasn't me.

[Maddie]

Iggy's little brother.

[American Express Announcer]

Yeah.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Poor guy.

[Maddie]

Rip.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, Desiree.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Well, I fortunately have not had an unforced error this week. Yeah, I had a great time in the Amalfi coast. So I don't think There were any unforced errors that week, but yeah, I'm gonna. I have a winner this week. So I think it's between the three of you guys for best unforced error.

[Jess Bagula]

Maddie.

[Jenny Brady]

Maddie.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah, that's a good one.

[Maddie]

Yeah, it's just like two weeks in a row.

[Jess Bagula]

Well, you didn't have any for so long.

[Maddie]

Yeah, you're always like, really just took

[Desiree Krafczyk]

me down on the tennis court. Everything just, yikes.

[Maddie]

Spring is here. Weddings, tournaments, trips, and way more photos. And I realized it. If you wear glasses, you're wearing them in all of those moments. So if you don't love your frames, you feel it pretty quickly.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Before Warby Parker, buying glasses always felt way more complicated than it should be. Like overpriced, hard to compare, and no real way to tell if something would actually look good on your face.

[Jenny Brady]

That's why I'm obsessed with Warby Parker. They've made everything so much easier. Their virtual try on lets you see frames on your face in real time from your phone. And it actually works.

[Maddie]

I picked up a pair of matte black Durand frames as prescription sunglasses right before the trip, and I felt way more confident wearing them. Got a bunch of compliments, and they feel super high quality without being crazy expensive.

[Jess Bagula]

Their prescription glasses start at $95, so you're getting style and quality without overthinking it. Plus they've got contacts, eye exams, sunglasses, everything in one place and 300 plus stores. If you ever want to go in

[Desiree Krafczyk]

person, it's the perfect time to upgrade your glasses for spring. Buy one prescription pair and get 20 off any additional prescription [e-mail] playersbox that's 20 off additional prescription pairs. When you go to W A r b y parker.com playersbox you've heard us talk about one skin before, and honestly, whether you're the kind of person who's constantly trying every new skincare thing that drops or you've been loyal to the same two products for years. I feel like everyone hits that point where you look in the mirror and you're like, wait, my skin's just not doing what it used to do. That's really what one skin changed for me. It wasn't just like, oh, this is a nice moisturizer. It actually works differently than anything else I've tried.

[Jenny Brady]

Because what's interesting is as we age, some of our skin cells basically stop functioning the way they should. Scientists actually call them zombie cells, which is unsettling, but also kind of makes sense. And those are what drive a lot of the stuff we start noticing fine lines, loss of firmness, that dullness that kind of sneaks up on you.

[Jess Bagula]

And One Skin's OS1 peptide is specifically designed to target that. So you're still getting everything you want from good skincare. Hydration, smoother texture. But it's also doing something most skin care just isn't built to do.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

For me, I've been using OS1 serum and the first thing I've noticed was how it feels. It's super lightweight, not greasy at all. But over time what really stood out is how much more even and just healthier my skin looks. And I've tried a lot of skincare so I don't say that lightly. This is one of the few things that actually stuck with my routine.

[Jenny Brady]

I even got my friend to try it and now they're fully on board too, which kind of says everything. And it's not just me. One Skin has four peer reviewed clinical studies, over 10,000 five star reviews and they've even been recognized by Bloomberg as a leader in skin longevity.

[Jess Bagula]

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[Desiree Krafczyk]

I love having protein in my diet, but it always seemed like a burden after a long day to go to the grocery store, find a recipe I liked and get home and cook. I usually just pick up whatever I find at the grocery store, not really considering the quality I then I was

[Maddie]

introduced to Omaha Steaks which was a game changer. It's incredibly convenient because they deliver high quality proteins straight to my door.

[Jenny Brady]

I made the filet mignon steak which was one of the best ones I've ever made at home. But I also got the chicken breast and burgers and everything I made tasted completely fresh. Everything is frozen at their moment of peak flavor, texture and quality. Each steak is naturally aged for a minimum of 28 days for maximum tenderness and complex flavor and every purchase is

[Maddie]

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[Jess Bagula]

Taste the Omaha Steaks difference and never settle for grocery proteins again. Get flavorful high quality proteins delivered by visiting Omaha steaks.com/35 off when you use promo Code Players box at checkout that's Omaha steaks.com code playersbox terms apply. See site for details. Moving on to some tennis headlines. We saw that Marta cost you just won Madrid, her second tournament in a row and first 1000. And she did a back handspring, not a backflip. I've been corrected back handspring after the match, which we actually know. She always used to do that before. I'm not sure if all the fans probably realized that, but she actually used to do that, and it was kind of the biggest flex ever, I always thought.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

So was she a gymnast beforehand?

[Jess Bagula]

She told me she did, because I asked her one time not that long ago, I was like, didn't you used to do, like, a backflip thing or something? Like, did I just make that up? And she, like, started laughing. She said she took acrobatics when she was younger, and then it's very popular in the Ukraine. I don't want to mess this up, but I'm pretty sure that's what she told me. And then I just. I also learned that a lot of Ukrainians go into Cirque du Soleil.

[Jenny Brady]

Oh.

[Jess Bagula]

So I don't love Circus. That's what I. Yeah, I hope I didn't, like, that's not fake news, and I remember that completely wrong, but I thought that was very interesting.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I mean, it's a pretty big flex, doing that right after you win of your biggest title and doing it on the clay court. I mean, I watched it live, and I was like, why is she standing there just holding on? And then she did the flip, and I was like, whoa. I was just like, whoa, you can't make this up. And I was like, that's impressive.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah. I will not be doing that anytime

[Maddie]

at all.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Can you do a cartwheel, honey?

