It's time for let's let's ground strokes baseline.
It's top spin. That's LGBT.
Have a listen. Make signals with the ball boys.
Hey everybody, and welcome to the latest episode of The Ball
Boys. We are the tennis podcast that
puts the Valentin Vashiro and Teresa Valentova in Valentine's
Day. I'm your host, Paul Monkle and
bringing you the insights, outbursts, giggles and wiggles
of the ATP and WTA tours. And on today's show, we are
talking all things love. Happy Valentine's Day,
everybody. If you have a Double S partner
or if you're just focusing on your singles game, we have a big
shot of love just for you. And we're talking about love in
all of its forms. The love of the game, Love
bites. Love means nothing.
Yeah, love is blind. And I think there's something in
the air. We're still in the afterglow of
the Bad Bunny performance at the Super Bowl halftime show.
I'm not sure, but I think Bad Bunny might have invented the
halftime show because Oh my God, that got me speaking in tongues.
And we are smack in the middle of the Winter Olympics where
every four years I fall head over heels for double S, luge
and short track speed skating and biathlons where of course
they combine cross country skiing and shooting.
And I'll just say it, I think we are weeks away from some major
indictments of the current administration.
Look, I'm almost thinking of starting an over under before
the Sunshine Double. What do you think?
It's all happening. And Speaking of the Sunshine
Double, I have a big announcement for anyone heading
out to Indian Wells on March 7th.
The ball boys are throwing a tennis and tea dance at Mission
Hills Country Club from 3:00 to 6:00 PM.
We're joined by the fabulous folks over at Out Wide Podcast
and we're going to be serving up some looks, some tunes and some
balls. We've got drink specials like
the Ball Drop, and we've got some very special performances
from some tennis drag Queens. You do not want to miss these
shows, trust me. So head on over to our Instagram
for a link to the tickets. You can find it right at the top
of our Instagram. And that Instagram handle is at
TBB Tennis. Again, that's at TBB Tennis.
Go check it out. And now back to the tennis.
We are in the part of the season that I absolutely love where
every which way you look is a different draw, a different
story, a different winner. No, I don't have commitment
issues. I don't know why you think like
that. I just like variety.
We have a slew of 500 level tournaments going on.
And I've said it before, I love a 500.
And we've got some big hitters on the Bay TP continuing their
dominance at the 500 levels and not a word from anyone in the
top four since Australia to cover all of this.
Guys, I'm a little nervous because this almost feels like a
first date because we've got a brand spanking new ball boy on
and a case of new balls. Please.
I am so excited to have this ball boy on the mic this week.
He's the senior producer of content at the Tennis Channel
and he goes around the world literally living my dream life.
It's Charles Connolly. Charles, it's so great to have
you on the show. How are you?
I'm great. Thank you for having me.
I'm very excited about this show.
I've heard about it for a while and seen it on my feeds for a
long time too, so. Oh yeah, I've been wanting to
get you on the show for a while. I am obsessed with your
background and your story. We're going to get into all of
that, but just introduce yourself a little bit.
How's your tennis season been for 2026?
You were in Australia, right? Yeah, it's been good.
And this season I feel like it's for a month and 1/2 in, but it's
still long already. There's so much tennis.
But yeah, I was on Australia. It was my first time there and
it was beautiful. Like Melbourne's such a great
city and the S and Open, I mean, I feel like everybody who's been
to the S and Open kind of says the same thing.
It feels like a music festival. They do the tournament so well
for people who like, maybe aren't huge tennis fans.
You can just go and like hang out and have a great time.
But I was there for two weeks. I was there for like pre
tournament and then the first week it was like amazing. 10 out
of 10. It was really hot too.
It was like 2 days where it was over 100°.
There were some days where it was rough, Yeah.
Wait, were you there for the one point slam?
Yeah, I was in the turtle pet. No, no, I did not enter because
OK, I was kind of confused. This like the structure of the
one point slam. Same.
Apparently it was a series of tournaments leading up to that
one night, tournaments where it was like an extended qualifying
round. So like that entire day on
Grounds it was one point slam like on the outer courts.
Oh, no kidding. And amateurs were entering,
like, you know, Liza West. Yeah, yeah, she was entered and
she played, I think she posted about it, but she played the I
right. I know she played the girl who
made the final for like first round.
She lost the point. But yeah, it was like a bunch of
qualifying and then the the one night, of course, with all of
those matches. But yeah, it was cool.
Interesting. Yeah, I, I got to say, I'm still
confused about what the rules were cuz I don't know.
I was like, Murat Saffin was in there all of a sudden I was just
like, these are not amateurs. Like do not pretend like this is
someone who's just showing up like this.
I mean, you know, it was a spectacle.
It just felt very campy. And I, tennis and camp go hand
in hand. What was your favorite thing
that happened for the two weeks in Melbourne?
Give me your Rosen Thorn. Yeah, Rosen Thorn for the
tournament. I always love media day that the
players all coming through and talking to them all and seeing
them all. I still kind of get starstruck
seeing them in person and talking to them.
So that is never a normal experience for me.
I'd say that that was the Rose and just like the vibe of the
tournament in general and then the Thorn.
I don't know, two weeks is kind of a long time for work.
I mean, I would do it all over again.
But by the end, you know, you get a little fatigued to get
ready to, like, be in your own bed again.
And some days it was kind of crowded, to be honest, but not
too bad. Well, we heard the stories that
I mean Tennis Australia did such a great job of really promoting
the tour and promoting opening week of the the qualities in the
one point slam. But we all saw the lines.
It looked a little bit like Miami last year was.
Yeah, it was. Yeah.
I mean, it was a long one. There were a lot of people
there. I think it was just a testament
how easy it is to go to that tournament as a casual fan.
There's live music, there's there was like a water park on
site which was cool. And it's right in the city.
It's very easy to get to. It's not like Queens or
anything. It's yeah.
Right, it's a good location. You mentioned the media day and
getting still a little star starstruck.
Who gets you starstruck still? Who gets me starstruck still?
Honestly, I would say Novak Djokovic has an aura about him.
It's like when he walks into the room, when he walks onto the
media terrace, it just kind of gets quieter.
People are more more aware of his presence and he's very nice.
