Rising pro Jon Lucien pulls up to Bad Calls to talk back-to-back singles wins, why deception beats pace, and how a chess habit sharpens his reads. We argue Gen 1 vs Gen 4 paddles, recap the PPA Vintage Open with wood, and ask a simple question with a messy answer: who’s the best men’s doubles player right now?

We also get into Malaysia Cup fan energy, MLP vs PPA for growth, Buccee's road rituals, and why doubles takes longer to “solve.” Jon shares his partner plans, a perfect SAT flex, and the strategy he uses to ice opponent momentum.

The Kawamoto sisters snag gold in Cincinnati and prove that they were severely underrated! We get into why their patient style works and how parity is catching up to the big teams.

Paddles: the RPM is making noise, but UPA approval is still pending. We talk dwell time, pop, and why switching sticks mid-season can mess with your trajectory. Sacramento’s wooden-paddle event is next. After testing wood, we explain why points feel more strategic and why some spin-heavy players could struggle.

There’s plenty of pro gossip too. Will Hayden and Fed split? Are CJ and JW next? Ben teams with Alshon in Asia. Also yes, we test a grip-weight gadget on air and the name sends us off the rails. Enjoy.

We’re back at Crescent Lake and it finally isn’t raining. Travis breaks down a grueling PPA Challenger weekend, the certification chaos that has paddles swapping mid-event, and why half the new sticks are failing tests. We talk lab tour intel, the missing deflection machine saga, roll-out courts in Vegas, and whether random crowd noise should ever be a hindrance.

Graham floats a take that singles training should drop way down once you break through, and we kick around what that means for players chasing doubles partners and real paydays.

Hit the comments with two things: do you prefer indoor studio faces or Crescent Lake vibes, and do you want live court segments back next episode?