Menschin with the Boys
Welcome to Menschin’ with the Boys — the podcast where Jewish pride meets the playing field. You thought Jews were bad at sports? Well, we’re here to prove you wrong! From Koufax to modern stars, from the Maccabees to the majors, and yes — even a little betting on the side — we’ve got stories, insights, and laughs that’ll keep you in the game.
Menschin with the Boys
Episode 13: Menschin’ Turns 13 with a Bar Mitzvah Bash feat. Noah Rubin
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Menschin’ with the Boys celebrates its 13th episode and a milestone moment as the podcast officially “becomes a man.” From Bar Mitzvah memories and playful banter about coming of age, the celebration sets the stage for a meaningful and wide-ranging conversation with former tennis pro Noah Rubin.
Noah joins the boys to reflect on his own Jewish upbringing (including a tennis-themed Bar Mitzvah!) before taking us through his journey from a promising junior to a Wimbledon Championships junior boys’ champion in 2014. He shares stories from the grind of the ATP Tour, unforgettable moments facing legends like Roger Federer, and the realities of life outside the Top 100.
The conversation also dives deeper, exploring Noah’s transition away from professional tennis, his advocacy work and efforts to reshape the sport at the grassroots level. From mental health and player equity to coaching the next generation and even working with a certain Eugenie Bouchard, this episode goes far "beyond the racquet."
Follow us @menschinwiththeboys on Instagram for behind-the-scenes content and much more Jewish sports news.
Intro
SPEAKER_02Live from Studio 5, powered by Federation CJ and the Cummings Center. Welcome to Mention with the Boys, the podcast where Jewish Pride meets the playing field. I'm Matthew Cutler.
SPEAKER_01And I'm Jordan Stupler. We're celebrating a big milestone here on the show today.
SPEAKER_02That's right. It's our 13th episode, which means we've officially entered manhood. Where's my drink?
SPEAKER_01And in honor of our bar mitzvah, we've got a special treat for you, an in-depth interview with former tennis pro Noah Rubin.
SPEAKER_02Let's get the celebration started.
Bar Mitzvah memories
SPEAKER_01All right, so it's kind of uh obviously we know the number 13 is very special significance here in the Jewish religion. It uh means that we are uh officially entered manhood. So I was questioning whether we need to change mention with the boys to mention with the men. Oh, mention with the men.
SPEAKER_02But after that's it though. It's permanent. We don't go back after another 13.
SPEAKER_01I mean we're no longer boys officially. We reached 13.
SPEAKER_02Um is that like boys to men? Is that where we're doing mention to men or something? I don't know.
SPEAKER_01We should ask them. Maybe that we can have them do a little uh uh intro, stick a lot. Boys to men.
SPEAKER_02They must have a Jewish root now.
SPEAKER_01Um yeah, so uh just off I mean uh we on the last episode actually, right? I uh I told you guys, right, my bar mitzvah portion was uh Vaikra. So I re I read the Dvar Torah for you guys in honor of that uh that occasion. So it's been uh yeah, about been a while, but obviously still remember very fondly uh my birth friend, even Matthew. I know you were telling me about your bar mitzvah parsha and how it still resonates with you.
SPEAKER_02Well, my bar mitzvah parsha, I did the mafta only. It happens to be the third paragraph of the Shmah, so it's very easy to remember and considering I say it at this point now almost every day. So yes, it's still in my head, it still rings true all those years later, no matter how many times I got hit by candy in the head that day.
SPEAKER_01And Jan's not here with us, as you can tell.
SPEAKER_02So uh He went early for Passover.
SPEAKER_01He went early, yeah. He started searching for hummets early and getting his uh Seder plates and everything ready. But uh obviously uh you'll hear him in our in our interview, which is coming up in just a few seconds. But um you know, we're really like we're lucky that we got um to chat with Noah Rubin. It was a really interesting conversation that you'll hear. He really we went in depth, we talked about him from all the way from the beginning, because we'll even hear he's gonna share his bar mitra memory. Uh which uh have a sports theme, of course. So uh you'll hear about that.
SPEAKER_02And uh are we getting for our 18th? How are we tying that in?
SPEAKER_01It's it's a couple of months away, right? So we'll have to start thinking about that. But uh yeah, it was really interesting conversation. We really dived deep into him uh from the very beginning of uh his tennis journey to his junior career, his pro career, where he had some memorable moments as well, and even his uh uh we're in Montreal, so some Montreal connections, and obviously is uh a big, big hockey fan too, so as you'll you'll hear. So um without further ado, you know, we'll introduce him today's guest. He's a former professional tennis player who went on to compete on the biggest stages in the sport. After winning the boys singles title at the 2014 Wimbledon Championships, he transitioned to the ATP Tour, reaching a career high ranking inside the top 125. And stepping away from the tour in 2024, he's continued to shape the sport in new ways, advocating for players through his platform behind the rocket, and now serving as the executive director of tennis operations at Hudson River Tennis Club in New York, where he's helping develop the next generation of players and grow the game at the grassroots level. Here's our conversation with Noah Rubin.