But I feel like I still get starstruck by him, to be honest.
Carlos Alcaraz, He's like very down to earth and very chill.
Like he just seems like for some reason that he's not
intimidating at all. Super nice.
You know, that's interesting because I went to the mixed
double S format at the US Open last year.
They're they're sort of newfangled.
I I'm almost going to call it a one point slam because it felt
kind of like that. But Novak walked on the court
and the crowd went from very boisterous and kind of watching
to rapt attention. Like, yeah, he's got that aura.
It's just like, oh, Novak's here, we're all going to pay
attention. So.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's crazy.
Are you a fan of the Olympics? Yes, yeah, I am.
I am too, but I feel like am I crazy or is did this year's kind
of sneak up on us? Like I used to know every figure
skater I couldn't. Like is Michelle Kwan still out
there? I don't even.
Know Oh my God, Michelle Kwan, I think I had a poster of her in
my childhood bedroom in Texas. I didn't even know anything
about figure skating. I had never even like figure
skated but. It's just like I need it.
Right. You're right.
It did kind of sneak up on us. And I like I felt like it was
happening later. It just kind of like started,
yeah. Well, and, and I think 4 weeks
ago we saw the state of some of the arenas and everything.
It's like, well, that's not going to be ready in four weeks.
So maybe I was expecting it to not quite make it, but I mean,
it's been a great game so far. I'm locked in.
And did you see Ilia Mellon in last night?
I didn't see his program, but I heard it was not good.
Not good. Yeah, everyone was saying it was
a foregone conclusion. Sorry, Nick.
MC Carville. Carville.
Super into ice skating. Yeah, and well, and he posted
like, Oh well, we all know who's gonna win.
And I was like, do we? Because yeah, I watched it and
it was, it was brutal. I feel really bad for him.
Hopefully. Is a privilege, he said.
It was like the pressure, right? The expectation.
It's the Olympic pressure. It's not like anything else.
And because he's he's our Michelle Kwan, you know, I
don't, I couldn't really name like a superstar on ice except
for him. So it's like, OK, like that's a
lot of pressure do. You remember Johnny Weir?
Yeah, I'm watching the traders right now.
I'm upset. Me too.
Yeah. Johnny Weir.
And then Adam Ripon. Do you remember him, too?
Oh yeah, yeah, those are the only two male figure scooters I
can I can list. But then of course, there's
Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan and Michelle Clot.
Those are the only three, but. Well, and Tara Lipinski, she's
also on the trailers. Yeah, Tara, Johnny, it's it's a
good season. No spoilers y'all, but it's it's
a good season. It's so good.
Yeah, yeah, I want to go on. That's so bad.
We need the ball boys to get. Bigger so I can be a celebrity.
They're taking applications for like, plebeians now.
Yeah, yeah. You can apply as like a normal
person. They're like bring me back to
Season 1 format. I think they're running out of
celebrities to get on the show. Well, you know, it's funny
though, because it's so big, it's getting bigger and bigger
that I would imagine they'd be getting more.
But I guess, I mean, there's only so many Survivor players
and Housewives out there. Well, anyway, we got we can talk
reality TV all day long, but we got to get some tennis and we're
going to start off with our segment.
Whenever we have a new ball, boy, it's called new balls
Please, where we get deep, we probe you on just how gay you
are for tennis. So I got a couple of questions
for you, Charles. Are you gay TP or WT gay?
And WT Gay. Really.
Yeah, I mean, why? Well, the outfits, really.
The looks. Did you like Naomi's look at
Australia? I didn't and the opinions that I
share are my own. They're not Tennis Channels
opinions. These are.
I'm not representing Tennis Channel.
They're all my own. But I did not.
I wasn't a fan to be honest. It was, it was a tough look.
I was glad she did it, but it was tough.
Exactly, I'm not saying like she shouldn't have swung big and
taking a risk. Love that.
Someone's doing it. But it wasn't my personal taste.
Like, I wouldn't, I wouldn't wear it.
I could oh, come on, a drapey butterfly net before you go on
to court. I think that would look fabulous
on you. I did like the pleated, like the
white pleated pants, those were cool.
I liked how they moved when she walked on court, but I didn't
like it underneath the dress. It was just it was every grandma
in South Florida walking in the mall for me that that pleated
pant. But anyway, OK, so you love.
So you're more WTA these days then.
Have you always been more about the Ladies tour?
Yeah. I mean, I think that that's like
what introduced me to pro tennis in general.
I think if you ask any gay male tennis fan from the age of like
25 to 50, they'll say Venus and Serena as their foe Ray into the
sport. I mean, maybe, you know, you
have like the Divas like Monica Seles and Lindsay Davenport and
Jennifer Capriotti and those, but Venus and Serena really
introduced me to the sport. So I've been like the WTA loyal.
But recently though, with Alcaraz and Sinner, I feel like
I'm converting. I'm watching more ATP and I'm
like appreciating the men's game more.
Yeah, I'm glad you said Jennifer Capriotti because as I've said
on this show, she was my Britney Spears at 13 years old.
I was like, that is my diva. And I still love I love
everything about Jennifer Capriotti.
I know she's said some polarizing things.
I know it, but I the heart wants what it wants.
But I agree. I mean, I was very much gay TP
but the women's tour right now, and we're going to talk about it
with some of the matchups in the Middle East.
We keep sending these poor girls to the Middle East, but there
has been some. Just the depth of the tours is
so good right now and I'm here for it.
Tell me more about your tennis background.
Like what makes you a ball boy? How'd you get into tennis?
I grew up in a small town called Bracketville, Texas, where like
the whole town was so focused on football.
I was not trying to play football.
I was from a big football family, but I knew I wanted to,
like, play a sport and get a ball.
So my parents sent me to like a little weekend tennis camp that
was happening in my hometown. And I loved it.
And that's kind of where my tennis interest started.
And then, of course, Venus and Serena saw them on TV.
But all through high school, I never really took tennis super
seriously. And then I went to college, and
that's where I first met people who were interested in tennis.
And I was like, oh, there are other people out there who like
tennis. And that's when I really started
getting into it and watching it and following the sport.
And I just loved the individual nature of the sport.
