August 22, 2025 • 42 mins
Live from the US Open Fan Fest, tennis great and longtime broadcaster Pam Shriver sits down with Sarah to discuss her favorites heading into the US Open women's singles draw, the success of the new-look mixed doubles format at the Open, and why it's important to store your trophies in multiple cars. Plus, being a Bond Girl, shipping Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alvarez, and a little US Open history and lore to get you ready for this year's tournament.
- Donate to The Village Rising Foundation here
-
Leave us a voicemail at 872-204-5070 or send us a note at goodgame@wondermedianetwork.com
-
Follow Sarah on social! Bluesky: @sarahspain.com Instagram: @Spain2323
-
Follow producer Misha Jones! Bluesky: @mishthejrnalist.bsky.social Instagram: @mishthejrnalist
-
Follow producer Alex Azzi! Bluesky: @byalexazzi.bsky.social
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're serving
up a smash hit.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Of a show all about the US Open.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
It's Friday, August twenty second Happy Friday Slices. On today's show,
we'll be skipping the need to Know in favor of
a whole episode getting you prepped for.
Speaker 3 (00:15):
This year's US Open.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
You'll hear my live show from the US Open FanFest
with broadcaster and former tennis pro Pam Schreiber talking about
which players are hot and which are not entering this
year's competition, rule changes in the mixed doubles event.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
And what makes the tournament so special.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Plus we'll dish out some fun facts about the Open,
some top moments in its history, and all time matchups
we'd love to see.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
It's all coming up right after this Welcome Back slices.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Let's get started with some fun facts and background about
the US Open, the fourth and final of the four
Grand Slam tennis events of the season. The tournament is
a two week competition held in late August early September
every year that includes men's singles and doubles, women's singles
and doubles, mixed doubles, wheelchair singles, and doubles and quad
singles and doubles. The Open originated from the US National Championship,
(01:12):
which was created in eighteen eighty one as a national
singles and doubles competition for just men. Because, of course, thankfully,
the event did expand soon after, adding women's singles in
eighteen eighty seven, women's doubles in eighteen eighty nine, and
then mixed doubles in eighteen ninety two. All five competitions
were held at different locations until nineteen sixty eight, when
(01:33):
they were all moved to the West Side Tennis Club
in Queens, New York. At that point, the event officially
became known as the US Open. Now little tidbit, when
you hear folks talk about the Open era, they're referring
to anything that took place after that sixty eight name change.
That was also the point at which amateurs and pros
were allowed to compete against one another. Prior to sixty eight,
(01:56):
pros and amateurs had to compete in separate tournaments. Nineteen
seventy eight, the tournament moved again, this time to the
US Tennis Association National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows. In
two thousand and five, the wheelchair singles and doubles events
were added, and the quad events were added in two
thousand and six. Also in six, the center was renamed
the Usta Billy Jean King National Tennis Center, and the
(02:18):
US Open is now the only tournament held at a
facility named for a woman. Spanning forty six and a
half acres, the BJK Center houses twenty two courts and
three different stadiums. The biggest is Arthur Ashe Stadium, and
with a capacity of nearly twenty four thousand, it's the
largest tennis stadium in the world. The US Open is
played on hard courts and has been since the location
(02:39):
move in seventy eight. It was contested on various surfaces
in the years before that. The US Open is the
only Grand Slam tournament that's been played every year since
its inception. Unlike the other Slams, it wasn't affected by
cancelation due to World War I and World War Two,
nor was it interrupted by the COVID nineteen pandemic. Fans
from near and far flocked to the bja K Tennis
(03:00):
Center every year to watch the world's best compete in
the most prominent tennis event on US soil. One of
the early stars of the Open, Mala burst Ed Mallory
holds the record for the most singles titles in the
history of the tournament with eight, but in the Open era,
Chris Evert and Serena Williams are tied for the top
spot with six titles apiece. This year, the Open will
(03:21):
become the first tennis event to reach ninety million dollars
in total player compensation, with the USTA once again offering
the largest perse in tennis history. This amount tops the
total of seventy five million in twenty twenty four, the
previous highest person tennis history. The men's and women's singles
champions will each take home five million dollars, up nearly
(03:41):
forty percent from the three point six million awarded last year,
making it the largest winning payout in the sport, and
for the first time ever, the winning teams from the
men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles tournaments will earn
one million dollars in prize money. In addition to the
spectacular play on the court, this tournament has also turned
into an experienced lover's dream off it from sponsor booths
(04:03):
to shopping bars and restaurants, a gaming zone, and a
stage for live events like our live show, plus events
like a block party tonight featuring DJ d Nice. And
you've likely heard me mention the delicious Honeyduces, a special
cocktail garnished.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
With a melon ball that looks like a tennis ball.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
If you've never been to the US Open, Slices, put
a trip to Flushing Meadows on your sports bucket list.
Such a special event to attend live. Speaking of Flushing,
one last fun fact. During the Nike World Headquarters tour
I did in Portland a few weeks ago, our guide
pointed out that in the Serena Building, the restroom's closest
to her collection of trophies and memorabilia are marked by
(04:40):
a giant photo of the Flushing stop of New York
City's MTA. Get it clever, Okay, Slices. Now they've got
a little background on the Open, Let's take a look
at some of the tournament's best moments. Here are our
top five in chronological order. Five nineteen fifty seven, when
thirty year old out the Theia Gibson became the first
(05:01):
African American to win the singles title at what was
then called the US Nationals. Gibson ended her tennis career
a year later in nineteen fifty eight, and then became
the first black woman to join the LPGA Tour in
nineteen sixty three. Here's part of Gibson's speech after her
historic title win, from the Thrill of Sports.
Speaker 4 (05:18):
As a youngster playing Palell tennis, little did I dream
of a thrill such as this.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
I want to thank God for all of you, for.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
At this moment, more than ever, I realize that without
the united.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Help of all of you, this victory would.
Speaker 4 (05:35):
Not have been accomplished.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
I shall endeavor to win this title with dignity and humility.
Four nineteen seventy eight, when Chris Evert won her fourth
straight US Open title over Pam Schreiver. She'd go on
to win two more Opens before hanging up her racket
in nineteen eighty nine. Here's the call from her match
winning point in seventy eight from the US Opens YouTube page.
Speaker 5 (06:00):
Or to approach shot.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
There it is game seven, Matt Chris Evert seven five four.
Speaker 6 (06:14):
Missus Everett so happy for Chrissy and rightfully saw three.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
Nineteen ninety six, stephie Graff wins her fifth US Open title,
this time over Monica Sella's beating her for a second
straight year. Graff would play for a few more years,
retiring in nineteen ninety nine after a decade of elite tennis.
Here's the moment her ninety six Open win became official
from the US Opens YouTube channels one.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
The US sulkand and has taken another giant step forward,
being unanimously regarded as the greatest women's tennis player.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
Of all time.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
Two twenty fourteen, when Serena Williams won her sixth US
Open singles title over Caroline Wosniaki, tying Chris Evert for
the most Open titles all time and securing her eighteenth
Grand Slam. Williams, of course went on to win five
more slams, ending her career with twenty three to her name.
Here's Serena after her twenty fourteen victory from the US
(07:16):
Opens YouTube page.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
It is a.
Speaker 4 (07:18):
Pleasure for me to win my first Grand Slam year
and then this number eighteen, so I'm really emotional. I
would like to.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
Jack a Nast to do.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
It at a better place and number one.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
Twenty twenty three, when nineteen year old Coco Goff earned
a comeback victory over Arena Sablenka to become the first
American teenager to win the US Open.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
Crown since Serena Williams in nineteen ninety nine.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Golf picked up her second major title earlier this year
at the French Open, once again besting Sabolenka. Here's a
bit of Coco's postmatch interview from that twenty twenty three
Open victory from the tournament's YouTube channel.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
Thank you first to my parents.
Speaker 4 (08:00):
Today was the first time I've ever seen my dad cry.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
He doesn't want me to tell you all that, but
he got caught in four K. You know, he thinks
he's he thinks he's so hard, but you know it's
not so Thank you guys. I mean you believed in
me from the beginning. I've been coming to this tournament.
My dad took me to this tournament, sitting right there
watching Venus and Serena compete. So it's really incredible to
(08:24):
be on this stage.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
All these moments, all these players, so much legendary history
at the US Open. We got to take a quick
break when we come back. It's my conversation with Pam
Schreiber from yesterday's live show at FanFest. What's up, everybody.
(08:48):
We got a windy day here at the US Open.
But I'm from Chicago, so I'm used to it. And
you'll be so excited to see who's coming out to
chat all things US Open with you. We're gonna get
our favorites. We're gonna get our dark Horse says. We're
gonna get some tails from the Billy Jean King Tennis
Center joining me now. She's a former professional tennis player,
current broadcaster, pundit and coach, and Olympic gold medalists in
(09:10):
women's doubles. She was ranked as high as world number
three in singles, world number one in doubles, and she
and her longtime doubles partner Martina Navratilova are the only
women's pair to complete the Grand Slam in one calendar year.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
They won all.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
Four majors in nineteen eighty four. She's in the International
Tennis Hall of Fame. She's a past president of the
Women's Tennis Association. She did her first live tennis analysis
at age seventeen, and she's been commenting ever since she retired.
She's also a minority owner of the Baltimore Orioles. It's
Pam Shreiver. Pam, so great to have you here. The
(09:45):
wind is literally stealing the words out of my mouth.
So we'll see how this goes. Your bio is lengthy
and impressive, but I want to start way before most
of your achievements. Right here at the Billy Jean King
Tennis Center wasn't called that yet.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
It was nineteen seventy eight.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
You're a sixteen year old amateur playing here at the Open,
and you make it all the weights of the finals
before you lost to Chrissy Evert. So did you know
enough at that time at sixteen to even be nervous?
Speaker 3 (10:16):
Oh?
Speaker 6 (10:16):
Yes, I was extremely nervous. That was my rookie season
on the tour, my second major. I was actually seated sixteen,
so I did, which was the lowest seed you could
have at.
Speaker 5 (10:28):
That time, and I just went on a run.
Speaker 6 (10:31):
I had no expectations beating Avertelov in the Semis, and
I was scared to death to play Chris Evert, who'd
already won the US Open the previous I think four years,
and I'd never played Chrissy before. Our women's final was
delayed from Saturday because the Semis needed Saturday to finish,
So we played right before Borg and Connors. So it
(10:53):
was Everett Shriver, Borg and Connors. Yes, I was nervous, sixteen.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Years old, okay, So that was that's the first year
that the Open was played here in Flushing Meadows. How
different is it today looking out at this scene than
what it was in nineteen seventy eight.