Interview with Noah Rubin
SPEAKER_01I guess for starters, I mean cra crazy enough, right? Noah and I have the exact same birthday and we both turned 30 on the same day. It's kind of how I kinda discovered you too a bit uh when you were kind of starting off. So how is it uh I guess how's the big 3-0 been treating you so far? I know you had a nice uh getaway too, uh, over the over your birthday weekend.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, not uh not the perfectly planned Mexico trip with uh a snowstorm in New York and some of the the unfortunate circumstances uh that somehow allowed us to be basically one of the only flights out of Newark that day, but uh it was a nice to get away as it's been uh a busy, busy year. Um, but uh yeah, not not much has changed on my front. You know, I already had my uh midlife crisis when I was 25, so 30 is not gonna do it for me.
SPEAKER_01I guess like we want to start it maybe a little bit about you know, you grew up in a tennis family, and so I'm sure you have early memories of kind of playing the sport and getting into the sport, and like what are maybe what are maybe some of those early memories or things that stand out to you uh from way back when?
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Uh you know, it's one of those things you don't know if it's a memory or just you've seen enough pictures of it to become a memory at this point. Um, you know, the one that's kind of gone around a bit is uh um my family hung from like a large rubber band, um, you know, a ball at the end and kind of put a rack in my hand. I was about 18 months old swinging across this. I have uh a video with me, actually my great-grandmother, um, who was dying laughing, watching me make contact with this ball three times in a row. Basically learned how to stand a few months prior, and now I'm you know hitting forehands cross. Um, you know, honestly, my forehand looked a little bit smoother back then than than it did during my career. But uh yeah, um, you know, honestly, it was um going through some of the old videos of when I was like four, five, six in that range, you know, when you can kind of piece a few things together. Um, you know, I was still living in New York. New York was always kind of a part of me. My family did not want me moving elsewhere, so uh, you know, I was going between sports at that time. It wasn't just tennis focus, but um did love chasing around the ball.
SPEAKER_01And I I read somewhere even uh that your like bar mitzvah was like tennis themed and that you did something with uh um collecting rackets for for Israel tennis centers. Like, how did that come about, or what was that about cool about that?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah, it's um probably against my will. You know, obviously what else was it gonna be for tennis bar mitzvah theme, um, you know, a typical get get Noah serving. Actually, I believe this one was a fist pump, and I know what tournament it was from. Um and you know, make a sh you know, a nice um shadow background for the photo booth and all of this back in the day. But um, yeah, my bar mitzvah project was collecting rackets, had enough of them already at the time, got a few other donations, sent them over to Israel, um, done a few other projects like that since then as well.
SPEAKER_01We're recording this in Montreal, which is like just about an hour, I know, outside of St. Hyacinth, which I know whereas you competed and you won the Coupe La Blanc singles and doubles right back in 08, I think it was.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah, that sounds right.
SPEAKER_01I mean, like what do you remember? I mean, obviously we're super young, but what do you remember about coming to that tournament? I think, like, in a foreign country, French speaking, and how did it obviously help you as you ultimately continued on your tennis journey?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, um, you know, that was my first like international trip. I was without my parents, but honestly, looking back at this point, it you know, it's probably quicker to get to Montreal than it is to get to Long Island from Westchester. So uh, you know, it wasn't too much of a journey, but um, yeah, Cupla Blanc doesn't get the the credit it deserves. You know, we have um basically a U-13 World Championship in La Petitas that always gets kind of this recognition. Um, but Cupla Blanc, that was the first one. That was the one where you really kind of you know understood that there's players around the world also playing tennis and they're very good as well. And you know, you might be the number one ranked kid in the country, but you know, you got a few other countries out there that are also competing. Um, you know, so it's a you know, I it's funny. I played that, I I won the singles and doubles that year. Taylor Townsend was amongst one of the winners when I was there. Obviously, she's doing extremely well. So, you know, having those memories, um, you know, riding go-karts before the semifinals that's you know, we're going about 50 kilometers an hour. I probably should not have done. There was a few less restrictions over there than we're here. And uh, but you know, that was kind of the eye-opening experience of like A, this is pretty cool. B, you know, maybe there is something, you know, with uh, you know, myself and playing tennis in the future. Um, and yeah, it was just a lot of fun, you know. So that that that was kind of the catalyst to, hey, we're not gonna play soccer anymore. What does tennis look like? Didn't even know professional at that point, but you know, what can we do to maximize my potential?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so I I'm I'm happy to to hear that story because it means that uh I wasn't the first Jew ever to go to St. Hyacinth when I went there three uh three weeks ago. So thank you for opening the path for me.
SPEAKER_03Uh potentially the second.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, exactly. Um I I saw that uh you went to John MacEnroe Tennis Academy when when you were a teen and you you worked with him uh later in in your life. What what was the experience like to work with, I mean, such a legend? And I mean, especially for you coming to from from the US to have someone who who has been so so important to uh to tennis in the US.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah. Um you know, honestly, we've you know his academy definitely helped me a lot. He he added elements and we played a few times. So I went to the sport time facilities when I was seven years old. My dad taught me how to play tennis. He knew he needed some help kind of later on, went to Lawrence Klager, who was the director of sport time for many, many years. So I was seven. Then when I was 15, that's when sport time kind of went under this transformation. Um, and that's when John McEnroe kind of took over. So at that point, um, and I was one of the first ones to play on Randall's Island with John McEnroe. Um, you know, he he definitely went through he went through uh you know typical John McEnroe moments. I mean, I remember the first time my coach introduced me, Lawrence introduced me to John, you know, he said, Oh no, it's just fine with La Petitas, the World Championships. You know, John's wearing typical jeans, sandals, no socks on, leather jacket, Mets hat backwards, and he says, never heard of it, and walked away. So, you know, this is it was something I was accustomed to. You know, he brought all the antics when we were practicing together. Um, but regardless, I mean, this is a guy who is in the north, northeast, one of the greatest, you know, American tennis players of all time, and just sees the game differently, right? So a lot of the little things of you know, tidbits that he may actually think meant nothing here and there that I just asked, you know, later on in my career were really meaningful because there's only so many things um you know you can get without experiencing them. But for somebody that's been on center core Wimbledon, somebody that's been you know around the best players in the world, he just saw that game differently. So uh those are the elements. But on the coaching side, yeah, hit or miss.