And I loved how it was kind of like, what's that fighter game,
Mortal Kombat or something where you can like choose your your
fighter. Say more.
I feel like with tennis you can have somebody who kind of
represents you and you can follow them on the tour.
And I feel like with a lot of gay men, they like are looking
for representation anywhere they can find it.
So you see this like little avatar tennis player and you're
like, oh, like that is me. So you kind of latch on.
And so I think that's kind of why I liked watching tennis in
Bracketville is because it was an escape from like the the like
Friday Night Lights of the small town.
But then I just kept following the tour.
And then I worked in production after College in Austin and then
I moved to LA and sought out Tennis Channel was like, I would
love to work there. And so, Long story short, I
reached out and asked for an interview and was hired in 2017
to be like a social media coordinator.
And here I am, seven years later.
You're talking about what appealed to you about the sport
as a young gay boy, but I want you to speak for everybody.
Why do gay people love tennis? The outfits.
Is it the outfits? No, not just the outfits, but
maybe kind of. I feel like tennis is a sport
where there's a lot of self-expression.
I feel like that's why a lot of gay men gravitate towards like
figure skating too. Also figure skating is just very
gay inherently. Even if they had to wear like
uniforms, it would be gay. Don't tell Ilya Mellen in that.
Oh my God, he does not like that.
So I heard about that, but I didn't actually dive into like
any remarks that he made. But I heard yeah, different
podcast moving on. But but yeah, truly, like, I
think self-expression is a huge thing in tennis.
And for me, I also liked tennis because team sports as a young
boy intimidated me because I was surrounded by other boys.
And maybe I'm speaking for me, just me.
But I think for some young gay men, there's a little bit of a
fear of other straight boys when you're in adolescence, fear of
being found out, fear of being like called out as different or
being too feminine. So like with basketball or
football or baseball, you're like surrounded by these
straight boys who are kind of auditing your character and
auditing how you're operating. Whereas in tennis, it's just
you. So you can like maybe relax a
little bit more. If you make a mistake, nobody's
watching you. We're looking you or why you
made the mistake. It's all on you.
So it's very individual. It was a way, at least for me,
to create some space between me and the other straight boys
while also satisfying my athletic needs.
I love all that. It is a really expressive sport.
I mean, there's a tennis personality and who you are and
how you carry yourself can really translate to the court.
I mean, being aggressive, being tricky, being kind of quiet, all
of those personality types can win.
Whereas I feel like in other sports like basketball, you kind
of have one personality that wins.
And just watching the the final today between Mukova and Imboko,
I mean, their their styles were actually pretty complementary of
each other, but it was a different way of playing them
like a Sabalenka or a Paolini. And there's not one way to win
and get self-expression is, is really that that that's very
interesting. I love that.
And yeah, absolutely every team sport that I was on through high
school, it was, OK, let's get through this.
And then you'd get to the tennis court and it's like, oh, you can
breathe. You know, it's like, oh, OK,
yeah, yeah. There's something, there's
something in the water, the the tennis water where gay,
especially gay men just love tennis.
So I'm going to keep asking every ball boy who comes on here
and folks at home. By the way, if you want to be on
this show and join us for new balls, please feel free to reach
out to me over on Instagram. Love getting people on the show.
I want to get every ball boy on this show.
But back to you, Charles. Speed round Yannick or Carlos?
Carlos. Give me 3 words why?
Charisma, uniqueness. Uniqueness.
Urban talent, Charisma, showmanship and energy.
That I that's a perfect answer. Miami or Indian Wells?
Indian Wells. Why?
It just feels like more esteemed.
I don't know, it just feels like more steeped in tennis history.
Miami's, like exciting and cool for its own reasons, but Indian
Wells, that's called tennis paradise.
The palm trees, the desert, it's kind of like the first big
tournament back in the states of the seasons.
And it's California and like, the grounds are so beautiful and
everybody's always there, celebrities and stuff, so.
Yeah, it's funny, I have mixed feelings about it.
Similar to what you're talking about the crowds of Melbourne,
like the last few times I've gone to any Wells, it's just the
crowds. It's it's too much.
I don't know. There needs to be like a podcast
section, like just let me, let me sit and have my $20 raw
pizza. But yeah, it's it is great and
I'm very excited to be out there for the tennis and T dance,
which Charles, I'm going to make you come to.
I would love to see you there. You are going to be on the dance
floor. You know the drag Queens.
Yes, Charles, welcome to the stage.
Charles Charlie Drag name is Charles.
What is your favorite surface? My favorite surface.
I mean I've I've played mostly on hardcore.
I've never played on grass but favorite first to watch?
I would say probably hardcore and to play hardcore as well.
Yeah, I love the hardcore. It's it's the least tricky to
me. It's like a fluency thing where
other services I do love to watch.
I love to watch on clay and grass though.
Like I went to Wimbledon a few years ago.
Watching Wimbledon live, that ball is so fast.
Holy crap. I can imagine.
I think they like designed the ball to like skid even faster
off the court. So it's like glass.
Like, yeah, it's crazy. It's funny, there was a a thing
on social media about what the Winter Olympics in tennis and
they were playing on ice and it looked very much like that.
I was like, yeah, that feels like Wimbledon.
And the funniest part about Wimbledon was also all of the
ball kids, you know, my people, the number of times they fell,
you don't see it on TV, but they're they're sprinting all
out and they stop on a dime on grass.
Then you go into the wall, you fall.
Every match. There were multiple falls.
I was like, guys. You don't have to go with that.
Like chill but. Like you're like the ball kid.
Training program at Wimbledon is very rigorous.
Oh yeah. Yeah, did have you, because
bring up Eliza W again. She was a ball girl at
Wimbledon. Oh yeah.
And I was looking into like the process of applying the All
England Tennis Club selects from certain schools around London
and they will only get ball kids from these schools.
Like I guess they're like fancier schools or whatever.
It's technically open to the public.
It's like if you go to these schools, we'll we'll accept
applications and then we'll only choose 10% to come into training
or something less than 10%. That feels very Wimbledon.
I don't know if I love that, but it feels very Wimbledon.
Yeah, I was like, oh, that sucks.
Like it's not open, It's just only available to the school.
Yeah. Oh well, it's.
