Tennis sped along at a breakneck pace during week one of the 2016 Miami Open. The Maria Sharapova and Raymond Moore scandals which book-ended the Indian Wells event segued into a sexism controversy in Miami. The row, fueled (in part) by Novak Djokovic's press comments after winning the BNP Paribas Open, dominated the early going of the Miami event. The unpredictability off court, which has wreaked havoc on both tours in 2016, matched the play within the lines during Miami's opening week; retirements, upsets, and withdrawals turned the draws upside down. 


ATP

​RUNDOWN

• The humidity in Miami has had a huge effect on the tennis with several players retiring mid-match unable to cope with the conditions.
• Nadal retired against Dzumhur down 0-3 in the 3rd set. Nadal cited feeling dizzy after winning the opening set before his condition progressively worsened. 
• Grigor Dimitrov scored an impressive come-from-behind win over Andy Murray. Once ranked as high as #8 in the world, the Bulagarian currently sits at #28 in the rankings.
• Federer withdrew from the tournament before his scheduled second round match with Juan Martin del Potro citing a stomach virus. The Miami Open was to be Federer's first appearance in a main draw since undergoing knee surgery after the Australian Open
• Del Potro showed signs of bother with his wrist during his 2nd round loss to Horacio Zeballos, but assured fans it was all part of the recovery process.
• Jamie Murray is set to become the first ever British #1 in doubles in next week's ATP rankings. 
• Somehow, a women's ball made its way into Andy Murray's palm as he was about to serve during his 2nd round match against Istomin.
• ​Robin Haase's coach a murder suspect? Add this to the growing list of bizarre happening in tennis this year.
• Among the early losers in Miami: #2 Murray, #4 Wawrinka, #5 Nadal, #9 Tsonga.
• Marcelo Melo took a forehand to the back of his head from doubles partner Ivan Dodig during their 2nd round loss to Huey/Mirnyi. 

Click HERE to view the current state of the the men's draw at the Miami Open

Jonathan and James return a mere four days after their last episode to talk sexism in tennis. The events of the last week feel all too familiar and hit on many issues covered on the podcast since its inception. Tune in for discussions on Djokovic's bizarre handling of the Raymond Moore question, a defence of Andy Murray and his feminism, plus a look back at Manic Monday on Twitter.

Monday, March 22nd will (hopefully) be remembered as the day that the discourse surrounding sexism in tennis and the discrepancy in earnings between the ATP and WTA tours took a giant step forward. On the heels of Raymond Moore's sexist comments at the BNP Paribas Open, tennis players took to Twitter and sounded off in a way that we have never seen before.

​Nicole Gibbs, Alla Kudryavtseva, and Andy Murray were the chief advocates today; in a sport that has too often closed ranks around the chief offenders who perpetuate rampant sexism, the chorus railing against the establishment was a welcomed reprieve. More importantly, Murray and Gibbs aimed their efforts at noted sexist, Sergiy Stakhovsky, member of the ATP Player's Council. Their persistent tweeting will hopefully shine a sustained light on Stakhovsky, his antiquated beliefs, and underscore just how big a problem tennis and the ATP faces. After all, how can the sport and the ATP seriously address this issue when Stakhovsky is allowed to sit on its Player's Council? An elected member by ATP players, change will likely only be possible if more of Stakhovsky's peers say "enough is enough."

Andy Murray popped up on Twitter to take Sergiy Stakhovsky to the woodshed. Murray, often the lone voice of dissent in a sea of patriarchy in tennis, sought out the Ukrainian to try and make sense of his logic used to attack the argument for equal prize money in tennis.

A week after Maria Sharapova shocked the tennis world with h​er announcement of having failed a drug test, tennis received a second jolt at the conclusion of the BNP Paribas Open. The tournament's CEO and Director, Raymond Moore, caused an uproar when he offered a series of sexist comments on the state of the WTA Tour and its players. Moore "stepped down" from his dual roles with the tournament on Monday. 

On court, Victoria Azarenka beat Serena Williams in the women's final 6-4 6-4, and Novak Djokovic overcame Milos Raonic 6-2 6-0. Moore's comments, which came shortly before both finals on Sunday, made for cringe-worthy optics during the trophy presentations. In their press conferences, the finalists offered their opinions on the controversy: Williams put Moore on blast, while Djokovic segued into a discussion on equal prize money. The pressers stoked the flames set off by Moore's comments even further, with Williams hailed for her firm stance, and Djokovic largely derided. 

​For more on the controversy, check out the "Press" and "On The Web" sections. In the meantime, let's explore the last week in tennis a bit further. 