[Jenny Brady]

No, Actually, I was showing off my cartwheels, or lack thereof in Miami, so if you are lucky enough to see that, you're welcome.

[Jess Bagula]

But can everyone. Can you do. Can I can do a cartwheel? Can you do a cartwheel? Anyone else?

[Maddie]

I can do a cartwheel.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Do a cartwheel. Or, like a. What's the round off? What's. Is that. Is it a round off?

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, that's when you do the cartwheel. But then you finish. Like, you go on two feet and then.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah, yeah, nailed it, Jenny.

[Jenny Brady]

You go sideways, and then you just go.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah, your two legs.

[Jenny Brady]

My sister did gymnastics, so I know the names of things.

[Jess Bagula]

Well, she had an incredible two weeks, so congrats to her. She also beat me, so it's like,

[Desiree Krafczyk]

you won as Well, I basically won the tournament. You basically won the tournament.

[Jenny Brady]

Everyone she beat won the tournament.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah. So like, it makes me feel. Feel a little bit better. Greeksport coaching Potipova in the semifinals. It got a little heated at the end of it. They were bickering a little bit. He hasn't really been in the box that much. I don't think so. I mean, at least I haven't really seen videos of it. I don't know if he has been or not, but she obviously went deep in the tournament, so there's. There was a lot of mics picking up their conversations.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

It seemed like he obviously was being supportive, but I think tensions are high. So he could be taking it a different way. And she. She might have not liked it, but I mean, she did say what after her interview, she was like, he did really help me at the end of that match to push through. And so it must have in the

[Jess Bagula]

quarterfinal match, I think.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah, yeah. But then this. Yeah.

[Jess Bagula]

So the semi match, it got a little more heated.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah, I guess to each their own.

[Jess Bagula]

Maybe Maddie can relate more.

[Maddie]

I was gonna say it's gonna happen.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Have you ever snapped a Bjorn on court?

[Maddie]

I don't think so. I'm not really like a external snap sort of person. I think just internally I just slowly start imploding and shut down. Shut down?

[Jenny Brady]

Oh, I think externally I would.

[Jess Bagula]

You would, Jen?

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah. What did he say? You have to believe in yourself. And she said, I do. And then he said, no, you don't. And then she kind of rolled her eyes and like, like hit her racket on the ground. I would have literally taken my.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

She just.

[Jess Bagula]

You would have went, Haley Baptiste. And just.

[Jenny Brady]

And then I would have been like,

[Desiree Krafczyk]

ah, maybe saying, no, you don't. In the heat of the moment, probably not the best. Maybe just let her ride it out. I don't know.

[Maddie]

Maybe he was just really trying to like get his point across that like, he believed in her. Exactly. He was like, yeah, you can do this.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Maddie]

I'm gonna take the benefit of the doubt here because earlier I was like, that is the cutest thing I've ever seen. Like, that was such a great interaction. And then when he said, you don't. I was like, ah. Maybe he just missed the mark a little bit. That's okay.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Jess Bagula]

You also don't know, like, obviously, I think there's some things people say to certain people knowing, like, it will get them going as well. And sometimes people need to be like, triggered differently. Not saying like, personally, but maybe like in a competitive Situation, Like, Right. I don't know. Maybe he thought that's what she needed. I don't know.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah, I agree with that. Like, you can. Your coach or someone who knows you so well will know what, like, can fire you up or I guess piss you off. But, like, with Arthur Feast, sometimes, like, I will bicker with my coach, but he won't give anything back. And he knows that's what I want. But it's like, well, he knows this.

[Maddie]

So you're just.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah.

[Maddie]

You're trying to bicker with Craig and he's.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yes, exactly. And then I give him the thumbs up, but then he knows. Okay, well, that's just her just. Isn't it? As an external outlet. But, yeah, like Arthur Feast, like you said.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah, yeah. When his trainer said shut up. In a more explicit way.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Jess Bagula]

Talking about the racket smash, though, Haley Baptiste, iconic racket smash.

[Maddie]

That was.

[Jess Bagula]

That was honestly one of the most I've seen in a really long time. It was unbelievable. The picture is insane.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Picture was insane.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Maddie]

I would literally have that picture, like, blown up and put on my wall. So cool.

[Jess Bagula]

It's so cool. She needs to do that 100%.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I might.

[Maddie]

I might. I might frame it.

[Jess Bagula]

Wait, actually, that would be such a cool picture to have frame. Yeah. Insane. But we love Haley a lot. I think all of us do. Beating Sabalenka, getting through some crazy matches. I think Haley's, like, the sweetest human.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Like, she's so talented.

[Jess Bagula]

I love her.

[Jenny Brady]

So talented.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Talented.

[Maddie]

And I mean, we called it. However, whatever point we were talking about earlier this year, we just had a feeling she's gonna have a big year.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah.

[Maddie]

And she is.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah, yeah. She's been playing some good tennis. Like, consistent. A lot more consistent. And I think one of the most skilled, like, just pure tennis talent that we have on tour.

[Jenny Brady]

Just raw talent.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

She kind of reminds me of Mukova a little bit. Like, she's an all court player. She comes in a lot, like, has the craft and also just the slicing and just the. The variety.

[Jenny Brady]

But, yeah, she can hit pretty much any shot.

[Jess Bagula]

She's crafty. We have a bunch of new young faces on the men's side. So Raphael Hodar, 19 years old. I don't know if I'm saying this right. Alexander. Block.

[Jenny Brady]

Blocks.

[Jess Bagula]

I imagine it's just blocks. Blocks.

[Maddie]

I think so.

[Jess Bagula]

I think it's blocks. 21 years old. These guys are so young. They're babies.

[Maddie]

I mean, we say that, but Mira also just was in the final.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

She made three. What?