SPEAKER_01I mean, you mentioned Wimbledon, obviously. Now it's got to be a highlight winning junior Wimbledon in 2014.
SPEAKER_06No Ruben! No, no, Ruben!
SPEAKER_01You came out of qualifying, right, to win. So, I mean, uh, you really went through the whole thing. I think you're really the second qualifier to ever win the juniors title there. So, what was that like for you, obviously qualifying, competing, and then ultimately hosting the trophy at obviously such a historic tennis venue?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah, pretty special place. Um, honestly, that's the one thing I'll give real like true credit to John for. Um, probably wasn't even in my best interest at that time looking back, but um, you know, I was I was playing professional tennis for about a year, if not more, pretty exclusively from you know about 16 and a half, 17 through my you know, year 18. And then, you know, just for publicity reasons for John McNarches Academy, they said, go play juniors, let's see what happens. It would be amazing if you could do well at one. I think it would really help everybody's image. Um, and I said, okay. And at that point, I had no juniors ranking. There was something called a professional exempt that got you in. I was a few spots out from getting in automatically to main draw to main draw. I got in through qualifying and played the fresh open. You know, lost second round to another professional exempt, Quinton Halis, Frenchman that uh is doing fairly well right now. Um, you know, one that actually lost to in the finals of Abatidas. So I had a few losses to him throughout my career. Um, but after that, I was like, what are we doing? We're wasting my time. You know, I'm already about 500 ATP for pros. Like, I don't need to go to Wimbledon. I actually lost three years in a row first round before that. If two, two or three years before. Um, I was like, this is just not what's the point? What are we doing? This my dad's like, you know what? We'll make it a fun trip. Um, you know, we'll kind of just go over there. And we literally went 24 hours before first round qualifying, which, you know, for any athlete going overseas, it's a very small amount of time. It was just a fun thing. Um, and yeah, uh, you know, I found myself kind of down a set point in a second round qualifying, looking at my dad, which the qualifying takes place off-site. You know, you feel like you're kind of playing at a park, you're not at Wimbledon, so you don't really feel the history yet. And and you're still like, what are we doing here? You know, what are we doing here? Um, my dad's like, uh-uh, you're good. I was like, let's calm. We're in England. Like, well, what else are we gonna do right now? Um, and fast forward, I you know, win that match, beat four out of the five. Oh, sorry, yeah, four out of the five, basically best Americans uh at that time between um sorry, three out of five. Um Tiafo, Taylor Fritz, and then played Stefan Kazov in the finals. Um, and it all went pretty quickly. But for me, that was an amazing moment, but it was really for my father. You know, it was just him and I, and he sacrificed so much at that point in time. So to see the excitement and the shrine he's made for that trophy um at this point was way more for him than it was for me.
SPEAKER_02So the fact you know, shortly after winning that title, right, you were uh awarded a wild card into the main draw at the US Open, which was obviously not far from your hometown of uh Merrick. How does an 18-year-old deal with that kind of moment in front of the friends and family?
SPEAKER_03Not well. Not well. Yeah. So uh yeah, it was a crazy summer. You know, I uh committed to college. Um actually yeah, committed to college in between winning Kalamazoo, which is the championships uh in the US, which awarded me the wild card. I won that in singles and doubles. Um but that was yeah, I hated playing home. And and the US Open for a lot of people is just it's just not it. It's hectic, it's it's busy, it's basically the worst parts of New York to some degree, um, all kind of put into one week. Um you know, with that excitement comes so much positivity, and still never really got to fulfill my dream of playing off the Rash Stadium. But they say that is the most amazing part of tennis. Um, you know, but you know, you dream about it. You play main draw of the US Open, you know, um actually have a good first round match against a considered a clay court tennis player, you know, so it was a good hardcourt match against El Bonus. Um, but it's 4-1 in the first set. I look over at my father and I'm like, I can't breathe. Like I am actually having, and you know, at that point you didn't really know what it was, mental health was different, but true panic attack, you know, setting in where I was I I just did much better. I could do I love I love showing off. I love playing in front of people. I just don't want to know the people I'm playing playing in front of, you know. So that's why I always had my best results in Australia, halfway around the world. Um but yeah, and you know, I found myself come back to four all. I guess neither of us wanted to win the match that day. Um, but yeah, body gave out at that point and just hung on to survive, probably should have left the court. But um, you know, you still you still you dream about playing US Open main draw, so to have that experience at such a young age, no matter what happens, was was pretty amazing.
