The Body Serve Tennis Podcast

We (James and Jonathan) have been producing The Body Serve podcast out of our home since January 2015. The Body Serve origin story is really one of simple, casual conversations on the couch while watching TV shows: one of us would remember something that happened on the court, the other would pause the show in exasperation, then the conversations would inevitably go on forever. Eventually, Jonathan said, “why don’t we start a podcast?” And then we both laughed at how absurd the idea was. 

This is a labor of love - we taught ourselves basic audio skills and worked hard to create what we think is a unique experience in the tennis landscape. We’ve always been self-funded and self-motivated, which has allowed us to retain our independence but has also limited our travel, equipment, and coverage. Our podcast looks at tennis as related to the broader world, as a site where gender, sex, class, power, politics, immigration, and culture interact.



Since 2015, we’ve interviewed three WTA #1s (Ash Barty, Naomi Osaka, Sania Mirza), future Hall of Famer Svetlana Kuznetsova, coaches like Sascha Bajin and David Taylor, tennis journalists, and Tennis Twitter personalities. We have covered every Grand Slam and every Masters event since our inception. 

We're asking now for help to fund our future: to help us travel to more tournaments, purchase better equipment, and allow us the time and resources to do the work we'd love to do. Our goal is to expand our coverage and ensure that the podcast has a future, while maintaining our independent voice and the intimate, low-key relationship we’ve tried to cultivate with our listeners.



Below are a few samples of the type of podcasting we do - everything from your standard Grand Slam recaps to more heavily researched theme episodes: 

“Toward a Better Understanding of Pre-Open Era Tennis”  - our attempt to make sense of the first century of tennis, which is so often overlooked and misunderstood in contemporary tennis writing: 


“US Open Wrap: Multiple Things Are True *Oprah Shrug GIF”  - multiple things are true has become a slogan and a paradigm for us, especially when tackling the complex and uncomfortable issues that the 2018 US Open women’s final brought up for us. 


“Pride Is Political: A Partial History of LGBTQ People in Tennis”  - probably our proudest moment as a podcast. We look at the rich tapestry of queer people in tennis, some stories well known and others rarely told. From Bill Tilden to Helen Jacobs to Amelie Mauresmo.


“Why Andy Murray’s Feminism Matters”  - an early Body Serve look at Murray’s (at the time) singular voice on the ATP as a vocal supporter of women’s sport


You can find us at www.thebodyserve.podbean.com, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Stitcher, or your preferred podcast app.



Donate $100 or more - Shout-out on the show, handwritten TBS postcard, and you get to submit any retired player for our Book Report segment


$50+ - Shout-out on the show and a handwritten TBS postcard in the mail 


$25 - Shout-out on the show and a thank you email


*All donors are eligible for a few special TBS giveaways at the end of the campaign - details to be revealed later*