[Maddie]

She won Indian Wells. Dubai Madrid final.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah. But then she also won Lens before that. Then she made. She make finals of Stukar.

[Jess Bagula]

Can't remember, but she won Adelaide.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah, she had. The year's been insane. Yeah.

[Maddie]

So many youngins.

[Jess Bagula]

For the men, though, it seems even crazier to me because, like, we have Carlos and Janik, who are, like, 24 and 23, 22, like, so young already, but so successful. And then now you're looking at them and how good they are, and then you see, like, Rafael Hodar come in, and you're like, this guy's unbelievable. And he's 19. It's like, yeah, yeah. I don't know. It's crazy.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

He left school, right? He went to Virginia, I think.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah. I think he was supposed to play at uva.

[Maddie]

I saw that he has the stat of, like, the most ATP wins in, like, his first matches on tour. He's already won 17 matches or something insane like that. That's crazy.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

He did really well in Barcelona as well. Barcelona.

[Jess Bagula]

He won a 252, 250s or one. He definitely won one of them. But, yeah, it's just crazy. And then, like, we still have Fonseca, who's, I don't know, 20 Feast, who's only 21, I think.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah. I guess you're really seeing, like, the next gen of the men. I feel like the women have, like, a really solid group of, like, established young players, and now you're just seeing it on the men's side, which is pretty cool.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

So more variety for Jenny.

[Jenny Brady]

A lot of variety for me. Yeah, exactly. Not the same, too.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Results wise, people. Let's clarify.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Jess Bagula]

Wait, what? So

[Desiree Krafczyk]

that went over Jenny's head.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah. So we talked a bit about our zodiac signs. Was it last week? Last week, at least. Jack of the weeks. Our zodiac signs. So we all have downloaded from Maddie's recommendation, including our podcast team, this app called Costar. And Maddie warned us it can be really mean sometimes. Basically, like telling you what you don't want to hear.

[Maddie]

It literally yells at you sometimes.

[Jess Bagula]

No, it actually is toxic. It's horribly toxic. But it's so funny. But then what did. It told me.

[Maddie]

It told me, stop hoarding compliments.

[Jess Bagula]

Yes, I'm being stingy. Stop hoarding compliments and stop being stingy about it. And I was like, oh, my God. And then it told me it gives you, like, a list of do's and don'ts. And what would the do was construction paper. I'm like, that's random. Like what? Like, I guess I just go by

[Desiree Krafczyk]

what does that mean construction paper?

[Jess Bagula]

I don't know. But then I was like, I kind of miss construction paper. I used to love construction paper, and it led into this whole. This whole thing. And so, Matt, what was yours today?

[Maddie]

Matty, look at the world with gentler eyes. I was like, rude.

[Jenny Brady]

Mine said, thinking happens through your entire body. Think with your knees.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah. That was brutal.

[Jess Bagula]

That was crazy.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

That's harsh.

[Jenny Brady]

It told me construction paper, bad poetry and spiral bound.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Does that mean do or don't? Don't spot,

[Jenny Brady]

don't. Randomness, blank stares, mixed signals. Oh, I guess I won't be myself.

[Maddie]

All of your favorite things.

[Jess Bagula]

Literally all of your favorite things.

[Maddie]

Yeah, I have.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I have yet to download the costar app. I just. You guys. When you guys send the screenshots, it's making me nervous, you know?

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, don't. I deleted it right when it told me to think with my knees.

[Jess Bagula]

You already deleted it.

[Jenny Brady]

I deleted it.

[Maddie]

It didn't even last, like, five minutes. I love looking at it, especially on, like, a rough day. And you look at it and you're like, wow, I didn't need that. Then I'll be like, I'll be back tomorrow.

[Jess Bagula]

And then it told our producer to use her brain. That was one of them. She's like. She said, oh. I thought I was like, what it is? It's kind of toxic, but I can kind of see how it creates, like, somewhat of a toxic relationship. Like, you're like, oh, okay. See you tomorrow, co star. Can't wait for you to tell me. But didn't it tell you to have a spritz, basically, Maddie, at the same time?

[Maddie]

That's how I interpreted it.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah.

[Maddie]

So have some alcohol.

[Jess Bagula]

Interpret it. Spritz yourself however. However you want, but shout out costar for. Yeah, bullying us with our horoscopes.

[Maddie]

But we.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

We keep coming back, apparently.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah. Not Jenny today.

[Jenny Brady]

No.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Nope. And not me.

[Maddie]

Well, we have been in Europe for a few weeks now, and as the typical Americans in Europe, we definitely have a few pet peeves. So we are going to list off some of our pet peeves. And for any European fans you can DM us and defend your position, we will gladly hear it. And also, if you want to send in some American pet peeves, we can discuss those once the US Open swing comes around. But just. We'll just kind of throw these out there and we can discuss my. Like, number one is the air conditioning. And to quote a hotel once, when I said it's not working, it was. The AC is working, just not how you want it to.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

It's like co star.

[Jenny Brady]

One time, actually, I turned on my AC and I left and then came back to the hotel and it was like I walked into a sauna because the AC only provides heat and not cool air.

[Maddie]

Probably because it was the wrong month.

[Jenny Brady]

No, it was when we were in Europe playing.

[Maddie]

In summer, they don't turn the AC on until like, June. Like one year there was a heat wave and it was May. And they're like, no, we don't turn the ACS on until June. I was like, it's 90 degrees outside, so hot. So that's a big one. Also, I love every single day when I am home. I get my giant Stanley and then I fill the whole thing up with ice and then I put a sparkling water in it. And in Europe, when you ask for ice, they're like, here, two ice cubes.

[Jenny Brady]

Oh, yeah.