SPEAKER_02So you brought up the Australian Open and then back in 2017 you got to play Roger Federer there. How was that? That must have been an incredible experience.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah, that's that's a different world. Um, you know, on a on a tennis player's point of view, on the business side, um, I technically took care of business that week already, right? I I qualified, you know, again, a really tough qualifying. You know, most you usually play guys outside the top hundred. I technically played three guys inside the top hundred at that point, just based on you know where the rankings were coming out. Um, then played uh my first five-set match against you know my compatriot and Bjorn Fritangelo, um, which was amazing to win that. Um, you know, and that that was a special match just in you know my own faith. I mean, Judy Sella was playing on the court next to me. There's a large Israeli contingent there, there's flags, it felt like Davis Cup. So that was a special moment within itself, and then you know, obviously lack of sleep, right? You're going through this. Um I probably got 1,500 messages within those two days from people I you know I said three words to. My parents are like, I haven't even spoken to some of these people in a while, you know. Um, yeah, so you took care of business, you got your paycheck, you got points, but you know, you're looking at this with Federer, and at that point in time, he was supposed to retire the year before. You know, he hurt his knee, and people weren't sure if this was his last tournament. Ironically, came to be his best year almost to date. You know, he won um obviously spoil alert, he won Australian Open, Wimbledon, uh, Shanghai, Miami that year, uh, a few others, and you're just like, okay, this is a guy that was supposed to be done. Um, you know, but to get in the court with an idol who I've honestly never shared a practice score with anything. You know, I've done stuff in the Dal, uh with Djokovic, Murray. Um, so to see that guy on the other side of the court, you're you're looking at like a mirage at times. You know, it's like looking at a picture on TV, especially with the way he holds himself. So um, you know, I always remember breaking him, going up 3-0 in the third set. And uh, you know, the TV timeouts in between are just much longer on stadium course like that at Grand Slams. So for about two minutes straight, I have the greatest player of all time, to some degree, uh, staring me down and and pissed off at Long Island, Noah Rubin. You know, and and you know, as a New Yorker, it always warms your heart a little bit to put yourself in that position. So sad that I missed out on some set points uh in the third and had that opportunity, but pretty pretty cool moment.
SPEAKER_01Uh I don't really want to bring this up, but I mean I know that you probably hear this all the time with the the thing with uh the match against John Isner, right, with the shoe.
SPEAKER_04Oh, it's another fine pickup and moving. Well, we just said about sliding. I'm not really that surprised that he's he's defeated his trainer. Have you ever seen the tattoo like that? That is incredible.
SPEAKER_07Oh, that is brilliant. It's absolutely brilliant. I hope he's got a spare pair of shoes in his lock, otherwise he's off to the shoe store.
SPEAKER_01I mean, I'm sure like it still gets played, right, uh, every now and then, tennis channel, or I'm sure like Sports Center top tens or whatever they do. I mean I mean, how often, I guess, are you asked about that? And it's like something like that, and probably has never happened to you before or since, but like uh what do you how do you how do you make sense of it?
SPEAKER_03I've seen to any other sport. It's funny, Zion Williamson, who at the time was like, you know, a real stud. Um, not that he isn't now, but you know, he fell out of his shoe and hurt himself, and I was like gonna make a joke at that point in time before finding out he actually got hurt during that moment. Um, you know, I've seen a few guys in tennis like run out of their shoe like fully, but the way that I snapped mine in half was super unique. Um, you know, still a picture that lives on, you know, in my new venture that surrounds me with you know parents, kids, mostly kids that are born with a two in front of their birth year and not a uh not a one. Um that's that's almost all they know me for at this point. Uh, you know, when the summer comes around, it's almost like clockwork. I minimum of two, if not three times, it will circulate. Um yeah, it's between my shoe breaking and Isner's mouthing. I don't know if we can curse here, but what what the F. Um, you know, I uh it was a pretty, pretty interesting moment. And you know, what people it goes a few steps, you know. Not only did I have that moment, half the people don't even know that I won that match, and that was actually technically the best win of my career. And then actually had to play Rublev, Andre Rublev, who was you know 30 in the world at that point. I had to play him that night because of the rain delay. So there was a lot going on that day that I was kind of going through. Um, but I did get a large uh glass uh picture signed by John Isner with my shoe, and he he inscribed it.
SPEAKER_01And and it's funny, you know, you mentioned that double or double header something, right, that you had to play too. The the memory that I have of you following. In your career, the vivid memory is um the 2021 Winston-Salem when you got into the main draw, right, as the lucky loser. I think it was Kiryos, right, who pulled out, and then they uh you were fourth in line, but the other three withdrew. I mean, uh, you know, you play that same day, then you got sure enough, you draw Andy Murray, right? Which is crazy.
SPEAKER_05Every so often Ruben is coming up with an absolute gem. This time it's the backhand that does the trick. The end would appear to be nigh here if all the lucky loser. To be brutal, to be clinical. It comes through. It's two minutes, John Evan and six two, six love.
SPEAKER_01Like, can you maybe just take us through obviously the bizarrness of the whole situation and how uh like how you it came to ultimately end up playing against Andy Murray not too far from where you went to school too, right?
