Speaker 1: Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're kicking
Speaker 1: Skyguide to the curb and hitting the clurb with the
Speaker 1: Chicago Sky's new mascot, Skye the Lioness. On today's show,
Speaker 1: we'll be chatting with tennis player Taylor Townsend about being
Speaker 1: a Wimbledon doubles champ, how she adjusts when shit goes sideways,
Speaker 1: and all the good things that can come from sliding
Speaker 1: into someone's dms. Plus a profound message on retirement and
Speaker 1: an example we should all follow. It's all coming up
Speaker 1: right after this. Welcome back, my little slices. Here's what
Speaker 1: you need to know today. It was such a busy weekend.
Speaker 1: We've got some good stuff that didn't fit in yesterday's
Speaker 1: show to get to. First, we finished recording yesterday's at
Speaker 1: before the epic conclusion to the Seattle Rain game against
Speaker 1: the North Carolina Courage. So let's take a minute to
Speaker 1: highlight how that one played out, because the fairytale story
Speaker 1: basically wrote itself. So first, a beautiful ceremony for Megan Rappino,
Speaker 1: the first player in Rain history to have her jersey retired.
Speaker 1: There was an awesome video with messages from people like
Speaker 1: Michelle Akers, Ali Krieger, at e Ved Maclamore, Colin Kaepernick,
Speaker 1: Jewel Lloyd, and Rapino in her speech said in part
Speaker 1: about looking up at her number fifteen in the rafters, quote,
Speaker 1: I look at that number, and I'll be thinking about
Speaker 1: every one of you. Every Pride flag, every trans Writes flag,
Speaker 1: every Black Lives Matter flag, every Equal Pay flag, every
Speaker 1: Portland flag. End quote. Perfect perfect, It's perfectly Pino. Then
Speaker 1: the game happened, and Seattle beat the Courage one nil
Speaker 1: on a goal and stoppage time couldn't have ended more perfectly.
Speaker 2: So.
Speaker 1: Teenager Emory Adamas got her head on a cross sending
Speaker 1: it toward goal, where it bounced off the post and
Speaker 1: off Courage goalkeeper Casey Murphy. It technically counts as an
Speaker 1: old goal, but Adamas earned her sally, and of course
Speaker 1: she busted out the iconic Rapino arms out pose and
Speaker 1: looked up at Pino in the stands cheering her on.
Speaker 1: So cool, But it wasn't just the pose that made
Speaker 1: it super special. So earlier in the day, the eighteen
Speaker 1: year old a Damas posted a photo to her Instagram
Speaker 1: that she took with Raupino a few years ago when
Speaker 1: she was just a kid. She wasn't even up to
Speaker 1: Pino shoulder. Fast forward, she's in the league, she's on
Speaker 1: Pinos old team, she's scoring on her jersey retirement night
Speaker 1: Chef's kiss, and after the game, Adamas said, quote, I
Speaker 1: think I'm gonna throw up. I'm so excited. I have
Speaker 1: so much adrenaline right now. When everyone was running up
Speaker 1: to me after the game, I thought that I'm just
Speaker 1: going to wake up and be in my bed, like
Speaker 1: I actually thought I was dreaming. End quote. Also cool,
Speaker 1: longtime Rain coach Laura Harvey got her one hundredth NWSL
Speaker 1: win with that game too. What a night In NWSL news.