Speaker 5 (11:09):
Oh, it's it's very different.
Speaker 6 (11:11):
All the majors, and especially the US Open, has innovated
their grounds. I look over towards Old Lewis Armstrong used
to be where New Lewis Armstrong was the second roof
that was built a few years ago. The Grandstand Court
used to be connected to Armstrong. Those were the two
big courts between nineteen seventy eight and nineteen ninety six.
(11:34):
Nineteen ninety seven, Arthur Ash, the biggest tennis only stadium
in the world, was debuted, and that was the year
Venus Williams came from outside the top seventy to play
Martina Hingis and that was an incredible run. So and
then the Williams sisters owned this house for so many years.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
So you've literally seen it essentially from the ground up.
Speaker 6 (11:54):
Yes, yes, I'm a little sorry I missed Forest Hills
by one year. But it's kind of neat that my
whole tennis career has been only at Flushing Meadows and
to have seen it grow and see everything that makes
it fun for you, all fun for the fans, especially
mixed doubles in the middle of fan week was unbelievable.
We already have our first champion, Bavasori and Irani.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Yeah, I want to talk about the mixed doubles, but
you just mentioned there's so much going on here for
the fans. I was walking around. There are restaurants and bars.
There's gonna be a block party with DJ d Nice tonight.
There's coffee, there's food, there's merch everywhere. The FanFest has
really exploded. What's some of your favorite things to do
when you're just wandering around before you have to do
(12:38):
your analysis.
Speaker 6 (12:39):
Well, if I'm finished work for ESPN, I might go
get a honey.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
Deuce and couple couple honeyduces, maybe.
Speaker 6 (12:46):
Second serf and I collect the cups. Yeah, I wish
my name was on the cup. I wish they had
doubles champions featured on the Cup.
Speaker 5 (12:55):
You know, there's a lot of things you can do.
Speaker 6 (12:56):
You can walk out to the unisphere, you can see
the statue of Arthur Ash and Althea Gibson, And the
theme of this year's US Open is breaking barriers. And
when you think what ALTHEA Gibson did in the fifties
as a black woman to win the US Championships, win Wimbledon,
be number one in the world was incredible And Arthur Ash.
(13:17):
How amazing that USTA named this enormous stadium after one
of the most impressive people at the Billie Jean King
Tennis Center. So we've had some incredible legends help build
our sport.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
Yeah, I want to talk about that tennis is so
rooted in tradition, and yet the sport and the US
Open in particular have worked to evolve with the times
in ways that I think are really smart and necessary
to keep encouraging young people to be interested and keep
diversifying the kind of talent that can come up through
the ranks and win it all.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
So there's been things like.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
HBCU Live at the US Open, Open Pride Day. Are
there ways you'd like to see the sport continue to.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
Evolve or this event?
Speaker 6 (13:59):
Well, some things near and dear to me through the
years has been I know for you too, Sarah is
multi sport athletes. I really want tennis to be a
sport that encourages young people who are great athletes to
play many sports. It prevents burnout, it helps develop your skills,
and I think early specialization is really bad. So I
wouldn't mind seeing other sports represented here a little bit
(14:23):
and seeing some skills challenge for young people. We got
to get our young people off devices, off the.
Speaker 5 (14:29):
Internet and moving again.
Speaker 6 (14:31):
And also, tennis the greatest family sport ever invented. And
I think back to playing tennis with my grandparents, my parents,
my siblings, and now my three kids, and some of
the greatest memories from the sport is playing with my family.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Yeah, I feel like those giant Wilson tennis balls could
be reused as basketballs if you're trying to bring new
sports in there, we can set up a court and
start having some one on one using those giant balls.
Speaker 6 (14:57):
And also I feel like some of the ten balls
that are used for early players young players, they can
be used in a form of pickleball that makes hitting
the ball to the paddle quieter, and I really think
that's a necessary step for pickleball to even get closer
connected to tennis, because I think all racket sports help
(15:17):
each other. The more people pick up a racket, the better.
And also i'd love to see some swimming in the fountains.
I'd like to see some you know, like a relay race, backstroke, reastroke,
butterfly and free.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
You know, honestly, we were warned about Pam being a
bit of a loose cannon and encouraging folks to jump
in the fountains.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
Sounds about right out of you.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
I once jumped in the fountain at the Ritz Carlton
and Marina del Ray.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
Uh oh.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
I won't give you any more context as to why,
and what time of night and what I had had
previous to that, but it's not encouraged Pam.
Speaker 6 (15:51):
Well, you bring up Marina del Ray, and you know what,
the first thing I thought of is the last time
I stayed in Marina Delray, I had a car stolen.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
Well, there you go. I guess that's a different story.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
We all got a Santa Marina dull Ray. It's not
good for either of us. Let's talk about the mixed
doubles that you mentioned. Big change for the Open this year,
The format different than any other event any other year,
different rules interviews mid match, a bunch of the top
singles players entering what did you make of the event?
Speaker 5 (16:20):
I had a blast with it.
Speaker 6 (16:22):
I was a little I was questioning a little bit
the fast for format, you know, instead of a set
going to six going to four.
Speaker 5 (16:28):
It actually worked.
Speaker 3 (16:30):
And I love.
Speaker 6 (16:31):
Seeing players that are known more for just playing singles.
And then you had some players like Jesse Bogula who
played both through the years, and then you had the
double specialists, and it kind of proved that if you
only work on your doubles game in the in the
and how to cover a doubles court versus a singles court,
guess what, you have an advantage over the singles players.
(16:53):
So it was awesome that Irani and Vavasori were able
to defend their title, and they did have a little
chip on their shoulder for the other doubles specialists who
weren't allowed to play. But I thought it was spectacular.
I thought it gave fan Week just a great boost
this year and helps promote the main draw that starts
Sunday this year day early so quickly I was.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
Watching a little bit of it and Igoshfiantek was serving
from a place you'd serve in singles and wasn't adjusting
for doubles, presumably because she has a lot of success
and it's hard to get out of that space that
you're used to. But that was one of the key
is was the doubles players know the angles. She was
setting herself up for some of those Pagoula cross court
(17:34):
smashes that she couldn't get to because she was out
of position. And I wonder if you saw anyone during
that mixed doubles that you thought, oh, they were meant
to play more doubles, and they're a singles player, they
need to get in on that doubles more often.
Speaker 6 (17:46):
Well, I feel like Ega has all the athletic qualities
to be a great doubles player, but obviously, you know,
besides when she was a JUNIORSHPID a little bit in
early pro. It's just too hard to do both. But
I do think maybe by next year, assuming they're going
to do the same similar format, maybe a day later,
giving Cincinnati an extra day before the start of the mix,
I think I will stand closer to the doubles alley
(18:07):
because I think a lot of people saw what you
saw last night. I think Amanda Anasamovo got the finals
of women, and she also didn't know where to stand
in doubles. It is really a different discipline, but you
can certainly learn both.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
I want to move on to the singles, but quickly.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
Do you think it's fair that some of those top
doubles teams didn't end up making the draw in order
to make room for those big names. It draws a crowd,
there's a lot of excitement. I watched a lot more
of it this year than I have in the past.
But that's also taking a major opportunity for doubles top
teams and not giving them a.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
Shot at that million dollars.
Speaker 6 (18:39):
I can understand why the doubles only players were upset
that Moore didn't get in, but we would not have
had a sold out Arthur ash Stadium court on the
first day. We had great crowds in both Armstrong and
Ash And because of the way the sport has evolved
in the last couple of decades, very very few of
the top stars, even Coke ho goff Is, stopped playing doubles,
(19:02):
so you kind of needed the singles players to embrace
the mixed doubles in order to it to be what
the USTA imagine. So I know it hurt the Doubles players,
but if it makes Doubles better in the future, have
more high profile, more prize money, more attention, it's only
gonna help them.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
One of the stories that made it out of the
Doubles was a Eroticanu and Carlos Alvarez.
Speaker 3 (19:23):
Are they or aren't they?
Speaker 1 (19:24):
Give us the hot Gosspam, give us the behind the scenes.
Speaker 3 (19:28):
What's going on? Are they really just friends?
Speaker 6 (19:30):
Well, given their posts, they certainly wanted everybody to ask
that question. Was Roni Khanu and Alcaaz? Are they dating?
Speaker 3 (19:38):
To me?
Speaker 6 (19:39):
It seems like they're just good friends. But you know,
good friends can cross over the line sometimes.
Speaker 3 (19:44):
We've all seen one.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
Harry met Sally and Challengers for that matter, So maybe
we're all just getting a little too excited about those two.
But I'm shipping them. I'm shipping them no matter what
they say. Okay, let's talk women's singles. One hundred and
twenty eight women in the main draw action starting this Sunday,
including Coco Goff, who you mentioned who made news firing
her coach Matthew Day just a couple days ago. What
(20:07):
do you make about that decision as this tournament's about
to get underway.
Speaker 6 (20:10):
Well, the main reason why Coco felt she needed a
coaching change is that one of the most important shots,
if not the most important shot in tennis, is the serve,
and the service kind of left her since she won
her second major, Roland Garros in early June in Canada,
a couple of weeks ago, she served twenty four double faults,
still won a match seven to six and the third
over Collins. But you can't be serving fifteen double faults
(20:34):
and expect to win a major, and she felt she
needed somebody on her team that can really help with
the biomechanics of her serves. So she brought in Gavin McMillan,
who had just been released from the Sabolenka team, Which
is fascinating because Sablenka and Golf. Of course, they've played
in two major finals. Coco Goff won both of them,
and now Coco has one of Sablenka's coaches that helped
(20:57):
dig her out of the worst case of service ever
about three years ago. So that's a fascinating twist. On
the eve of the main draw.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
Okay, let's talk about some of the favorites. We've talked
about two, Coco and Sablanca. Arena Sabalanca, let's start with
those two. What are you seeing from them as they
come into this Coco coming off a win at the
French Open, she won the Open here in twenty twenty three.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
But you mentioned that serve problem.
Speaker 6 (21:21):
Yeah, it's the serve and then also the forehand can
really let her down if she's feeling anxious about both shots.