SPEAKER_03So Yeah. Yeah, there's a few things we don't need to touch on. Some of the comments from Kyrios that I was battling with him, you know, when I was so I didn't get paid for that match. You know, I I lost with um two match points against Lucas Puy in the uh last round qualifying, um, which I I had it on my racket, and then my Wake Forest, my ex-coach at that point, was like, Noah, just be on the lookout, like people are dropping, you know, and it's normal to basically week of qualifying slams. Some people choose to play last minute, some people don't. Um I was like, okay. And and this was another thing, some of the issues with ATP as well, of not really explaining how things and the process goes. So, you know, I didn't know that the three people in front of me were saying no within hopes that the next day actually resets and they can sign in as a lucky loser the following day. I would have done that as I basically already was cramping going into this match. Um but they sucker me in the tennis channels, you're alma mater, you have 5,000 people in the stands, don't let them down without telling me that you will be able to play tomorrow, most likely. There's gonna be people dropping. And sure enough, not only did uh the three people that said no play the next day and win the next day, but you also had somebody from first round qualifying that lost that got in as a lucky loser. So definitely pull the short in this rub. But again, um, you know, after the first four games where I actually had a few break points, I was playing pretty well, um the body was slowly breaking down. Um but again, another moment, another just tennis moment. Yeah, it's just one of those things you look back and you're like, what is this sport? I think we're making up the rules here as we go, uh, even though it's the oldest sport. Um but yeah, still a special day.
SPEAKER_00So you you took an indefinitely from the tennis in uh in 2022 uh after after a season where where you mainly uh played on Challenger and ITF tour. And I mean I I I have to blame you because uh you you kind of took some some thunder off of federal retirement by by announcing that that you were stepping away from tennis. Uh and uh you talking about at that moment about the physical and mental strain uh that that that the game puts on puts on the player. How how challenging it was it to to come to this decision and uh and to and to announce it publicly.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I mean, you know, I was it was probably one of my three retirements from tennis that it finally took me to really stop, and that's a very typical, you know, uh professional tennis move where you just don't know when the end is and you don't know how to do it. Um obviously with the the work I did with behind the racket uh kind of opened my eyes even further of what's going on in the sport, is it conducive to happiness? What does that look like? Um and also beyond that just showed me that I have other interests outside of just competing on the professional tour. Um you know, I made a joke of you know, I played some pickleball for some time. I just I just needed a break. That's really what it came down to in the end. Uh so for me to kind of go through this process of figuring out what did life look like without professional tennis, what did that mean? Is that something I wanted to partake in? Um, you know, I knew it was gonna be an issue where people are like, you let's maximize your potential, you're young, you know, and you know, I'll still get that. And it's been two years since I competed, you know, I'll still get that. Like, hey, you know, I know the first round you beat 50% of those guys, and I was like, yeah, like okay, you know, so be it. This was um a decision I made, and honestly, it's kind of now where I'm at is like the healthiest I've been. Um, but difficult. You know, you it's everybody talks about identity. It's all I knew at that point was being a tennis player. Um, I did it pretty well for some time, and you know, to take that away on the competitive side, it's a tough hole to fill. And honestly, it's been again 18 months, even a little bit more. It's taken me until just recently to really get my feet under me in terms of how I feel waking up and still watching a tournament like Indian Wells, which is probably one of my three favorite tournaments in the world. Sucks. It's never gonna get better. You know, maybe uh not seeing guys' names that I competed with growing up and and and played with on tour and and at slams, maybe that helps a little bit, but you know, you're always going to look at a tournament that's uh you know in Palm Springs with the mountains, and you're like, ah, you know what? If I put in six months of work, but no, I'm really happy with where I'm at, and uh took some time to get there though. I understand.
SPEAKER_00Uh so so I remember two two months ago, I I I was in Paris and I visited uh Roland Carros, and um the the guide that was that was doing the tour said some interesting things about yeah, you know, everyone focuses on the top 10, the top 15, the big stars, and uh how it's all glamour and everything, their life seems so perfect. And he said that you should also remember that there's a lot more tennis players, and if you're outside the top 50, you're outside the top 100, it's a lot less glamorous, and people don't really see it. And it's uh I'm happy that we have you today because I know that it's it's a point that you raised many, many times. And why was it so important for you to to speak up and and expose the struggles that come with with life on the professional tennis circuit? And and uh what kind of advice would you have for for a younger you who who's about to go through that career and and to say like maybe check either check your expectations or be be on the lookout for these things.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Um yeah, uh you know, when when I was uh kind of bringing behind the rackets uh to life um in early 2019, I didn't know what it was going to be, right? I just asked a few of my you know closest friends on tour at that point in um you know Beyond Fortangela, Jamie Loeb, Chris Eubanks, a few of these early stories of like, hey, do you mind if just like we talk for a little bit and like I can interview you and just like we go through and humanize? You know, one of my first stories was Ernesto Escobedo was my first story, and he spoke about his stutter and you know what that has meant to him, and you know, when he's done trophy ceremonies and just the fact that it should be the happiest moment of his life when he accepts you know a trophy for winning a title. He's so nervous to speak in front of a crowd. And now, but then I got you know, got like 70 messages, which I that was almost more followers. Sorry, I got more messages than followers at that time. And I was like, okay, I must be onto something. I'm striking a chord with people where I'm just humanizing who these players are and showing that they're dealing with things. And it was a combo of my mental health struggles after the best year of my career, um, with also the hate mail, and then seeing that ATP was not going to trick change at all, and there was a lack of evolution. Obviously, this correlated to um kind of a perfect time for behind the racket, but a you know, a really um pivotal moment in tennis history, which COVID, right? It highlighted a lot of the issues that were clear to me, not clear to everybody else at the time, of you know, some of the downfalls within the scheduling and how they protect the players. Um, you know, so it was a really important time for me just to share as many stories as possible and show like, hey, we're not alone. Um I know that the only people we're really can relate to are our competitors, which is a really weird place to be in, but you know, we shouldn't have that fear about opening up. Um, you know, so when I'm working with kids now, you know, as much as I really, you know, my father was, you know, if you're not enjoying tennis, we're quitting. It doesn't matter how much money I put in, where you're at, you're one in the world, you're a thousand in the world, um, you know, do what makes you happy, easier said than done. I just I want kids to be kids, you know. I want to make sure expectations are one thing. Um, I I like calling it, you know, what I'm doing in New York right now is you know, changing the landscape of success in tennis, you know, redefining what that looks like. Uh, you know, there's so many ways to open the door. It's such an amazing sport. Uh, but in terms of just like be a kid, play other sports, you know, it's so great for tennis to be a kid, um, you know, but I was so worried about so many other elements. There was this ultra-level of professionalism that eventually led to exhaustion and then it led to that anxiety and you know, the panic attack. So, you know, I it's it's such a long, grueling process uh that I want to make sure kids are okay. You know, it's just and that that's really important for me.
