Hannah Berner is Back

00:00:17
Speaker 1: Well, well, well, well, well, hi everybody, welcome to the Rene stup Center's podcast. Before Hannah got on, I said, don't say anything, because I want to keep everything for the listeners, tennis people, tennis fans. I have Hannah Burner back on the show today because and some of you might be thinking, who's Hannah Burner? Well, if you don't know Hannah Burner is, get out from under your rock, because Hannah is everywhere. May I just say I like doing this before you get on We ride at Dawn on Netflix. If you still haven't seen that, get on it. Of course, one of the two funniest people on Giggly Squad. Of course I give Page all the love on that one. You are just finished a None of Your Business tour which you were on the road. Every time I talk to you, I was like, where the fuck are you now? You're in some god forsaken city all over the place. You've been killing it, Hannah. And on June fifth, and I'm gonna make sure we say this at the end June fifth.

00:01:11
Speaker 2: You've got a specialist.

00:01:13
Speaker 1: Man, got another special coming out on Hulu. You are just everywhere, But more importantly, you love tennis ladies. Hannah Burner, who watches more tennis than me.

00:01:24
Speaker 2: It is. I'm so grateful to be on to talk my favorite thing with my favorite person and an icon a legend. V RS renee rs doesn't hit as well as I thought it would, but no.

00:01:39
Speaker 1: It doesn't. Knows you can throw my middle name in a Patricia. What's your middle name?

00:01:45
Speaker 2: Lucy?

00:01:47
Speaker 1: Wow? I mean you were you were made to be a comedian obviously, right.

00:01:51
Speaker 2: Don't don't think of me differently.

00:01:53
Speaker 1: Well, mine's Patricia.

00:01:55
Speaker 2: I know. I didn't want I was. I wasn't gonna say anything about that. Hannay, let's move forward.

00:01:59
Speaker 1: That's that's cute.

00:02:01
Speaker 2: See me preparing for this part. I literally was like, yeah, tell me, well, I always have it on. I always have to channel on. But I was like, because sometimes I'm watching too many of the girls matches, I'm like, what are the boys doing?

00:02:14
Speaker 1: Well? If you listen to my podcast, Caitlin and I usually go want while, let's talk about the guys. Wait, no, sinner, who cares? It's insane?

00:02:22
Speaker 2: But okay, tell me what happened with Zverev this morning? Because you were texting me and I was out and about and a love set for a man is crazy.

00:02:32
Speaker 1: Well it's crazy, Hannah. You actually text me and you said, is he tanking? And actually scary, No, he was not tanking the third he was definitely not tanking. He just this is how I describe him. We have a particular name for him that I will not say on this pod, but we do use it on a friendship basis with you know, several of us, including Caitlin and pet Co and I just I find him to be such a baby. Right, So he had match points in the second set. He's playing against this Italian you know, you get. I mean, I've played in Italy, I've played in Rome. It's a fucking nightmare to play against anyone Italian. It's a nightmare to play anyone who's French.

00:03:11
Speaker 2: And I feel like you're a gladiator with a tiger attacking you.

00:03:15
Speaker 1: Yeah, but he's such a pussy on the biggest points. And may I just say, like, I did write down a couple of things because instead of like going for winners, he like, he's such a whiss. He had a passing shot on match point the tiebreak and he just had to rip it down the line. Instead he went for what did he go for? He went for the safe one which he went cross court, and then the guy hit a volley winner and I just he double faulted on set point, like to give the set away. And then and then he just missed in the third and the guy was like hanging in. It was too love to Daderi and he was forty love on his serfs very and he loses a game, but like double fall, it's mistakes on the forehand and then just like gives the game away and that was the match.

00:03:59
Speaker 2: It's just ridiculous, and I don't even want to bash him. However, he likes to talk about how he's of the second echelon after Sinner, that he's like with Alcarez. And one thing about Alcarez, that boy goes for it. He's hitting the big shots, he has the weapons. If he's gonna lose, he's gonna lose it. Whereas Verev gets defensive when he gets tight, and you can't be number one with that kind of defensive mindset.

00:04:27
Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly, And you cannot. Not only can you not be number one, but you cannot win a major because to beat someone like Sinner and Alcarez, I mean, he's lucky that Alcoraz is out for the French, so he has one less guy. But it's like he's never gonna beat Sinner because Sinner on a big point is gonna go for it and he's gonna play Not only is he gonna play the percentages, but he's gonna hit the shit out of the ball. He's not gonna the forehand goes off. The double faults you know, come into play.

00:04:51
Speaker 2: And he I have a question for you. Would you rather get to a Grand Slam singles final and have match point and fold like a cheap beach chair, or would you rather never make it to a singles final but never have that nightmare when you go to sleep at night.

00:05:12
Speaker 1: Oh that's a good one. I think I would go with getting there and knowing that I was I woshed out, but I know that there's a potential that I could have won one, whereas never getting to one, I would just that would just mean ill wasn't very good, you know what I mean?

00:05:29
Speaker 2: I would say what about me? Because I agree with you?

00:05:32
Speaker 1: Because Sarah drugs to put you a sleep panel.

00:05:35
Speaker 2: Yeah, I also think it makes you more interesting when you've messed up. But I think it's Vera's Yeah, it's very interesting how that match still is tattooed in my head if I haven't gotten over it. I don't know how he feels. But that's sport, and some of your worst losses can make you either like excel or lose confidence. But he's he's teetering, he's still there, like he still can break through if all three of the guys ahead of him.

00:06:08
Speaker 1: All over and he has a chance. If Sinner does his Achilles before the French Open, he has a chance. But then but see, this is what bothered me and Caitlin last week, is that he's putting himself, as he already said about in the same echelon as Alcaraz, who's it's disrespectful six majors or something already.

00:06:28
Speaker 2: As just started playing pro and he's the greatest of all time in these numbers. So yeah, I'm a big Alcoriz fan. So that's when I was like, okay, let's let's get a little humble.

00:06:41
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I would have said, look, you know, if he'd said Sinner and Alcarez are so far ahead of us and I got to work to get better at these I mean I would say to him, is I think his biggest problem is that he has his family as his coach. He doesn't have someone who's going to say, either you step up here or I'm out of here, because I don't know what the father is telling him, but hens out all the time, and you know, technically he's not good on the forehand and technically has that like little hitch on the surf. So at some point, as you know, Hannah, when you're bad, technically it's all downhill.

