Multiverse of Red Flags: US Open 2026 Recap

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Episode 41 of Out Wide, wrapping up the US Open 2026 chaos — here's the rundown:

The vibes: Stef is fried post-Open (watched every second from home), the Portland Thorns and Fire are both flailing, but she and her wife are teaming up for their first doubles tournament in October as "DosStephFi's." Resh is off in SF, sailing accidentally-private boats and gearing up for Valkyries fan appreciation night. Fit check happened. Billie Jean King Adidas were purchased at great personal risk (the employee store is a battlefield, apparently).

Tennis history hour: A love letter to Billie Jean King and Arthur Ashe — the legends the whole tournament is built on (literally, given the stadium names) — before diving into the actual results.

The finals: Elena Rybakina beat Sabalenka for the women's title and the #1 ranking, earning full flower-giving from the hosts ("your fits are terrible, your serve is amazing"). Alexander Zverev beat Ben Shelton for the men's — cue extensive, well-deserved dragging over his domestic violence allegations, his ball-bouncing habit (2.5 hours across the tournament, RIP everyone's patience), and his new nickname care of an ESPN mispronunciation:

Sausage Zverev. His semifinal tickets crashed from $300 to $19, which launched an extended bit about better ways to spend $19 (a Labubu, a therapy copay, an IKEA pillow "since he'll be asleep by set two").

Sabalenka villain arc: Fined $7,500 for racket abuse, told a cameraman off, rolled deep with Jake Paul in her box, and wore a Thanos Infinity Gauntlet necklace — which the hosts note is thematically perfect since she also lost.

Wins worth celebrating: Taylor Townsend's first Grand Slam doubles title (and a genuinely great tangent on her sponsor, civil rights attorney Ben Crump). Coco Gauff being extremely mature about aging out of her teen-underdog era. A whole segment on tennis players' secret nerd lives — Coco's Spider-Man/Avatar obsession, Naomi Osaka's Naruto pink hair, Monfils' Wakanda salute — that's genuinely delightful.

Institutional chaos: The WTA Finals bailed on Saudi Arabia early, landed in Indian Wells for one year, and is now $30–60M-ish deep in financial trouble heading into a Charlotte relocation. Not great!

The "Hall of Lamers": A savage little segment clocking Gabriela Sabatini (dated Trump, apparently), Jennifer Capriati (conservative troll now), and Martina Navratilova/Chris Evert's press tour, which gets zero patience from either host.

Ben Shelton discourse: An entire, very funny back-and-forth of "is he MAGA, is he a good boyfriend to Trinity Rodman, why does he have fuckboy energy" that never fully resolves — verdict: TBD, but side-eye maintained throughout.

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