Speaker 1: If you listen to our conversation with Players Association President
Speaker 1: Tory Huster and executive director Megan Burke on Monday show,
Speaker 1: you'll recall that Burke said that the new CBA will
Speaker 1: lead to a quote free agent frenzy well. On Monday,
Speaker 1: the NWSLPA released the initial list of free agents who
Speaker 1: will be eligible to renegotiate new contracts starting on September first,
Speaker 1: and the list includes eighty eight names, but the Players
Speaker 1: Association indicated that even more names will be added ahead
Speaker 1: of September first, likely because everyone still needs a little
Speaker 1: time to read through the content language and confirm eligibility
Speaker 1: based on the new CBA changes. Also on Monday, some
Speaker 1: trade news World Cup champ Abby Dalkemper is headed to
Speaker 1: BAYFC via a trade with the San Diego Wave, with
Speaker 1: the Wave receiving fifty thousand dollars in allocation money. According
Speaker 1: to ESPN's Jeff cassoof Dalkemper requested the trade so the
Speaker 1: Waves tough times continue. The team also dropped their first
Speaker 1: regular season game under new interim head coach Landon Donovan
Speaker 1: to Softball Athletes Unlimited, Softball crowned it's twenty twenty four
Speaker 1: champion on Sunday night, with Amanda Lorenz taking home the
Speaker 1: an individual season title. Lorenz led the five week tournament
Speaker 1: since week three. In her fifty one at bats, she
Speaker 1: recorded nineteen hits, including three home runs. After winning the crown, Lorenz,
Speaker 1: who graduated from Florida in twenty nineteen and is a
Speaker 1: two time world medalist with USA Softball, credited Athletes Unlimited
Speaker 1: with helping so many players continue to compete. Quote. I
Speaker 1: don't really have the words right now, just thankful for
Speaker 1: this league and to keep playing this game. So let's
Speaker 1: take a minute to talk about what it means to
Speaker 1: be a pro softball player, because while Athletes Unlimited has
Speaker 1: been a great option for these athletes, and there's a
Speaker 1: couple other pro options too, it's still so tough to
Speaker 1: make ends meet in this sport, especially because of its
Speaker 1: up and down Olympic status and because the professional leagues
Speaker 1: are relatively young. There's a whole bunch of players that
Speaker 1: we retired at the conclusion of this AU season that
Speaker 1: really didn't get as much do as they should have,
Speaker 1: including Olympic silver medallist Haley mclenny, ten year pro Sam Fisher,
Speaker 1: and Tokyo Olympian Seshell Palacios. On Sunday, an honor of
Speaker 1: the season's end and of those players saying goodbye, fantastic
Speaker 1: AU reporter Savannah Collins re shared a powerful video from
Speaker 1: twenty twenty. It was mclenny reciting a poem written by
Speaker 1: AU pro Janie Reid about what it means to retire
Speaker 1: from the game. Janie was too shy to read it
Speaker 1: that day, so McClenny read it for her. Take a listen.
Speaker 3: Women at exit the game differently, some of the greatest,
Speaker 3: most talented players snuck out quietly, the same amount of
Speaker 3: practices games flies with their parents on the way home
Speaker 3: in the car, but a different level of recognition for
Speaker 3: the blood, sweat and battle scars. We don't get the
Speaker 3: pension plan for playing tenures in the show. We just
Speaker 3: slowly assimilate into a job working.
Speaker 1: With people who don't even know.
Speaker 3: But it's truly changing now, and it started with this group.
Speaker 3: The last six weeks are incredible stories played.
Speaker 2: On a loop.
Speaker 3: People might get it now, and people might know that
Speaker 3: the best in the world deserve to be treated like pros.
Speaker 3: That we're not just athletes who play on dirt, but
Speaker 3: difference makers, world changers, strong women willing to put in
Speaker 3: the work. So thank you for the hours, days, months
Speaker 3: and years of dedication. Your career deserves to be celebrated
Speaker 3: and showered with appreciation.
Speaker 1: It hits a little different hear in it now with
Speaker 1: mclenny herself being the one hanging it up, but the
Speaker 1: message is so true across so many sports. The same
Speaker 1: time effort, love, grit, pain and work as male pro athletes,
Speaker 1: but in most cases even more sacrifice with less fame
Speaker 1: and less monetary gain. Also, I personally want to give
Speaker 1: a shout out to Sam Fisher because she's one of
Speaker 1: my favorites. She's a woman whose softball prowess is second
Speaker 1: only to her incredible sense of humor. She dances at
Speaker 1: the plate, she screams hot dogs, and she just wants
Speaker 1: someone to match her freaking shin bruises from fouling it
Speaker 1: off her leg. I made her promise not to go
Speaker 1: into hiding post retirement because we need her voice, we
Speaker 1: need her perspective, we need her jokes. So go give
Speaker 1: her a follow I promise you won't regret it. At
Speaker 1: Sam Fisher fifty two on Insta. That's Fisher with a
Speaker 1: C fisc hr. Congrat Sam. All right, it's time for
Speaker 1: another edition of Yes and Yes, and the US Open
Speaker 1: is in full swing. And before the tournament began, we
Speaker 1: were lucky enough to be joined by Taylor Townsend, who's
Speaker 1: competing in both singles and doubles. Growing up, Townsend idolized
Speaker 1: Serena and Venus Williams, even telling her uncle that she
Speaker 1: was going to grow up to be better than them.