00:07:12
Speaker 2: Are we pulling your fingers now?

00:07:14
Speaker 1: I wanted to know if there was a match that clearly hasn't left your brain, because yeah, what's the worst one for you? What's the worst one?

00:07:26
Speaker 2: Oh? God, well, you know what, one of the worst ones. Sometimes it's more of the feeling. I had a match. Oh this was dark, but college dark is getting was so crazy and it was every week and you're just like, you don't even know where you are, what's going on, and you're just fighting for your life. You're waking up at six am every morning. And I definitely have bad ADHD and that didn't help. But I'm not making excuses.

00:07:53
Speaker 1: Hence the comedy.

00:07:55
Speaker 2: I showed up and I'm playing Northwestern and I in the first set six three, I'm up six three three two, and I'm playing. Well, everything's good.

00:08:05
Speaker 1: I help me out here. Let me I'm gonna break out a badger hat for you.

00:08:09
Speaker 2: Goody be edgeres, cool be edgers, goopy edges.

00:08:11
Speaker 1: For those of you can't see because this is a podcast. I'm I just put on a Where did you even get that my neighbor? I told you my neighbors are badgers. You went to school at the same time together.

00:08:21
Speaker 2: They're everywhere.

00:08:22
Speaker 1: They just had a baby. Come on, Hannah, carry out, all right out.

00:08:24
Speaker 2: So this is so college tennis story. I break my string, I go back to get a racket. I realize all the rackets in my bag are broken strings. So I grabbed broken string rackets clearly like I'm not I'm not on top of it. I'm not organized, and that's how my brain was. So then I have to.

00:08:44
Speaker 1: Borrow that's a nice man, that's actually a racket.

00:08:47
Speaker 2: And I'm always teetering with the anxiety. So like now I have a different I was played with a Wilson like heavy racket. I'm double faulting and I just have like a full mental breakdown. I just was like the universe hates me when it's like okay, like you're clearly unorganized and this is a result, but like this is division one. I was playing, I think number two, Like this is not a time to like try out someone else's racket. And my coach was so so mad at me, and I just remember getting in the van and all the girls are in the van, and I just I cried the entire time, like a loud cry, like a heaving cry, just like and everyone was just quiet while I was crying because it's like, not only did I lose, but like I made I should have won, and it's my fault, like I'm doubly dumb, like I double faulted, and it's because I forgot my racket. I've forgotten shoes a lot. I always forget my shoes. I show up.

00:09:44
Speaker 1: I think every tennis play has done that. I mean Coco did it recently, right, she went on the court. Yeah, he shoes, I've done that. I've done that.

00:09:50
Speaker 3: There's a lot of stuff you have to carry around, and then I would always show up in the wrong outfit, like where I still have nightmares of Oh I was supposed to wear the red shorts and the weight shirt.

00:10:00
Speaker 2: And I showed up with a red shirt and a weight short.

00:10:03
Speaker 1: This is what keeps me up at nate ADHD at its best. I actually one time funny enough that you said that I played a final in Madrid at Madrid in I wish it was Madrid. In Mildura, Australia. It was a grass court title. It was a twenty five thousand K tournament. I'm in the final and I'm playing and my string breaks, and this is like before you know, you'd have like five rackets in your bag, like strung sort of perfectly and blah blah true and as a professional does not like you at college and me at a twenty five and I went in college, they.

00:10:33
Speaker 2: String all your rackets for free, like there was no excuse.

00:10:35
Speaker 1: There is no expense. I had to pay for mine, so it was like more expensive. But so I got on the court, I break my string. I didn't even know what the score was. I think I'd won the first set. I'm like looking good. I'm playing on grass, it's my thing. And my string breaks and I'm like, oh shit. So I go to my bag and I pull out the next racket. And when I tell you, Hannah, it was like my racket was strung at sixty pounds and then it went to forty two. But I don't know what happened, but the stringing that I pulled out was literally ten to fifteen pounds loose trampoline.

00:11:04
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was.

00:11:05
Speaker 1: Like a trampoline. I was like, holy shit, I can't hit anything, so I had to. Like I mean, it was perfect for me because I coud chip and charge and come into the net and hit volleys. But I mean the abuse that I gave myself during the match as this was going on, like you fucking are so unprofessional, I can't believe it doing this to yourself and blah blah blah. Anyway, I ended up winning the match, which is a miracle, but it happens to us.

00:11:27
Speaker 2: Old You're like, I did win though, because I'm a professional.

00:11:31
Speaker 1: I did.

00:11:32
Speaker 2: Also, I had a match once where I was my coach got me these dunlop rackets in college and they seemed like kind of janky, and while I was playing with it, the handle fell off of one and I got really pissed because it was there was something in it, like I don't know where he got these rackets, but I was it was dodgy and the handle falls off and I like lose the point and I took the racket and I threw it in the trash can.

00:11:59
Speaker 1: Well that's I'll be where it deserved to be.

00:12:01
Speaker 2: And he defaulted me and my parents had came to visit. Yeah, that's a dark one. Yeah I have I have a.

00:12:09
Speaker 1: Lot of dark. You have a lot of dark. I love this, I love this, but.

00:12:13
Speaker 2: Never boring, never boring.

00:12:16
Speaker 1: Well, that's that's obviously another reason why you went into what you're doing. So I want to go I want to talk about clearly, Sinner is just annihilating. And and let me just say to everyone who's listening, Hannah Legit watches more tennis than me. Every time I call her or every time she posts something, there's a shot in the background of the tennis channel on. And it's unbelievable how much you still love this sport because ideally you went into comedy and you went into doing you're just you're killing it, right, But you wanted to be a professional talnis player, and you literally played with the Jessica Pagoulas in juniors, and you played all these types you played with jess So it just it's it's awesome that I actually, when I do text you to do this because you're so friggin busy, You're like, yeah, I'll do it, because I know how much you jones about tennis, and so I want to know your thoughts about you know, Sinner, where he's going to win the French Like I actually predicted that before Alchorrez pulled out. He's playing so well he won, he has I wrote it down somewhere thirty one wins or somebody. He's only on a thirty five win streak. It's unbelievable. Tell me, I know that you love Alchirez, but as a tennis person and somebody who watches so much tennis, what do you love about What do you think he's improved over the last twelve months?

