Daily Dose of Social Media: Jannik Sinner enjoys playful moment with dog on Italian farm, Rafael Nadal Academy receives jersey from Luka Doncic
ATP
Jannik Sinner appeared in a video having fun playing with a dog while taking a break and received a special tribute with a sculpture in San Candido, which we review in a new Daily Dose of Social Media.
Meanwhile, Simona Halep shared some photos on social media after her farewell and received a tribute from her colleague Barbora Krejcikova. At the same time, Leylah Fernandez celebrated National Women in Sports Day, while the stars of the Dallas Open had fans laughing with their best Matthew McConaughey impressions.
Fernandez celebrates National Women in Sports Day with heartfelt video
Leylah Fernandez shared an emotional reel in tribute to National Girls and Women in Sports Day. The 2021 US Open finalist showcased moments from her time on tour, including interactions with fans, taking photos, signing autographs, and giving her usual interviews. "Keep dreaming big. Keep working. Believe in yourself. Ladies, the sky is the limit. Happy National Women in Sports Day💖 #NGWSD," she posted.
Fernandez (No. 27) is competing this week at the WTA 500 Abu Dhabi Open and has been performing well, securing wins against Moyuka Uchijima (7-6, 7-6) and Lulu Sun (6-0, 6-3). She will face American Ashlyn Krueger (No. 51) in the quarterfinals, who caused an upset by eliminating third seed Daria Kasatkina (No. 11).
Ruud’s love for The Weeknd continues as he shares meme about new album
Casper Ruud once again expressed his appreciation for The Weeknd, a group he is known to be a big fan of. He shared a meme on social media showing his excitement about listening to the newly released album Hurry Up Tomorrow by the Canadian singer-songwriter. "I hate it when I’m by myseeeeeelf…" posted the Norwegian.
The three-time Grand Slam finalist is competing this week at the ATP 500 Dallas Open, where he is the second seed. He won his opening match against James Duckworth and is awaiting his round of 16 opponent, who will be determined between Michael Mmoh and Roberto Carballés Baena. Since last year’s US Open final, Ruud has struggled with form, recording five wins and nine losses, and has not secured consecutive victories since August in Flushing Meadows.
I hate it when I’m by myseeeeeelf… pic.twitter.com/lCOZzPRL2m
— Casper Ruud (@CasperRuud98) February 5, 2025
Dallas Open stars try their best Matthew McConaughey impressions
The stars of the Dallas Open participated in a fun video where they attempted their best impressions of Matthew McConaughey, the renowned Hollywood star from Texas, delivering his famous "Alright, alright, alright" – a phrase he uttered after winning the Best Actor award for Dallas Buyers Club.
Denis Shapovalov, Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton, and others donned Texas-style cowboy hats and showed off their best impersonations of the well-known local actor. The tournament, held in Dallas, Texas, features top seeds Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud, and Tommy Paul. The round of 16 kicks off this Wednesday.
Sinner spotted having fun with a dog during his time off
Jannik Sinner appeared in a recent video playing with a dog on a farm. The world No. 1 was seen having fun with the dog in the Italian city of Gassino, Piemonte, where he participated as the face of a regenerative farmhouse.
Sinner is currently enjoying some time off after winning the Australian Open, extending his winning streak to 21 matches since October 2024.
The Italian had been set to compete at the Rotterdam Open this week as the defending champion but withdrew days before the tournament began to allow for more recovery time ahead of the rest of the season. His next challenge will be at the Qatar Open, where he will be the top seed.
The 3-time Grand Slam champion received a special tribute in his hometown of San Candido, where a large ice sculpture of Sinner holding the Australian Open trophy, won a week ago, was displayed. It was accompanied by a large sign detailing each of the titles won by the greatest Italian tennis player of all time.
Rafael Nadal Academy receives signed jersey from Luka Doncic
The Rafael Nadal Academy received a special gift: a signed jersey from Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks. The academy expressed its gratitude on their X account, writing: "Dear @luka7doncic, Yesterday we received the shirt you kindly dedicated to us last week in Dallas at the Rafa Nadal Museum. Thank you so much! @LosLakers, would you help us get a new one? 😅 😘"
Luka Doncic was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers this past Sunday in one of the most significant trades in NBA history. The new LakeShow star is expected to make his debut this Saturday against the Indiana Pacers.
Querido @luka7doncic,
— Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar (@rnadalacademy) February 4, 2025
Ayer recibimos en el Rafa Nadal Museum la camiseta que con tanto cariño nos dedicaste la semana pasada en Dallas. ¡Muchas gracias! @LosLakers, ¿veríais factible ayudarnos a conseguir una nueva? 😅 😘 pic.twitter.com/81PMYrNr1c
Simona Halep bids farewell to tennis with emotional social media post
Simona Halep posted a farewell message on social media, thanking her fans after unexpectedly announcing her retirement from professional tennis this Tuesday at the Transylvania Open. The former World No. 1 played only a handful of tournaments since her doping ban was reduced from four years to 18 months, following an investigation that concluded the contamination of Roxadustat in her system was due to negligence. "Thank you for everything. I leave full of gratitude ❤️," she posted.
The WTA also released a tribute video celebrating the two-time Grand Slam champion, highlighting some of her best moments on the court.