Speaker 1: She's one of many black tennis players who have cited
Speaker 1: that William's sisters as role models, and rightfully so. But
Speaker 1: we got to acknowledge another star that changed the game
Speaker 1: many years earlier, and it's one who helped inspire Venus
Speaker 1: and Serena too. We're talking about Althea Gibson. Born in
Speaker 1: nineteen twenty seven, Gibson grew up in Harlem, where she
Speaker 1: was introduced to tennis at the Cosmopolitan Club, a black
Speaker 1: tennis club, and quickly began beaten all the club's members.
Speaker 1: According to a twenty twenty two New York Times story
Speaker 1: that we'll link to in the show notes, club members
Speaker 1: helped her raise money so she could attend tournaments sponsored
Speaker 1: by the American Tennis Association, a league for black players,
Speaker 1: but for years, the most prestigious competitions remained out of
Speaker 1: reach for Althea Gibson. While US Tennis rules technically prohibited
Speaker 1: racial discrimination, a bunch of the qualifying events for the
Speaker 1: US National Championships, the event now known as the US Open,
Speaker 1: were held at white only country clubs, thus rendering the
Speaker 1: so called anti discrimination rules pretty moot. Following intense lobbying
Speaker 1: from fellow players and ATA officials, Gibson finally broke tennis's
Speaker 1: color barrier in nineteen fifty by competing at the US
Speaker 1: Open and in nineteen five fifty seven, she became the
Speaker 1: first Black American to win the tournament. In total, she
Speaker 1: won eleven Grand Slam titles during her career, and then
Speaker 1: when she retired from tennis, she became the first African
Speaker 1: American woman to join the LPGA Tour. At one point,
Speaker 1: she even toured with the Harlem Globetrotters and played exhibition matches.
Speaker 1: She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame
Speaker 1: in nineteen seventy one and even later served as Commissioner
Speaker 1: of Athletics for the State of New Jersey. In nineteen
Speaker 1: ninety nine, Serena Williams faxed Gibson a list of questions
Speaker 1: relating to a school project she was working on, and
Speaker 1: just months later, Serena won the US Open, becoming just
Speaker 1: the second black woman to win the tournament, following in
Speaker 1: al Thea Gibson's footsteps, So yes, Serena and Venus and
Speaker 1: Althea Gibson, which brings us full circle right back to
Speaker 1: Taylor Townsend, who stands on all of their shoulders. She
Speaker 1: joined a couple days ago and advanced of the US Open,
Speaker 1: which started on Monday. She won her opening round singles
Speaker 1: match and also has doubles coming up beginning on Wednesday.
Speaker 1: You'll hear from her next joining us now. She's a
Speaker 1: professional tennis player who's been ranked as high as number
Speaker 1: forty six in singles and number five in doubles. She
Speaker 1: won her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon this year
Speaker 1: with partner Katerina Siniakova. She's a Chicago native stand up,
Speaker 1: she's a mom, and she just played doubles with actor
Speaker 1: Boris Kojo in Stars of the Open on Wednesday night.
Speaker 1: If you don't know who that is, go ahead and
Speaker 1: google him. You're welcome, ladies and gents. Let's start with
Speaker 1: the important stuff. Taylor Townsend, what great are we giving
Speaker 1: Boris as a tennis player?
Speaker 2: I give him like a beat plus plus, Like I
Speaker 2: was impressed.
Speaker 1: That's pretty good.
Speaker 2: It good serve he made his sers. You know, I
Speaker 2: just need to get the defibrillator out after the long points.
Speaker 1: But that was time I thought you were gonna say
Speaker 1: from looking at him, because I'll tell you he came
Speaker 1: into the restaurant I worked in once when I was
Speaker 1: like twenty five, and I about dropped all the silverwear
Speaker 1: and couldn't speak. So I'm impressed, Yeah, there.
Speaker 2: Are a lot of women that were like, hey, son,
Speaker 2: gives him my number, and I told him that. I
Speaker 2: was like, I have a lot of females that are
Speaker 2: requesting me to give them their content information.