Like I've got to get my kid into the school for the Wimbledon
ball boy feeder program. Like, OK, like this.
Let's calm down. What's your favorite tournament?
Favorite tournament? That's a tough one.
You know, recently I really found like a love for
Cincinnati. Really.
Yeah, but I feel like all the players are there.
It's leading up to the US Open. We're in the States.
The time zone is like the same kind of as the American viewers
and it just got like a huge upgrade.
So the courts are brand new. But to watch, I mean, there's
really nothing like Wimbledon. Like I feel like just generally
watching Wimbledon, I feel like everybody can give that same
answer. Yeah.
It just feels special so. Yeah, I mean, yeah, Wimbledon is
is definitely my favorite Slam. I would say that it's not my
favorite tournament overall, but it's definitely my favorite
Slam. Cincinnati, though, that's an
interesting answer. I was like, do you like Six
Flags and funnel cake? But.
It's and going there like because it's not even really in
Cincinnati. It's in Mason, which is like 20
minutes north and it's like a weird location.
I've gone twice now, but I like it.
If you get a chance to go to Cincinnati, they have a great
Applebee's down the road. Well, that was the thing I was
looking at going and I was like, wait, this isn't even in since I
do love like a second tier city. I love a second tier city gay
bar. I love a second degree city like
shopping district. This is like, yeah, this is
Mason. It's just a Best Buy and a
Outback Steakhouse. I don't even even know.
But no, literally, yeah. What's your favorite stroke?
The serve. Serve, yeah.
It was like the only shot that I could consistently practice
because nobody in my hometown plays tennis, so I just serve on
the tennis court. That's so sad.
And then the 4th give me a good serve.
Serving just a wall alone all. Childhood.
Literally. Are you tall?
You seem tall, but we're on Zoom.
I'm like 6/2 and 1/2. 6/2 and 1/2.
Yeah, I could say 6-3, but I'm not 63.
So everyone's like, you're not 6, but yeah, 63.
Yeah, well, look, a lot of people who are like 5-7 and a
half, they lie and they're like, I'm 59.
So I mean, let's, you know, looking at you Matthew Paluch,
it's going to call people out. I'm the same height and I love
my serve and I'm a lefty so. OK, that's tough.
That's that's how I get a lot of free points because sometimes
the rest of my game is shite. Are you single?
I am single. Oh, what are you looking for in
a tennis partner or a life partner?
And a tennis partner, like double S, whatever, double S
partner, a good backhand and a good volley to take the backhand
side. And then like good sense of
humor. Like I don't like take it too
seriously on the court. I like to like laugh and have a
good time. So yeah, I think those two
qualities and then in a life partner I'm looking for.
The same thing. Kind of the same thing.
Had good backhand and good sense of humor.
You know a good backhand and a life partner can can go either
way, but sometimes it really hits the spot.
Yeah, good backhand can take you a long way.
In this life, sure can. Well, folks out there, Charles
Connolly will be tagged in this show.
So again, come to our Instagram and you will see Mr. Connolly
there. What's your Instagram handle?
The Instagram of the ball boys. What's the handle?
It is at TBB tennis, the ball boys tennis doesn't quite roll
off the tongue, but just you wait until we start the ball
boys football, the ball boys soccer.
All that is coming out soon, folks.
We're doing the ball boys media tour.
So just you wait. Do.
You all have a pit crew. Oh, that's a good idea.
The Ball boys pit crew. Well, some people will be
dressing up for Not in drag for the the tennis and tea dance, so
some short shorts will be present.
I've been promised so. Oh, pit crew.
I love a poom poom short. If you work in the Tennis
Channel, you've been there for 8/8 and 1/2 years, but what
exactly does the senior producer of content do?
I'm sure people are curious. Yeah, producers kind of a job
where a lot of people don't really know exactly what they
do, but basically no idea. It's determining the creative
for like a feature, coming up with ideas to ask questions to
the players at tournaments, just like figuring out what video
content needs to go out and then like making it happen.
It kind of like varies week to week based on the tournaments.
Some events I'll be going to the tournament like Australia and
I'll come up with a plan for media day.
So I'll determine which questions to ask, which players
and then I'll reach out to the representative who requests the
players through their agents. I'll determine who and how this
is being filmed, which crew we're using, if we're using like
an in house crew or somebody local, like hiring that crew and
then ingesting the footage and then working with the editor on
choosing the right shots and coming up with like a video and
then delivering it to wherever it needs to go.
So it's like from concepts to like on your TV or computer
screen. That's kind of what the producer
does, like follows the video all the way through.
You make it, you make it happen. So you weren't the guy asking
all the Americans in Australia about the current
administration? Or was that you?
No, no, that was not me. But I saw that those series of
questions. It was over and over again.
I feel like it could have worked, but I don't think he was
asking it in the right way per SE.
Like he wasn't framing it very well.
It felt like kind of like a a gotcha moment versus the
beginning of a potentially good conversation.
Yeah, I think because it's OK to ask about national pride and
like, do you feel patriotic still and make it kind of
general? You can still use the sound
bites in a piece. But he was like literally asking
about the administration, which is such a hard question to
answer and a huge responsibility.
It's like, speak the whole country.
Yeah, especially right after a match where maybe you lost like
not in the best mood. So yeah, it was, it was it kept,
it was, it was a it was quite a sight.
And but I was thinking about it and, you know, there's the
definitely like a a good argument for asking those types
of questions right now. You know, I hold the Russians
and Belarusians very responsible for what they say about the war.
So yeah, I mean, we've got, we've got to get the message out
there. But it's just, it was, it was a
very uncomfortable series of questions to watch, I think for.
Everyone so it was awkward and like I agree that's a fair
question to ask. It's also completely fair for
the player to like not want to answer.
So yeah, in my opinion I'm of the camp you can ask whatever
you want, impress, but don't expect the response you want
from the player. Like the, the player reserves
the right to answer however they want or not answer.
Yeah, exactly. And then that's what I was kind
of trying to say in the beginning, which I think you
said much better. I feel like the guy was looking
for an answer that he wanted to get versus a dialogue so.
Exactly. Have you done anything crazy for
a story like, Oh my God, we've got to like, go get a butterfly
net for Naomi? Well, my and immediately I think
of Trixie Mattel. Of course, when I worked with
Trixie Mattel in 2022, we did like a shoot with her and we did
like. Wait, wait, wait, wait for what?