I think if she kind of lowers the expectation on
the serve, gets a much higher percentage of first serves
in goes for a spin, you know, almost like a
second serve first sometimes, and then rely on her great athleticism,
one of the best backhands in the sport. I mean,
(21:43):
Cocoa goff can definitely win this tournament, but Cocoa Golf,
given what we've seen the last month and a half,
can also lose early. So take your pick anywhere in between.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
Sablanca is having one of the most consistent and best
years without winning a Grand Slam, So what's holding her back?
She comes into this space presumably feeling great, looking to
defend last year's championship here at the Open, and she's
reached the semi final here in the last four years,
so very consistent here in Flushing Meadows.
Speaker 6 (22:09):
Yeah, it's been a brutal year for Sabolenka, who was
trying to win three Australian Opens in a row. She
lost seven five to the third to Madison Keys. What
a great story, Keys winning her first major, and then
she had that crushing loss to Coco in the finals,
another tough three setter where she didn't handle the lost well,
kind of didn't handle the microphone part of the loss well.
And then Anasimova was too good in the semi. So
(22:31):
you're right, when you're one in the world and you
get to two major finals in another semi and you've
already won three majors coming into the year, you would
expect to have won at least one, Which is why
she's gonna feel a lot of pressure here is she defends,
which is why I'm not sure she's gonna win, and
I don't think she will, all right, Who are your
other favorites, well, Sablenca, Cocoa Golf for my second and
(22:51):
third IgA, Sfiantek. What Ega has done since a subpar
clay court season is unbelievable. She had more time to
prepare for Wimbledon. Got to the finals of a WTA
five hundred and bod Homberg Germany right before Wimbledon. It
gave her confidence going into Wimbledon, and when she hit
the middle of the tournament, she was playing great, more
(23:13):
compact groundstrokes, better serve, winning free points with a serve,
and the way she went through the draw at the end,
I don't have to tell you. She beat Benchic like
two to zero, and then she won in the finals
for the second time in major tennis history on the
women's side, one Love and Love. She was unbelievably dominant,
and she won Cincinnati on a fast surface. So Schmiantek's
(23:36):
my favorite.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
Are you worried at all about fatigue? Because she won
the Senci Open on Monday. On Tuesday she won two
mixed doubles matches short and format, but still and played
deep into that mixed doubles tournament.
Speaker 3 (23:48):
Is that just going to keep her primed and.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
Ready or are you worried at all about her body
kind of being a little bit sore by now?
Speaker 6 (23:54):
You know, I feel the energy and her whole attitude
has flipped from a couple months ago, and she's riding
the wave, and when you have a wave of confidence,
you kind of don't want to get off the wave.
I hope she takes today off because the mixed doubles
didn't finish till after midnight. Take today off and then
I think she'll be fine. I think she is ultra
(24:14):
confident and she has a lot of belief now in
the coaching partnership with whim Fact, she'll be ready to go.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
Let's talk about Madison Keys, Australia Open winner. She's got
thirty three career wins here at Flushing Meadows.
Speaker 3 (24:26):
She likes this place. What do you think she's gonna
bring this year.
Speaker 6 (24:30):
Well, I think she's gonna bring a lot of confidence
and satisfaction that she's playing the US Open for the
first time as a major champion and a major hardcourt champion.
The way she went through the quarters, semis and finals,
and then also told the story of how therapy helped
her come to really put the right perspective. She was
a young teenager who had a lot of expectations and
(24:52):
she was never that comfortable and she always felt like
she had the pressure to win. And I also think
her husband born friend TAngelo, was at atb tour player.
He's been like the perfect coach to help encourage her
to switch rackets to something that was more suitable to
give her a little more control. I think it's one
of the great stories of twenty twenty five.
Speaker 3 (25:11):
Elena Rebakana.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
She has not had a great time here in New
York in the past, but she's had some great semi
finalists finishes in Washington, Montreal, Cincinnati. She comes in looking good.
Can she change up the narrative for her here at
the Open?
Speaker 6 (25:27):
Sure, she'd be in the like four through six pick
definitely with a chance. Ribakana has I think, since Serena
Williams retired, the best serve in women's tennis. She can
pound aces like nobody else in the women's game. She's
got a beautiful backhand. She's another one that her backhand's
much stronger than the forehand.
Speaker 5 (25:44):
Yes, of course she can.
Speaker 6 (25:46):
You know, there's a lot of shy people Naomio Saka's
side because she's won two US Open, but there's a
lot of people that don't feel comfortable with this atmosphere
in New York on that court with a noise and
sort of all the activity. And I think Rebakan is
one of those you.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
Mentioned Naomi osaka early exit in the mixed doubles. She
has always seemed to find herself in the media, sometimes
for good or for bad, and I think I have
a lot of empathy for her in the way it
feels like she struggles with the press and struggles with
her own emotion And she's been really open about the
ups and downs of being a professional tennis player, the
(26:23):
pressure that she feels, her interactions and relationship with the media.
Speaker 3 (26:28):
What advice would you give.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
Her on continuing to be someone who can be such
a fan favorite and can also people can sour on
her quickly when she has postgame moments where she doesn't
feel as gracious as people expect or things like that.
Speaker 3 (26:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (26:41):
Well, I think Osaka had a tough final a few
weeks ago when she lost to Victoria Momboco of Canada
in Canada, where the crowd in Montreal went absolutely nuts
for the teenage Canadian who was about to win their
national championship, and I think it throw Naomi.
Speaker 5 (26:56):
Back a little bit.
Speaker 6 (26:57):
And I also I think Osaka was disappointed she didn't
and listen, what other sport does the loser have to
speak so quickly after a crushing loss, and we got
to give a little bit of grace, whether your Sablenka
posts losing the Cocoa GoF in Paris this year or Osaka.
But you know, I have a lot of respect for
(27:18):
Osaka coming back from the maternity leave, trying to get
the way she was when she won four majors on
hard courts. But you bring up the mental health bit.
It was really brutal Covid when the tours started back
again here you soap in twenty twenty, the press conferences
were all virtual. Many of the press were off camera
(27:39):
and so literally you would have a question come out
of a computer with a name, and she's shy, right,
and it made her uncomfortable and I think we all
have to understand that was a difficult time.
Speaker 3 (27:49):
Yeah, for sure, you mentioned Victoria and Bogo.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
What a crazy run and to do it in her
home country in front of the adoring crowd. Excited about this, Benam,
do you expect to see her being a little bit
of a dark horse potentially getting some upsets here at
the Open?
Speaker 6 (28:04):
You know, she's definitely gonna be a force in women's
tennis for years to come. I love her athleticism, I
washed her in person in Paris this year. I made
a point to go see her see her play. I
was really impressed by her talent. If she plays like
she did in Canada, she can definitely make the second week.
I think it's a little too early to put her in,
(28:25):
you know, even in the favorite say eight through twelve.
But watch out in years to come.
Speaker 3 (28:31):
Any other dark horses you're watching.
Speaker 6 (28:33):
Oh, I think there's so many great US players where
it's like McCartney, Kessler is an example, Ashlyn Krueger. You know,
there's some US players that are really good or comfortable
on a hard court, who are very hungry. And I
like the way both the US men and the US
women are all pushing each other. So I'm gonna look
for maybe a US female rank somewhere in the US
(28:55):
between like five and.
Speaker 5 (28:57):
Ten to have a pretty good run.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
All Right, You've had a chance to talk to lots
of celebrities here, and I wonder if there was anyone
courtside or in the press box or walking around that
you interviewed that you got a little tongue tied around
anyone make it nervous.
Speaker 6 (29:10):
Oh, there's some comedians through the years. I had a
lot of fun with Why am I having Ron Burgundy?
Speaker 5 (29:18):
Remind me the.
Speaker 6 (29:19):
Bill Ferrell Will Ferrell Will Farrell was probably the funniest. Also,
isn't this terrible Spanish opera singer who sat in the
Doll's box Placido Domingo.
Speaker 5 (29:30):
He's from Spain. I got him to sing a note
during a rain delay. That was really fun.
Speaker 6 (29:36):
Michael Phelps is from my hometown of Baltimore, so after
I think it was after I think it was after
twenty maybe it was eight or twenty twelve. I don't
know how many medals he had, but I have one.
So I said, hey, we're both from Baltimore and we
both have an Olympic medal.
Speaker 5 (29:53):
You just have sixteen and I have one. I think
he ended up in.
Speaker 3 (29:56):
The twenties, still more than me.
Speaker 5 (29:58):
Pam oh, I have one more sure.
Speaker 6 (30:00):
I loved interviewing a double interview Frank Robinson, who played
for my hometown Baltimore Orioles, and Hank Aaron in a
double interview to interview two MLB Hall of famers who
hit over six hundred and twenty home runs.
Speaker 5 (30:17):
We know that Hank hit a lot more than that.
That was cool.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
Incredible is there a celeb you'd love to see that
hasn't come by yet.
Speaker 5 (30:24):
You know what a lot of them have been coming
out the last few years.
Speaker 6 (30:28):
I do think USTA in the US Open, if they
give them luxury suite access and tickets, they should talk
to us on ESPN and share their moments.
Speaker 5 (30:39):
And their love of tennis.
Speaker 3 (30:40):
I like that, Pam. Yeah, bully them into it.
Speaker 1 (30:43):
Last year, I was here one week before Taylor Swift
and Travis in the same suite they were in.
Speaker 3 (30:48):
I just missed him by one week.
Speaker 5 (30:50):
Yeah, that was fun.
Speaker 1 (30:51):
You got to get them to chat with you, Pam.
I want to talk about something that happened a bit
ago because it really stood out to me and I.
Speaker 3 (30:58):
Was so impressed with how you handled it.
Speaker 1 (30:59):
Had some words for fellow former player Omili Moresmo. She's
now the French Open tournament director. She defended the decision
to schedule only men's events during primetime viewing, and you
were really not just angry, but kind of offended by
her defense when she was challenged on that. Are you
surprised that, all these years later, after Billy Jean King
(31:20):
and Chrissy Everard and so many other folks have worked
for pay equity and equal opportunity, that there are still
not just men but women defending the idea that men
deserve more of the primetime spots.
Speaker 6 (31:30):
Yeah, it's Roland Garros has been tough of the scheduling.
They put the women's slake at eleven o'clock and usually
by about three in the afternoon, the women are done
and the men play in the more popular late afternoons
for TV and for night time. If people work, they're
going to come to the night session. I think they've
only had two women's matches in the three years of
night sessions, so it leaves you with a poor taste.