[Jess Bagula]

Wait, remember my ice. My ice cortado I got with Maddie at the Madrid tournament? So it was in like a small cup and I didn't even know that was mine because it was in still, like the hot insulated cups, which is like, okay, fine, not a big deal. And it was literally like one melted ice cube. And he was like, oh, this is your ice cortado. And I pick it up and I just like, look at it. And it's just like this melted ice cube. And I like, look at Maddie. And we're just like, whatever. We were late for media anyways. But it was. It was sad. They hate ice here.

[Jenny Brady]

They.

[Jess Bagula]

They hate it. They hate giving people ice. I don't know why. Everything tastes better. Try it. It makes your drinks taste better.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I promise I will say the room sizes, you know, can be conflicting. Exhibit A over here. I am not sitting on the bed, but when I am rooming with my boyfriend who's open suitcases here, he has to close, climb over, do a little cartwheel over the bed to get out of here. Because I am sitting here.

[Jenny Brady]

And then he gets off the bed with a round.

[Jess Bagula]

Off.

[Maddie]

Yeah, with like this.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Jenny.

[Jess Bagula]

Right?

[Maddie]

With the. This just.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I will say, yeah, the rooms are a little.

[Jenny Brady]

Well, for.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

For me, they're cozy.

[Jenny Brady]

They're a little.

[Maddie]

Okay, they're cozy.

[Jenny Brady]

Is there anything worse than the half showers?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Okay, the half.

[Jenny Brady]

I don't understand it. I don't understand it.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

It's the half glass and then like half of water, like coming out of the bathtub.

[Maddie]

The amount of bathrooms that I flooded

[Jenny Brady]

every single time I take a shower.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

No, it's ridiculous. Like, why do we not Have a full glass.

[Jess Bagula]

What.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

What is what for?

[Jenny Brady]

For the people that don't know what we're talking about. In some of the bathrooms in Europe, in the shower, if you have a tub, usually you'll have a curtain that covers the entire shower. And in Europe, they decided to put these glass walls that only cover half of the shower. So the other half, you, you walk in and walk out.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

It's just open space.

[Jenny Brady]

Yes, it's open space. So when you're washing your hair, literally the water and the soap is flying on the floor, everywhere on the wall, like, you name it. And it's just.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

That's probably why there's a drain also on the floor, because I know.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, there's a drain on the. In the floor.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah, in the middle of the bathroom.

[Jenny Brady]

In the middle of the bathroom there's a drain. So maybe that's what you're supposed to do. Maybe you're supposed to shower the middle of the bathroom.

[Jess Bagula]

Or like the little step for the shower is like an inch high. So if you leave the shower, if you shower for like three minutes, you're already flooding the rest of the bathroom.

[Maddie]

Yeah.

[Jess Bagula]

I don't understand. Maybe someone in Europe can explain, like, do you guys shower different? Like, are we doing it wrong?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Are we to shower closer to the shower head? Like, I don't understand. Yeah, like, like, like the elf shower, you know, like, maybe we're doing it

[Jenny Brady]

wrong because a lot of them do have, like the shower head that you

[Jess Bagula]

take off, like the handheld.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah. So maybe.

[Maddie]

But.

[Jenny Brady]

But then those like all, like, tilt it up and it'll just spray everywhere, everywhere. And then I'm like, oh, my gosh, it's on the ceiling too.

[Maddie]

I also always have, like, an irrational fear, which I understand why they have them, but like, the safety strings that they always have, like in the bathroom, I'm always irrationally nervous that I'm going to like trip and fall and accidentally pull on like the alarm and someone's going to be like, knocking on my door as I'm naked in the shower.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Well, some of these bathtubs are really high and it's like, if you don't have the mobility to get into the tub, like, it's kind of hard. Like, you can also slip if it being really slippery. So. So I'm also like, God, I really gotta do my, like, hip mobility workouts to really get into the bathtub. But with the half glass shower, I've

[Jenny Brady]

definitely pulled one of those strings, by the way.

[Maddie]

Oh, did anyone come running?

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Okay, keep going.

[Jenny Brady]

I Don't really remember where it was or what exactly happened or why I felt the need to pull it. But I do know that I did pull it. And then I was like, oh, someone's at the door.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

She's, like, coming.

[Jenny Brady]

I didn't believe in the system.

[Jess Bagula]

You wanted to test it out.

[Maddie]

Yeah.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

So I will say another. This smoking culture, I. I really. It's. It's a lot for me. Maybe I'm just not used to it, but it's like everywhere you go, it's just hard to smell. Plus, also being a. I don't know, it's just a lot. Plus also, smoking's bad for you people.

[Maddie]

I think in the States, too, if people smoke, so much of it is vaping now, so you don't smell cigarette smoke as much anymore. You just smell that terrible, fruity, stupid vapor smell.

[Jenny Brady]

But I don't know, it's worse.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Like a swisher.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah, I don't think that's very good for you either.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, not great.

[Jess Bagula]

But I was gonna say, this just happened when I was at dinner, the asking for a takeaway box. There was an, I'm assuming, American couple, from what it seemed, like, very close to me, and they kind of had, like, a weird takeaway box. I think it was kind of makeshift. And then he asked for takeaway utensils.

[Maddie]

And I was like, dude, now you're pushing.

[Jess Bagula]

No chance. And the guy was like, huh? Huh? What? And he's like, no, no, no, no, no. Sorry. No, no, no. Don't have. Don't have it here. And I was like, wow, that was bold asking. I really wanted to see if the guy had it, but I was like, there's no chance. Take away utensils.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

We looked it up. We were at dinner a couple nights ago, and we were like, no, one. You don't really take away food in Italy. So we were like, dewey, do we? And so we looked it up, and it's frowned upon, but it's becoming more normal. So the second night, we went back to the same restaurant. It was just a lot of food. And, I mean, I hate wasting food, but I was like, should we ask? And Andrew goes, I'm going to the bathroom. You go ask. You can do it. And I was like, okay, well, I guess I'm gonna ask. So then I did. He, like, left. Because he was like, I don't want to be associated.