00:13:30
Speaker 2: Sinner?

00:13:31
Speaker 1: Yeah?

00:13:32
Speaker 2: You well. Also, I do love Cinner, especially as a half Italian. I love the representation. He is mentally incredible. He has that kind of aura about him and calmness where he even when he loses points, it doesn't affect him, and he just seems like he has a game plan and no one's going to shake him. Where there's some other players where yeah, when they're on they're so good, but you know once they fall off, they're not. He just doesn't have that vere dip. He doesn't have that dip like the dip is. And it's funny. I saw him plays Verev and I think like the twenty twenty US Open and it's vere of one in two sets, and it's just so funny.

00:14:14
Speaker 1: Se yep.

00:14:15
Speaker 2: Yeah, I remember thinking like he's solid, but I guess it wasn't enough. But yeah, mentally he's on another level and to have to move at the level that he has. And yes, the forehand in the backhands so equal where I feel like men's tennis sometimes there's a big divide. He just there's no hole.

00:14:34
Speaker 1: Yeah, there's no hole.

00:14:36
Speaker 2: You can't be like we'll move him, well his service week will hit it to his backhand, No, no.

00:14:40
Speaker 1: No, yeah, yeah, you're so right. And I think that's what makes greats greats like Novak and Rafa Roger is that you know, Roger had to improve his back end topy to even play with Rafa, and that's you know that improved through the years. I mean his top sman back end became a lethal weapon. But the thing with Sinna, I think that what he he's improved as Yes, the mental side of it, I think he's gotten so much better in that, like getting stronger and stronger, and actually I think it's more along the lines of thin. I just don't think he believed in himself because he's not a super cocky guy, right and he I think you have to almost build him up to be like, no, you're actually that guy. You're actually that guy. And he's starting to actually believe that he's.

00:15:21
Speaker 2: That dangerous, which Center knows. Yah, Yeah, because I think he might have had a little imposter syndrome. It's crazy, yes, one day be beating Djokovic and beating al kaz and then putting yourself on your own island right now, but he's in his hometown right now. He's a love country. He's loving it. I mean, the most pressure is when you're in your home country, I feel like totally. But the way he's handling it is incredible and mature and calm. So he's he's dangerous.

00:15:52
Speaker 1: And I think I think I think that Darren Khle has helped him so much with his progression into the net, his ability to be able to play that mid court staff, to hit the volleys and the little drop shot off the forehand. Now he's improved that implementation of what al Choraz does where he has the power, has the power, how do I win the point? Well, you hit a little drop shot? Do you come into the net? So you're right, Hannah, He legit doesn't have any weakness, like literally none nothing, so.

00:16:18
Speaker 2: And I just I don't understand what it takes to in all professional tennis be so above and beyond the rest, Like it's so difficult to go pro and then to think that you're winning every single professional match where no one else can. It is hard for you to even emotionally handle that if that's you. So whatever zone he is in and whatever team is around him is keeping him in a beautiful place. Because we see a lot where people win something and then immediately it hits them, Oh my god, I'm supposed to win and then you start losing. But he feels like he's very comfortable being number one, and that's dangerous. Yeah.

00:16:57
Speaker 1: I think he's very comfortable with playing excellent tennis. And I think that every day is his mantra. Just play excellent tennis. You play excellent tennis, you'll win these matches. And I think the only one as we know that can even remotely push him in the big matches is of course Carlos Akarez, who sadly isn't playing right now hopefully. That risk is did you ever have a rist injury when you were playing?

00:17:19
Speaker 2: I did, I heard risk.

00:17:22
Speaker 1: I had it for nine months. It was like it came at the worst time for me. I was like at my highest singles ranking. I think I was like sixty in the world and I was going up, and then I hurt my wrist for eight months, and I came back really quickly in doubles because it was just so naturally for me to come back and be good and doubles I think I may even won the first time when I played when I came back. But for me, like getting back into the singles swing of things was really hard. The risk is for me, the worst injury you can have in tennis, because if you can't hit the ball, you fucked.

00:17:48
Speaker 2: How did you hurt? How did you hurt your wrist?

00:17:50
Speaker 1: It was mine was I'm not sure what happened. I think it was after the season was done and I started to try and play again. I had this little, a little tendon and joint called the triquetrum. Joint in the wrist, and it was like when I would go to hit my forehand, I couldn't drop my wrist down. And then and then when I went to hit the ball, it was so painful. I could do every other shot, I could serve, I could volley, I could do what I couldn't hit a foint. I mean, I couldn't really hit a foint anything.

00:18:16
Speaker 2: But I was like, I wish I had that excuse.

00:18:19
Speaker 1: Yeah, well that was my excuse, but yeah, it was it was awful. And then I just had a physio at Wimbledon. Randomly. I just got the right person who found that what the problem was, and I played like two weeks later. Yeah, so I lost about eight months of my career. So that sucks for me.

00:18:34
Speaker 2: But what was me?

00:18:36
Speaker 1: I had like little machines, Like what that's what I'm doing. I like, let's not even talk about the guys anymore. I want to talk about Last week Caitlin and I talked about Madrid was like the Hunger Games. For it was like upset after upset after upset up to us the upsets, So do I and I feel like we're having a little bit of that again this week in Rome so like that what's happening? Because you know a lot of people like you know, she's a favorite for the French She's not my favorite for the French Open. Now the question is who is.

00:19:13
Speaker 2: The match with Christia? She was up six two three two.

00:19:17
Speaker 1: I think I think she was up a set in five three actually, oh.

00:19:21
Speaker 2: And for five three, so she was in control.

00:19:23
Speaker 1: Or maybe four two. I'm not sure. O. My memory can't go back there, you know, And she's in control in.

00:19:29
Speaker 2: Her erratic mode where like every shot seems like why are you going for that? But I also have to say shout out to Christia. She's having the Danielle Collins. Yes, she's announced she's done, and that's when suddenly all the pressure leaves you. And she's playing so free, So I don't think anyone wants to run into her in the draw.