What for tennis? It was for Pride Month and we
shot a bag check with her. We shot an Australian Open
fashion segment with her. She is so amazing and so
professional and that like is in my memory is like a standout
moment at Tennis Channel working with Trixie Mattel.
And then the other moment that I was just talking to Kyle, one of
my Co workers about yesterday. We went to Alaska in 2019, right
before, right before the pandemic, December 2019, because
we were doing a story on this Alaskan tennis player who is
trying to make it on the pro tour.
But obviously, like in Alaska, you can't play tennis year round
because it's frozen like half the year and it's also dark half
the year. So we went up there in December
2019 and we only had like 4 hours of light in a day.
And we were there for like maybe four or five days doing this
story on this tennis player. If one of the side jobs was
delivering Donuts for Krispy Kreme.
So we would take Donuts to the airport, like the local airport
for the Krispy Kreme location in the airport.
So we woke up at 4:00 AM to like follow him to the airport to
that was crazy like and. And where is that guy today?
I don't know. I mean and.
That's a young Yonic Sinner. Yeah, and that was Naomi Osaka,
right? Right.
No, no, no, I don't know. I mean, I don't know if he's
still playing. Maybe, but he would.
He played in college and it was just like a human interest
story. I love that.
Like you literally do have like
my dream job. I mean, I'm not, I'm not gunning
for your gig. I'm not going to show girls you,
but if you if you were going down the stairs in front of me,
but. Watch out.
Watch your back any any like little tidbits of player gossip
or anything that you've seen or like, Oh my God, this one like
won't stop eating Krispy Kreme. Won't be Krispy Kreme.
Give us the Goss well. That'd be me.
That would be me. I won't stop eating Krispy
Kreme. But in terms of the players?
Like there's been a lot of drama.
Like we're like, OK, everyone hates, can win.
Everyone's like yelling at ego, like, like, I don't know, like,
do you see that? No, I don't.
Honestly I think the the biggest piece of gossip which is might
may be boring as the players are just like more normal and kind
and just cool. Then they appear on screen when
they're on the tennis court we see them in like 1 of their most
high stress, high pressure environments.
So like they're at least I can say there are versions of myself
on the tennis court that are truly like the worst versions of
myself. Monster.
And if that's the only version people saw of me, holy, I can't
imagine. But I will say I don't know why
this hopped in my head. Jessica the Gula is like the
coolest, most chill person outside, which you probably
picked up on that as she's been more in the spotlight.
Media day she comes in, She's so chill, so cool.
Her energy is so like. I just want to give a big shout
out to Jessica if you like your fellow podcaster.
I know. She is, she's become one of my
favorites to work with the media day because she's like just so
cool and relaxed. Yeah, no, I, I, I appreciate the
call out and yes, she is a fellow podcaster.
It's a very competitive space and I'm very sad that in
Australia when she played Maddie Keys, they then became the first
ever podcast partners to play each other in a Grand Slam.
So I no longer have opportunity to get that that Guinness
record. So this will be the first male
podcaster. This is true.
OK, well I also need to find a
permanent Co host. But Charles.
I'll play you at Wimbledon. OK guys, you heard it.
You heard it here first. That is a legally binding
contract. Charles and I are playing at
Wimbledon for the 1 LB Slam. Jesus, jeez, Jesus, I bet you
Madison Keys or or Jessica Pegula would like be on your
podcast or come to Tea dance. Madison's like a like an ally.
Oh yeah, no. I'm.
I mean, they all are, but. I'm trying to get them.
I'm trying to get morgues out here.
I'm trying to get them all. Gosh, I'm obsessed with morgues.
She's so good. She's so good.
She's so correct. Well, that actually leads us to
our our next segment to quote Celine Dion's 15th studio album,
Let's Talk About Love. So famously, there have been a
lot of player romances. I'm just curious, do you have
any like favorite professional player couples like whether it's
Alex Demenauer and Kenny Bolter Spitty?
Monkeys. I love Taylor and Morgan, I
think they're so funny together. Taylor's also really cool and
chill in person, but I love swiddling them on Feast.
They're really cute. Alex Demonnar.
I feel like he's going to be the world's best husband.
He seems so like thoughtful and considerate.
Yeah, yeah. So it was very cute in Australia
when they had that whole like you're the 49% owner of a very
valuable company. And that whole moment was was
adorable. I will say I miss Citidosa,
Citipas and Palabidosa. Like they were, they were, they
were chaotic. All these other couples you
mentioned were like, they're so cute.
I was, I never looked at them as like, oh, they're so cute, but
they fit. It was toxic, but I loved it.
Like that weird moment when they were driving through Monte Carlo
in that quarter $1,000,000 car and just looking like stoned out
of their mind is just over at all like miserable.
That was a very chaotic relationship, but I enjoyed,
like, watching it kind of unfold.
Yeah. Oh, no, I loved it.
It's kind of like you were what you were talking about earlier
with Naomi and self-expression. Like that couple gave me a lot
more than like a Dimenauer and Bolter who I love and they're
very cute, but I don't get much beyond that.
I'm just like, OK, cool, great. Go have your life together.
Very, very Prince Charming and Snow White.
Great. Whatever.
But like I want something messy. Yeah, Steph and Paula were
feeding the children for sure. They were posting about each
other. We were watching our stories.
Yeah, it was a fun relationship. Yeah, and like the the following
and unfollowing and the the updates and the sadness and the
weird coded messages, it was, it was a delight.
It it warmed my heart so. And like the one Bettencourt
factor, Paula's Paula's ex-boyfriend, who's like the
most gorgeous man. Wait, I don't know about this
person. Tell us.
Girl, look up Juan Bettencourt, look him up right now.
I want to see her reaction. Really.
Juan Betta. It says model as this.
Holy shit. Oh my God.
Post him on the Instagram. Current, current or previous
boyfriend? That was before, before Steph
she was looking for. Steph is no slouch.
Steph is. Beautiful.
Yeah, wow, wow. See his photo.
On the Instagram now. Yeah.
He's holding. A pickleball racket in one of
them. So he's really coming for stuff.