Speaker 1: So good. Let's talk about Wimbledon, because you came up
Speaker 1: just short in two Grand Slam finals before coming out
Speaker 1: on top this year. What was the difference and how
Speaker 1: did it feel to raise that trophy?
Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, it was spectacular. You know. I went
Speaker 2: into that like knowing I'm like, this is mine, Like
Speaker 2: I'm not going to be denied again, you know, like,
Speaker 2: and I just felt like it was different. But I
Speaker 2: was a different person, you know, getting basically having one
Speaker 2: Grand Slam final per year since coming back from my
Speaker 2: son US Open twenty two, French Open twenty three, you know,
Speaker 2: getting so close, but you know I wasn't who I
Speaker 2: am now, and I feel like I was. You know,
Speaker 2: all of those experiences helped me to be able to
Speaker 2: manage that moment, but then also like to be able
Speaker 2: to receive everything that comes along with being a Grand
Speaker 2: Slam champion. You know, that's not really a lot of
Speaker 2: things that are talked about. You know, you play and
Speaker 2: you know you do the best that you can in
Speaker 2: hopes that you get to this place, but like it's
Speaker 2: a lot that comes with it, and you know, maybe
Speaker 2: I wasn't ready to handle those things at that time.
Speaker 2: So you know, now I am, which is which is spectacular.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's wild. Do you like pick up the biggest
Speaker 1: responsibility you've ever had and suddenly it's like, maybe tennis
Speaker 1: isn't that big of a deal after all. Maybe I'll
Speaker 1: just go out there and play. Because all three of
Speaker 1: your Grand Slam final appearances have come after the birth
Speaker 1: of your son, Aidan Aubrey in twenty twenty one, I'm wondering, like,
Speaker 1: maybe that boy gave you some superpowers because you're just like, oh, tennis,
Speaker 1: tennis is tennis, I got other things.
Speaker 2: Definitely have given me superpowers. I keep saying that. I
Speaker 2: was like, I have superpowers, Oh, and I believe it.
Speaker 2: But yeah, I mean, just overall, just perspective I think
Speaker 2: has been the game changer for me, and just understanding
Speaker 2: and knowing that, like there's something bigger than just the sport.
Speaker 2: And you know, tennis, a lot of people play, start
Speaker 2: playing when they're three four years old, and you know
Speaker 2: you're in it and when you want to be a professional,
Speaker 2: and people know that as such a young age, like
Speaker 2: everything is tailored to that. So you really grow up
Speaker 2: in this life and you miss a lot of experiences,
Speaker 2: and so sometimes it's hard to differentiate between real life
Speaker 2: quote unquote and you know, your profession, because this is
Speaker 2: your life. It consumes so much of our time, our energy,
Speaker 2: our efforts. I mean, I spend more time with my
Speaker 2: team than I do with my family and my son,
Speaker 2: you know, so like I've seen my team more than
Speaker 2: I've seen my child this year. So like it really
Speaker 2: consumes just about every part of, you know, our being.
Speaker 2: So being able to step away from eight for eighteen
Speaker 2: months and just kind of gain that perspective that just
Speaker 2: it did wonders for me because I just realized, like, yeah,
Speaker 2: it doesn't like winning and losing, Like isn't that big
Speaker 2: of a deal. Of course I'm a competitor. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 2: I hate to lose, But overall, I understand that there's
Speaker 2: a bigger you know, a bigger picture, which is I
Speaker 2: feel like that's just priceless, honestly.
Speaker 1: Yeah. You mentioned in an interview at Wimbledon that you
Speaker 1: partner up with Katerina via DMS. She slid into your DMS. Also,
Speaker 1: your management team slid into your DMS. So I'm wondering,
Speaker 1: it's been a few months since Wimbledon, have we had
Speaker 1: any more meaningful life changing DM hookups?
Speaker 2: I have. I'm not going to give you guys that tea,
Speaker 2: but I have. But it's like, I feel like I've
Speaker 2: owed this because like it's been so many that have
Speaker 2: been so bad. So I feel like she's had to
Speaker 2: eventually intern Oh this sounds spicy.
Speaker 1: I can't believe you're not telling us.
Speaker 2: No, I keep that stuff tight to the chest earth.