SPEAKER_02Well, first off, as a parent who has kids in in sports, thank you very much for that. That's incredible. So it's interesting, and and this is not one of our prepared questions, but just hearing you speak, do you feel that what you went through is more of a result maybe of an individual sport versus you know, you were you said you grew up playing soccer as well, and there's this team dynamic and more support around you there. Maybe how does that play a factor?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I it's you know, uh tennis players are built differently, right? It's one of those things where I had control issues probably from when I was six years old, where you know, I was a good sportsman when I was playing soccer. You know, if uh my friend missed the golden chance, the ones that put us over the edge, you know, I still high five him, but I go home in that car later and I'm like to my dad, I'm like, give me the ball, like give me the chance to score it, right? Where in tennis, I more often than not was the one that lost, right? There's a lot of losing in tennis, but I was okay for some time taking it on myself, right? And that was really important. And you know, for me, I mean, the only sport that I watch and follow is hockey. Hockey is my favorite sport in the world. Yep, I know, Canadians over there. Um, you know, so when I'm you know watching them and just seeing, you know, I'm an Islanders fan of you know, die hard at this moment, so they have a new series, and watching them, you know, travel with the team and be there, and even though there's trades and people move around, the camaraderie that's built, it's it's different, right? You have people that for the most part, yes, you're competing for you know slots and lines, power plate, you know, point, whatever it may be, trying to get your minutes in, but they're there for you, where in tennis you don't necessarily feel that. And you know, it's funny. I just had a conversation with somebody that's you know thinking about retiring tennis-wise or or keep playing. I was like, play doubles. You're great in doubles, and like how amazing would it be to have just one other person with you that you can kind of rely on. Um, so it's difficult as much as I love that aspect when I was younger and you know, kind of throughout my career, yeah, it got really lonely. And it's this like vicious cycle of you know, loneliness, you can't afford that team, you know. So you're you know, you're putting an emphasis on that loneliness, or you're not as prepared, so you're not winning as much, so you're not making as much money, and then it starts again. And yeah, it's it's it really truly is, it makes it very difficult to enjoy your moments.
SPEAKER_01I I wanted to kind of bring up something. I mean, I know you you talk a lot about obviously individual versus team sport. I know you see this all the time in tennis, right? Because it's an individual sport, and with the advent of gambling and sports betting, players will get all kinds of nasty things said about them and DMs and messages. You know, after they lose a match, maybe they were expected to win and people you know lose money and all that because you're the only one, you know, responsible if you're cra crazy to think about this loss. I mean, obviously that's with the from a mental health perspective, obviously that's one thing. But I wanted to ask, since obviously we're coming at this a little bit from a Jewish angle. Like, did you experience uh anything like that or anything maybe also anti-Semitism also tapped into that or at all in your career?
SPEAKER_03Or how many Hitler comments can one person get? You know, it's like, can I just play my next match? Um Yeah, I mean hate mail all the time. I have a dumb one, and and apologize if you want to bleep this out, but it says Noah Rubin is a stupid bitch. And my friend literally printed this out for me. We were dying laughing. It was like the most simple thing. We're like, are you like, what are we doing? Funny enough, I only lost the first set. I actually came back and won that match and got an apology from the guy. So I'm like, he could even wait until the match was over. Like, what are we doing out here? Um, but anti-Semitism, yeah. I um it's funny. I like in person on tour, not really. You know, I was I and I was I was a proud Jew. I never hit it. You know, I still on my necklace right now. Um I have Wimbledon from the year I won it. Um I have something for my wife because she felt left out with the two other ones, and and then I have a high from my bar mitzvah. Always ward, always front and center. I mean, let's be honest, Noah Rubin, and you're not really you're hiding in plain sight a little bit. So um, but yes, online. Are you kidding me? Yeah, it's constant. You know, you burn in hell, Hitler's gonna get you guys. I asked him how he was gonna get us, but uh I never got an answer to that. Um so it's um you know, it's something that a lot of players get of all backgrounds. Um my thing is just tennis prevents us from making money from anything gambling form. So if we're gonna get the hate and all the negative, but we can't profit from it in any way, shape, or form, it's a little bit um of an issue. That would that was my only real issue with it. The messages are always going to come.
SPEAKER_01Um you touched on before, obviously, what you're doing now, executive director tennis operations at the Hudson River Tennis Club. Um, you know, you mentioned obviously you work a lot with kids, and I'm sure up-and-coming players, different things like that. I mean, uh I guess you're you're clearly you enjoy, I guess, what uh this new path for you. And also maybe as a side question with that, I mean, uh are you working with maybe some up-and-coming players that we should have our eyes on in the coming years?
