Perfect Match? — a tennis podcast hosted by Bryan Keller & Michele Drohan
A tennis podcast about the game — and what it reveals about the culture (and sometimes our relationship).
Hosted by Bryan Keller & Michele Drohan
The show
Perfect Match? is a tennis podcast where we talk about tennis as it relates to the culture (and sometimes our relationship as it relates to tennis).
Co-hosts, partnered couple and dare we say doubles partners, Bryan and Michele get into it exploring the big game, their own game and anything else that's making tennis fans talk from the sidelines.
Follow us on Bluesky at @perfectmatchpodcast.com.
Bryan Keller @bwk
Co-host, occasional line-judge in his own living room. Bryan brings the numbers, the takes, and a stubborn belief that every rivalry is really a relationship in disguise.
Michele Drohan @shellsteak
Co-host, keeper of the receipts. Michele calls out the double standards tennis loves to ignore — and makes sure the match never ends without a verdict.
Latest episodes
New episodes every week. Play right here, or follow on your listening app of choice.
Latest EpisodeThe Open Era: Your Gay Sports Romance Novel Companion to the US Open
In this extended episode we talk about the emerging Gay Sports Romance genre and nerd out on behind-the-scenes library stuff with New York Public Library Senior Librarian and Cataloger Julia Lubey! How do books get tagged as Queer Fiction vs. Bisexual vs. Young Adult? What about The Open Era, which is perhaps all of the above?Also:Alcaraz' nipple slip shirt 👀Djokovic's mysterious long-COVID-like
Postcard from the US Open Fan Week
The US Open Fan Week: loud, crowded, disorganized, chaotic! But we got a chance to see Serena and Carlos play doubles as well as the return of the one and only Roger Federer. Michele refrained from putting them on the glass for Roger, and Bryan remained relatively sober despite spending ~$200 on booze. Only at the Open!Also,The Arthur Ashe stadium renovation that reflects the disappearing middle c
What the Hair?
No sooner did we record an episode about Carlos' cornrows than he took them out (and pulled out of Cincy 😞). Regardless, there's a history of white people adopting/appropriating(?) black style with mixed results. We were initially becringed by the cornrows, but a new generation of social media users has put the whole topic into grey area.Also:Jessie Pegula is hard to root forThe ticket scalpers b
Are Gen Z Players "Quiet Quitting"?
Jannik Sinner made headlines last week because he passed on a potentially unprecedented and historic opportunity: win all Masters 1000s tournaments in a single year. Nobody has ever done it. With all the talk about how maladapted, weird and lazy Gen Z is purported to be, we wondered if there's a generational theme here (spoiler: they said the exact same things about Gen X, but no one remembers any
The WTA: Prove You're a Woman
The Women's Tennis Association, arguably the most progressive sports association in history, has decided to require every female professional tennis player to prove that they are a woman. What certification will be acceptable to pass this new test? Oh, it's something called an SRY test, which checks for the presence of Y chromosomes. Funny story, the man who discovered the SRY marker thinks that t
A Performance Improvement Plan for Men's Tennis
Men's tennis is failing us, in our view. It's top priority should be preventing Zv*r*v and Djokovic from winning a Grand Slam, and with Carlos out, the only one up to the challenge is Jannik Sinner. This is unsustainable!This week, Michele puts on her HR hat and puts Men's Tennis on a Performance Improvement Plan, complete with milestones and actionable goals (sorry I just barfed a bit in my mouth
What Do We Want from Serena?
Serena's comeback at Wimbledon was impressive, adequate, or perplexing, depending on who is commenting on it. This week, we take on Serena's choice, as well as the odd circumstances around her dropping out of doubles at the last minute. What is all this really about? Does Serena herself even know?Also,The danger on the men's side (a Djokovic or Zverev win 😱)We will have a new champion on the wome
Don't Call It "The Comeback" (How's That?)
As Michele predicted in the first episode of this season, Serena Williams will be playing singles this year at Wimbledon. But don't call it a comeback (as they say), for she is insisting she doesn't care if she wins: she's just wants her daughters to see her play. Hard to believe.Also:Tennis.com has stopped publishing content entirely (boo!)Paula Badosa calls her former relationship with Stefanos
We Do Not Speak His Name (Or, At Least, Pronounce It Correctly)
The bonkers 2026 French Open has concluded with the most disappointing Men's Final since Wimbledon 2019 (if you know, you know). The "deeply polarizing" winner (as the NY Times put it) has become a symbol of society's inability to properly address domestic violence allegations, leading to the emergence of the #anyonebutzverev hashtag when he became the favorite to win the tournament.Michele refuse
The French (Wide) Open
This week we marvel at the surprises the French Open has produced so far. Is it weird that we are enjoying the Sincaraz absence? And we get early exits on the Women's side to mix it up? This is shaping up to be one of the most interesting Frenches (?) in a very long time.Also:Bryan apologizes (sort of) to unhappy listenersThe French Open's woman problemThe electronic line call that didn't matter (
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Follow us on Bluesky at @perfectmatchpodcast