World No. 12 Barbora Krejcikova also shared a tribute to her fellow Grand Slam champion. Coincidentally, the Czech player also holds two Grand Slam titles, one from the French Open and another from Wimbledon. Halep leads their head-to-head 2-0, with the most recent meeting at the 2020 Prague Open. "Congratulations on your amazing career, @Simona_Halep! 👏🏻 It’s been a privilege to play some good matches against you. You have been a great role model to look up to at the beginning of my career. All the best to you in your next chapter ❤️," Krejcikova posted.
Congratulations on your amazing career, @Simona_Halep! 👏🏻
— Barbora Krejcikova (@BKrejcikova) February 5, 2025
It’s been a privilege to play some good matches against you. You have been a great role model to look up to at the beginning of my career.
All the best to you in your next chapter ❤️ pic.twitter.com/QGn1TsgzE6
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- No, writer, we were not "stunned". If you knew your business you would have been aware of her statement last weekend re: her knee and retirement. The main take-away here is that Simona went out on her own terms. She surely wanted to play again after WTA & ITIA screwed her out of her final productive seasons. Personally, I believed she was going to make this announcement when I saw the President and his family in their box seats. Good for Simone -- now she can move on to other things as she said she would.
mandoist04-02-2025 - It sounds seriously absurd that in Davis Cup, (unlike Grand Slams such as the Aus Open), medical time outs off court with the medical staff are not allowed?? I mean, if this was an Aus Open match, and the same thing happened to Gurin then, he would have been able to go off court for official medical time out and make an informed decision whether to resume the match or retire. How come such conditions do not apply in Davis Cup?? I mean, there with Davis Cup, it is even more like a soccer match or basketball game in that teams are playing. And so as with those, it ought to be the case in tennis that if a player needs serious medical time out, then one of the other team mates ought to substitute and each team needs to have stand-ins or understudies in case substitution is needed which will be rare but as we can see here, this kind of circumstance fits. But even if the teams do not go down the road of subbing other team mates in, in case of a health issue like the one which played out here, at least, as in the Aus Open and other Grand Slams, there ought to be time-outs with the health professionals and at the conclusion of these time-outs, the particular decision that has been reached between them and the player needs to be taken on board by the umpire. PERIOD.
Sueiyin04-02-2025 - "If Novak did this, he would be defaulted for life. WTF." 🤣 WTF sounds like What Tennis Fury?! What Tennis Flurry??! I mean, se-rious-ly, it was actually the unfairness of the silly umpire's decision that is the issue here! Further, how come it was Gurin & his team who got disqualified? If this kind of thing happens in soccer, it would be the other guy getting the yellow or red card! Because after all, it was the Belgian who's foul it was so why then penalize the opponents for something they didn't instigate? Fouls in both basketball and soccer are read as a hinderance that has been caused by the player who INITIALLY instigated the hinderance. In this case, okay, it is tennis, but while the precise rules are different to either soccer or basketball, the same type of recognition as to whoever instigates a hinderance should apply, and in this case, it was the Belgian player.Sueiyin04-02-2025
- Medvedev talking to his form here. "Some actual deep problem." 🤣😂🤣MrAndreeva03-02-2025
- "Hopefully, the team around her will help... " Actually, the lack thereof seems to have been part of the problem(s). Another possibility is that, while dealing with legitimate surgeries, withdrawing, and otherwise passing on events, the competition has stepped-up in intensity while she was busy with traveling, photo shoots, and TV commercials.mandoist03-02-2025
- Ha-ha-ha... Translation: I'll help as long as I don't have to meet in person and endure the ongoing BS"mandoist03-02-2025
- Well said.mandoist03-02-2025
- So tennisuptodate doesn't even make this event a headline on this site? I had to find it hidden here. Not a word about Yastremska trying to ruin Alexandrova's celebration with her postgame actions?? According to WTA regulations, Yastremska has some punishment coming her way for walking-off court, blowing-off postgame rituals with the winner; including no photos, etc.mandoist03-02-2025
- "So while perhaps the big issue of having to wait for a call-up is there, so is the coaching carousel. .." Well, there you go. Emma's 'career' in one precise sentence. Sponsors bailing-out on her will follow (so far, only Porsche and Dior).mandoist02-02-2025
- Typical narcissistic cynicism of Kyrgios! Very rarely has a decent word to say about anything. He's abusive, jeeringly loud and obnoxious. He needs to be officially called out by both the ATP and ITF for using foul language in public spaces such as social media. The guy's a vampiric hoon who sucks the lifeblood out of tennis by trying to bolster popularity of the good-for-nothing bad boy image. I once admired Kyrgios for his previous good-willed willingness to get honest help for his mental health issues but that all went down the drain once he figured he could reel money in through publicity stunts using the negativity of his problems in such a way as to declare them 'no longer problems' but something which he could become more entangled in just to boost an anti-hero image. Shame on him for turning his back on common human decency and good-willed fraternity. Instead he opts to make a 'hero' out of villany. I'm sorry Nick but u are only doing more harm to yourself in the long run by trying to serve up a bad name for the sport you claim to so proudly represent. Get real mate, tennis is not for hoons, neither is hoon-behaviour the hallmark of sporting integrity. It's an utter disgrace!Sueiyin02-02-2025