00:19:52
Speaker 1: No, And she's so good, like she's always been that player that hits the ball so well. She moves like for her age at thirty six, she moves so well. I mean, she's she's so fat, she's so fit. I just I don't know. I think I think, look, I think she's retiring because I think she wants to have children. I mean, honestly, this is why I always tell girls, get those get those eggs out when you're like twenty two girl. Yeah, like so you don't have to worry about this because then at thirty eight, maybe she can play one more year and she can have some twenty four year old eggs instead of thirty eight year old ones. Yeah, is the not to.

00:20:26
Speaker 2: Get into it. But is the WTA pink for any egg freezing?

00:20:30
Speaker 1: I think so actually I should know that, but I think they are and I think that they're allowing. Also then when you come back like they're freezing your freezing your eggs, they're freezing your ranking, Like there's a lot of things that are going on. They're really trying to help out.

00:20:41
Speaker 2: But yes there is man freeze my wrist, freeze my brain.

00:20:45
Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, it's been great to see her. She had a great when he's you know, relatively easy over Osta Penco today, which is always interesting. What are your thoughts on Astera Pinco us.

00:20:56
Speaker 2: The Pinko loves the clay as pink Oh loves the clay. I think she's a great personality for tennis.

00:21:05
Speaker 1: Don't you think it's funny?

00:21:06
Speaker 3: Though?

00:21:06
Speaker 1: When now she doesn't have any umpires or any linesman yell at and look at.

00:21:10
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, she still definitely keeps the attitude, which is important for her. And you can't look away. You can't look away. But it's never her fault. She's never made a mistake.

00:21:25
Speaker 1: No. I know it because I was coaching a player that played with her in doubles last year and the absolute Russian night, like like they were speaking, she was speaking Russian. On mean, she's not Russian, but speaking of that language to her coaches and stuff. And one of my player's friends was Russian. And I said, what did she say? And she said, you don't want to know? And I said, no, no, I want to know. She goes, well, let's put it this way, there's not a lot of positivity going on the other side of the net for her partner. And I was like, oh my god. She's like, yeah, she's blaming her for everything. I'm like, did she not just see the three volleys she missed on top of the net, Like she is so unaware of what she does do on the tennis court. Sometimes it makes me I just it's just the delusion is unbelievable. But it's also what made your friendship.

00:22:08
Speaker 2: Opens you a grand slam. It's also people to make fun of, like Medvedev's technique, but if you look at her technique, it's crazy. It's like this chicken wing forehand. It's it's jerky, the footwork's not there, but her hands are incredible, and she gets it so flat and gets all her body weight into it, so you always.

00:22:30
Speaker 1: Don't know where it's going. And she's one player, She's literally one player that I've coached again, so I go, I don't know, we don't know. I don't know where the ball's going half the time, which is a rarity because I'm usually pretty good at picking people's tendencies. But anyway, so Sabalanca is not looking great and also having a bit of a back issue apparently, so that is not good going into a major and not having the success that she would have wanted to have on grass and on clay, and then also going on grass. If you got a back problem, it's gonna be a bit of a plane in the ass no offense, because plane on grass is the worst on your butt and your back.

00:23:03
Speaker 2: It's funny you're competing against the rest of the field, but you're also competing against your own body, and it's a double whammy. But I in terms of like who I think is the favorite, it's hard. I mean, you gotta always keep an eye out for Rebakner Yep, agreed, Brabeque. And I also think Ego was looking good.

00:23:25
Speaker 1: Yeahs, Yeah, it's interesting. I think that. I think that, look, she looked real good yesterday against Osaka, And I think that, you know, there's there's a possibility that if she can win this tournament in Rome, which she's done so many times. I mean, she won a final six love, six love, which is insane. If she can get that sort of feeling back again and win Rome, I think she got For me, she goes into the to the French, believe it or not, not having the success that anyone's expected or had she's had in the past. I think she still goes in with a bit of an edge of winning the French because she's done it so many times and you have to.

00:24:01
Speaker 2: And her sheention. So that does help my question to you about Coco, because you know we have to get to Coco.

00:24:11
Speaker 1: Yep.

00:24:12
Speaker 2: How can she emotionally survive?

00:24:15
Speaker 1: I don't know.

00:24:15
Speaker 2: I don't know to win every match.

00:24:19
Speaker 1: I don't know. I don't know, and I'll tell you yeah, honestly, Hannah, Like we've talked about it over the last few weeks. The thing that it's it's sort of getting it's upsetting me the most about watching her, and I adore her, like I just I love her as a human being. I think she's an incredible ambassador for the sport. She does all the right things, she says all the right things, she supports all the right causes. She's getting really pissy pants on the court a lot, Like I feel like she lost the match in the previous week when she was up I believe for one and the third, and we talked about on the podcast last week, and she's winging at her her player's box, and I'm like, your opponent is literally ready to walk off the court. She's done. It was Nskova, and Nuskova is ready to go. She was done. She was like, all right, get me out of here, especially with her type of attitude, you know, but she's also somebody if you let back in a little bit, she can actually hit you off the court, which is exactly what happened. So I'm like, why would you show any negative emotion even if you feel like shit, don't show it.

00:25:19
Speaker 2: Now. I identify with Coco for the only reason why is because my weaknesses and my tightness would come out in my forehand and my second serve. So I like watching her because I feel like I know that ptstains. Yeah, and I like watching her fight through it because it makes me feel like a kindred spirit. But as someone who's experienced this at a much lower level, I've had points where I'll win a bunch of matches brutally, just through my teeth, and then eventually you're like, I can't win ugly anymore, Like I don't have anything left. I can't do this. It's frustrating. And I think she's coming for her box because she's not Kampedia gets the girl across from her. She's competing herself, and she knows that each day she's she's battling a lot of these performances demons.

00:26:07
Speaker 1: And the it's but it's performance demons. But I mean you tell me, because yeah, you know you're saying about.

00:26:14
Speaker 2: Is this technique.