SPEAKER_03I think you all you worked with uh is it Jack Jack Dennon helped him out with uh his coach Greg Lumpkin at that point and actually just played some pickleball with him last week. Um yeah, it's again for me, I love just maximizing potential, right? With this new position, um, you know, it's it's kind of the membership club that we're building. We have one in Southampton, we have one in Manhattan, one in Brooklyn that is being completed in the next few months, and we're expanding. So it's more about making this amazing atmosphere for Racket Sports as a whole. Um, you know, with that being said, we get to do some amazing community activities. I get to work with, you know, like ITEC, Israeli Tennis and Education Center, you know, we get to do a lot of stuff like that. Um but you know, in terms of like wanting to get you know the next great or even the next Noah Rubin, for me, you know, one of the most amazing things is not not as much as Jack Henney, who I adore and would love the best for him. Uh, but we always knew Jack was going to be great. For me, like there's a kid that I'm working with right now, his name is Hayden. Um, you know, I just started with him 12 months ago, and now I'm looking at him and I'm like, I can see, I can kind of see D1 tennis in your future. And like it's just opening up these doors that were never expected. I got, you know, I helped this kid uh for the last eight months of his junior career and he gone to Georgetown. He was he was maybe gonna go G uh to T3 to know gone to Georgetown. It was a dream come true for him. And for me, it's not about you know seeing that person at the US Open. It's not about it, and you know, I'm always gonna have that in my life to some degree. Um, you know, it's taking the kid that never expects tennis to be anything and like makes his high school tennis team and it changes his life and the course, and tennis is a part of it. So that's kind of what means the world to me.
SPEAKER_00So I mean, since since we're in Montreal, and and obviously Ginny Bouchard is is was such a big star here. So I mean I I gotta have two questions wrapped into one. I I know you worked with her the last summer before she came for for her final uh tournament here in Montreal, and but you also the year that you won Wimbledon Junior, it's also the year that she reached the final. The final there. So I mean, did you have any interaction at that moment with her or or the partnership started more in the recent year when she worked with you uh at uh at your club?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, it was actually prior to that that we knew each other. She was in 1995 born, I was 96, um, I believe 95. Um, but so I knew her a little bit back then. Yeah, obviously she skipped a couple levels when I was winning junior woman, and she was finaling uh woman's at that point in time. Um so but when I was, you know, actually he reached my career high juniors ranking, I was 15 years old. That was kind of my um world into the juniors, and yeah, we spoke a decent amount here and there. Um I knew a lot of her friends, but it kind of came back around when our Manhattan Club opened Hudson River, and you know, she kind of asked for a court. Um, first it was through her agent, then you know, she got my number. We hit a couple times, and I guess I said something that was enough to be like, okay, you have a drill for me. And it kind of just like naturally progressed into um, you know, I would love any help I can get. You know, obviously went to Newport with her. Um actually was supposed to go to Montreal and would have been an amazing trip. I know, I know. Um, but looking back on it, I'm so happy that her childhood coach was with her. You know, that was not, you know, when I it was funny, my wife and I watched, and then you know, where he was standing during the trophy ceremony, if that was me, it was it would not have been the same feel, any regard of like this two-month stint of coaching. Um, so that was well deserved there. Um, you know, but somebody that was you know five in the world like her, she cared. I didn't know how much she was going to care through these tournaments, but the practice sessions, um, she cared a lot. She even cares now that she doesn't even play competitively. Um but you know, to be to be with somebody like that on the road and just see how the brain works and operates, um you know, she's she's definitely a unique one. She's great.
SPEAKER_01And she she she won a match, right, in Montreal, which was obviously it's a Masters 1000. And given that she was playing pickleball, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, should have beat benches. And then, yeah, of course, the pickleball venture obviously was a little bit of a money grab to start, and you know, everybody knows that. But you know, it was no secret that if she played enough that she was gonna win some matches as she's doing now, and you know, she's extremely athletic. Um, this is somebody that doesn't have to hit a ball for a year. Literally, we had, you know, from the first ball that we hit, it was a few months. Um, and I was like, how how are you hitting like this? Like where does it come from? And it's just naturally gifted uh athletically, and you know, to see that was was pretty spectacular. So she should have been bench-ish that day, and I'm sure she's a little disappointed with that. Um, maybe not enough to come back on tour, but it was close. It was close.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And and you she still comes by, right? Because I think I saw recently like there's been posts about even after she's retired, she's comes uh work, you still like are working with her to a certain extent, I guess more um leisurely or not not for a professional thing. So you don't have a scoop for us regarding her a potential return for her to tennis, or I don't believe so.
SPEAKER_03I mean, somebody like her um you know struggles to sit still, right? Anyone that's been at the top of the sport like that. Um, you know, I have my own PTSD and I got to I wasn't even top hundred. So it's one of those things that you can tell, you know, it's going to take her some time to slow down, you know, and I almost wish that for her a little bit. But um, yeah, she's uh I don't think a return from tennis is imminent at this point, um, even though I think she can definitely still play ball.
SPEAKER_02All right, we're gonna finish up with a little hockey since you said you were an Islanders fan. What do you feel about the state looking for? Well, what are you looking for exactly? What's the what do you feel about the state of the team? Of course, I want you to realize you do know if we you have the great one of the greatest Montreal Canadians ever running the bench there. So we we do have a little bit of connection.