He's in chaps in another one. Who is this gay baiting?
What? Looks he looks AI generated.
Seriously. Wow, OK, beautiful.
But I actually think Steph can hold his own against this guy.
I'm just going to say it, but you know, that's, hey, the, the
other beautiful thing is that we can all have personal tastes.
And I think Steph in his messiness is like, I really, I
love Sipsy Pasta's tweets. Like I know we're not supposed
to be on Twitter anymore, but I, I'm only on there for tennis
research And he does the most esoteric, like poetic, lovesick
existential crisis random tweets.
And then he just walks away and it's just like he's a, he's a
kook. I love him.
That's how you're supposed to treat Twitter and social media
in general. Just put out whatever you want.
Yeah. And then move on.
Yeah, exactly. OK, finally in our Little Love
segment, I want to play a game as an homage to Steven Bauer,
who is a comedian who does all these things of like these are
all the fruit and if I would date them.
So I am going to just list some tournaments and I'm going to ask
you if you would date them and I want to hear if you would date
them and why or why not. So Are you ready?
Yes. OK, Charles Connolly And again,
you're single, so maybe your boyfriend is one of these
tournaments. Monte Carlo, Would you date it?
Yeah. Yeah, why?
I've I've always wanted a rich husband.
They'd provide for me for life. OK, wow.
OK, let's showing the colors there.
I feel like there would be a prenup for sure because there's
people like move to Monte Carlo for as a tax haven, so.
That's generational wealth. They're not.
Yeah, going to let you in. They're not going to let a
little boy from Bracketville, Texas, come and get that money.
Absolutely not. I love that your hometown is
called Bracketville. And it's like, isn't there?
Isn't that like a whole campaign on ESPN?
Like welcome to Bracketville. Yes, a long time ago for March
Madness, yeah. But it's like no relation to
your town. No, but I think that, I mean,
they came up with a concept before they I think knew of the
town. So I think they, I think they
actually like went to Bracketville to film like a
segment or something. OK.
But yeah, it was on ESPN years ago, like 20 years ago.
OK. Yeah, exactly.
OK, OK. So you would date Monte Carlo
Australian Open? Yes.
Yes, Why? I feel like Australian Open
would be like a happy go lucky fun sunshiny boyfriend.
They'd be fun and upbeat. OK, Labor Cup.
No, I wouldn't date Labor Cup. Why not?
Labor Cup. I feel like they are all like
surface level and no substance. OK, boom.
This is just like this isn't like a statement on the like I
like labor cop as an event but like as a boyfriend I would not.
Oh yeah, no, this is clear. No, absolutely.
This is only these tournaments as boyfriends, if you would take
them. This segment is crazy.
I love it. OK.
The Canadian Open when it's in Toronto.
No. OK, the Canadian Open when it's
in Montreal. Yes.
KY. I feel like Montreal is more
French right? Though they speak French in
Montreal. They do, which would be cool.
Like I've never dated somebody whose primary language is
French, so and I feel like they have a better day scene there,
right? Oh, they do.
I mean both cities are pretty pretty progressive, but I mean
Montreal has those bars where like anything goes.
So. I hear, Mom.
I've never been, but I hear. But The thing is, the thing
about the Montreal French, it's like that Kwabakis or whatever
it's it's. Right.
It's like if French had a southern accent like a like a
from Alabama. Yeah, so if that's your vibe,
yeah, I but you're right, I think Montreal is just a more
romantic city for sure. Finally, the Six Kings Cup.
No. Why not?
Lots of reasons I might not be super welcome in Saudi Arabia,
so. Correct.
That might be the last choice you make, yeah.
Yeah, although the field for 6 Kings slam or 6 Kings cup is
always super stacked. So I would watch, but I would
not date. Enough said.
Well, you got those all correct. And so listeners, if you are a
tournament or just a single person out there, Charles is
looking. I do want to just list off a few
lobs beans that happened since the last show.
Again, a lobs be in is anything that made us gayer for tennis.
I just got to do a quick call out for the Ositani Open is how
you say Ositani Open used to be called Leon, I think, or
Montpelier. The courts there are so sexy.
It's those pink and Blues together.
I love that they are having fun with her court color.
And I think that other tournaments could have a little
more fun with the colors of the courts.
Maybe it would make it a little more interesting, maybe like an
all black court or maybe pinks and I don't know, I feel like it
could be a fun thing so. I agree.
Like a black court could be really cool and I feel like you
see a lot of like darker colors indoors because I feel like
there's like 2 factors. There's like broadcast.
Can you see the ball on TV and is it going to boil the player
if it's hot? Like playing on a black court in
Australia? Intense.
But yeah, I love the pink colors.
And in that tournament that you said for coming today.
Yeah, Ositani, or however you say it.
Yeah, it's like that skin care brand, Ositani.
I never know how to say it. I'm just like the oh.
Yeah, the O brand. The O for Oprah or you know,
also there's technology out there.
We we see these other courts turn over and like change
colors. Like I don't know, like it's
like one day it could be pink, one day it could be blue.
I think we could just have a lot more fun with court colors.
So just putting it out there, organizers, if you want me to do
some color schemes, I am a schemer.
Got to do a shout out. This guy's polarizing.
But Jack Draper's cold plunge in Norway ahead of his return to
tennis, where the UK played Norway and Davis Cup qualifying
and he scored his first win back in five months.
So that's great. But that cold plunge, did you
see this cold plunge? It's just him and compatriot.
I did see that. Yeah.
Lobster. I would be nervous to, like,
jump in cold water like that before an event.
I'd get sick. But.
And I'm sure it was like ice. Oh, yeah.
But I guess I don't know, maybe the British immune system is
stronger than mine. Well, it's supposed to be good
for you like a cold plunge. It's supposed to be very like
invigorating. And you know, like I'm sure
you've been to Century Spa. I haven't, no.
Oh, I haven't either. But I've been to We Spa and
they've got a cold plunge and it's wonderful.
Oh, I love that. Yeah, have you ever been to We
Spa? No, I don't think about it.
Though I don't know if the idea of a Korean spa is appealing to
you, but it's wonderful. It's very chill and it's just
like plunges and whatnot. And they've got an amazing
Korean restaurant upstairs with like $16.00 giant Pokey Bowl.
