Change Your Draws: Australian Open Preview

The Body Serve

We're doing a close look at both draws, but first: the Australian Open draw ceremony and the accompanying commentary has given us much to talk about, a mere four days after our last episode. We wonder if Billie Jean King's fierce dedication to the survival of women's tennis sometimes clouds her vision, with her recent disavowal of Margaret Court Arena after lobbying for its naming only 15 years ago. We probe the questions of representation, boycotts, and the utility of demanding that players -- rather than institutions -- be held accountable for implicitly supporting Margaret Court's destructive behavior.

01:45 The draw ceremony, or "draw reveal party" - What the hell?

07:00 Tennis continues to make itself look amateurish w/r/t anti-doping and celebrity worship 14:50 Billie Jean King defending women's tennis at all costs: what to do when we believe our heroes to be wrong 23:10 What does it accomplish to ask players about whether they'd play on Margaret Court Arena? 32:20 What we're really here for! Starting with the women's draw 35:00 Simona Halep and Garbine Muguruza's difficult paths 43:05 A different look at Venus-Bencic 49:15 "She is the top-ranked white US tennis player" - Jonathan, why are you like this 52:10 Men's draw: addressing the Easy Draw Truthers 56:20 Why must mon cher Tsonga be made to suffer? 58:35 Thiem, Djokovic, Wawrinka, both Zverevs, and Monfils in the same quarter 01:08:30 "The Emancipation of ReRe": the Vogue story, health updates, her status as BJK's successor