00:26:16
Speaker 1: That's exactly right, I think technique. And when she's nervous, is then overtaking what she wants to do mentally mentally I guarantee you. Mentally, she's saying, Okay, you can do this. Hit it this way, you know, finish the forehand, you know, go for the serve. I think she's telling herself all that, and then all of a sudden, as you got to do it, and you know this because you played, and just like I do. When you know your technique is not good and you get a little bit nervous, it's what breaks down and you and you and you can't help it. Because when you're nervous, you're if your technique is not right, it doesn't I don't care who you are, I don't know how, I don't care how mentally strong you are. And she is incredibly credible strong strong. She can't take it strong.

00:26:59
Speaker 2: She's eating girls like with her second serve and her forehand awry, that's how mentally strong she is. But while other girls are flying through matches, she's having to play these like four hour chess matches to be girls in the top fifty and her long term career. I want her to be happy. I want to have some easy wins. I want her to just hit some people off the court like I.

00:27:24
Speaker 1: Don't think she can. That's the problem. She her fuehand. She cannot hit people off the court. She can't.

00:27:29
Speaker 2: It's funny because when she hits it really right, it's really good, and when she hits it really bad, it's so bad. There's too much of a range of what the forehand can be. And look, I relate to it. That's how I play too. But I just wonder for her longevity because I know she wants to be the greatest of all time. You have to have some six two six two wins.

00:27:52
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, if you want to be the gratest of all time, you got to be like Serena and beat Maria Sharpover in the finals of the Olympics like one in love, Like that's got to be. You've got to be stepfie Graff and beat Natasha's Verereva in the finals of the French Open six love, six love and thirty minutes, like if you want to be the greatest, you've got to crush people like that. And on a concert, I still think she.

00:28:10
Speaker 2: Could pull it out against anyone, but she is does probably have an insane three set record, But again, your body, your mind can only go so far, especially when you're making it to the finals and you've been out there for so long.

00:28:26
Speaker 1: Yeah, I agree. I don't know how she I said that. I don't know when I said it, but I did say it on the pot of a little while ago. It's like, mentally, like how much can you keep putting yourself through this where you need to take like a break. And that's why I wanted to take the break after the US Open last year and really work on those technical flaws and not. And then she went and won Wuhan or whatever, and everyone's like, oh, what are you talking about. I was like, well, because it's for the long it's for the long range goal. It's not about winning Wuhan. Who's the fuck Nobody even remembers to win.

00:28:55
Speaker 2: A dozen Grand Slams? Like that's where she wants to be. And I think she knows. She's frustrated when she's in a third set, even if she's winning, Like I shouldn't be in this third set if I want to be the greatest? How did I get here? Again? But it's I would play. When I would play, I would be tight in the beginning, and I almost whenever i'd play a good player, I'd always lose the first set, to the point that it didn't even affect me. I was like, assume you're gonna lose the first set, Okay, now let's start. So I had a lot of those you know, two six six three sixty three love six six two sixty two. That was just how I played as well. But it's really hard, like you.

00:29:32
Speaker 1: Want to easily win and physically and honestly physically, like right now, she's young, right, so right now she's gonna get away with this and she's gonna bounce back. But when she gets to twenty eight, twenty nine, thirty thirty one, if she's playing that long, those matches start to take their toll on your body. Right, and as fit and fast and as great an athlete as she is, and as she's young, and the more miles she puts on her body on the tennis court under pressure, because stress affects your body differently, Yeah, when she gets to thirty, the knees will start getting a bit sourer, the hip starts to get a little bit tighter, the shoulder starts to have to work a little bit too much. So those are also things that she needs to really think about going forward. And yeah, I mean listen, for me, I've pointed out a few things technically that I mean, there's one thing I don't know if you ever noticed this when she's serving, if you watch where her hand is on her grip, so it goes like I have my rope and a remote control, so she has her finger like up her grip. You can't see it in the pod, but she has her finger up her grip like she's like pointing on the grip and I'm like, get that thing down so you get a little bit more wrist action. There's a little technical things. So I mean, I know she's working with Gavin macmillan. Love the guy. He's a great guy. He's obviously done terrific things to Sabalanca serve. But that's the one little thing that I wish that she would change on her serf. And you listen, injuries get to everybody, So hopefully that's not the case something that happened to Amanda anissam mo Ova. She's had to pull out what a great year that she had last year, and she's struggling this year physically the wrist, you.

00:31:03
Speaker 2: Know, and mentally now that she's a favorite. It's a situation on the court. I do just say shout out to our friend Chelsea Handler. He did. She did amazing on the roast, and I was in LA and went to her show.

00:31:18
Speaker 1: I know I missed you. I was in La because I was on a movie set. Hannah, She's a star.

00:31:25
Speaker 2: You were busy on set.

00:31:27
Speaker 1: Let's just put it this way. I'm gonna it's gonna come out eventually, but I'm already out. So this was not a surprise. But my first my first scene in this movie is going to be euro cheek kissing. Charlie's thereon stand back, everybody, stand back, shut up. I swear to god. I just discussed this off camera.

00:31:48
Speaker 2: I was talking about to my podcast, how Charles Theron is the last real movie star. She is so iconic, so gorgeous, like she glows, they don't make them like her anymore.

00:32:00
Speaker 1: Is the hottest human being literally literally, Oh my god. She was so fucking nice and so cool and drops more F bombs than me, and that, my friends, makes me love her. She drops an Africa. She's from Africa. She has a very American accent when she speaks English, but mate, she drops the F bomb more than me, and that just makes me think you're cool.

00:32:26
Speaker 2: She's a real one, she's a leader.

00:32:27
Speaker 1: I'm an aries we got along. I know you're jealous, Yeah, I am just this's why we get along anyway. So I missed you.

00:32:37
Speaker 2: Miss Chelsea's stand up and Chelsea's you know, she has amazing friends. And after the show there was like a little get together in the lobby actually got quite big. There's a lot of people and I see this like very tall woman standing there and it's Maria. Cheerful of it, and he goes I went to the Hall of Fame last year and I watched her through the whole thing. Never bothered her. I'm bothering her. And then we get to the place and I'm I'm talking to all these random comics and singers that are there, and I freak out and I see Maria and my friends don't understand, and they're like, just say hi to her if you like her, and I go, no, this is like she raised me. She's everything this you know in your head. I'm like, this isn't how we were supposed to meet. I'm not approaching her in a busy, loud party with Chelsea handler. I'm like, I have to wait, And I'm like Renee would be so disappointed. In me that I didn't get the balls, but like, I just didn't feel like it was the right time. You didn't say hi, I didn't even We even made contact a couple times because I think she knows of me, But I was like, I can't do this.