It's great. OK, so catch me at we spa.
Yeah, yeah. OK, listeners, Charles will be
at WE Spa if you want to date him.
If you're a tournament, we've got a bunch of other Lobstians
real quick. We've got the Dallas
cheerleaders at the Dallas Open. I just love that between matches
they would come out and do some routines.
Your home states. Obviously the the Dallas Cowboy
cheerleaders are iconic. It's very campy and it also
makes me just think like, what can we be doing between matches
that is a little funnier and weirder.
And so I love that Dallas went for that.
Do you like the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders?
Yes, I mean, you have. I do.
I'm a big fan. I love their show on Netflix
too. America's Sweethearts.
And finally, Pammy is back on TV.
She barely left us. She was part of that shake up
over at ESPN and no longer being part of the Australian Open
coverage, which I was very sad about.
I love Pam Shriver, but I was watching Tennis Channel the
other day and Pammy is right there at the desk hosting at
least one of the hours with a couple of people.
I just love her. And so you see her now on.
Occasion, I mean, I I wouldn't say I see her very frequently,
but like at the tournaments like she worked Roland Garris for us
a few years ago and she is such a personality.
Like Pam Shriver really is a gem.
And I want to see more of her on TV.
Like she just makes watching tennis more interesting and
she's a kooky, goofy personality and she's so funny on Instagram.
Follow her on Instagram too. Oh.
I don't follow her. Is she?
What did she do? Did she like?
She just posts her life like she's not too fussy with what
she posts. Like the other day there was
like a snake in her house. So she had like catch this snake
or something. But her Instagram is Pam Shriver
under SCORE official and she's great.
Under score if it not the don't don't follow the unofficial.
That one is not Pam. That's me.
That's me pretending to Pam. Amazing.
We're going to wrap up the show with a few more things.
First, we got to start out with Twit, which is this week in
tennis 'cause there has, like I said, been a lot of action.
Just as a reminder, though, we cannot possibly cover every
match on this show. If you're coming here for the
latest scores, you're going to be more disappointed than I was
after paying all of that money to that matchmaker and still
spending Valentine's Day all alone.
Although I guess I'm not spending it alone because I'm
here with Charles. It's our big first date.
This is Valentine's Day and I. Know that, Charles.
Happy Valentine's Day. Thank you.
Happy together. Lovely.
Yeah, just some big headlines though from around the tour.
So we've got some major Montpelier mojo.
First off, Arthur Fees is back. Another stalwart of the Bay TP
rankings. Arthur Fees was gone since the
Rogers Cup last year with an injury.
He comes back in France and makes it all the way the
quarters, but then he comes up against that juggernaut Felix OJ
Ali Yassim, who was so locked in.
And look, we know when someone is locked.
They are more focused. In his match against Arthur
Fees, FAA in the second set, won 16 of 16 service points, bro,
like what a performance. Then he goes on and he wins the
title. He beats Mannarino in the final.
FAA man he is. He's.
He's on a role, Yeah. Yeah, he plays Demon R in the
final and Rotterdam like tomorrow morning.
So he's like. Did he already beat Bublik?
He did in straight size 1 and 2. Whoa.
I was like, oh, I'm going to watch after this.
OK, wow. Wow, I need Felix to make a deep
run out of Major. But yeah, he's he's been killing
it. He finds his groove in these
kind of like lower level events. I tell you, man, it's the five
hundreds. I love a 500.
You get all these narratives and you get all these people and
like, I like, I'm excited for that final tomorrow.
I mean, the what? And I don't know who's going to
win. I mean, but that is scary that
Felix beat Booblick one and two because Booblick serve.
Booblick must have just had one of his ridiculous mental farts
where he's like, I don't care anymore.
Fuck it. We had some chaotic moments in
the Middle East with the women, really exciting semis and both
Abu Dhabi and Doha. Abu Dhabi again, another perfect
500 level tournament. We've got people getting the
spot like Haley Baptiste, Alexandrova, Clara Towson, all
in the semis. But then we got a surprise
winner of a Next Gen. Czech Gurley, Sarah Balick.
I think it's how you say it. She is a young up and Comer.
She's only 5 foot two. She wins the whole tournament.
I really want to see her play against Jasmine Palini.
I feel like that would just be like a a fun match, but in pure
Czech faction. She's already walking around
with a knee brace on because those Czech girlies are just
they're they're brittle bone baby bird arms and legs.
It's just something's always wrong.
But then we have Doha, where Mukova said hold my brace.
And she goes on and wins her first thousand level tournament,
her only second tour level title, taking on in Boko.
And again, we said it a little bit, what I loved watching
Imboko and Mukova play really high quality first set.
I love both of their games so much.
They both have style, they have flair.
They were there. They became the nanny, whatever
that song is. They really had like some
players I watch and I'm not going to pile on who I always
pile on, but some players I watch who are a little less
consistent and it's like, who's going to show up today?
But with both Vicki and Carolina, Carolina, I'm like, I,
I feel confident and I can just watch you play your match.
And I love when I don't have to stress about who's going to show
up. You know what I mean?
I feel that way sometimes about Coco Golf.
I wasn't going to say her name, but OK.
Yes, Coco. Like I what?
Has happened to Coco lately. She's my all time favorite
player, like all time, and I will always be suited for her
matches. But I feel like her game, it can
be one or one way or the other. You never know who who's going
to show up. Like she could beat Ego and
Arena or she could go down to a lower ranked player.
I mean, the depth of the field is crazy, but yeah, who knows.
But it's the thing with Coco, it's not a depth thing.
Like she lost to Cochiaretto at the first round of Doha.
Who's like, who's not someone who should be beating Coco?
And yeah, she made it to the quarters in Australia and then
was just trounced by Svitolina. Like, it's more, there are just
days where Coco doesn't show up. And it's like, I'm getting a
little kind of, it's like my Coco golf ulcer.
But even just thinking about the US Open last year when her serve
was just really on the Fritz and like, there was that changeover
where she was like shaking and kind of crying, 'cause it was
just so it was I, I, that's the time of tennis where I like need
to look away because it's, it's hard to watch that I.