​WTA​

​RUNDOWN
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• Victoria Azarenka returns to the WTA top 10 for the first time since August, 2014 after beating Serena Williams to win her 2nd Indian Wells title. Azarenka is now the only player to beat Williams four times in WTA finals.
• Serena Williams lost her second final of the year. But, it will be her expert handling of Raymond Moore's sexist comments in her press conference afterwards that will be long remembered.
• Radwanska is the new world #2 after reaching the semis, pushing Angelique Kerber down a spot to #3.
• Daria Kasatkina created a stir of her own earlier in the week during a Q&A with Tennis.com. On court, the 18-year-old reached the quarters of Indian Wells, and moves to a career high #36 in the rankings.
• Misaki Doi lost her first round match at Indian Wells, then entered and won the inaugural tournament in San Antonio. The top ranked Japanese player now has a career high mark at #44.
• Coming off consecutive first round losses in Dubai and Doha, Karolina Pliskova reached the semis at the BNP Paribas Open for her 2nd quarterfinal on the season. The result bumps her five spots to #14.
• Nicole Gibbs reached a new career high of #74 following a run through qualifying to the round of 16 at Indian Wells. She took out Madison Keys before losing in the 3rd set to Petra Kvitova.
• Maria Sharapova, inactive due to a suspension for failing a drug test at the Australian Open, falls out of the WTA top 10. 

​PRESS
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It's been a while since the last episode of The Body Serve, and tennis decided to go crazy in the meantime. Jonathan and James get caught up on Sharapova's failed drug test, Venus' return to Indian Wells, Vika and Nole's big wins,  and all the sexist comments on offer during the tournament's final day.

Week Ten was dominated by the news of Maria Sharapova's failed drug test. Ahead of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, "Meldonium" became a very familiar word to tennis fans. The other big story this week, of course, was Venus Williams' return to Indian Wells for the first time in 15 years. After Serena ended the family boycott last year, Venus followed suit this week wearing a wide smile when she entered Stadium 1 to rapturous applause. For Serena, her appearance this week was her first official event on tour since the Australian Open in January. On the men's side, Indian Wells is without Roger Federer who is recovering from knee surgery, and Andy Murray makes his first tour appearance since the Australian Open. 

Let's have a closer look at what's been happening #ThisWeekInTennis!

WTA

RUNDOWN

• Sharapova dominated news in the early going of Indian Wells. Check out the "On The Web" section for some of the pieces that have been written on the story in the past week.
• Venus Williams made her return to Indian Wells official on Friday. Sadly, for Venus and her fans, she lost in straight sets to Kurumi Nara. Watch the the welcome she received and Venus' reaction HERE.
• Serena followed Venus two matches later on Stadium 1 with a 6-2 6-1 win over Laura Siegemund. It was the world #1's first tour match since losing in the Australian Open final to Angelique Kerber. 
• Speaking of the Australian Open champ, Kerber lost her opening match 5-7 5-7 to Allertova. Since winning her first Grand Slam, Kerber went 1-1 in Fed Cup and has now lost her first match in consecutive events. 
• Muguruza's struggles in 2016 continued as she exited in the 2nd round to Christina McHale. The Spaniard is now just 6-5 on the year.
• Taylor Townsend made it through the qualifying draw before losing in the first round. After entering last year's event ranked #96, Townsend will leave the desert just inside #400. Hopefully, this result is a sign of better things to come. 
• Shuai Peng made her first singles appearance on the WTA since last year's French Open (back). Currently ranked #768, the 2014 U.S. Open semifinalist lost 0-6 1-6 to Putintseva in the first round.
• Laura Robson is on the comeback trail. Despite a first round loss, Robson claims to be ready to resume a full schedule on the WTA tour. 
• Stosur and Ivanovic both saved match points before advancing to the third round with a pair of 3-set victories.

WTA Indian Wells DRAW


​PRESS

*You can access press transcripts from the BNP Paribas Open HERE ​​

If you thought you could mentally check out of tennis last week because only Davis Cup and two minor WTA events were on offer, you were sorely mistaken. The last seven days have been filled with major tennis news: Bud Collins' passing, Australian Davis Cup drama, and Venus' touching letter regarding her Indian Wells return. But, the most shocking news of all came today when Maria Sharapova announced that she tested positive for a banned substance at this year's Australian Open. 

Watch Sharapova's entire press conference below:

Let's dig a bit deeper into the tennis happenings during week 9. 

​ATP

• Bernard Tomic cast suspicions on Kyrgios, implying that he faked injury to avoid playing Davis Cup. Kyrgios fired back on Twitter, and took a few shots at Ben Rothenberg too. If you missed any of it, check it out HERE.
• On a lighter and more joyous note, Roberto Bautista Agut tweeted in support of LGBT issues, saying he was "proud of his country" for including LGBT folks in the Magdalena Festival celebrations.
• Andy Murray led Britain into the quarterfinals of this year's Davis Cup. Murray, who led Britain to the title last year with an unbeaten record, fought off Kei Nishikori in five sets. 
• Novak Djokovic struggled mightily against Mikhail Kukushkin. With Serbia already down 1-2 in matches, Djokovic himself fell behind two sets to one before rallying for the five-set win. 
• While Murray and Djokovic were embattled, Roger Federer spent his week leisurely taking in some American professional sport. He attended a Lakers game with Tommy Haas, posed with Thabo Sefolosha, and tweeted from inside the L.A. Kings locker room.