With the Olympics underway with all of its nationalist fervor, we find ourselves rooting for players from around the world, regardless of which country they represent. We started thinking about why we like some players over others. It's highly subjective, sometimes irrational and (admittedly) often based on looks.

Today we run through a wide swath of tennis players competing in the Singles category and give each one a Yea, Nay or Meh (with buzzer sound effects of course). As we try to explain why we feel the way we do, it gets a bit uncomfortable!

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As part of our Social Justice Series, we take a deep dive into the life and pro tennis career of Renée Richards, a trans woman who successfully sued the US Open in the 1970s for the right to play on the women's side. We will also discuss current takes on trans athletes in tennis (some better than others!) from several tennis luminaries.

For background, we watched the excellent ESPN documentary "Renée" (part of their "30 for 30" series, available on ESPN+), as well as the better-than-it-needed-to-be 1980s TV biopic "Second Serve", starring Vanessa Redgrave as both the pre and post-transition Renée (available for free on YouTube). We suggest watching either or both if you want to take a deep dive yourself.

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In this Midweek Mini, we talk about the ESPN+ series "In the Arena: Serena Williams". Say that 10 times fast! The first two episodes that are available now are an interesting look at the early careers of both Serena and Venus Williams. It includes some excellent rare footage of them playing in the storied Compton public courts, as well as some great moments of them playing on the pro circuit, mostly against one another.

We talk about the weird consensus throughout most of their careers that their matches were kind of boring and possibly fixed. What were people thinking?

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In which we discuss Serena Williams calling out Harrison Butker, Stefanos Tsitsipas' new controlling/abusive video, and the Wimbledon Champions. Barbora Krejčíková's unexpected win and Carlos Alcaraz' much needed defeat of aggrieved weirdo Novak Djokovic. We weigh in on whether it's okay for a player to mimic sad violin playing at the crowd (after he's won the match!) and then gaslight everyone by saying he did it for his adorable daughter. Hard to say!

As always, follow us on Threads, X/Twitter, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube! Whatever brainrot you prefer.

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We are joined by Kathleen Lubey, St. John's professor and author of the book "What Pornography Knows: Sex and Social Protest Since the Eighteenth Century" to discuss Wimbledon, sexuality, and Stefanos Tsitsipas' recent #tradwife Instagram Story - it's cringe! Plus, Tennis Tidbits, Michele and Kathy's TWO in-person experiences at Wimbledon, and how to watch the Tournament this time.

As always, please rate this podcast in your app and follow us on social media. Links at http://perfectmatchpodcast.com. Enjoy!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.