Aryna Sabalenka dancing at Wuhan Open, Musetti spies Sinner's debut as Novak Djokovic celebrates Shanghai victory

In a new Daily Dose of Social Media, the ATP stars are focused on the Shanghai Masters, where Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner have been among the main attractions. So much so, that Lorenzo Musetti himself was spotted enjoying his compatriot's match in the main stadium.

Meanwhile, on the WTA Tour, the players are beginning the transition from Beijing to Wuhan for the last WTA 1000 of the season, where Aryna Sabalenka will join them. The World No. 1 is returning to the courts to defend the triple crown she holds in Wuhan, where she stole the spotlight by cooking and dancing during media day while awaiting her debut.

Aryna Sabalenka was one of the big stars in the activities leading up to the start of the WTA 1000 Wuhan Open, marking her return to the courts after a month since her last appearance at the US Open—where she lifted her 4th Grand Slam title. Since then, the World No. 1 opted to take a few weeks off, withdrew from the China Open in Beijing, and decided to come directly to Wuhan—where she is the defending champion, having taken the title in the last three editions (2018, '19, '24), and boasts a perfect 17-0 record.

The Belarusian enjoyed herself cooking and dancing in front of Chinese fans during media day, where Sabalenka was the main star. The Belarusian is currently waiting for her debut this Tuesday, October 7th, but still awaits her opponent, who will be the winner between Anna Kalinskaya and Rebecca Sramkova. Sabalenka aims to defend her crown in the final tournament she will play before the WTA Finals next month.

Jannik Sinner shared a video on social media of his first days in Shanghai, where he has already debuted with a victory over Altmaier and awaits his second-round appearance. The World No. 2 is the main favorite for the title following the withdrawal of Carlos Alcaraz, and he arrives full of confidence after lifting the China Open title last week, defeating Learner Tien in the final.

In fact, Sinner played the Beijing final last Wednesday and was already debuting against Altmaier two days later, seeking to advance to the second round. The Italian's next challenge will be against Tallon Griekspoor (27th seed). Meanwhile, he shared a video on social media showing his days in Shanghai, where he has been training with his American colleague Ben Shelton, as seen on his channels.

A surprise guest was spotted in the stands during the match between Jannik Sinner and Daniel Altmaier: none other than World No. 9 Lorenzo Musetti, who was watching his compatriot Sinner's performance up close in his first-round debut, which the World No. 2 won decisively, 6-3, 6-3. Musetti finished his own match early against Francisco Comesana (6-4, 6-0) and took advantage of his presence at the tournament facilities to watch the night’s featured match.

Musetti surely still has his encounter against Sinner at the last US Open in mind, when they faced off in the quarterfinals and Sinner won convincingly in straight sets (6-1, 6-4, 6-2). This time, Musetti may be looking for solutions to take a step forward. For now, he will have to wait for a rematch against Sinner, as they are on opposite sides of the draw and could only meet in a potential final. Musetti's next challenge will be against fellow Italian Luciano Darderi.

Novak Djokovic celebrated another victory at the Shanghai Masters, debuting with a straight-sets win over Marin Cilic (7-6, 6-4). The 24-time Grand Slam champion returned to the court for the first time since his US Open semifinal defeat and this is his first 'non-Grand Slam' tournament since the Geneva Open in May. Since then, Djokovic had only made appearances at Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open—being eliminated in the semifinals of each.

However, Novak himself has admitted that playing in Shanghai is always special for him. With Alcaraz out of the draw, the possibilities seem more open for the Serb, a four-time champion in Shanghai who holds the historical record for victories in the tournament with 46. His next challenge will be against Yannick Hanfmann.

Jasmine Paolini is still smiling in Beijing, celebrating her advance to the doubles final alongside her compatriot Sara Errani. Paolini had a great run in singles—reaching the quarterfinals—but was eliminated by Amanda Anisimova last Thursday in a three-set battle. However, her time in Beijing is not over yet, as she remains in the doubles competition—and with great results—as they advanced this Saturday to the final after defeating 4th seeds Jelena Ostapenko and Su-Wei Hsieh. Paolini posted photos on social media of her passage to the final, which they will play this Sunday against Fanny Stollar and Miyu Kato.