(31:52):
And this past year was a third year Emily Moresmo,
who was number one in the world, won two majors,
earned a lot of money through tennis, and that she
doesn't support women's tennis because this country has shown us
and starting back with Billy Jean King and Chris Evert
and Martina and the Williams sisters, that women have given
(32:13):
the opportunity and the right time, can carry their own
ratings in prime time.
Speaker 5 (32:19):
No problem. We outrate the men many.
Speaker 6 (32:21):
Times, but you got to be given the opportunity and
it's just rankles me that it doesn't happen at Rolling Garros.
Speaker 1 (32:27):
Well, keep speaking out because I think we know that
public pressure is often what moves people off of their position.
Speaker 3 (32:33):
And in women's tennis.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
There is really almost no better sport to defend the
fact that women should be given equal marketing, equal money,
equal investment, because time after time it proves to be
something that people want to watch and is often more enjoyable,
longer rallies, and it's less about the big serves and
more about the great play.
Speaker 6 (32:50):
Well in the stories behind the women champions. And I
just want to again commend the USTA who started equal
prize money in the majors in nineteen seventy three and
it's been that way ever since. So a lot to
be proud of in this country. And I just want
to see other cultures, other countries except the emerging market
of female athletes.
Speaker 1 (33:10):
I always defend the French when people say they're not nice,
but this time I'm with you, Pam, get it together France.
Speaker 3 (33:18):
So just a couple months ago, you.
Speaker 1 (33:21):
Personally had this incredible wild adventure going through the tragedy
of the fires in southern California, evacuating your home, grabbing
all your stuff staying in a hotel and your son's
car was stolen with like half of your lifetime's worth
of trophies in the car. Can you tell us that
(33:42):
story and what happened?
Speaker 5 (33:45):
And I'll try and tell it succinctly.
Speaker 6 (33:47):
But yeah, January seventh was obviously one of the toughest
days in California's history. I was actually in Hawaii with
our three kids. I shared three kids with George Lazemi,
who's second James Bond, and I was supposed to leave
for the Australian Open the next day. Bond Girl, Bond
Girl and I got alerts on my phone that a
(34:10):
fire had started in the Palisades and I had moved
my kid's dad because we're the only family in LA's
from Australia, and I helped care for him.
Speaker 5 (34:17):
Now all these years after.
Speaker 6 (34:18):
Our divorce, I had to get him evacuated safely from
the Palisades. I had to step by step make decisions
of first delaying going down to Melbourne and then realizing
given the fires, and then it was coming towards Brentwood,
where I live up in the canyon Upper Bundy Canyon.
Obviously I couldn't go to Australia. So I came home
about four days after the Palisades fire started. Meanwhile eating
(34:41):
fire in Alta, Dina. So I came home to my
home area of Los Angeles with two beautiful villages basically destroyed,
Pacific Palisades and Altadena, and right away, with a partner
that I've been in business with for about twenty years,
we decided to kickstart a chair already called Village Rising
(35:01):
that was there for the Woolsey fire to help people
that were left behind. So we're in the middle of
raising funds to try and help parks with tennis courts
like Palisades Tennis Center, like Loma Alta Park, and like
Farnsworth Park in Altadena get their tennis programs back, get
the lifetime sport. And we're also helping some schools that
(35:22):
lost their campuses that were left behind. So anybody who
wants to help us out Village Rising.
Speaker 1 (35:28):
Yeah, Village Rising Foundation will be sure to put the
link to that in our show notes for the podcast.
But people can always go to Village Risingfoundation dot org
if they want to donate. Okay, So you do all
this work around helping restore the tennis courts and the
villages around you, but you personally still have to restore
those trophies, so tell us what I have them.
Speaker 6 (35:47):
Yeah, the trophy story is interesting because we had all
our cars. Well, I have three young adults that all drive,
so we had our three cars at this hotel parking lot,
and one of them, the most desirable for car, which
was a Durango Dodge Durango, was stolen.
Speaker 5 (36:03):
In the middle of the night.
Speaker 6 (36:04):
The thieves did not realize that in the back of
that car, under some towels and blankets were all my
US Open Doubles trophies five, all my Rolling Garos five
and seven Australian Open trophies. My Wimbledons were evacuated. They
were in a different car, so they were always okay.
But when I realized that they were gone too, I
(36:25):
got mad. And when I was reporting at the police
station the theft, I went on my social media, which
is Twitter, I have my most followers or x and
I told people that a car was stolen. If anybody
sees major trophies from the following years, helped me out.
In LA networks. They picked up the story and I
got them back ten days later. They were returned to
(36:49):
the same hotel parking lot that they were stolen from.
Speaker 1 (36:53):
Well, the thiefs were like, well, I guess I can't
sell these now because everyone's going to know I stole them.
Speaker 3 (36:58):
They're not worth a lot.
Speaker 1 (36:59):
And they did pull up in a black SUV with
a hood on and just sort of drop them off
and peel out.
Speaker 5 (37:05):
They kept the car, Yeah, they did keep the car.
Speaker 6 (37:08):
It's interesting the car and the trophies were worth about
the same the trophies. I had them in my insurance
program and it was eighty thousand dollars worth of trophies.
Speaker 5 (37:18):
I got them back.
Speaker 1 (37:19):
I think the lesson here is for everyone make sure
you split up your trophies in different cars, so if
the car is stolen, you only have to recover half
of your How many major trophies total?
Speaker 5 (37:31):
Twenty two?
Speaker 3 (37:31):
Twenty two?
Speaker 6 (37:32):
Yeah, Actually the last one was in ninety one with
Natasha Zvera of a Belarus I think she was Belarus
and first time we ever played together, and it was
my last major.
Speaker 3 (37:43):
This is amazing you went out on top.
Speaker 5 (37:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (37:45):
Well, I struggled the next five years, but I'll remember
that one in ninety one.
Speaker 1 (37:50):
Pam Shriver, who has been at this spot, right here
since nineteen seventy eight as a sixteen year old, now
giving us all the good information that we need to
get excited for this year's straw.
Speaker 3 (37:59):
Thank you, Thank you so much, Pam.
Speaker 5 (38:01):
Sarah, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (38:04):
We have to take another quick break when we come
back the head to heads that Big Citrus wants to see.
Speaker 2 (38:17):
Welcome, Max Lays.
Speaker 1 (38:18):
Sticking with our US Open theme, it's time to use
our imaginations and create some all time tournament matches. What
US Open faceoffs would we want to see if age
and era weren't a factor, If any player could match
up with any other player in the history.
Speaker 2 (38:33):
Of the event, who would we want to see?
Speaker 1 (38:35):
Personally, I'd want to watch Serena Williams versus Steffi Graff,
both in their primes. Serena's got the record for most
Grand Slam singles title in the Open era, while Graf
holds the record for most consecutive weeks ranked world number
one and astonishing one hundred and eighty six weeks.
Speaker 3 (38:51):
These women are.
Speaker 1 (38:51):
Two of just thirteen all time to complete the Golden Slam,
winning all four Grand Slams and Olympic gold but Graf
is the only player ever to do it in a
single calendar year, nineteen eighty eight, those two in their primes,
that's a hell of a matchup. Meche said they'd want
to see Serena Williams versus Cocoa Goff. They said that
sounds like a tennis match made in heaven, and Alex
(39:14):
said she'd want to see Serena Williams versus Venus Williams.
She actually got to watch their last ever match against
each other at the US Open back in twenty nineteen,
with Serena winning sixty one sixty one, and she said
it was excellent but also pretty one sided. So she'd
love to have been in the audience when both of
them were still at their prime. Basically, we all want
to see Serena come back. We love that you're listening,
(39:36):
but we want you to get in the game every
day too. So here's our good game play of the day.
Send us your all time US Open matchups stars from
the sixties versus today's top talent. Serena Williams versus noted
homophobe Margaret Court. You know, just to see that be
put in her place. Everyone's fair game. Let us know
who you'd love to see go head to head in
a singles battle. Oh, and slices, don't forget. The tw
(40:00):
so Rossy Bench reveal in Door County, Wisconsin is tomorrow, Saturday,
August twenty third, twelve pm at the Observation Deck at
Whitefish Dune State Park. As I've mentioned in previous shows,
the reveal will be followed by postgame drinks, cheese curds
and hangs at the Hitching Post in Sturgeon Bay.
Speaker 2 (40:16):
So come through.
Speaker 1 (40:17):
I'd love to connect with as many of you slices
as I can. Check my Insta and Blue Sky accounts
for a graphic with all the details, and we always
love to hear from you, so hit us up on
email Good Game at wondermedianetwork dot com or leave us
a voicemail at eight seven two two four fifty seventy
and don't.
Speaker 2 (40:34):
Forget to subscribe a rate and review.
Speaker 3 (40:36):
It's so easy. Watch friend at the show.
Speaker 1 (40:39):
Taylor Townsend Rock and Orcas and Dinosaurs at the Open.
Rating two out of two teas for Taylor Townsend review.
Since her contract with Nike lapsed in twenty seventeen, Townsend
has been wearing off the rack gear to compete, but
she started embellishing it with an interlocking TT, the logo
for a namesake apparel brand that she's been developing with
(40:59):
a Lanta designer Alexander John. A New York Times story
by Josh Levin revealed a few of the looks that
Townsend has planned for this US Open, including a kit
inspired by orcas that we saw in her first mixed
doubles match. This was an idea she got from a
celeb sliding into her dms on Instagram. Okay, so, after
winning a match at the DC Open, Townsend raised her
hand above her head like a shark.
Speaker 2 (41:21):
Fin and actor Samuel L.
Speaker 1 (41:22):
Jackson, who's a fan, messaged and told her She's not
a shark, She's an orca an apex predator.
Speaker 2 (41:29):
So she's got that fit.
Speaker 1 (41:30):
But she also has fits for the Open, featuring a
Tyrannosaurus Rex theme, which is a tribute to her dinosaur
loving four year old son, and a phoenix rising. She
told the Times, quote, every time that a phoenix is reborn,
it has to burn itself to become new.
Speaker 2 (41:43):
I've kind of been that throughout my career. End quote.
Speaker 3 (41:46):
Very cool.
Speaker 1 (41:47):
TT Let us know when you find an apparel partner
to bring your gear to shelves near us because we'll
be first in line to buy them. Now, it's your
turn rate and review. Thanks for listening, y'all, See you
next week. Good Game, Pam, Good Game, Honeyduces Hugh, Margaret Court.