[Prime Obsession Announcer]

I asked.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

And then I was like. I was, like, trying to be polite. I was like, do you guys have a takeaway box? Like, so quietly. So no. One else heard me and they're like, yeah, yeah, it's fine. And so I went outside the restaurant. Andrew was like, oh, shame, shame. You're asking for a takeaway box. And I was like, well, what are we gonna do? Waste the food? So then they are actually very helpful, but I think it is frowned upon. But I don't know why, like, I'd rather not waste food. I don't know.

[Jess Bagula]

I feel like this. This family had like a really small baby with them, so I think that's why they were taking away the food. But. So the guy didn't seem overly offended, but it was kind of awkward.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I feel like I would be offended. I feel like, yeah, I want my. I want your food still for the next day. I don't know. But I get it. Yeah.

[Jenny Brady]

Or asking for the bill.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Oh, because it's.

[Jess Bagula]

Check, please. Yeah.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

You just did the universe. Or you do the. Can I get the.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, you signal. You signal.

[Jess Bagula]

You just take your credit card and you just like, wave in here. Like, I just need to pay.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah, it does take a while sometimes.

[Maddie]

It's just such a different culture.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Maddie]

I actually.

[Jenny Brady]

Tipping culture.

[Maddie]

Well, tipping culture, but also, we don't really pay great wages. So you. It's. You have to get as many tables as you can versus here in Europe, it's a lot better. And it's also just the culture of you, like, you go to dinner, you sit down, you enjoy the people you're with, you have dinner. Like, no one is in a rush. It's a. It's a full event. And in the States, it's like, can I finish my meal in 28 minutes? Go.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah, I will pay before my. I'm done eating, like, so I can leave right away.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah, like, let's get this thing going. I'll put in all the apps, all the mains. Like, here's my card charge.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

What about the tipping culture in Europe? Because some places do ask for a tip, but in Europe is it. I mean, they don't since they get paid. Well, tipping isn't really big.

[Maddie]

Right. I mean, I think you tip if you have good service, but it's definitely not like the states where it's 20% or else you feel like a horrible person.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah. If you don't tip in the States, like, there's something wrong with you.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah. They'll come after you.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I'll never forget, I played with one of the players and she didn't know that, like, you don't tip. And so she was never tipping for, like, the first Year. And then when we played doubles, she was like, how much do you tip? Like, like a dollar, 50 cents. And I was like, no, you tip 20%. She's like, what?

[Jess Bagula]

Oh, my God.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I was like, oh, my God, I'm so embarrassed. Yeah. So they just don't know. And it's just like. Yeah.

[Jess Bagula]

And like a dollar is like kind of worse than no tip.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah. It's offensive.

[Jess Bagula]

It's like, it's a thumbs up. Like F you.

[Seth Schachner]

Oh, no.

[Maddie]

Like, you were really? Yeah.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

But here's a little compensation. Here's a.

[Maddie]

Here's a dollar.

[Jess Bagula]

There's one dollar for your work. Yeah.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

You don't know, but I feel like in some other cultures, like in Japan or is it even in Asia, like, you don't tip. It's like disrespectful, right?

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Jenny Brady]

So free refills.

[Jess Bagula]

You don't tip at all?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Depends.

[Jess Bagula]

No. Yeah.

[Maddie]

The culture is so different. And in the States, it's like, can I get a Coke with dinner? And it comes in this giant glass.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Maddie]

Out of a fountain full of ice. And then here it's like this tiny little 60 mils glass bottle, mini size. You're just taking little sips with two ice cubes.

[Jess Bagula]

One ice cube and this tiny little glass. And you're like, okay.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

You're trying really savor it because it's gonna go quick because it's so tiny.

[Maddie]

I mean, it makes sense why people say that they're healthier here. I'm like, oh, you guys don't house 500 grams of sugar with dinner. Weird.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

And also, their portions are portion controlled here, so it's great.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah, the portions are much better here.

[Jenny Brady]

It's no Cheesecake Factory.

[Jess Bagula]

No. No.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Hometown buffet over here.

[Jess Bagula]

Well, I would love for people. Yeah. To write and comment their pet peeves about us because we understand it's a two way street. We're not saying we're perfect. We're just saying that there's differences.

[Maddie]

Honestly, I can't wait to hear about American pet peeves.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yes.

[Jess Bagula]

I want to know.

[Maddie]

So curious. I probably with most of them.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah. Tell us what you guys think and we'll debate it after.

[Jenny Brady]

It's probably the complete opposite of everything we just said. Like, how come your showers have a curtain that covers the entire shower?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

How come it's so cold in your guys's rooms? Like, it's like, yes, I do hear

[Jess Bagula]

that you guys need to be freezing. Why are you always freezing? I'm just like, what? No, we're. That's how we live. Okay, what is your weekday breakfast routine like with early morning practices? I don't have a ton of time to make a full meal.

[Jenny Brady]

I just grab it on the way out the door and it's 35 grams of protein, 27 essential vitamins and minerals, no artificial sweeteners, colors or flavors. Gluten free and under $5 per meal. That's cheaper than a latte, but it fills me up and gives me what I need to start the day.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I've also been loving the Black Edition powder. When I want something a little bit more filling, it's 40 grams of protein. Shake it with water and it's a full meal in under a minute.

[Jenny Brady]

If you're trying to stay consistent on those busy days, this makes it incredibly easy.