00:33:41
Speaker 1: Oh my god, todd Ley's Ysasha, did you did a Sasha?

00:33:50
Speaker 2: I just didn't want to, like, God forbid it. The interaction was awkward. Then I'm like, I've ruined Rashia.

00:33:56
Speaker 1: Well, I gotta make that happen for you. I'm gonna click this one bit off and I'm gonna send it to He'm gonna texted her and me like this is what Hannah's.

00:34:02
Speaker 2: Having a peaceful night. And I was like, well, also, what am I going to say?

00:34:07
Speaker 1: Like, hey, Marie, few of you I was. I'm a big I was a big fan. Love your tennis. She'd be like, oh, Hannah, I love your stuff. And then all of a sudden you're best friends. This is how it works. Let me teach you how to do that, Sannah. I'll teach you.

00:34:17
Speaker 2: I'm actually so bad. I'm so I.

00:34:19
Speaker 1: Would have thought you were so backwards and coming forwards right now.

00:34:24
Speaker 2: Speak I only get like this with athletes. Yeah, truly get like this with athletes. Literally the biggest movies sound the world. I'd be like, love your work, But when I met Roger Fretter, I just cried in his face and then walked away.

00:34:38
Speaker 1: Most people listening to this podcast can totally relate to you. You're like, oh my god, I would have done the same thing, because she's like.

00:34:45
Speaker 2: A goddess, Like she's a physical and mental, like she's on a different league of existence.

00:34:51
Speaker 1: As soon as you said this tall person, I was like, I knew how it was Maria Shupp speaking of goddesses or gods or legends. I want your thoughts on no Jokovic because man, he's not playing at all. I said, go back to listen to my pods. I thought the Austrain Open was going to be his last Grand Slam, but he's hung around, but he hasn't really played, so I want to know what his end game is. Clearly, he only gives a shit about playing the Grand Slams. But I don't care who you are. You have to play matches before a major and get wins under your belt before you think you can go dominate. Clearly, we saw what he did isustrain and open speaking of beating Sinner in which nobody predicted that, which is also given. I think mister Sinner a bit of a kick up the ass to get things going again this year. But what's going on with Novak? And I mean losing to you know, a qualifier from his own country, Like that's got a hurt, that's like, what's going on?

00:35:45
Speaker 2: What do you say? He did he make any statements like he wanted to end at like no cup or like Olympics, no.

00:35:50
Speaker 1: Something, no, but he did listen. I did an interview with him a couple of years ago at the US Open, and I remember asking him a specific question about playing at night and how do you get up for these matches and time and time again, something.

00:36:01
Speaker 2: Along and older.

00:36:04
Speaker 1: I kind of sort of said something along those lines, but obviously a little bit nicer, and he looked at me and he goes, yeah, I don't know, I don't know how I do it. But it was It wasn't those exact verbatim words, but the way he said it, the way he answered the question, was like, Oh, he's getting he's getting tired of this. This is it starts to weigh on you and at thirty seven, thirty eight years of age thirty nine to win a major title over best of five sets against the Alcres and Centers. While he's lucky at the French because he doesn't have to go through Alcres. And maybe he does get that win over Yannick, but I don't know. It gets harder and harder man to to keep coming back without matches under your belt. I mean, look at Serena when she tried to come back the last couple of years. I mean, you've got to play matches, and then if you get matches, you can win because you're getting match fit again. So what's going on with Novak?

00:36:48
Speaker 2: I do feel like we've been doubting him though every Grand Slam, Like we're like, he's not gonna he's not gonna be and he keeps making the semis, which is incredible. I do think the French it's long points, it's a grind. He's going to be physically pushed to the limit. I just want him to bow out graceful respect. Yes, I don't want it.

00:37:17
Speaker 1: Like who I think maybe maybe maybe you were so open. It's going to be this last anyway. Listen, Hannah, we're going to take a really quick break, and I'm going to ask you about this young Raphael number two after we get back from the break. So hang on, okay, So Hannah, what about mister Raphael number two. He's still in the tournament in Rome. There's a young kid that's exciting. I saw his interview this morning. He speaks really good English, like he's a fun, fun younger. I mean, it's nice, right. We need these young guys to start winning matches because men's tennis has been boring right now.

00:38:07
Speaker 2: Yeah, and you have to imagine some of these guys who like came up with Alcarez, are like if he could get so big, like I can make a dent in professional tennis. And these young guys. You look at his body. He's not filled out. He's like literally growing out. He's so skinny, and I'm like this, this guy has so much growth. So I love when these kind of new people come in and they have this kind of like delusion of like they're not, you know, been on the road for a while. They're just like I love tennis and I'm playing well right now, So shout out to him. He'll be smoking a cigarette next year.

00:38:44
Speaker 1: We'll seem in the back courts, like having a cigarette and like be like, oh man, this.

00:38:48
Speaker 2: Life is not for me, but I love the new energy.

00:38:52
Speaker 1: Yeah, me too. And it really is a fresh name. I mean, not a lot of people had heard of this kid before Madrid, and so the fact that he's reached two back to back, you know, quarters of Masters one thousand is just it's awesome. It's amazing to see someone get through. And you know, I had written down like interesting enough, and he's a uva guy. It's a college go oh yeah, So I think he was going there and then I don't don't know how much he played, and then he's you know, now he's pro and he's like see, yeah, fuck that college life. I do want to ask you about college tennis actually, because it's been coming up. Of the last couple of podcasts, Patrick McEnroe has been talking about it, like give me your thoughts on that, like the international players, how many were on the team for you with the international players, and what do you think about these college tennis programs getting shafted out?

00:39:41
Speaker 2: Well, it's interesting because I feel like college tennis is finally getting respect at the pro level where everyone's seeing like benefits.

00:39:50
Speaker 1: Yeah, and especially men, especially the men.

