Chat To Mi Back: 2025 WTA Wrap

For our last episode of 2025, we each wrote our own separate agendas with the plan to just chat and see what happens. There’s some tennis, mostly not -- but we do cover that crass spectacle Evolve has been stumping over on right-wing media. We’ve got quick-fire complaints (It is that deep! Bring back gatekeeping in restaurant criticism!), favorite TV series of 2025, server rants, movie etiquette, and Mariah. Timestamps seemed against the more chaotic spirit of this episode, so just jump in and enjoy. Thanks for a great season - see you in 2026!

At long last, our ATP “hot list,” in our signature TBS style. Our mission: have fun, be sex-positive, not put anyone down, and marvel at how subjective and silly all this is. We talk about the ethics of objectifying men, the male gaze and male gays, and the “structures of looking” from Laura Mulvey on into the 21st century. After that bit of (hopefully interesting) table-setting, we get right into our categories of hotness (brains, aura, and ass are a few key examples). Finally, each of us share our hot lists of both active and retired players. Stay tuned for a few embarrassing crushes and lots of Rafa/Bjorn/Grigor mentions; and remember, with men the ick is always just around the corner. 4:05 Is objectifying men ok? 14:00 The straight male gaze, the straight woman gaze, and the gay gaze  19:20 “The male figure cannot bear the burden of sexual objectification” (Mulvey, 1975) 27:25 So why are we doing this? Well, first of all, it’s fun 32:55 Categories that make up hotness, starting with Aura  38:05 A key category: slutty shorts 56:00 The daddy archetype and faces that belong on a coin 60:15 Our lists  68:40 Embarrassing or disavowed crushes: we all have them  73:30 The retired players who would have made the list

For many, the 2025 ATP season has been about one heated rivalry and, well … not much else. We’re not necessarily here to contradict that narrative. But, there were five first-time Masters 1000 winners, and that’s not nothing! We’ll take you through the year’s highlights, month by month; question some tennis conventional wisdom; and go through your most memorable and funniest moments (math is hard!). Also, find out how our breakout picks fared and which ATP Awards need a rethink.   4:30 How we finished 2024 10:00 Themes of this season: duopoly, futility 15:00 The season’s notable moments in chronological order 35:35 Italy’s Davis Cup threepeat / RIP Nicola Pietrangeli  39:30 How did we do with our 2025 breakout picks? 43:40 ATP Awards: wheel and come again 48:05 Your most memorable moments of the ATP season 60:30 Your funniest moments: leave Jack alone! 65:50 Retirements, comebacks, and first-time titlists

It’s time to wrap the 2025 WTA season! We saw 5 different players split the Slams and the WTA Finals to form a season with a clear top tier but no outright dominance, allowing for surprises (Mboko, Andreeva, Swiatek at Wimbledon) and steady reliables (Sabalenka). As always, we’ll take you through the season chronologically while highlighting some key themes of the year both on- and off-court. We’ll survey the WTA Awards candidates, discuss our listeners’ most memorable and funniest moments of the season, and hold our own feet to the fire by seeing how our 2025 breakout picks performed. Thanks for joining us for an amazing season of women’s tennis! We’ve just launched our 2025 GoFundMe -- thanks for all the support through the years. If you’d like to contribute, you can find it here.  0:35 Launching our 2026 GoFundMe  06:00 Major stories of 2025: parity but also not  11:40 Off-court stories: Mat leave, PTPA, plus Rybakina-Vukov test the WTA’s new safeguarding policy 24:25 Chronological recap, kind of  44:25 Awards season! 49:05 How did we do with our breakout picks? 52:50 What you’ll remember from the season 59:55 Your funniest moments of the season 68:35 Retirements, comebacks, maternity leaves

Jannik Sinner defends at the ATP Finals, again without losing a set, beating his chief rival #1 Carlos Alcaraz. The final was fine, even quite good at times, albeit a bit momentum-less; but hey, they can’t all be classics. Novak makes some valid points about Sinner’s doping case – yes, well-tread territory to be fair – and gets subtweeted by Darren Cahill for his troubles. Plus, Aryna is displeased with Nike (which itself seems indifferent to tennis), and we take a quick tangent into health care and politics.  1:55 Jannik repeats at the ATP Finals  7:05 The Big 3 broke tennis analysis 11:50 Semis and group stage: every era needs a de Minaur  17:45 The ATP fits and haircuts + the Nike snowsuit 21:50 Novak on Sinner’s doping case and Darren’s subtweet 32:05 Aryna is unhappy with Nike, and Nike doesn’t seem to care 38:30 Not a great week for churches! Plus a tangent on Canadian health care