SPEAKER_03We do. So if if you know if any coach was going to chair uh trade Noah Dobson, who uh you know, I know you guys are happy with definitely struggle on the uh defensive ends um at times, which honestly he basically gave us at the assist and the overtime winner against you guys. Um but yeah, you know, it's it's remarkable to see you know what a Matthew Schaefer can do to an organization, right? You have guys like Anders Lee and and you know Scott Mayfield putting shots on Ned and skating like he's 20 years old again. Um, I could talk about hockey for hours, and this is such a weird. To year for all these teams right now. You know, you have yeah you have game-changing pieces like Celebrini, who the sharks like are in like cup contenders in the next two years, which you never yeah, you would never put your money down on. I'm funny, I'm in the card collecting space, I've been in for a while, and I only do mostly Islander stuff, but uh had to pick up a few pieces of Celebrini because it's different, right? The point pays to McDavid and the powerhouse, but the way the Celebrini competes and f uh is probably one of the most well-rounded players we have seen since Crosby, maybe, and even better potentially. Like it's it's kind of crazy.
SPEAKER_02This next generation of players, I mean, between Schaefer and Celebrini and these guys coming are just special.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I mean Schaefer got snubbed for the Olympics, but thank you for that because uh he needed it. Honestly, he needed a little break, and the fact that this 18-year-old kid is going to uh you know put up 25 goals this year is pretty remarkable. But yeah, you can see my excitement when I get to talk about hockey.
SPEAKER_01I just wanted to ask one thing because uh I I the one match or the one match I got to see you play live was at um the the the New York Open because I went to Hofstra and I was uh it was when they had the tournament there. I know you played there, obviously, and that's the closest to home that you could be, obviously. And obviously the the history, you know, you mentioned the islanders, you're playing in the arena where the so much history and the banners and everything. I mean, you mentioned how the US Open was difficult, obviously, as an 18-year-old. That must be kind of like personally, professionally, like on steroids. I know it's a lower-level tournament, but just that environment must have I can't imagine like what's going through your head playing there.
SPEAKER_03It was cool. I mean, yeah, the locker rooms that we got to use were Islanders, right? They put like a blue circle down on top of the emblem, you know, so nobody stepped on it, which was really cool. And I still have uh some blue underwrap that I stole from the locker room a few times that I kept. Um but yeah, it's um I think my first match there was was pretty nerve-wracking. I got to play Nisha Corey. I don't know if that was a match we went to or if it was another year, but um obviously Nisha Corey can bring out uh a large Asian contingent. I brought out the Long Island Jewish one. Um so that match, I mean, there's a reason New York Open no longer exists. They they really struggle to bring out fans, but we had a thousand people out cheering, and it was really fun, it was a great atmosphere, and obviously to play that um you know at NASA Coliseum, which you know, there how many years of Islander hockey where they could not put up a goal? You know, my and I was 10 minutes away, my dad would be 7-10. My dad would be like, You want to go to the game tonight for four bucks? And we're like, Okay, you know, we hop in the car, we get to NASA Coliseum, and I'm watching uh, you know, Alexi Yashin or Michael Pekka or one of these guys, and you know, it's those were those were amazing moments. So to play tennis there and like some makeshift uh stadium core was was uh pretty special. And then uh none of my friends wanted to go with me to the final game uh at NASA Coliseum. It was too expensive for them. I would have paid probably ten thousand dollars a ticket to go back to that game uh to watch Beauvillier score the OT winner. Um so NASA will always, always, always have a special place in my heart. Disappointing, the marketing was really poorly done for the tournament. Um, but I think if done differently, could get you know a decent crowd out of it.
SPEAKER_01Thank you so much. This has been a really, really a treat for us to be able to to to hear from you and uh you know and get some news about you know kind of where you are, you know, because you've been off, I guess the you mentioned the tennis, uh professional tennis circuit for a few years. So it's really, really cool to be able to hear from you.
SPEAKER_02One last one. You know, if we run it back to ninety-three and that we end up meeting in the Eastern Conference Finals, I hope you come up here and and come for a game because we'll it'll be great to host you and and take you to a game.
SPEAKER_03So I I would love nothing more. Honestly, you know, Montreal fans, especially. It's it's a different world. The fact that I haven't been to a game in Montreal yet is beyond me. It's one of those things that I'm hoping to get to every stadium soon. I'll I'll probably do that in the next kind of 10 years. Um, but I'll always say, what year was it, 2021, when you guys were in the middle of the street. That's right. Game seven. You guys were that close. That close. Yeah, it's always said that we would have destroyed that Montreal team if we had the chance. But uh yes, I I would I will definitely hit you guys up when I'm in the next of the woods.
SPEAKER_02193. We'll run it back, it'll be great. Sounds great, guys.
SPEAKER_01Thanks so much for tuning in to our very special Bar Mitzvah episode of Mention with the Boys. Our thanks again to Noah Rubin for joining us for this very special occasion. Remember, please like, follow, and subscribe so you're kept in the loop on our episodes, which will drop every other Friday. Um, I think we're gonna be back next week uh as well for uh so we won't have to wait two weeks to have a special episode uh next week as well on uh Friday, April 17th. You can also keep the conversation going with us on Instagram, follow us at Mention with the Boys. On behalf of my pals Tarush and Matthew Cutler, I'm Jordan Stoopler. Until next time.