Good Game with Sarah Spain is an iHeart women's sports
production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You
(42:10):
can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you get your podcasts. Production by Wonder Media Network,
our producers are Alex Azzie and Misha Jones. Our executive
producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan, and Emily Rudder.
Our editors are Emily Rutter, Britney Martinez, Grace Lynch, and
Gianna Palmer. Our associate producer is Lucy Jones. Production assistance
(42:33):
from Avery Loftus and I'm Your Host Sarah Spain
Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're serving
up a smash hit.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Of a show all about the US Open.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
It's Friday, August twenty second Happy Friday Slices. On today's show,
we'll be skipping the need to Know in favor of
a whole episode getting you prepped for.
Speaker 3 (00:15):
This year's US Open.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
You'll hear my live show from the US Open FanFest
with broadcaster and former tennis pro Pam Schreiber talking about
which players are hot and which are not entering this
year's competition, rule changes in the mixed doubles event.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
And what makes the tournament so special.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Plus we'll dish out some fun facts about the Open,
some top moments in its history, and all time matchups
we'd love to see.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
It's all coming up right after this Welcome Back slices.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Let's get started with some fun facts and background about
the US Open, the fourth and final of the four
Grand Slam tennis events of the season. The tournament is
a two week competition held in late August early September
every year that includes men's singles and doubles, women's singles
and doubles, mixed doubles, wheelchair singles, and doubles and quad
singles and doubles. The Open originated from the US National Championship,
(01:12):
which was created in eighteen eighty one as a national
singles and doubles competition for just men. Because, of course, thankfully,
the event did expand soon after, adding women's singles in
eighteen eighty seven, women's doubles in eighteen eighty nine, and
then mixed doubles in eighteen ninety two. All five competitions
were held at different locations until nineteen sixty eight, when
(01:33):
they were all moved to the West Side Tennis Club
in Queens, New York. At that point, the event officially
became known as the US Open. Now little tidbit, when
you hear folks talk about the Open era, they're referring
to anything that took place after that sixty eight name change.
That was also the point at which amateurs and pros
were allowed to compete against one another. Prior to sixty eight,
(01:56):
pros and amateurs had to compete in separate tournaments. Nineteen
seventy eight, the tournament moved again, this time to the
US Tennis Association National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows. In
two thousand and five, the wheelchair singles and doubles events
were added, and the quad events were added in two
thousand and six. Also in six, the center was renamed
the Usta Billy Jean King National Tennis Center, and the
(02:18):
US Open is now the only tournament held at a
facility named for a woman. Spanning forty six and a
half acres, the BJK Center houses twenty two courts and
three different stadiums. The biggest is Arthur Ashe Stadium, and
with a capacity of nearly twenty four thousand, it's the
largest tennis stadium in the world. The US Open is
played on hard courts and has been since the location
(02:39):
move in seventy eight. It was contested on various surfaces
in the years before that. The US Open is the
only Grand Slam tournament that's been played every year since
its inception. Unlike the other Slams, it wasn't affected by
cancelation due to World War I and World War Two,
nor was it interrupted by the COVID nineteen pandemic. Fans
from near and far flocked to the bja K Tennis
(03:00):
Center every year to watch the world's best compete in
the most prominent tennis event on US soil. One of
the early stars of the Open, Mala burst Ed Mallory
holds the record for the most singles titles in the
history of the tournament with eight, but in the Open era,
Chris Evert and Serena Williams are tied for the top
spot with six titles apiece. This year, the Open will
(03:21):
become the first tennis event to reach ninety million dollars
in total player compensation, with the USTA once again offering
the largest perse in tennis history. This amount tops the
total of seventy five million in twenty twenty four, the
previous highest person tennis history. The men's and women's singles
champions will each take home five million dollars, up nearly
(03:41):
forty percent from the three point six million awarded last year,
making it the largest winning payout in the sport, and
for the first time ever, the winning teams from the
men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles tournaments will earn
one million dollars in prize money. In addition to the
spectacular play on the court, this tournament has also turned
into an experienced lover's dream off it from sponsor booths
(04:03):
to shopping bars and restaurants, a gaming zone, and a
stage for live events like our live show, plus events
like a block party tonight featuring DJ d Nice. And
you've likely heard me mention the delicious Honeyduces, a special
cocktail garnished.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
With a melon ball that looks like a tennis ball.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
If you've never been to the US Open, Slices, put
a trip to Flushing Meadows on your sports bucket list.
Such a special event to attend live. Speaking of Flushing,
one last fun fact. During the Nike World Headquarters tour
I did in Portland a few weeks ago, our guide
pointed out that in the Serena Building, the restroom's closest
to her collection of trophies and memorabilia are marked by
(04:40):
a giant photo of the Flushing stop of New York
City's MTA. Get it clever, Okay, Slices. Now they've got
a little background on the Open, Let's take a look
at some of the tournament's best moments. Here are our
top five in chronological order. Five nineteen fifty seven, when
thirty year old out the Theia Gibson became the first
(05:01):
African American to win the singles title at what was
then called the US Nationals. Gibson ended her tennis career
a year later in nineteen fifty eight, and then became
the first black woman to join the LPGA Tour in
nineteen sixty three. Here's part of Gibson's speech after her
historic title win, from the Thrill of Sports.
Speaker 4 (05:18):
As a youngster playing Palell tennis, little did I dream
of a thrill such as this.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
I want to thank God for all of you, for.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
At this moment, more than ever, I realize that without
the united.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Help of all of you, this victory would.
Speaker 4 (05:35):
Not have been accomplished.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
I shall endeavor to win this title with dignity and humility.
Four nineteen seventy eight, when Chris Evert won her fourth
straight US Open title over Pam Schreiver. She'd go on
to win two more Opens before hanging up her racket
in nineteen eighty nine. Here's the call from her match
winning point in seventy eight from the US Opens YouTube page.
Speaker 5 (06:00):
Or to approach shot.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
There it is game seven, Matt Chris Evert seven five four.
Speaker 6 (06:14):
Missus Everett so happy for Chrissy and rightfully saw three.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
Nineteen ninety six, stephie Graff wins her fifth US Open title,
this time over Monica Sella's beating her for a second
straight year. Graff would play for a few more years,
retiring in nineteen ninety nine after a decade of elite tennis.
Here's the moment her ninety six Open win became official
from the US Opens YouTube channels one.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
The US sulkand and has taken another giant step forward,
being unanimously regarded as the greatest women's tennis player.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
Of all time.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
Two twenty fourteen, when Serena Williams won her sixth US
Open singles title over Caroline Wosniaki, tying Chris Evert for
the most Open titles all time and securing her eighteenth
Grand Slam. Williams, of course went on to win five
more slams, ending her career with twenty three to her name.
Here's Serena after her twenty fourteen victory from the US
(07:16):
Opens YouTube page.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
It is a.
Speaker 4 (07:18):
Pleasure for me to win my first Grand Slam year
and then this number eighteen, so I'm really emotional. I
would like to.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
Jack a Nast to do.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
It at a better place and number one.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
Twenty twenty three, when nineteen year old Coco Goff earned
a comeback victory over Arena Sablenka to become the first
American teenager to win the US Open.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
Crown since Serena Williams in nineteen ninety nine.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Golf picked up her second major title earlier this year
at the French Open, once again besting Sabolenka. Here's a
bit of Coco's postmatch interview from that twenty twenty three
Open victory from the tournament's YouTube channel.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
Thank you first to my parents.
Speaker 4 (08:00):
Today was the first time I've ever seen my dad cry.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
He doesn't want me to tell you all that, but
he got caught in four K. You know, he thinks
he's he thinks he's so hard, but you know it's
not so Thank you guys. I mean you believed in
me from the beginning. I've been coming to this tournament.
My dad took me to this tournament, sitting right there
watching Venus and Serena compete. So it's really incredible to
(08:24):
be on this stage.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
All these moments, all these players, so much legendary history
at the US Open. We got to take a quick
break when we come back. It's my conversation with Pam
Schreiber from yesterday's live show at FanFest. What's up, everybody.
(08:48):
We got a windy day here at the US Open.
But I'm from Chicago, so I'm used to it. And
you'll be so excited to see who's coming out to
chat all things US Open with you. We're gonna get
our favorites. We're gonna get our dark Horse says. We're
gonna get some tails from the Billy Jean King Tennis
Center joining me now. She's a former professional tennis player,
current broadcaster, pundit and coach, and Olympic gold medalists in
(09:10):
women's doubles. She was ranked as high as world number
three in singles, world number one in doubles, and she
and her longtime doubles partner Martina Navratilova are the only
women's pair to complete the Grand Slam in one calendar year.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
They won all.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
Four majors in nineteen eighty four. She's in the International
Tennis Hall of Fame. She's a past president of the
Women's Tennis Association. She did her first live tennis analysis
at age seventeen, and she's been commenting ever since she retired.
She's also a minority owner of the Baltimore Orioles. It's
Pam Shreiver. Pam, so great to have you here. The
(09:45):
wind is literally stealing the words out of my mouth.
So we'll see how this goes. Your bio is lengthy
and impressive, but I want to start way before most
of your achievements. Right here at the Billy Jean King
Tennis Center wasn't called that yet.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
It was nineteen seventy eight.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
You're a sixteen year old amateur playing here at the Open,
and you make it all the weights of the finals
before you lost to Chrissy Evert. So did you know
enough at that time at sixteen to even be nervous?
Speaker 3 (10:16):
Oh?
Speaker 6 (10:16):
Yes, I was extremely nervous. That was my rookie season
on the tour, my second major. I was actually seated sixteen,
so I did, which was the lowest seed you could
have at.
Speaker 5 (10:28):
That time, and I just went on a run.
Speaker 6 (10:31):
I had no expectations beating Avertelov in the Semis, and
I was scared to death to play Chris Evert, who'd
already won the US Open the previous I think four years,
and I'd never played Chrissy before. Our women's final was
delayed from Saturday because the Semis needed Saturday to finish,
So we played right before Borg and Connors. So it
(10:53):
was Everett Shriver, Borg and Connors. Yes, I was nervous, sixteen.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Years old, okay, So that was that's the first year
that the Open was played here in Flushing Meadows. How
different is it today looking out at this scene than
what it was in nineteen seventy eight.
Speaker 5 (11:09):
Oh, it's it's very different.
Speaker 6 (11:11):
All the majors, and especially the US Open, has innovated
their grounds. I look over towards Old Lewis Armstrong used
to be where New Lewis Armstrong was the second roof
that was built a few years ago. The Grandstand Court
used to be connected to Armstrong. Those were the two
big courts between nineteen seventy eight and nineteen ninety six.