[Maddie]

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[Desiree Krafczyk]

Carhartt made possible this next segment of our show is sponsored by Quint's.

[Jenny Brady]

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[Desiree Krafczyk]

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[Jess Bagula]

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[Maddie]

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[Jenny Brady]

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[Maddie]

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[Jenny Brady]

Moving on to roaming around. Since Rome is next on the tennis calendar, are there any favorite memories from this tournament?

[Maddie]

I love this tournament.

[Jenny Brady]

Maddie made finals 10 years ago. 2016. Yeah, I was gonna say against Serena.

[Maddie]

Serena. Yeah, I played. I actually played Garbine in the semis on the panel court and it had been raining and it was like one of my favorite matches I think I've ever played.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I love Rome, obviously. Love the culture, love the food here. I don't know, it's just something about it.

[Jess Bagula]

It's just nice.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

And I love exploring. So it just. It's just even better.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah. Speaking of exploring, would you like to share your story of how you went to explore Rome by yourself? I think you went to the Coliseum and then you ended up on a date with another random, random person. That was also.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Let's clarify. This was way before Andrew.

[Jenny Brady]

Yes. This was 20. This, this was. This was 2018.

[Jess Bagula]

As he's sitting in the hallway outside your room.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Maddie]

Okay.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

So what had happened? So. So what had happened? Is that Jenny. Yeah, this was one of. Yeah, it was a crazy time. But anyways, Jenny was staying with me. Were you rooming with me originally?

[Jenny Brady]

No. I ended up getting sick.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

You got sick? And I was like, jenny, you can come stay with me. Like, whatever. And I don't know, I ended up. That day was like, you know what? I lost. I'm gonna go explore. Like, who knows if I'll ever come to Rome again? Here we are. And I was like, I'm going to Coliseum. And she's like, okay, have fun. And I was like, let me know if you need anything. This is when I was really cheap and I didn't have any international data, so I was relying on WI fi, you know, and I went, bought my ticket, went to the Coliseum, was on like a group tour with the, I don't know, a bunch of random people. And then there was this guy on the tour. This is so funny saying this right now. There was this guy on the tour. He was solo as well. And then, like, it was like a three hour tour. We ended up like, you know, chatting, whatever.

[Jenny Brady]

And he was Canadian, right?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Long story short, yes, he was Canadian and he was solo traveling. And then after the tour, I was like, hey, can you just take a photo of me of the Coliseum? And that's how we got. Got started talking. And then towards the end of the Trip. I was like, okay, well, it's nice meeting you. Thanks for taking the photos. I walked off, and then, like, someone tapped me on my shoulder, and I was like, what the heck? And he goes, hey, sorry to bother you, but would you mind getting dinner with me? And I was like, I'm single. Yeah, sure. Why not? So I went to dinner with this random guy, and I didn't have WI fi, so I got wifi at the restaurant, and we had a dinner at the Trevor fountain next door. And I get like, 12 messages from Jennifer Brady. And she's like, where are you? Are you okay? What's going on? Are you alive?

[Maddie]

Hello?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Hello?

[Maddie]

Hello?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

And I was like, oh, my God. I'm so sorry. One second. I need to just, like, call her or text her. And I said, hi, Jenny, I'm alive. I'm on a date.

[Jenny Brady]

Ha.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I'll talk to you later. He's like, ha.

[Maddie]

She's like, ha, ha. Have fun.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

And then didn't have wifi again. But I came home really late that night. But anyways, so then Jenny. I came up to Jenny, like, she's like, are you okay? Are you alive? I didn't know where, but anyways, that was, like, one of my favorite Rome stories. Because literally surviving off WI fi. I don't know how people do it now, but, like, crazy time. So that was one of my favorite moments of Rome.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, funny.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

It was hilarious story. It's really funny. And then I think I have another story, but that was. I think it was last year. My coach was, we were staying at a hotel here, and there's a cheaper hotel that I wanted to put him in. And we were like, oh, my God, 100 bucks. Like, that's nothing. Like, he was like, yeah, sure, like, I'll stay there. No stress. He ends up staying there for a couple nights or two or three nights. And he doesn't tell me this because he's so nice. He didn't tell me this till after the trip. And he's like, yeah, that hotel I was staying in, like. And I was like, what? And he's like, you know, like, when it's like, late at night, like, you

[Maddie]

hear just a lot of, like, sound sounds. And then it just.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Like the door opens and closes, and then, like, it happens again. And then, like, again. He's like, it's happening every single night. In the middle of the night. Like, I can't sleep because, like, you know, the beds are just, like, creaking left and right.

[Jess Bagula]

And I was like, oh, my God,

[Desiree Krafczyk]

did I put you in, like, a brothel? Like, what happened? Like, what? Like, is this. Like, what? And he's like, well, I think it's kind of. It's something like that. And I was like, oh, my God, I'm so sorry. And I was like, we are never. I can't name the hotel, but, like, we can never put you in that again. But it's just like this running joke because every time we come to this tournament, it's just. So, Craig, you're. I guess you're not staying at that hotel again, but.

[Jenny Brady]

Wildest story, that must have been the same hotel when that guy came in my room.

[Jess Bagula]

No bottoms.

[Maddie]

It was. Yeah.

[Jenny Brady]

No bottoms. That's my favorite Rome story.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

It was a wild booking. So I apologize, Craig, but it was one for the books.

[Jenny Brady]

Anybody else have any favorite memories?

[Jess Bagula]

Just the food.

[Jenny Brady]

Okay. Would you rather pasta or pizza?

[Maddie]

Pasta, I think. Pasta.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah, I do love the pasta here. Yeah, I love, like, a montrezan, a matrajana pasta.

[Maddie]

Amatriciana.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah, I was gonna say. I just.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Oh, I was.

