Ben and Tumaini have been working away at the Australian Open in the build-up to the main draw, taking a break to enjoy the sublime "One Point Slam," and writing lots of stuff we think you'll enjoy like Ben's piece on qualifying and interview with Goran Ivanisevic, and Tumaini's inside look at Murray coaching Djokovic and his fun story on cheating in tennis practice.

But the Australian Open draws are newly out, and they're our main focus on this episode, as we break down all the big contenders and the fun first round match-ups in Melbourne.

Can anyone stop Jannik Sinner? Could Coco Gauff be a favorite over Aryna Sabalenka? All that and more! Enjoy!

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

And please check out Ben's new writing home, Bounces! And Tumaini's work at The Guardian!

Ben and Tumaini are back together again in Melbourne, teeing up a season that started earlier than ever before, and a first week that ended with a classic.

We discuss the United Cup, which reached a peak in the final with Coco Gauff beating Iga Swiatek, turning what had been a hopelessly lopsided rivalry into an absolute thriller, a shift that could have major ramifications atop women's tennis. We also discuss the rest of the United Cup, a successful event that really seems to have found its footing.

We also discuss Naomi Osaka's run to the final in Auckland, which ended in an abrupt injury retirement after winning the first set. We then cover Tumaini's trip to Brisbane, where there was a servebot renaissance and a chatty Novak Djokovic.

On a more serious topic, we then cover the WTA confirming the existence of an investigation into Elena Rybakina's controversial coach Stefano Vukov, as reported by The Athletic. What do we know and—what don't we know—about the case at this juncture?

Then to end with much more fun, Tumaini takes the "Z" Trivia quiz Ben recently wrote for Bounces.

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

And please check out Ben's new writing home, Bounces!

Ben and Tumaini can't take a break with all the news breaking already in this short tennis offseason, led (so far) by the revelations around Iga Swiatek's positive test and small one-month ban after convincingly proving her melatonin had been contaminated.

This is the second doping case right at the top of tennis this year, and there's a lot to discuss in the fallout: the two-tiered track of tennis justice that seems to favor top-ranked players, concerns over cases increasing, and what recent high-profiles have in common and not.

We then turn to the unexpected announcement from Novak Djokovic that he's hired Andy Murray to be his next coach. Why does this pairing make sense for each of them, and why do we like it more the more we think about it?

Lastly, Tumaini shares final impressions from how Rafael Nadal's career finally wrapped up in Malaga, and why the pageantry at the end left many feeling flat.

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

And please check out Ben's new writing home, Bounces!