(11:34):
Nineteen ninety seven, Arthur Ash, the biggest tennis only stadium
in the world, was debuted, and that was the year
Venus Williams came from outside the top seventy to play
Martina Hingis and that was an incredible run. So and
then the Williams sisters owned this house for so many years.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
So you've literally seen it essentially from the ground up.
Speaker 6 (11:54):
Yes, yes, I'm a little sorry I missed Forest Hills
by one year. But it's kind of neat that my
whole tennis career has been only at Flushing Meadows and
to have seen it grow and see everything that makes
it fun for you, all fun for the fans, especially
mixed doubles in the middle of fan week was unbelievable.
We already have our first champion, Bavasori and Irani.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Yeah, I want to talk about the mixed doubles, but
you just mentioned there's so much going on here for
the fans. I was walking around. There are restaurants and bars.
There's gonna be a block party with DJ d Nice tonight.
There's coffee, there's food, there's merch everywhere. The FanFest has
really exploded. What's some of your favorite things to do
when you're just wandering around before you have to do
(12:38):
your analysis.
Speaker 6 (12:39):
Well, if I'm finished work for ESPN, I might go
get a honey.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
Deuce and couple couple honeyduces, maybe.
Speaker 6 (12:46):
Second serf and I collect the cups. Yeah, I wish
my name was on the cup. I wish they had
doubles champions featured on the Cup.
Speaker 5 (12:55):
You know, there's a lot of things you can do.
Speaker 6 (12:56):
You can walk out to the unisphere, you can see
the statue of Arthur Ash and Althea Gibson, And the
theme of this year's US Open is breaking barriers. And
when you think what ALTHEA Gibson did in the fifties
as a black woman to win the US Championships, win Wimbledon,
be number one in the world was incredible And Arthur Ash.
(13:17):
How amazing that USTA named this enormous stadium after one
of the most impressive people at the Billie Jean King
Tennis Center. So we've had some incredible legends help build
our sport.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
Yeah, I want to talk about that tennis is so
rooted in tradition, and yet the sport and the US
Open in particular have worked to evolve with the times
in ways that I think are really smart and necessary
to keep encouraging young people to be interested and keep
diversifying the kind of talent that can come up through
the ranks and win it all.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
So there's been things like.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
HBCU Live at the US Open, Open Pride Day. Are
there ways you'd like to see the sport continue to.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
Evolve or this event?
Speaker 6 (13:59):
Well, some things near and dear to me through the
years has been I know for you too, Sarah is
multi sport athletes. I really want tennis to be a
sport that encourages young people who are great athletes to
play many sports. It prevents burnout, it helps develop your skills,
and I think early specialization is really bad. So I
wouldn't mind seeing other sports represented here a little bit
(14:23):
and seeing some skills challenge for young people. We got
to get our young people off devices, off the.
Speaker 5 (14:29):
Internet and moving again.
Speaker 6 (14:31):
And also, tennis the greatest family sport ever invented. And
I think back to playing tennis with my grandparents, my parents,
my siblings, and now my three kids, and some of
the greatest memories from the sport is playing with my family.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Yeah, I feel like those giant Wilson tennis balls could
be reused as basketballs if you're trying to bring new
sports in there, we can set up a court and
start having some one on one using those giant balls.
Speaker 6 (14:57):
And also I feel like some of the ten balls
that are used for early players young players, they can
be used in a form of pickleball that makes hitting
the ball to the paddle quieter, and I really think
that's a necessary step for pickleball to even get closer
connected to tennis, because I think all racket sports help
(15:17):
each other. The more people pick up a racket, the better.
And also i'd love to see some swimming in the fountains.
I'd like to see some you know, like a relay race, backstroke, reastroke,
butterfly and free.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
You know, honestly, we were warned about Pam being a
bit of a loose cannon and encouraging folks to jump
in the fountains.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
Sounds about right out of you.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
I once jumped in the fountain at the Ritz Carlton
and Marina del Ray.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
Uh oh.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
I won't give you any more context as to why,
and what time of night and what I had had
previous to that, but it's not encouraged Pam.
Speaker 6 (15:51):
Well, you bring up Marina del Ray, and you know what,
the first thing I thought of is the last time
I stayed in Marina Delray, I had a car stolen.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
Well, there you go. I guess that's a different story.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
We all got a Santa Marina dull Ray. It's not
good for either of us. Let's talk about the mixed
doubles that you mentioned. Big change for the Open this year,
The format different than any other event any other year,
different rules interviews mid match, a bunch of the top
singles players entering what did you make of the event?
Speaker 5 (16:20):
I had a blast with it.
Speaker 6 (16:22):
I was a little I was questioning a little bit
the fast for format, you know, instead of a set
going to six going to four.
Speaker 5 (16:28):
It actually worked.
Speaker 3 (16:30):
And I love.
Speaker 6 (16:31):
Seeing players that are known more for just playing singles.
And then you had some players like Jesse Bogula who
played both through the years, and then you had the
double specialists, and it kind of proved that if you
only work on your doubles game in the in the
and how to cover a doubles court versus a singles court,
guess what, you have an advantage over the singles players.
(16:53):
So it was awesome that Irani and Vavasori were able
to defend their title, and they did have a little
chip on their shoulder for the other doubles specialists who
weren't allowed to play. But I thought it was spectacular.
I thought it gave fan Week just a great boost
this year and helps promote the main draw that starts
Sunday this year day early so quickly I was.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
Watching a little bit of it and Igoshfiantek was serving
from a place you'd serve in singles and wasn't adjusting
for doubles, presumably because she has a lot of success
and it's hard to get out of that space that
you're used to. But that was one of the key
is was the doubles players know the angles. She was
setting herself up for some of those Pagoula cross court
(17:34):
smashes that she couldn't get to because she was out
of position. And I wonder if you saw anyone during
that mixed doubles that you thought, oh, they were meant
to play more doubles, and they're a singles player, they
need to get in on that doubles more often.
Speaker 6 (17:46):
Well, I feel like Ega has all the athletic qualities
to be a great doubles player, but obviously, you know,
besides when she was a JUNIORSHPID a little bit in
early pro. It's just too hard to do both. But
I do think maybe by next year, assuming they're going
to do the same similar format, maybe a day later,
giving Cincinnati an extra day before the start of the mix,
I think I will stand closer to the doubles alley
(18:07):
because I think a lot of people saw what you
saw last night. I think Amanda Anasamovo got the finals
of women, and she also didn't know where to stand
in doubles. It is really a different discipline, but you
can certainly learn both.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
I want to move on to the singles, but quickly.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
Do you think it's fair that some of those top
doubles teams didn't end up making the draw in order
to make room for those big names. It draws a crowd,
there's a lot of excitement. I watched a lot more
of it this year than I have in the past.
But that's also taking a major opportunity for doubles top
teams and not giving them a.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
Shot at that million dollars.
Speaker 6 (18:39):
I can understand why the doubles only players were upset
that Moore didn't get in, but we would not have
had a sold out Arthur ash Stadium court on the
first day. We had great crowds in both Armstrong and
Ash And because of the way the sport has evolved
in the last couple of decades, very very few of
the top stars, even Coke ho goff Is, stopped playing doubles,
(19:02):
so you kind of needed the singles players to embrace
the mixed doubles in order to it to be what
the USTA imagine. So I know it hurt the Doubles players,
but if it makes Doubles better in the future, have
more high profile, more prize money, more attention, it's only
gonna help them.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
One of the stories that made it out of the
Doubles was a Eroticanu and Carlos Alvarez.
Speaker 3 (19:23):
Are they or aren't they?
Speaker 1 (19:24):
Give us the hot Gosspam, give us the behind the scenes.
Speaker 3 (19:28):
What's going on? Are they really just friends?
Speaker 6 (19:30):
Well, given their posts, they certainly wanted everybody to ask
that question. Was Roni Khanu and Alcaaz? Are they dating?
Speaker 3 (19:38):
To me?
Speaker 6 (19:39):
It seems like they're just good friends. But you know,
good friends can cross over the line sometimes.
Speaker 3 (19:44):
We've all seen one.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
Harry met Sally and Challengers for that matter, So maybe
we're all just getting a little too excited about those two.
But I'm shipping them. I'm shipping them no matter what
they say. Okay, let's talk women's singles. One hundred and
twenty eight women in the main draw action starting this Sunday,
including Coco Goff, who you mentioned who made news firing
her coach Matthew Day just a couple days ago. What
(20:07):
do you make about that decision as this tournament's about
to get underway.
Speaker 6 (20:10):
Well, the main reason why Coco felt she needed a
coaching change is that one of the most important shots,
if not the most important shot in tennis, is the serve,
and the service kind of left her since she won
her second major, Roland Garros in early June in Canada,
a couple of weeks ago, she served twenty four double faults,
still won a match seven to six and the third
over Collins. But you can't be serving fifteen double faults
(20:34):
and expect to win a major, and she felt she
needed somebody on her team that can really help with
the biomechanics of her serves. So she brought in Gavin McMillan,
who had just been released from the Sabolenka team, Which
is fascinating because Sablenka and Golf. Of course, they've played
in two major finals. Coco Goff won both of them,
and now Coco has one of Sablenka's coaches that helped
(20:57):
dig her out of the worst case of service ever
about three years ago. So that's a fascinating twist. On
the eve of the main draw.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
Okay, let's talk about some of the favorites. We've talked
about two, Coco and Sablanca. Arena Sabalanca, let's start with
those two. What are you seeing from them as they
come into this Coco coming off a win at the
French Open, she won the Open here in twenty twenty three.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
But you mentioned that serve problem.
Speaker 6 (21:21):
Yeah, it's the serve and then also the forehand can
really let her down if she's feeling anxious about both shots.
I think if she kind of lowers the expectation on
the serve, gets a much higher percentage of first serves
in goes for a spin, you know, almost like a
second serve first sometimes, and then rely on her great athleticism,
one of the best backhands in the sport. I mean,
(21:43):
Cocoa goff can definitely win this tournament, but Cocoa Golf,
given what we've seen the last month and a half,
can also lose early. So take your pick anywhere in between.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
Sablanca is having one of the most consistent and best
years without winning a Grand Slam, So what's holding her back?
She comes into this space presumably feeling great, looking to
defend last year's championship here at the Open, and she's
reached the semi final here in the last four years,
so very consistent here in Flushing Meadows.