[Jess Bagula]

I thought it was.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Okay, well, I guess I'm saying it wrong. Amatriciana.

[Maddie]

We'll practice it before Tuesday.

[Jenny Brady]

Rome is known for the pasta. It's very simple. It's just black pepper.

[Maddie]

Pepe.

[Jenny Brady]

Cachoe.

[Jess Bagula]

Pepe.

[Jenny Brady]

Rome is known for cachoe. Pepe. Yes.

[Maddie]

Best.

[Jenny Brady]

I think so.

[Maddie]

Good.

[Jess Bagula]

I'm pretty sure that in the amatucciana, two main pastas.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah, I'm not even gonna say.

[Maddie]

And I also. I mean, the carbonara is also.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, carbonaras. Yeah.

[Maddie]

Because it has to be made with egg, not cream, right?

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, no cream. Anybody have any favorite things to do besides eating gelato? Maddie.

[Jess Bagula]

I was gonna say gelato.

[Jenny Brady]

How many have we had?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

La Romana for the winter.

[Maddie]

So I've been here for four nights, and I've had it four times so far. My goal for the tournament is to have it every single night. And if I feel like I'm not going to get to have it after dinner. The gelato on site is also very good. So I'll just have a little scoop of that.

[Jess Bagula]

You don't feel full or gross when you eat it. It just, like, it hits the spot.

[Maddie]

So good.

[Jess Bagula]

It completes the day.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

We should have done a gelato, like, tour rating of Rome. That would have been. We need to do that.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Oh, yes, we can.

[Jess Bagula]

It's not like we could do it.

[Maddie]

Yeah, you're right.

[Jenny Brady]

You just got there.

[Jess Bagula]

I was planning on it.

[Jenny Brady]

Get an extra scoop for me, please.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

We will.

[Jess Bagula]

We will.

[Maddie]

I just love Rome. Because it's so easy to walk around and you can see so much, like so many people, cities that you go to visit. And especially for us, as we're playing, we don't have a ton of free time. And also it's. You don't want to be out for six hours of the day. Like, you just don't have that kind of time or energy. So I've just always really loved Rome because I feel like since everything is so condensed, we as the players actually get to see and experience a lot of Rome just because everything is so close. So that's kind of, I think, always why I've really loved it here.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah. I will say the Coliseum at night is beautiful. Jenny and I went beautiful a long time ago, but it's like, it's literally no one's there. Well, maybe now, but no one's there at like 10pm and the lights go. Just Rome when it's night, nighttime, it's beautiful. I mean, yeah, it's really nice. Yeah.

[Jenny Brady]

Do you guys have anything planned for the tournament besides going to see Devil Wears Prada tomorrow?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Gotta get dressed up for that.

[Maddie]

It's my only plan.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Well, we have our dinner at Taverna.

[Maddie]

Yeah, Yeah, I forgot about that.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah, I have like an Adidas thing I have to do at one of the stores here with some of the other players. That'll be kind of fun. Oh, nice.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah, I'm sure I'll find something to do. I will say. Oh, one more thing to add to doing something in Rome. A cooking class is actually really fun to do here. If you do like a pasta making class or like any of that, I think it's really fun. So that's one of my recommendations.

[Jess Bagula]

Would love to do that. Since this episode is coming out the week of Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day to all of the amazing moms out there. Happy Mother's Day to my mom, all of you guys, everyone out there that listens and watches. We appreciate all the mothers.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

We love you, moms.

[Maddie]

So we are going to get into our who am I of the week. Jenny, do you want to give us your clues from last week?

[Jenny Brady]

Okay, so my clues from last week are, if you follow closely, I'm amongst the top player from my country. You will find another young rising star by my side, off the tennis court. And layer by layer, I build until the finish is sweet. So my person, my who am I? Was Zeynep Sonmez. And the last clue was referring to the dessert. Baklava. Baklava. Baklava. And Jesse is the only one who got it.

[Maddie]

Well, just got it in our group chat so it was kind of redundant for the rest of us to guess.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah, that's true. Yeah, I was like baklava sun mess. Yeah, my clues are pretty straightforward. I didn't really do any like riddly stuff. Yeah, I don't know, I feel like it was kind of a tank but it's a good one. So. First clue is I am currently at my career high. My father also played on the ATP tour and I may like to indulge in a post match beer occasionally like myself.

[Jenny Brady]

Oh, okay. Now we're moving on to low stakes advice. Okay, we'll keep these anonymous so that no one gets caught red handed. I accidentally clipped my boss's van into a wall at work and now he's searching for the cct. Do I confess?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yes, Jenny, what would you do?

[Jenny Brady]

No, don't confess. Wow.

[Maddie]

Okay. I feel like there's. There's two options here. You either confess.

[Jenny Brady]

What if you could say you didn't know it was his car or you

[Maddie]

get your hands on the CCTV footage and you delete it.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah. You cozy up to the security guard

[Maddie]

not confessing and then your boss seeing that you did it so much worse.

[Jess Bagula]

I feel like there's just a lot if that. Yeah, if that happens. There's just so many ways that can go.

[Maddie]

They're gonna get fired.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah,

[Maddie]

maybe not fired. We don't know this the whole story. Or maybe your boss thinks it's funny.

[Jenny Brady]

I mean I, I wasn't, I wasn't listening when I was reading. They clipped his van. I thought you were into a wall.

[Maddie]

This is the craziest thing.

[Jess Bagula]

Wow.

[Jenny Brady]

I thought it was that she hit it with her car or he. Sorry. Yeah, yeah. You confess.

[Jess Bagula]

I think you gotta come clean. Yeah, like.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, well, also like the boss shouldn't have let you. Let you use the car. That's my driving record. Don't let anyone drive your car.