00:39:53
Speaker 2: Yes, and when you watch the top NC DOUBLEA girls, you're like, this is extremely high level and it's a grind. But I also feel like the problem is is we were never a revenue sport. And I remember when they started talking about athletes getting paid not to age myself fifteen years ago, I remember thinking, yeah, but they'll never pay tennis the same because we're not selling out stadiums even though we are working as hard and we are as good in our sport. And then there was a lot of issues with you know, if someone took prize money they can't play is complicated. On my team, I think I was one of maybe four Americans and there was like six people from all over Singapore, India, Russia. But I do think I know right now the team currently has only two Badgers. They only have I think two or three Americans.

00:40:53
Speaker 1: Yeah, see, that's the problem. I think that's that's where we really got to start looking at it, because I guess the bottom line is, and Kitlon was saying, well, is it are you having college sports to make money or are you having college sports to make students better people overall? Because sports, as you know, Hannah, you know it's helped you so much in your life and your work ethic. And you know your success now doing what you do on TV and comedy and commercials and all the things you're doing that was from your work ethic of being an athlete. So you know what is what is college athlete athletics for? Is it to make someone a full person? Or is it just to make money for the college?

00:41:33
Speaker 2: Yes, that's such a valid point because especially you can't tell one athlete that they're so much more valuable than the other athlete, even though we're doing the same amount of hours, the same responsibilities. It's just yeah, we don't play in a stadium, and it's not that kind of sport. And I haven't thought this through, but I was thinking about like the USCA and how how the caayers in America. I know that, especially during my time, they were obsessed with, you know, like who's the next big pro and they pick people at a young age to like really help throughout. I don't know if now they've like because some people, like look at Jesse Pagoula, like at sixteen, she started you know, popping off. More like there's some not everyone is a nine year old prodigy. And I think working more on developing Division one players maybe instead of just like maybe just more of a system of like let's get girls into.

00:42:26
Speaker 1: Let's get them into division and then who.

00:42:28
Speaker 2: Knows once they get there, instead of just thinking like does this girl look like she can win a Grand Slam in fifteen years when she's twenty one? Instead, because I feel like in Europe specifically, there's such a better like lower tier below.

00:42:44
Speaker 1: Pegradoes, Yeah, club tennis.

00:42:46
Speaker 2: Club tennis, and that creates just like all these great Division three, two and one players, where in America it feels very like either you're at the top or like you're kind of left four dead.

00:42:58
Speaker 1: Yeah no, no's that's really well. I mean in Australia, we don't have any of that. So you guys are lucky in this country to do that. For Australians, for example, we got to travel overseas. It's brutal for us to get the competition that we knew see or a lot of Australians do come maybe and play college centers. But I think that's a really good thought. I think that's a thing that USD should think about. How can we cipher these kids through our college systems? To a gift and education. But b it's great practice. You have physios, you have trainers, you're like working on. I mean, I think about Lisa Raymond, my old doubles put I talk about her all the time, who was the top junior in the country in her age, and she wasn't mentally or physically she was never really mentally ready. But she that was a joke. But you know, she decided to go to Florida for two years and she dominated in college. She won two NC double as the team won the title for the first time, and then two years later she was like, Okay, I'm going to go pro. But she'd already played some slams already and gotten that experience and had done really well. So it's like, why not cipher them through rather than put in a junior program all the time? Really think, no, no, this is actually stone and this school is really good, and this school has great coaches. And then because in I think about the Czech Republic, how many women do you know in the top one hundred of the Czech Republic. I mean, they just ciphered them through every five years. It's like unbelievable, there's.

00:44:13
Speaker 2: A new one. It's perfect because they played heaviest ball.

00:44:17
Speaker 1: But they play club tennis against each other all the fucking time. They play each other all the time, so they're playing their best players in the world against each other every single week when they're not playing on the tour. So it's crazy to me that we're not figuring out a way to filter our young juniors into a system where they're playing against each other and making each other better on a on a daily basis. What's really funny. I don't know if you saw this story. This guy's name's Yakim Joakim Almeido. He won the Marty Fish Invitational. It was a fifteen thousand. He was twenty eighth on the qualifying acceptance list. Okay, I think he played college tennis. And then he's hanging around. It's kind of like a scene from Challenges. You know, where you sleep and in the car hoping you get into the tournament. He gets into qualifying of a fifteen thousand, he's not even ranked. He gets in, he gets through qualifying, he beat JJ Wolf in the tournament, and he wins the tournament. I mean, for me, of all the stories of last week that happened last week, this literally happened like yesterday or the day before. This kid from Brazil, one of fifteen thousand getting through qualifying. It's not even ranked. Those are the stories that I want to see. That's the real challenges story. He's probably having an affair with somebody as well, but you should look it up. I'll send you the video. It's kind of fun. So I wanted to give that out on the pod because that was an awesome, awesome story. All right, I'm going to get to I'm going to get to a couple of questions. There's only one or two that I ask We always ask at the end of the pod our Lovely with listeners write in, and I asked the questions, and then someone said, can you comment on Anissimova's wrist injury? I heard of all the comments on Carlos. Also, how does a player show up for a tournament with injury and practice and pull out just before they go on the court?

00:46:03
Speaker 2: Ooh? As in mentally like how that works?

00:46:08
Speaker 1: I think it's physically. They're probably like, why would you try and play if you think you're injured?

00:46:14
Speaker 2: Well, I think it's because you hope that that morning your body woke up and was like oh, we're good enough, Like you've got an aftimism. I feel like that because you know, you never know when it gets better, and you're like, it could be tomorrow morning that I suddenly start feeling a new.

00:46:31
Speaker 1: Yeah, And you also think, maybe if I get through this one match, yeah, it'll feel better tomorrow. Maybe I just need some matches. And you know, she's panicking a little bit right now because she hasn't played for a while and she's going into the first, you know, second major of the year without any matches. So I think that's why they try and go on the court. They probably feel eighty five percent in practice. Then they think I can get through this match, maybe in a match at eighty five percent, and they get out there and they're not playing as well or it's hurting them a little more at more, and they pull the plug. I think if it was, you know, five weeks before the French Open, she would have not played. So I think that's why, all right.

00:47:06
Speaker 2: There's so much pressure. Yeah, there's so much pressure on you to win and make money that it's like, even if it is horrible, you try to trick your mind to be like, no, it's not that bad.