Speaker 1: All right, Well, at least we know what to go
Speaker 1: digging for. Now, we know there's something there to go
Speaker 1: digging for.
Speaker 2: No, just now that like the like the scales half
Speaker 2: the balance, Yes, okay, when it's like this eventually, okay,
Speaker 2: so it start good.
Speaker 1: That's good news for everyone out there that hasn't been
Speaker 1: getting the good dms. What was the toughest part about
Speaker 1: coming back to the game after pregnancy after your son's rival.
Speaker 2: The toughest part was probably like the psychological, like management,
Speaker 2: and because there were so many changes that were occurring
Speaker 2: at like once, so you know, like new mom, like
Speaker 2: mom guilt of like when I started coming back and
Speaker 2: like training and everything, like having to really like be selfish.
Speaker 2: And you know, when you become a parent, like everything
Speaker 2: is opposite of that, you know, especially a mother where
Speaker 2: I'm like I'm nursing and you know, all this stuff
Speaker 2: is like everything is about this baby. And so like
Speaker 2: getting to the place where I'm like, Okay, this is
Speaker 2: my time, you know, Like so becoming selfish in terms
Speaker 2: of like my time, the changes that of like the
Speaker 2: person that I made and like the person that I
Speaker 2: had to become in order to be in this place
Speaker 2: sitting here talking to you. Like I said to my coach,
Speaker 2: I was like, hey, I'm going to be better than
Speaker 2: I was when I left. But I had no idea
Speaker 2: what that meant. And like all the and of course
Speaker 2: I knew that it was going to be hard work,
Speaker 2: but I didn't really understand the depth of like who
Speaker 2: I was going to have to become in order to
Speaker 2: be in this position, because I was asking something of
Speaker 2: myself that I had never done before. So I was
Speaker 2: like it was uncharted territory. But like it's been so
Speaker 2: fun and it's been so difficult, but worth it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, the tennis world, whether that's the media or the
Speaker 1: USTA or even the fan base is not always known
Speaker 1: for being sensitive, for asking the right questions, for being
Speaker 1: understanding of people's lives, and you personally have had issues
Speaker 1: with some of those entities in the past. How has
Speaker 1: it been for you in the last couple of years.
Speaker 1: Have you felt like you've also had to deal with
Speaker 1: that bs.
Speaker 2: No, And that was one of the things that like
Speaker 2: I really put behind me. It was a learning lesson
Speaker 2: and you know, I feel like I handled it the
Speaker 2: best way that I could at fifteen years old. Yeah,
Speaker 2: but ultimately, like the blessing is again we talked about
Speaker 2: like the things turning around, like being in a position
Speaker 2: where you know, I wasn't supported and now I'm like
Speaker 2: wildly supported. I have such a great village of people
Speaker 2: around me that are like high quality people. So it's
Speaker 2: just like how that's turned around in terms of just
Speaker 2: like feeling for so many years that I'm out here
Speaker 2: by myself having to survive to now being in a
Speaker 2: position where I have such great people around me on
Speaker 2: so many levels, you know, management, coaching, personal, you know
Speaker 2: everything like family, where I'm just so supported and so
Speaker 2: loved and so it's just like that stuff is so
Speaker 2: insignificant to me when I look at my life now,
Speaker 2: But I also will never disregard it because the lesson
Speaker 2: was so valuable. Yeah, that's so cool and it was difficult,
Speaker 2: but you know it's so worth it.
Speaker 1: I'm glad you're so supported now. That's so good to hear.
Speaker 1: You said recently that your doubles ranking won't be higher
Speaker 1: than you're sing for long.
Speaker 2: Tell us why, Yeah, because I know what I can do.
Speaker 2: I know who I am, I know the kind of
Speaker 2: player that I am, and you know I know what
Speaker 2: I'm doing on and off the court, So it's just
Speaker 2: a matter of time. And I think that you know,
Speaker 2: I'm at my the newest career high forty six. I
Speaker 2: have again uncharted territory, has never been here before. But
Speaker 2: I know that I'm a top five top like the
Speaker 2: top five player easily. So you know, my highest doubles
Speaker 2: dranking is five. So that's my role. Let's get there
Speaker 2: and then see what happened. But I know, I know
Speaker 2: that that's a that's a that's very attainable, and everyone
Speaker 2: in my can't knows that as well. So we're just
Speaker 2: continuing to keep our head gap, putting in the work
Speaker 2: pounding the stone and we know that eventually it.