Mean it is because I think you under you understand how that
feels like you want nothing more than just to be off the court
like you want the match to be over the court feels like hell.
You feel like you're trapped in this like alternate universe
where everything's going wrong and you just want to be off the
court and not only off the court, but like cameras are on
you, people are watching you. They're watching you at like
your most stressed lowest moment.
I can't imagine. Yeah.
And like. Or the rash where there's 28,000
people. 100% when you're under that stress the worst version of
Of You comes out and I feel like the worst version of Coco is
still better than the best version of me.
But you hit your breaking point at the changeover like and I
just feel bad. Yeah, yeah.
I've got to say, Coco, the grace that she carries herself with
is. Yeah, I mean, I am.
I'm nearly twice her age, and she's more of an adult than I
ever will be. I.
Think. Yeah, it's amazing.
Yeah, one more quick shout out, though.
Just a 40, love. So we've got some aging icons
continuing to make news. Stan the man is just on the best
farewell tour ever. He's back into the top 100 as a
40 year old. Disgusting 40 with that epic
backhand that is just a highlight reel.
If I could date one thing in the tennis world, it would be Stan
Vaverinka's backhand. Damn, he's so strong and I feel
like he's like he's like a tank. It's crazy.
And just the wind up, like I'm sorry, it makes everyone else's
one handed backhand look like just a turd.
I love it, I love it. Also, I don't know if you saw
Serena on the Today show, but she's getting less and less
convincing that she's not coming back.
She. Was they were like, so you did
this thing and she's like, I'm not talking about that.
And it's like. I know.
Serena's coming back. She is, and you know, they were
saying the first tournament she's eligible for is Austin,
and Venus has entered into Austin in the double S.
Can you imagine? I mean, flights to Austin are
about to get booked. Maybe we're going to Texas.
I I don't know if she is coming back.
I think that's going to be like a big, huge announcement, like a
Vogue release or something announcing her comeback.
Yeah. But yeah, it's hard.
I mean, when you're the biggest athlete, like one of the biggest
athletes on the planet, it's hard to keep it a secret,
especially when you have these tennis journalists who know
everything about the sport, so. Well, have you heard anything?
I have the Tennis Channel. I have not heard anything truly.
What you've heard in the media is what we've heard and.
Blink twice if she's coming back.
Well, I don't know. I really can't.
I wish. But I feel like if she's coming
back, she's probably going to Vogue.
She's going global with this release, not an American outlet.
It's going to, it's going to stop the presses.
Absolutely. Yeah.
And also slightly less large
news for people over 40, But Lana Kazanetsava is now saying
she might come back. That's wild.
I did not hear. I mean, I heard that in your
name. Yeah, she just, she posted.
She's like, well, maybe I'll come back and I don't know how
serious she is, but I loved her game and she was a character and
the crazy tattoos and her. 2 new major champion.
Yeah, yeah. Who did not get elected to the
Hall of Fame, which I found offensive.
Yeah. Come on, she's she's a no
brainer, but. She did won one of her majors on
a double fault thanks to Nara Safina, right?
Was it her? Was that a double fall?
I don't remember if I don't remember the match point, but
wow. 2009 I don't know. The US Open, Yeah.
She won the French in the US, Yeah.
Yeah, 2 game, major champion. Yeah, Spetti.
Well, folks, we're about to wrap up.
We've got a new Bay TP Head on over to Instagram to see that
Bay TP again. It's not just who's hot, it is
who is hot and playing well because it's hot to be a winner,
baby. We are going to wrap up though
with one more game, Charles. And it's called It's a Match.
So it's kind of like some of those things that maybe you've
seen on TikTok or Instagram where it's a blind ranking and I
have 6 names for you. And you have to decide do you
want to play against them, play double S with them or date them.
And it's 2 per category. So choose wisely.
So the first one, although he did just shit the bed.
Sasha Bublick. Oh, I'd like to play double S
with him. Play double S with him.
Yeah, he'd be a fun double S partner.
Yeah, I actually, that's a great call.
Yeah, Tommy Paul. He's the heartthrob of the ATP
and he would be fun to date. I feel like he'd take you
fishing. Oh yeah, I'm going to take him
catfishing. Well, just as a as a reminder,
everybody, that is my husband. I took his last name, He took my
first name. We are the Paul Pauls.
But I will. Allow it, Paul.
Yes. Oh my God, that's great.
OK, Felix, OJ, Al Yassim. I would like to play against him
because he's he's nice enough to give me a few free games.
Oh. Cute.
He's so nice. He is a sweetie.
Carlos Alkhorov. Dating here, would it be fun?
Yeah. Dating OK, two more Lorenzo
Moussetti. Oh my gosh.
It's either double s or playing against.
I would play double s with him. OK, Yeah.
You'll you might be happy with this last one, Adrian Mannarino.
The lowest string tension on the tour?
Yeah. Play against Andrian Mannarino.
Great. Although I feel like he, I feel
like he would be the one that we both have the best chance of
getting any games off of, but also the most frustrating to
play. His game is insane.
It would test my limits for sure.
I'd be. I'd be crashing out on the
changeover, yeah. Yeah, I would be Coco in the on
the Jumbotron crying in my towel.
Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
OK, well, well played. I'm very happy for you and
Tommy, Paul and Carlos Alkarav. Thank you.
We're very happy. Oh, already?
Well, look, that was that was, it's a match and that's our
show, everybody. Charles, thank you so much for
coming on the show. Did you have fun?
I had a great time. This was really fun.
Thank you for having me. It's everything I expected and
more from the Ball Boys podcast. Amazing.
Well you are officially a ball boy and I will be asking you
back because it was so great to have you on and I feel like we
just scratched the surface. Will you come back?
Yes. Second date, everybody.
It's a match. Oh my God.
Amazing. Well, we are going to be back in
a few weeks with a new show as the tours start coming back to
the States for the Sunshine Double.
And on the next show, we've got another case of new balls
please, where I'm going to be joined by the author of the new
queer tennis romance 30 Love. Tom Velner is going to be my
guest on the show. I'm very excited for that.
He's got a big shoes to fill after Charles though, so we'll
see. Until then, I am sending
everyone a big ball of love on Valentine's Day.
I love you all. Bye y'all.