Best Of Three

Craig Shapiro on the Hidden Tennis Ecosystem Behind the Match

Alvin Owusu is joined by Craig Shapiro to discuss the changing identity of the US Open and the larger tennis ecosystem that casual viewers rarely see. Craig argues that t

Zverev’s Metronome Standard, Shelton’s Next Step, and Sabalenka’s Rybakina Problem

Alexander Zverev’s US Open title over Ben Shelton is the kind of result that clarifies the ATP hierarchy. Zverev may not carry the same explosive ceiling as Carlos Alcara

Ben Shelton’s Game Looks Different Now

Ben Shelton’s win over Frances Tiafoe was not just a power-player breakthrough. It was a match that showed a more complete version of Shelton: still dominant on serve, bu

Coco Gauff’s Next Evolution, Rybakina’s Adjustment, and Sabalenka’s Power Surge

Coco Gauff’s loss to Elena Rybakina was not a simple regression. In the first set, Gauff showed a version of her game that can absorb elite pace, serve with real pace, de

Ben Shelton’s Top-Tier Application After Beating Carlos Alcaraz

Ben Shelton’s win over Carlos Alcaraz was not framed as a simple upset. Alvin and Torrey break down why the result mattered tactically and developmentally: Shelton served

Coco Gauff’s Forehand Test, Sabalenka’s Standard, and the WTA Danger Tier

Coco Gauff is still winning, but the way she is winning may matter more than the scoreline. Alvin and Torrey break down her US Open win over Iva Jovic through a tactical

Emma Navarro’s New Identity, Carlos Alcaraz’s Favorite Status, and the American US Open Surge

Emma Navarro gives this episode its strongest tactical story. The discussion centers on how her game has shifted from counterpunching, movement, and match management towa

Coco Gauff’s Game Is Becoming Harder to Expose | US Open

Coco Gauff’s win over Paula Badosa was not a finished-product statement, but it was a meaningful one. Badosa has the exact profile to test Coco’s progress: enough movemen

Ben Shelton’s Separation Test, Rafael Jodar’s Serve, and Michelsen’s Matchup Win

Ben Shelton’s early US Open matches are becoming a useful test of where he stands among the American men. The question is not whether Shelton is playing flawless tennis,

Djokovic, Five Sets, and the Physical Cost of Greatness at the US Open

Novak Djokovic’s first-round loss to Mariano Navone becomes the center of this episode, not because of the upset alone, but because of what the match revealed. Alvin and

Sabalenka, Champion Evolution, and the US Open Field Closing In

Alvin and Torrey preview the 2026 US Open from the ground level of Fan Week in New York, focusing less on bracket prediction and more on what the tournament looks like be

Coco Gauff’s Fuller Arsenal, Sabalenka’s Margins, and the ATP Window Before New York

Cincinnati gave the Best of Three crew one final look at the US Open field, and the clearest signal came from Coco Gauff. Her title run was not framed as a perfect week,

Iga Świątek’s Next Version, Coco Gauff’s Forehand, and the WTA’s Crowded Top Tier

Iga Świątek’s Toronto title was not simply a form check. Alvin and Torrey argue that her week showed a more tactically complete version of her game: more height, more sha

Alex Eala’s Sustainable Rise, Rafael Jodar’s Unfinished Upside

Alex Eala’s DC title run raises a more interesting question than whether she is simply on a good run. Her game already has a recognizable identity: lefty disruption, fore

The Cruelest Game: Djokovic’s Survival Code in Modern Tennis with Matt Futterman

Matt Futterman joins Best of Three to discuss The Cruelest Game, his book on the hidden cost of chasing greatness in professional tennis. The conversation centers on why

American Tennis Has Talent. Does It Have Enough Tennis Culture?

American tennis is often judged by outcomes at the professional level, but the more important question begins much earlier: how are young players actually learning the sp

Jannik Sinner, Wimbledon, and the Limits of Tennis’ Most Revered Test

Wimbledon remains the sport’s most sacred stage, but this episode asks whether it is still the cleanest measure of tennis greatness. Grass demands a specialized version o

Sinner, Zverev, and the Serve-Return Gap at Wimbledon

Jannik Sinner’s Wimbledon final win over Alexander Zverev was not a simple case of one player overwhelming the other. Zverev produced one of his most assertive performanc

Linda Noskova’s Wimbledon Title and the WTA’s Accelerating Power Shift

Linda Noskova’s Wimbledon final win over Karolina Muchova was not simply a breakthrough result. It was a clear signal that the younger WTA generation is arriving faster t

Coco Gauff’s Grass-Court Evolution, Muchova’s Tactical Clarity, and Noskova’s Arrival

Coco Gauff’s Wimbledon semifinal loss to Karolina Muchova revealed more progress than regression. Her serve was stable, her net game translated well to grass, and her wil