Speaker 1: Okay, you've had different partners for doubles, so you've had
Speaker 1: to practice chemistry and style and everything else. Is it
Speaker 1: tougher to focus on singles when you're dedicating time and
Speaker 1: energy to both.
Speaker 2: No, because I've I've always played any tournament that I've
Speaker 2: played in, I've always played singles. So that's why I
Speaker 2: was like, I hope that I'm yeah, working to change
Speaker 2: that where it's just like, oh, you have to be
Speaker 2: one or the other. Like tennis is, it's very linear.
Speaker 2: So sometimes they I mean not sometimes all the time.
Speaker 2: They try to put you in a box, right, and
Speaker 2: so it's like this box, Okay, you're a doubles player. Oh,
Speaker 2: you're really good at double see probably focusing more on doubles. No,
Speaker 2: every single tournament that I go to, I'm playing singles
Speaker 2: and doubles. Singles first, doubles come after that, and it's just,
Speaker 2: you know, it just happens that at this time and
Speaker 2: over the last couple of years, I've had success in doubles,
Speaker 2: but that doesn't overshadow like that. I'm still playing singles,
Speaker 2: you know. Yeah, and I've accomplished two times over in
Speaker 2: the course of this year that I've accomplished like career
Speaker 2: high rankings, Like I broke it to the top fifty
Speaker 2: and now I've broken like inside out forty six. Like,
Speaker 2: so I'm hitting my markers in singles. You know, it's
Speaker 2: just happening. Not at the same pace as doubles. Yeah,
Speaker 2: but you know, there's never a tie where I feel
Speaker 2: conflicted because I know my priority.
Speaker 1: It gives you confidence. I'm sure when you're standing in
Speaker 1: the winner circle, you're holding that trophy, you're on top
Speaker 1: of the tennis world. Even if it is doubles you
Speaker 1: go back to singles with I would imagine a little
Speaker 1: bit of extra confidence and like feeling yourself.
Speaker 2: A little bit totally and like I I again, I
Speaker 2: hope that kind of an example of like changing that
Speaker 2: thought process. It's like a match is a match, Like
Speaker 2: that's how I grew up. Imagine matt is a match
Speaker 2: ac court to court, ball's ball. As long as it
Speaker 2: crosses over than that, you can do what you like,
Speaker 2: you can you can do your stuff on your you know.
Speaker 2: So it's like again just trying to change that linear
Speaker 2: perspective of like, oh, like doubles is this, singles is this,
Speaker 2: you can't do both, like no, And at the end
Speaker 2: of the day, like I said this, I was like,
Speaker 2: I don't care if it's a doubles Grand Slam, it's
Speaker 2: a Grand Slam, it's Wimbledon.
Speaker 1: Yeah, like there's one Wimbledon.
Speaker 2: There's really nothing that anybody can tell to try and
Speaker 2: like to undermine my accomplishment because I know what that is. Like,
Speaker 2: so's it's literally, I don't care if it's singles, doubles,
Speaker 2: mixed doubles, wheelchair anything like, it's the accomplishment is the
Speaker 2: accomplishment because the work that you put in in order
Speaker 2: to achieve that is monumental. And at the end of
Speaker 2: the day, you had to execute from start to finish,
Speaker 2: from the beginning of the tournament to the end, which
Speaker 2: is the same thing that everybody in the event has
Speaker 2: to do. But you're the last one or last two standings.
Speaker 2: So that says something. That's how I look at it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, So US opens coming up. Is there extra special
Speaker 1: focus or does it mean something extra special to do
Speaker 1: well at this tournament here in the States? The biggest
Speaker 1: thing that we've got.
Speaker 2: Here, Yeah, I mean, and I always have such a
Speaker 2: great time like here in New York. Like the energy
Speaker 2: the city just brings something out on me that I just,
Speaker 2: you know, like really enjoy. But of course I would
Speaker 2: like to go far. This is that you know, I
Speaker 2: don't come and I never play a turn in it
Speaker 2: to just show up. Whenever I come, I come to
Speaker 2: do damage. So like that's my pop bustle. So it's like,
Speaker 2: you know, I'm not coming here just to participate and
Speaker 2: have a good time, you know, like, no, we're going
Speaker 2: to work here to wait. So I definitely have that,
Speaker 2: But you know, I'm not putting expectations or anything. I'm
Speaker 2: going and just staying locked in on my process and
Speaker 2: what I have to do to play my best tennis
Speaker 2: every single time that I on the court.
