Daily Dose of Social Media: Iga Swiatek’s emotional tribute to Rafael Nadal, Federer and Djokovic share a warm moment

Today in our Daily Dose of Social Media, we review the most significant activities and entertainment from ATP and WTA players. Iga Swiatek gave a special tribute to her idol Rafael Nadal following the announcement of his retirement. In Shanghai, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic reunited.

While the last WTA 1000 of the season is being played in Wuhan, Aryna Sabalenka shines with the love of the fans, while Krejcikova responded sarcastically to a fan who questioned the Czech player's merits in winning the Wimbledon title.

Iga Swiatek gave an emotional tribute to her idol Rafael Nadal following the announcement of his retirement from professional tennis. The Pole has always acknowledged the 22-time Grand Slam champion as her greatest inspiration, and after Nadal’s announcement, it was notable that the world No. 1 hadn’t publicly commented on the matter.

However, Swiatek prepared a video where she delved into her admiration for Nadal: "You were and still are the biggest inspiration that I ever had in tennis. The reason why sometimes I got extra motivated and kept pushing myself.”

"Thank you for that and thank you for being such an amazing person off the court as well. Your humility is something that is not so [common] when you see other athletes succeeding. You're the one that always stayed honest with himself and true to himself. Thank you for being such a good person,” she added. "I hope you're going to enjoy the other part of your life and hopefully maybe some other career, because the sky is the limit for you now."

Swiatek seems poised to follow in Nadal’s footsteps and dominate the French Open for years. She won her first Grand Slam title there in 2020 at just 18 years old and has dominated the tournament with four titles in the last five editions and a 35-2 (95%) record. Nadal, a 14-time champion at Roland Garros, holds the greatest record for a player at a Grand Slam tournament with 112-4 (97%).

Roger Federer arrived at the Shanghai Masters to attend the quarterfinals of the tournament he won in 2014 and 2017. The 20-time Grand Slam champion was the guest of honor at the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena and had a casual encounter with Novak Djokovic.

The Swiss warmly greeted his former rival: "Hey! Old Man," Federer shouted from a distance before embracing Djokovic. Federer and Djokovic share the second-most frequent rivalry in tennis history, with Djokovic leading their head-to-head 27-23 (13-6 in finals), with matches spanning from 2006 to 2020.

Federer also participated in an interesting exhibition match where he teamed up with Chinese singer and actor Eason Chan to defeat the partnership of world No. 41 Zhang Zhizhen and table tennis champion Zhendong Fan.

With a few weeks still left in the season, Coco Gauff is already looking ahead to the 2025 United Cup. In a social media video, the American confirmed her participation in the tournament, where she will team up with Taylor Fritz to lead Team USA as they aim to reclaim the title, just like in the inaugural 2023 edition.

The team event brings together 18 countries, each with up to three men and three women, competing for $10 million in prize money and up to 500 ranking points for both the ATP and WTA. The United Cup will take place from Friday, January 27 to Sunday, January 5, and the defending champion is Germany, led by Alexander Zverev (though they will be without the now-retired Angelique Kerber in 2025).

The tournament has also confirmed the participation of Canada, with Felix Auger-Aliassime and Leylah Fernandez, along with Casper Ruud for Norway, and Greece's Maria Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Barbora Krejcikova responded sarcastically to a user on X who questioned the Czech’s merit in winning the Wimbledon title. The 28-year-old Czech has experienced an irregular end to the season, with three defeats and only one victory since she beat Jasmine Paolini in the Wimbledon final. In her journey to the Asian Swing, she has suffered two first-round losses, prompting criticism from a user on X.

“How did Barbora Krejcikova win Wimbledon,” posted the user ‘moonball enthusiast’. The tweet probably reached further than expected, as the 29-year-old player responded sarcastically: "I won 7 matches in a row. That’s how. 🤗"

Krejcikova also holds the 2022 French Open title and a WTA 1000. In doubles, she has been one of the most outstanding players in recent years, completing the Career Grand Slam (7 titles, all with Katerina Siniakova). The Czech also won Olympic gold at the 2020 Games, again alongside Siniakova.

Aryna Sabalenka celebrated her progress to the semifinals of the Wuhan Open by posting a compilation of photos after her latest win against Magdalena Frech. The Belarusian continues her incredible form, with 18 wins in her last 19 matches, as she edges closer to Iga Swiatek in the race for World No. 1.

The 3-time Grand Slam champion remains strong in Wuhan, comfortably defeating Frech 6-2, 6-2, and now prepares for a bigger challenge against 4th seed Coco Gauff, who leads their head-to-head 4-3, including the 2023 US Open final, where the American claimed her only Grand Slam title.

In Sabalenka's photos, she is seen both on and off the court, including a selfie with some of the crowd, who have shown strong support for the Belarusian. "All smiles for semis 🫶 @wuhanopenwta," Sabalenka captioned on Instagram.

Nick Kyrgios thanked fans for the support his podcast "Good Trouble" has received during his time off the court. The Australian has played just one match in the last two years, and his return to the courts is getting closer.

The 2022 Wimbledon runner-up reflected on his recent involvement with the podcast, which has featured guests like Naomi Osaka, John McEnroe, and Gordon Ramsay. "Good Trouble... yeah, I like that name too 😏🤣 Second half of my chat with @Instagram," Nick Kyrgios captioned. "Grateful for my platform and to those out there using theirs to make a difference. It's important to me that, as athletes, we take on the responsibility we've been given by using our voice for positive things. It’s something I’ll continue to do 🔒 having fun out here! Back soon ⏳🎾"