[Jess Bagula]

True.

[Jenny Brady]

How do I deal with a mean co worker I must work with every day?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Maybe like confront them and say, hey, did I do something?

[Maddie]

Do we have a problem?

[Jess Bagula]

Why are you so mean to me?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

What's your beef? You know you can just say what Alex Cooper said. What's your beef with me?

[Maddie]

We have to coexist in the same place. Can you please be an adult?

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, let's work it out.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

We don't have to be friends.

[Maddie]

You have to talk to them and say what's the deal?

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah, like we don't have to Be friends. But you could be an adult.

[Maddie]

You can be co workers. You don't have to be friends.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah, exactly.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Just see each other at the holiday party. That's it. Say hi.

[Maddie]

You should be treated with respect no matter what.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

So kindness wins.

[Jenny Brady]

How do you tell a friend their good advice is actually driving you crazy? Oh, that's really hard.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Did you send this in? Did any of you guys.

[Maddie]

Yeah. Did Jenny? Did Jenny.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah.

[Jenny Brady]

You guys are constantly giving me good advice, and I'm like,

[Jess Bagula]

I take the right criticism.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah. I take everything down. I shut down. Maybe they are too. So take it and appreciate that they care about you and they're trying to help you.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I think it also depends how much they tell you. Like, if they're con. Constantly trying to tell you. It's like, okay, we get it, but

[Jenny Brady]

just depends how good it is.

[Jess Bagula]

I think it's kind of where you. You say, thank you, but, like, no, thank you. I understand. Thank you. But, like, I really. I think you've been giving me, like, too much advice. Advice. Like, I need to make a decision on my own, but I will take what you've told me into account when I make my decision. But, like, it's my life and my decision or whatever the situation is.

[Maddie]

I feel like I need more context to this question. Cause, like, are you asking for the advice or are they giving it unsolicited? Because if they're giving it unsolicited, then it's like, okay, I don't need all of the advice. But if it's like, you're kind of. Or do you just want someone to listen to you, so you're just telling them about it, and instead of just saying, like, I'm really sorry you're going through that, they're throwing a bunch of advice at you. I don't know. I feel like. I feel like we need to do

[Jess Bagula]

that Is true. Because sometimes people can complain about a million things, and sometimes I'm like, well, do you want me to just listen, or do you want. You want me to help? Or like, what do you want?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Is this event session or do you actually want advice? Yeah, exactly.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah. Oh, that's good. My former guy, bff, ghosted me for a girl he was seeing, and now they're not together and he wants to talk. Yes or no?

[Desiree Krafczyk]

No. No.

[Jenny Brady]

Red flag.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

No.

[Maddie]

No.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Why is he doing that? The girl might be the red flag too.

[Jess Bagula]

Yeah.

[Maddie]

What girl?

[Jenny Brady]

Trolling the girlfriend. The ex girlfriend?

[Maddie]

No, because that was his decision.

[Jenny Brady]

But maybe the girl felt threatened by their friendship because they were so close.

[Jess Bagula]

I feel like you give him another chance. He just wants to talk. I think if he wants to talk, yes. That doesn't mean that you're going to

[Desiree Krafczyk]

be best friends, but, like, they're not together. And now he wants.

[Jess Bagula]

But there was a former guy. Bff. It's not a former boyfriend.

[Maddie]

Your best friend ghosts you for a girl.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah.

[Jenny Brady]

And then he realizes he messed up, and then he wants back in and

[Desiree Krafczyk]

he misses his friend.

[Jenny Brady]

Like, no, I'll probably say yes.

[Jess Bagula]

I would say yes. I'd be so curious to just know, like, what if it's just he just wants to talk? I would say yes. That doesn't mean I actually have to do anything about it.

[Maddie]

We say yes.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah. I want to know what I want to.

[Jess Bagula]

Are you gonna apologize? Are you gonna. What's going on here doesn't mean I'm just gonna be best friends with them anymore. So I would say yes.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I just would be. I mean, this has happened to me before. Like, I. Yeah, no, it's hard.

[Maddie]

The toxic part of me is like, hell, no, we'll never speak again.

[Jenny Brady]

I know. That's why I immediately said, no, Matt. I was like, maddie.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

I said no as well. But, like, yeah, you'd want to hear what they'd have to say. I don't know.

[Maddie]

I think.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Yeah. I think we need to do an Instagram poll on this, because this is a. This is a tough one.

[Jess Bagula]

I think this is where our zodiac things come into play. I'm like, oh, but, like, we should see what he has to say. Maddie's like, no,

[Jenny Brady]

no.

[Maddie]

It would be no. And then I would be like, wait, I kind of want to know what he has to say. So, like, we do it for the plot. We figure it out, and then we continue to not speak to it.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

It's like that stop sign that is green, and it says, stop, but it's green. And you're like, oh, I kind of want to see you do that. But no.

[Jenny Brady]

Okay, well, we have to pull that one.

[Maddie]

Good, good.

[Desiree Krafczyk]

Put that one on Instagram poll.

[Jenny Brady]

Yeah, those were some good confessions. Thanks, everyone, for submitting your confessions for 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 at the players box pod Gmail dot com. Thanks and see everyone next week.

[Seth Schachner]

Have you ever wondered why songs on the radio are popular? Why do certain movies get made even though the premise seems completely random? Why are concert tickets costing you $3,000, but nobody makes any money touring. Well, on my podcast, Breaking down the Biz, we answer the all all those questions and more. I'm Seth Schachner. I have over two decades of experience in the entertainment and the music industry. And every week I talk to insiders that lend insight and expertise on the media you know and love past, present, and future. Subscribe now on your favorite podcasting platform or watch us on YouTube so you never miss a beat. Let's make sense of this industry together.