Speaker 1: Okay, last question. We're watching you at the US Open
Speaker 1: to help us watch what you're doing and have even
Speaker 1: more insight into how you're playing. Is there anything you're
Speaker 1: focusing on or thinking about? Are you thinking my forehand's
Speaker 1: feeling really good right now, I'm really going to try
Speaker 1: and kill them with my four end and put the
Speaker 1: ball away. Is it my second serve needs to have
Speaker 1: a little more oomph on it when I get to it.
Speaker 1: Is it my volley game like, what is it that
Speaker 1: right now you're heading and either feeling super confident about
Speaker 1: or really focusing on.
Speaker 2: I think that that changes depending on the day. Like
Speaker 2: it's that's it's not that like straightforward, because you can
Speaker 2: be having a great day, you have a great warm up,
Speaker 2: and then shit goes left, like when you get on
Speaker 2: the court. Yeah, So it's like you just have to
Speaker 2: be able to flow and be able to go through
Speaker 2: the ebbs and flows of like what's happening on the
Speaker 2: court and to be able to know that, like I
Speaker 2: could be hitting beforehand great in the first set and
Speaker 2: then go off from the second. How do you adjust?
Speaker 2: And so for me, it's like the power of being
Speaker 2: able to adjust and the power of being able to
Speaker 2: like stay fluid from start to finish in the match.
Speaker 2: And I know that I'm doing yeah and being fully
Speaker 2: locked in on like the now, and I know when
Speaker 2: I'm doing that. So you know, I can't say like, yeah,
Speaker 2: look at this or that, because it changes depending on
Speaker 2: the day, the conditions, the person on the other side. Tactically,
Speaker 2: what are you trying to do? So you know, that's
Speaker 2: kind of a tough question to answer because I'm just like,
Speaker 2: it's not that like straightforward, but you know, ultimately, if
Speaker 2: you see me just locked in and I'm sure that
Speaker 2: when I am it's a look in my eyes that
Speaker 2: I know is there, then you'll know.
Speaker 1: I love that. We'll be looking for it. Thanks so
Speaker 1: much to Taylor for joining us. Continued good luck in
Speaker 1: the US open. Also make sure you check out Taylor
Speaker 1: on season two of the FUSE TV show Like a Girl.
Speaker 1: She talks through some hard hitting subjects like body image
Speaker 1: and pregnancy. Like a Girl is hosted by f S
Speaker 1: one's Joy Taylor and mj Acosta Ruiz of the NFL Network.
Speaker 1: In ESPN Deportes, Townsend's episode premierees Wednesday, September eighteenth at
Speaker 1: nine pm Eastern. We'll link to the show in our
Speaker 1: show notes. We got to take another break. When we
Speaker 1: come back, a good game play of the day the
Speaker 1: world needs you to internalize. Stay tuned, Welcome back, slices.
Speaker 1: We love that you're listening, but we want you to
Speaker 1: get in the game every day too, So here's our
Speaker 1: good game play of the day. I know we've already
Speaker 1: talked about Megan or Pino's jersey retirement a couple times
Speaker 1: in the last two days, but I'm not quite done yet,
Speaker 1: because Rapino is one of my favorite athletes and people
Speaker 1: of all time. Not only has she given me so
Speaker 1: much joy as a spectator watching her compete, She's a
Speaker 1: woman who's teaching me how to live. She gives me
Speaker 1: permission to think bigger, be bigger, ask for more, and
Speaker 1: reject limitations. Because of Pino, I have, on many occasions
Speaker 1: allowed myself to be bolder, braver, and less concerned with
Speaker 1: being likable or palatable, and more concerned with being respected,
Speaker 1: effective and inspiring for girls and women who need strong examples. Once,
Speaker 1: a few years ago, on a podcast, she said she
Speaker 1: chooses to live in the world she wants to see
Speaker 1: and believes should already exist, and she just hopes people
Speaker 1: catch up. I've been trying to live with that mentality
Speaker 1: ever since. In honor of pino special night, the media
Speaker 1: company Together put out a video. In the beginning, few
Speaker 1: lines really stood out to me. Dear Meghan, Dear.