Speaker 6 (22:09):
Yeah, it's been a brutal year for Sabolenka, who was
trying to win three Australian Opens in a row. She
lost seven five to the third to Madison Keys. What
a great story, Keys winning her first major, and then
she had that crushing loss to Coco in the finals,
another tough three setter where she didn't handle the lost well,
kind of didn't handle the microphone part of the loss well.
And then Anasimova was too good in the semi. So
(22:31):
you're right, when you're one in the world and you
get to two major finals in another semi and you've
already won three majors coming into the year, you would
expect to have won at least one, Which is why
she's gonna feel a lot of pressure here is she defends,
which is why I'm not sure she's gonna win, and
I don't think she will, all right, Who are your
other favorites, well, Sablenca, Cocoa Golf for my second and
(22:51):
third IgA, Sfiantek. What Ega has done since a subpar
clay court season is unbelievable. She had more time to
prepare for Wimbledon. Got to the finals of a WTA
five hundred and bod Homberg Germany right before Wimbledon. It
gave her confidence going into Wimbledon, and when she hit
the middle of the tournament, she was playing great, more
(23:13):
compact groundstrokes, better serve, winning free points with a serve,
and the way she went through the draw at the end,
I don't have to tell you. She beat Benchic like
two to zero, and then she won in the finals
for the second time in major tennis history on the
women's side, one Love and Love. She was unbelievably dominant,
and she won Cincinnati on a fast surface. So Schmiantek's
(23:36):
my favorite.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
Are you worried at all about fatigue? Because she won
the Senci Open on Monday. On Tuesday she won two
mixed doubles matches short and format, but still and played
deep into that mixed doubles tournament.
Speaker 3 (23:48):
Is that just going to keep her primed and.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
Ready or are you worried at all about her body
kind of being a little bit sore by now?
Speaker 6 (23:54):
You know, I feel the energy and her whole attitude
has flipped from a couple months ago, and she's riding
the wave, and when you have a wave of confidence,
you kind of don't want to get off the wave.
I hope she takes today off because the mixed doubles
didn't finish till after midnight. Take today off and then
I think she'll be fine. I think she is ultra
(24:14):
confident and she has a lot of belief now in
the coaching partnership with whim Fact, she'll be ready to go.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
Let's talk about Madison Keys, Australia Open winner. She's got
thirty three career wins here at Flushing Meadows.
Speaker 3 (24:26):
She likes this place. What do you think she's gonna
bring this year.
Speaker 6 (24:30):
Well, I think she's gonna bring a lot of confidence
and satisfaction that she's playing the US Open for the
first time as a major champion and a major hardcourt champion.
The way she went through the quarters, semis and finals,
and then also told the story of how therapy helped
her come to really put the right perspective. She was
a young teenager who had a lot of expectations and
(24:52):
she was never that comfortable and she always felt like
she had the pressure to win. And I also think
her husband born friend TAngelo, was at atb tour player.
He's been like the perfect coach to help encourage her
to switch rackets to something that was more suitable to
give her a little more control. I think it's one
of the great stories of twenty twenty five.
Speaker 3 (25:11):
Elena Rebakana.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
She has not had a great time here in New
York in the past, but she's had some great semi
finalists finishes in Washington, Montreal, Cincinnati. She comes in looking good.
Can she change up the narrative for her here at
the Open?
Speaker 6 (25:27):
Sure, she'd be in the like four through six pick
definitely with a chance. Ribakana has I think, since Serena
Williams retired, the best serve in women's tennis. She can
pound aces like nobody else in the women's game. She's
got a beautiful backhand. She's another one that her backhand's
much stronger than the forehand.
Speaker 5 (25:44):
Yes, of course she can.
Speaker 6 (25:46):
You know, there's a lot of shy people Naomio Saka's
side because she's won two US Open, but there's a
lot of people that don't feel comfortable with this atmosphere
in New York on that court with a noise and
sort of all the activity. And I think Rebakan is
one of those you.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
Mentioned Naomi osaka early exit in the mixed doubles. She
has always seemed to find herself in the media, sometimes
for good or for bad, and I think I have
a lot of empathy for her in the way it
feels like she struggles with the press and struggles with
her own emotion And she's been really open about the
ups and downs of being a professional tennis player, the
(26:23):
pressure that she feels, her interactions and relationship with the media.
Speaker 3 (26:28):
What advice would you give.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
Her on continuing to be someone who can be such
a fan favorite and can also people can sour on
her quickly when she has postgame moments where she doesn't
feel as gracious as people expect or things like that.
Speaker 3 (26:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (26:41):
Well, I think Osaka had a tough final a few
weeks ago when she lost to Victoria Momboco of Canada
in Canada, where the crowd in Montreal went absolutely nuts
for the teenage Canadian who was about to win their
national championship, and I think it throw Naomi.
Speaker 5 (26:56):
Back a little bit.
Speaker 6 (26:57):
And I also I think Osaka was disappointed she didn't
and listen, what other sport does the loser have to
speak so quickly after a crushing loss, and we got
to give a little bit of grace, whether your Sablenka
posts losing the Cocoa GoF in Paris this year or Osaka.
But you know, I have a lot of respect for
(27:18):
Osaka coming back from the maternity leave, trying to get
the way she was when she won four majors on
hard courts. But you bring up the mental health bit.
It was really brutal Covid when the tours started back
again here you soap in twenty twenty, the press conferences
were all virtual. Many of the press were off camera
(27:39):
and so literally you would have a question come out
of a computer with a name, and she's shy, right,
and it made her uncomfortable and I think we all
have to understand that was a difficult time.
Speaker 3 (27:49):
Yeah, for sure, you mentioned Victoria and Bogo.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
What a crazy run and to do it in her
home country in front of the adoring crowd. Excited about this, Benam,
do you expect to see her being a little bit
of a dark horse potentially getting some upsets here at
the Open?
Speaker 6 (28:04):
You know, she's definitely gonna be a force in women's
tennis for years to come. I love her athleticism, I
washed her in person in Paris this year. I made
a point to go see her see her play. I
was really impressed by her talent. If she plays like
she did in Canada, she can definitely make the second week.
I think it's a little too early to put her in,
(28:25):
you know, even in the favorite say eight through twelve.
But watch out in years to come.
Speaker 3 (28:31):
Any other dark horses you're watching.
Speaker 6 (28:33):
Oh, I think there's so many great US players where
it's like McCartney, Kessler is an example, Ashlyn Krueger. You know,
there's some US players that are really good or comfortable
on a hard court, who are very hungry. And I
like the way both the US men and the US
women are all pushing each other. So I'm gonna look
for maybe a US female rank somewhere in the US
(28:55):
between like five and.
Speaker 5 (28:57):
Ten to have a pretty good run.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
All Right, You've had a chance to talk to lots
of celebrities here, and I wonder if there was anyone
courtside or in the press box or walking around that
you interviewed that you got a little tongue tied around
anyone make it nervous.
Speaker 6 (29:10):
Oh, there's some comedians through the years. I had a
lot of fun with Why am I having Ron Burgundy?
Speaker 5 (29:18):
Remind me the.
Speaker 6 (29:19):
Bill Ferrell Will Ferrell Will Farrell was probably the funniest. Also,
isn't this terrible Spanish opera singer who sat in the
Doll's box Placido Domingo.
Speaker 5 (29:30):
He's from Spain. I got him to sing a note
during a rain delay. That was really fun.
Speaker 6 (29:36):
Michael Phelps is from my hometown of Baltimore, so after
I think it was after I think it was after
twenty maybe it was eight or twenty twelve. I don't
know how many medals he had, but I have one.
So I said, hey, we're both from Baltimore and we
both have an Olympic medal.
Speaker 5 (29:53):
You just have sixteen and I have one. I think
he ended up in.
Speaker 3 (29:56):
The twenties, still more than me.
Speaker 5 (29:58):
Pam oh, I have one more sure.
Speaker 6 (30:00):
I loved interviewing a double interview Frank Robinson, who played
for my hometown Baltimore Orioles, and Hank Aaron in a
double interview to interview two MLB Hall of famers who
hit over six hundred and twenty home runs.
Speaker 5 (30:17):
We know that Hank hit a lot more than that.
That was cool.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
Incredible is there a celeb you'd love to see that
hasn't come by yet.
Speaker 5 (30:24):
You know what a lot of them have been coming
out the last few years.
Speaker 6 (30:28):
I do think USTA in the US Open, if they
give them luxury suite access and tickets, they should talk
to us on ESPN and share their moments.
Speaker 5 (30:39):
And their love of tennis.
Speaker 3 (30:40):
I like that, Pam. Yeah, bully them into it.
Speaker 1 (30:43):
Last year, I was here one week before Taylor Swift
and Travis in the same suite they were in.
Speaker 3 (30:48):
I just missed him by one week.
Speaker 5 (30:50):
Yeah, that was fun.
Speaker 1 (30:51):
You got to get them to chat with you, Pam.
I want to talk about something that happened a bit
ago because it really stood out to me and I.
Speaker 3 (30:58):
Was so impressed with how you handled it.
Speaker 1 (30:59):
Had some words for fellow former player Omili Moresmo. She's
now the French Open tournament director. She defended the decision
to schedule only men's events during primetime viewing, and you
were really not just angry, but kind of offended by
her defense when she was challenged on that. Are you
surprised that, all these years later, after Billy Jean King
(31:20):
and Chrissy Everard and so many other folks have worked
for pay equity and equal opportunity, that there are still
not just men but women defending the idea that men
deserve more of the primetime spots.
Speaker 6 (31:30):
Yeah, it's Roland Garros has been tough of the scheduling.
They put the women's slake at eleven o'clock and usually
by about three in the afternoon, the women are done
and the men play in the more popular late afternoons
for TV and for night time. If people work, they're
going to come to the night session. I think they've
only had two women's matches in the three years of
night sessions, so it leaves you with a poor taste.
(31:52):
And this past year was a third year Emily Moresmo,
who was number one in the world, won two majors,
earned a lot of money through tennis, and that she
doesn't support women's tennis because this country has shown us
and starting back with Billy Jean King and Chris Evert
and Martina and the Williams sisters, that women have given
(32:13):
the opportunity and the right time, can carry their own
ratings in prime time.
Speaker 5 (32:19):
No problem. We outrate the men many.
Speaker 6 (32:21):
Times, but you got to be given the opportunity and
it's just rankles me that it doesn't happen at Rolling Garros.