00:47:17
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's not that bad. You'll be fine. Just get over it. Put it in a cast after the game. All right, So our loyal listener Phil in the win, he says, is eager back from her matches in Rome, killing it on her last two matches. Well, far as Hannah Berner's concerned, yes she is.

00:47:34
Speaker 2: I always believe in eger because once you show the kind of greatness she's shown, it doesn't disappear. And I think it's hard to keep up the like dominance, but I feel like it's there, it's always right there, and I think she's always capable of beating everyone.

00:47:51
Speaker 1: Yeah, especially on Clay. I think this is a good this will be And I've always said this prior to going into the French Open. The people that win Rome for me are always the favorites. Madrid is an outlier. It's at altitude, it is fast, it supports big servers, big hitters of the ball, people that hit the ball flat. It's not usually an indicator. I mean, because I think Raphael and Nadal one Madrid maybe once or twice. Hello, he won every other. He won Rome and.

00:48:18
Speaker 2: With some sand on it.

00:48:20
Speaker 1: It's exact at altitude, so good one, I mean servan volleyer should be winning. That's why Roger won Madrid more than RAF I think so, yeah, yeah, okay from Jeff Bernstein, this is a good question for you, Hannah, I have a question for you renee In and Hannah. I'm going to add, how can the NCUBA charge twenty two dollars for general admission to tennis championships and expect a good crowd and grow the sport? Eighty five dollars for the four day pass are savings of three dollars. Well, first of all, that's ridiculously what the fuck. It should be three days for sixty bucks or something like that, but four days for sixty bucks. But I didn't even know they charged.

00:48:53
Speaker 2: What the fuck I didn't I didn't know they charged. It's almost Yeah, that seems crazy. Also, they're making money off of being on TV, right, Like, are they making that much money by charging eighty bucks to people who love tennis? I don't know. I don't think that's worth it. I feel like, take money from the football team if you need.

00:49:12
Speaker 1: Money, exactly exactly, because I think.

00:49:16
Speaker 2: It should be open admission and that's get the money from other sports that are already profiting.

00:49:25
Speaker 1: All right, we're sending that into uh, we're sending that into the NC.

00:49:28
Speaker 2: Double a's and we're causing drama today.

00:49:30
Speaker 1: What causing drama wants you to bring the deans as the Danes of college tennis? We say, well, usually Caitlin and I are ripping on the WTA adp at Usta. You know we had tennis is Charlie whoever it is. But today we're gonna rip on the NC double A which we have done in the past because I.

00:49:48
Speaker 2: Don't even know the rules anymore. Now they just play like first to five points wins. Like I don't even know the rules anymore. They've changed a lot. We used to play old school tennis deuces and everything.

00:50:00
Speaker 1: Yeah, well not anymore now. Trying to shorten everything up. But I will say, if you do love tennis, and this is what Caitlin said, go and watch college tennis.

00:50:07
Speaker 2: It is fun, incredible.

00:50:09
Speaker 1: It's fun and it's aggressive and everyone's yelling at each other and the teams are on it. It's just it's a lot of fun. I did like some volunteer coaching down at USF for a year or two, and I loved going out and watching the matches.

00:50:20
Speaker 2: And girls getting pumped up, and you'll find yourself watching like the sixth Court and getting so into this match because everyone is like, it's fun watching two people who are at the same level fight.

00:50:32
Speaker 1: Yeah, it out. They're literally fighting for their last breath and each other and each other exactly. Well, okay, so last question for you, Hannah, give me your who do you think is gonna win the French Open Men's and women's Oh wait, quick.

00:50:50
Speaker 2: Shout out. Okay, shout out to Haley Baptiste.

00:50:53
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, we got to give Haley. Unfortunately she lost in Rome, but I think she's getting loan and you're buddy, Jesspagoula is still.

00:51:01
Speaker 2: In Rome, and Jess, who's quietly with her flat strokes, just getting through the clay. Oh, I'm going to say Eager. Okay, I'm gonna be so boring and say Ego and Cinner.

00:51:16
Speaker 1: Yeah I I I don't think I'll disagree with you. I think that that could be the case again. I just have I think if Eager wins Rome, she's my favorite to win in Paris for sure. So I'll give you a break. I'll wait till after Rome at least too. You can, you know, text it to me, and I'll let the world know that you actually changed your mind if you did. But I don't think you're going to change your mind.

00:51:38
Speaker 2: Okay, okay, I'll stick with it.

00:51:41
Speaker 1: Let's stick with it, all right. So, Hannah, you got June fifth, right, June fifth.

00:51:45
Speaker 2: June fifth, my new special on Hulu. Everyone watch it.

00:51:48
Speaker 1: Yes, yes, I mean I'm so. I'm so freaking proud of you. We met years ago, you came on my old Amazon show and we bonded.

00:51:57
Speaker 2: You.

00:51:57
Speaker 1: Actually, you're the reason I know Jen Welsh from my padded podcast. I've been on their podcast. If you don't listen to their past podcast, you're missing out. Jen and Pumps are the funniest two people talking politics now. And we love tennis, and we love tennis well sadly, Jen, you know, likes pickleball as well, so that's fine.

00:52:15
Speaker 2: We don't talk about that.

00:52:16
Speaker 1: I gotta get you playing a little paddle, Hannah.

00:52:19
Speaker 2: Yes, I'm into pattern. I'm just not green off the wall yet. I'm not great up the wall because there's like science to it. There's like physics, like you have to know where to stand, it doesn't matter how fast you are. But everything else I like a lot I a little lot.

00:52:35
Speaker 1: Yeah, you gotta be really strategic. I really love it. Yeah, poach, let's play, let's play, let's play. I got to play out in Long Island City anytime you want. But anyway, all right, everyone, thanks for joining us this week. Thanks to my very special guest Hannah Burner, who's very very busy right now, so I appreciate it. Although she was playing fucking tennis this morning, so I don't want to hear it. So she plays more tennis than I do. When a weeping again, I need to get out to the Long Island to play with me.

00:53:04
Speaker 2: Yes, I'll do that.

00:53:05
Speaker 1: I'll do that very soon. Anyway, all right, guys, we'll see you and hear you all next week.

00:53:10
Speaker 2: Next h