Speaker 2: Meg, Dear Megan, Dear Megan, Dear Megan, Megan, Dear.
Speaker 1: Meg, Megan. We just want to say thank you.
Speaker 2: From dedicated fans and the communities you've impacted.
Speaker 3: You've touched all of us with not only your plan
Speaker 3: that failed.
Speaker 1: But the story you have written off of it.
Speaker 4: We have a unique opportunity in football to use this
Speaker 4: beautiful game to actually change the world for better.
Speaker 2: Thank you for never just kicking a soccer ball, but
Speaker 2: also kicking down barriers and speaking out against prejudices that
Speaker 2: have held us back.
Speaker 4: I think if being a woman has taught me anything
Speaker 4: in this world is to make it expansive. Don't ever
Speaker 4: leave anybody behind. We never want to leave anyone behind.
Speaker 1: So the play of the day is to consider if
Speaker 1: you're leaving anyone behind when you're in a meeting, at
Speaker 1: a political rally, in a classroom, on a board, or
Speaker 1: even just at the family dinner table. Are you looking
Speaker 1: around and speaking up for the people who aren't in
Speaker 1: the room. Are you fighting for women's rights but not
Speaker 1: including women of color, trans women, queer women, women with disabilities,
Speaker 1: non binary folks, or anyone in any marginalized community. My
Speaker 1: favorite part of being a woman is that at our best,
Speaker 1: we fight for ourselves and for others. Raupino is a
Speaker 1: shining example of that, so let's follow her lead. We
Speaker 1: always love to hear from you. Hit us up on email.
Speaker 1: Good game at wondermedianetwork dot com or leave us a
Speaker 1: voicemail at eight seven two two four fifty seventy and
Speaker 1: don't forget to subscribe, rate and review.
Speaker 2: You know what was coming.
Speaker 1: It's easy watch getting rid of the Chicago Sky mascot
Speaker 1: sky Guy, rating a billion t out of five stars review.
Speaker 1: My prayers have been answered, Sky Guys out man. I
Speaker 1: would have liked to be in the room for whatever
Speaker 1: hellish brainstorm came up with. Sky Guy. Just like what
Speaker 1: it rhymes. And it's cool to have a guy be
Speaker 1: the mascot for a women's pro team. But not like
Speaker 1: a guy animal or a guy creature, or like a
Speaker 1: meaningful important guy. Just a guy with a jay lenochin
Speaker 1: a paratrooper suit and a big ass belt buckle. Cool.
Speaker 1: Sky the Lioness seems promising. Sky the Lioness was built
Speaker 1: by the costume designer who made Ellie the Elephant, who's
Speaker 1: the mascot god, So we're cooking with gas here, she lashes,
Speaker 1: she's got braids. Her name is spelled Sky with an E,
Speaker 1: not to be confused with the team name Sky, which
Speaker 1: definitely won't be confusing when you're just saying it out loud.
Speaker 1: But we could deal with that later. Listen, all I
Speaker 1: need to know is that this lion can pop in lock.
Speaker 1: She better be able to drop it, shake it and
Speaker 1: percolate it, or this whole rebrand was for nothing. The
Speaker 1: very least though, we sent Skyguy packing and that's a win.
Speaker 1: Now it's your turn, rate and review. Thanks for listening.
Speaker 1: See you tomorrow. Good game tailor good game Pinok you
Speaker 1: Sky Guy, not the guy in the suit. It's not
Speaker 1: your fault, it's not your bad. You're doing your best.
Speaker 1: Everybody else associated with Scotty Guy truly for you. Good
Speaker 1: Game with Sarah Spain is an iHeart women's sports production
Speaker 1: in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can
Speaker 1: find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
Speaker 1: you get your podcasts. Production by Wonder Media Network, our
Speaker 1: producers are Alex Azzi and Misha Jones. Our executive producers
Speaker 1: are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan, and Emily Rudder.
Speaker 1: Our editors are Jenny Kaplan, Emily Rutter, Bretney Martinez, and
Speaker 1: Grace Lynch. Production assistants from Lucy Jones and I'm Your
Speaker 1: Host Sarah Spain