Speaker 1 (32:27):
Well, keep speaking out because I think we know that
public pressure is often what moves people off of their position.
Speaker 3 (32:33):
And in women's tennis.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
There is really almost no better sport to defend the
fact that women should be given equal marketing, equal money,
equal investment, because time after time it proves to be
something that people want to watch and is often more enjoyable,
longer rallies, and it's less about the big serves and
more about the great play.
Speaker 6 (32:50):
Well in the stories behind the women champions. And I
just want to again commend the USTA who started equal
prize money in the majors in nineteen seventy three and
it's been that way ever since. So a lot to
be proud of in this country. And I just want
to see other cultures, other countries except the emerging market
of female athletes.
Speaker 1 (33:10):
I always defend the French when people say they're not nice,
but this time I'm with you, Pam, get it together France.
Speaker 3 (33:18):
So just a couple months ago, you.
Speaker 1 (33:21):
Personally had this incredible wild adventure going through the tragedy
of the fires in southern California, evacuating your home, grabbing
all your stuff staying in a hotel and your son's
car was stolen with like half of your lifetime's worth
of trophies in the car. Can you tell us that
(33:42):
story and what happened?
Speaker 5 (33:45):
And I'll try and tell it succinctly.
Speaker 6 (33:47):
But yeah, January seventh was obviously one of the toughest
days in California's history. I was actually in Hawaii with
our three kids. I shared three kids with George Lazemi,
who's second James Bond, and I was supposed to leave
for the Australian Open the next day. Bond Girl, Bond
Girl and I got alerts on my phone that a
(34:10):
fire had started in the Palisades and I had moved
my kid's dad because we're the only family in LA's
from Australia, and I helped care for him.
Speaker 5 (34:17):
Now all these years after.
Speaker 6 (34:18):
Our divorce, I had to get him evacuated safely from
the Palisades. I had to step by step make decisions
of first delaying going down to Melbourne and then realizing
given the fires, and then it was coming towards Brentwood,
where I live up in the canyon Upper Bundy Canyon.
Obviously I couldn't go to Australia. So I came home
about four days after the Palisades fire started. Meanwhile eating
(34:41):
fire in Alta, Dina. So I came home to my
home area of Los Angeles with two beautiful villages basically destroyed,
Pacific Palisades and Altadena, and right away, with a partner
that I've been in business with for about twenty years,
we decided to kickstart a chair already called Village Rising
(35:01):
that was there for the Woolsey fire to help people
that were left behind. So we're in the middle of
raising funds to try and help parks with tennis courts
like Palisades Tennis Center, like Loma Alta Park, and like
Farnsworth Park in Altadena get their tennis programs back, get
the lifetime sport. And we're also helping some schools that
(35:22):
lost their campuses that were left behind. So anybody who
wants to help us out Village Rising.
Speaker 1 (35:28):
Yeah, Village Rising Foundation will be sure to put the
link to that in our show notes for the podcast.
But people can always go to Village Risingfoundation dot org
if they want to donate. Okay, So you do all
this work around helping restore the tennis courts and the
villages around you, but you personally still have to restore
those trophies, so tell us what I have them.
Speaker 6 (35:47):
Yeah, the trophy story is interesting because we had all
our cars. Well, I have three young adults that all drive,
so we had our three cars at this hotel parking lot,
and one of them, the most desirable for car, which
was a Durango Dodge Durango, was stolen.
Speaker 5 (36:03):
In the middle of the night.
Speaker 6 (36:04):
The thieves did not realize that in the back of
that car, under some towels and blankets were all my
US Open Doubles trophies five, all my Rolling Garos five
and seven Australian Open trophies. My Wimbledons were evacuated. They
were in a different car, so they were always okay.
But when I realized that they were gone too, I
(36:25):
got mad. And when I was reporting at the police
station the theft, I went on my social media, which
is Twitter, I have my most followers or x and
I told people that a car was stolen. If anybody
sees major trophies from the following years, helped me out.
In LA networks. They picked up the story and I
got them back ten days later. They were returned to
(36:49):
the same hotel parking lot that they were stolen from.
Speaker 1 (36:53):
Well, the thiefs were like, well, I guess I can't
sell these now because everyone's going to know I stole them.
Speaker 3 (36:58):
They're not worth a lot.
Speaker 1 (36:59):
And they did pull up in a black SUV with
a hood on and just sort of drop them off
and peel out.
Speaker 5 (37:05):
They kept the car, Yeah, they did keep the car.
Speaker 6 (37:08):
It's interesting the car and the trophies were worth about
the same the trophies. I had them in my insurance
program and it was eighty thousand dollars worth of trophies.
Speaker 5 (37:18):
I got them back.
Speaker 1 (37:19):
I think the lesson here is for everyone make sure
you split up your trophies in different cars, so if
the car is stolen, you only have to recover half
of your How many major trophies total?
Speaker 5 (37:31):
Twenty two?
Speaker 3 (37:31):
Twenty two?
Speaker 6 (37:32):
Yeah, Actually the last one was in ninety one with
Natasha Zvera of a Belarus I think she was Belarus
and first time we ever played together, and it was
my last major.
Speaker 3 (37:43):
This is amazing you went out on top.
Speaker 5 (37:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (37:45):
Well, I struggled the next five years, but I'll remember
that one in ninety one.
Speaker 1 (37:50):
Pam Shriver, who has been at this spot, right here
since nineteen seventy eight as a sixteen year old, now
giving us all the good information that we need to
get excited for this year's straw.
Speaker 3 (37:59):
Thank you, Thank you so much, Pam.
Speaker 5 (38:01):
Sarah, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (38:04):
We have to take another quick break when we come
back the head to heads that Big Citrus wants to see.
Speaker 2 (38:17):
Welcome, Max Lays.
Speaker 1 (38:18):
Sticking with our US Open theme, it's time to use
our imaginations and create some all time tournament matches. What
US Open faceoffs would we want to see if age
and era weren't a factor, If any player could match
up with any other player in the history.
Speaker 2 (38:33):
Of the event, who would we want to see?
Speaker 1 (38:35):
Personally, I'd want to watch Serena Williams versus Steffi Graff,
both in their primes. Serena's got the record for most
Grand Slam singles title in the Open era, while Graf
holds the record for most consecutive weeks ranked world number
one and astonishing one hundred and eighty six weeks.
Speaker 3 (38:51):
These women are.
Speaker 1 (38:51):
Two of just thirteen all time to complete the Golden Slam,
winning all four Grand Slams and Olympic gold but Graf
is the only player ever to do it in a
single calendar year, nineteen eighty eight, those two in their primes,
that's a hell of a matchup. Meche said they'd want
to see Serena Williams versus Cocoa Goff. They said that
sounds like a tennis match made in heaven, and Alex
(39:14):
said she'd want to see Serena Williams versus Venus Williams.
She actually got to watch their last ever match against
each other at the US Open back in twenty nineteen,
with Serena winning sixty one sixty one, and she said
it was excellent but also pretty one sided. So she'd
love to have been in the audience when both of
them were still at their prime. Basically, we all want
to see Serena come back. We love that you're listening,
(39:36):
but we want you to get in the game every
day too. So here's our good game play of the day.
Send us your all time US Open matchups stars from
the sixties versus today's top talent. Serena Williams versus noted
homophobe Margaret Court. You know, just to see that be
put in her place. Everyone's fair game. Let us know
who you'd love to see go head to head in
a singles battle. Oh, and slices, don't forget. The tw
(40:00):
so Rossy Bench reveal in Door County, Wisconsin is tomorrow, Saturday,
August twenty third, twelve pm at the Observation Deck at
Whitefish Dune State Park. As I've mentioned in previous shows,
the reveal will be followed by postgame drinks, cheese curds
and hangs at the Hitching Post in Sturgeon Bay.
Speaker 2 (40:16):
So come through.
Speaker 1 (40:17):
I'd love to connect with as many of you slices
as I can. Check my Insta and Blue Sky accounts
for a graphic with all the details, and we always
love to hear from you, so hit us up on
email Good Game at wondermedianetwork dot com or leave us
a voicemail at eight seven two two four fifty seventy
and don't.
Speaker 2 (40:34):
Forget to subscribe a rate and review.
Speaker 3 (40:36):
It's so easy. Watch friend at the show.
Speaker 1 (40:39):
Taylor Townsend Rock and Orcas and Dinosaurs at the Open.
Rating two out of two teas for Taylor Townsend review.
Since her contract with Nike lapsed in twenty seventeen, Townsend
has been wearing off the rack gear to compete, but
she started embellishing it with an interlocking TT, the logo
for a namesake apparel brand that she's been developing with
(40:59):
a Lanta designer Alexander John. A New York Times story
by Josh Levin revealed a few of the looks that
Townsend has planned for this US Open, including a kit
inspired by orcas that we saw in her first mixed
doubles match. This was an idea she got from a
celeb sliding into her dms on Instagram. Okay, so, after
winning a match at the DC Open, Townsend raised her
hand above her head like a shark.
Speaker 2 (41:21):
Fin and actor Samuel L.
Speaker 1 (41:22):
Jackson, who's a fan, messaged and told her She's not
a shark, She's an orca an apex predator.
Speaker 2 (41:29):
So she's got that fit.
Speaker 1 (41:30):
But she also has fits for the Open, featuring a
Tyrannosaurus Rex theme, which is a tribute to her dinosaur
loving four year old son, and a phoenix rising. She
told the Times, quote, every time that a phoenix is reborn,
it has to burn itself to become new.
Speaker 2 (41:43):
I've kind of been that throughout my career. End quote.
Speaker 3 (41:46):
Very cool.
Speaker 1 (41:47):
TT Let us know when you find an apparel partner
to bring your gear to shelves near us because we'll
be first in line to buy them. Now, it's your
turn rate and review. Thanks for listening, y'all, See you
next week. Good Game, Pam, Good Game, Honeyduces Hugh, Margaret Court.
Good Game with Sarah Spain is an iHeart women's sports
production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You
(42:10):
can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you get your podcasts. Production by Wonder Media Network,
our producers are Alex Azzie and Misha Jones. Our executive
producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan, and Emily Rudder.
Our editors are Emily Rutter, Britney Martinez, Grace Lynch, and
Gianna Palmer. Our associate producer is Lucy Jones. Production assistance
(42:33):
from Avery Loftus and I'm Your Host Sarah Spain
Host
Sarah Spain
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.