It’s our 400th episode! Elena Rybakina makes a stunning run through the WTA Finals field, but the ending is overshadowed by an awkward non-photo with the WTA CEO. Novak Djokovic is a stunt queen til the end, winning Athens and then telling Musetti at the net that he won’t be playing Turin anyway, so thanks for playing! Meanwhile, newcomers Learner Tien and Victoria Mboko cap their breakout seasons with titles, Ons Jabeur is having a baby, and we reflect on our Toronto Blue Jays and our 400th. 2:15 Rybakina dominates the WTA Finals field 6:35 The photo snub and the tough Rybakina-Vukov situation 12:40 Sabalenka’s hot mic moment  19:00 Djokovic wins Athens, everyone plays in Lorenzo’s face  24:00 The Djokovic exodus from Serbia to Greece 32:20 Youngsters Tien and Mboko win late-season titles 40:00 The Body Serve Baseball Podcast 50:45 What does 400 mean to us?

Almost there … Elena Rybakina booked her spot in the WTA Finals and dipped immediately (extremely injured). Basel saw three of its four quarterfinals end with a retirement. Naturally, the ATP decided this was the perfect time to announce an imminent 10th Masters 1000 tournament, in Saudi Arabia, which will require the shuttering of five current ATP tournaments. Elsewhere, Marta Kostyuk decides it’s not sour grapes, it’s testosterone; and Jannik Sinner gets torched by the Italian consumer protection agency for taking un pisolino after leading his country to two straight Davis Cup titles. 2:50 À propos of nothing, Kostyuk dabbles in transvestigation  15:00 Jannik might lose his honorary citizenship to the city of Turin, guys 17:00 The ATP cusp boys + Fonseca  22:55 Ale-ale-jandro  24:00 Are people born with cramps or are cramps thrust upon them? 26:40 Rybakina, Bencic, Li 32:10 Saudi Arabia gets a Masters tournament 36:00 Next up in tennis and on TBS

It’s late in the season but great stories are still being written: the world #204 Valentin Vacherot slips into the Shanghai qualifying draw and then wins it all, Coco Gauff rights the ship in Asia for the second year in a row, and two Canadians win titles in the same week. We also talk about Holger Rune’s Achilles injury, Finals qualification storylines, and the ongoing debates on scheduling and exhibitions in Timbuktu. Plus, a foray into pop culture featuring David Archuleta and the late great Diane Keaton. 01:30 The cousin final 07:35 Coco doing what she does best in Wuhan 12:10 The Felix anti-jinx 15:25 Other winners: Fernandez, Ruud, Rybakina, Medvedev (882 days, they’ve said many times) 20:30 Rune’s catastrophic Achilles rupture  24:00 Who can still qualify for the ATP/WTA Finals? 28:40 The still-raging scheduling and exo debates + answering a listener question on Laver Cup 37:15 Pop culture break: Archuleta grows up, RIP Diane Keaton

Late in the season, the tennis tour is winding itself through the great cities of China. Anisimova wins Beijing, the women put together a banner lineup in Wuhan, while the men in Shanghai limp (literally) toward the season's end. We've still got so many great listener questions to answer, which cover topical stuff like the length of the tennis season and the Hall of Fame nominees; and less relevant but no less fun subjects like our work nemeses and the retirement of sprint queen and TBS all-time fave, Kingston native Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.  02:45 Marquee matchups in Wuhan 10:10 Court speed wars; or, you sound like a loser 16:05 Taylor Daynes of tennis  24:05 Work enemies 35:25 Tennis Hall of Fame nominees 43:10 Any update on Peng Shuai? 47:20 The schedule … six 500s?! Ten 1000s?! 52:50 The GOAT Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce retires

The men’s season ticks on, same as it ever was, as Alcaraz and Sinner snag twin 500s in different countries. We talk a little (very little) about recent results and people being consistently weird in and about Asia. Then, we move into our listener mailbag segment, where we cover everything from how to address the late-season malaise to dealing with workplace narcissists. We finish with an extended review of Mariah’s new album Here For It All, her first studio album since 2018. By the way, the episode title does not refer to our feelings on the album!  2:50 Carlos and Jannik add titles, Learner is your newcomer of the year 9:00 No one’s talking to you 13:00 Why can’t players just be normal in Asia? 18:05 Does the tennis season end with a whimper? How to change it up? 32:00 Balancing cultural issues with tennis on the show 37:20 How much stock do put into year-end no. 1 rankings vs. the rolling ranking system? 40:55 Off-topic: do you have advice for how to deal with workplace narcissists and bullies? 50:10 Mariah album review!