Shelton’s reaction goes viral, Sinner makes waves, Sabalenka brings the glam, and Swiatek brings the hrace

The Cincinnati Open is already underway, with fans anticipating the debut of its biggest stars. Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka shared a series of photos from her days leading up to the tournament, posing with a poster from her 2024 championship. Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud faced off this Friday, though in a friendly golf match, taking advantage of a day off before their debuts.

On the other hand, recent Toronto champion Ben Shelton showed up in the morning to practice after winning his first Masters 1000 title, even running into his rival from Thursday night's final, Karen Khachanov. A reaction from his girlfriend, soccer player Trinity Rodman, to his match point also went viral on social media. Additionally, Iga Swiatek shared the sad news of her cat's passing after 17 years.

Ben Shelton is now in Cincinnati after winning his first Masters 1000 title at the Canadian Open. The world No. 6 had a dream week in Toronto, defeating rivals like Flavio Cobolli, Alex de Minaur, and Taylor Fritz on his way to his first Masters final, where he ended up taking the title after overcoming Karen Khachanov in a third-set tie-break. The 22-year-old American arrived in Cincinnati full of joy, looking to maintain his great run of six consecutive wins. He is waiting to make his debut against Argentina's Camilo Ugo Carabelli.

Shelton showed up to practice at the Cincinnati Open this Friday morning, just hours after winning the Canadian Open title on Thursday night. On social media, a reaction from his girlfriend, American soccer player Trinity Rodman, went viral. She had been supporting her boyfriend from a distance, following the final on television and recording her reaction to Shelton's match point to win the title.

Jannik Sinner starred in a new training session at the Cincinnati Open, where the Italian took a moment to drop his racquet and play with a soccer ball alongside his team members. Sinner habitually uses playing with a soccer ball as one of his warm-up activities, and this time he showed his great sense of humor while laughing and playing with his team after his last training session before beginning his title defense in Cincinnati. The world No. 1 is preparing to debut this Saturday against Colombia's Daniel Elahi Galán, in what will be his first appearance since winning the Wimbledon title a month ago.

The stars of the WTA appeared in a recent video from the players' party, where they participated in pre-tournament activities with the media day and enjoyed an incredible dinner organized by the tournament. The occasion saw several of the Tour's biggest stars kick off the tournament with a fun dinner, which included Australia's Daria Kasatkina, Russia's Diana Shnaider, and Switzerland's Belinda Bencic—the latter of whom attended with her young daughter, Bella. See below for some of the images that appeared on social media after the special occasion that started the tournament.

The 6-time Grand Slam champion shared some sad news on social media after saying goodbye to her cat of 17 years. The Pole shared the news of her cat's passing, posting several photos from over the years, including one of Swiatek as a child with the cat.

The Pole is at the Cincinnati Open, where she is preparing to return to the courts in the middle of the North American hardcourt swing and is looking to get back to winning after a surprising defeat in the Round of 16 in Montreal against Clara Tauson. Swiatek is targeting the Cincinnati Open as her last stop before traveling to the US Open in search of the last Grand Slam of the year.

"Hope we gave you the best possible home a cat can have. Grateful that you gave us 17 years of unconditional love. 😢"

Casper Ruud and Carlos Alcaraz reunited on the golf course at the Cincinnati Open, where they challenged each other to a friendly golf match before their respective debuts. Both players have expressed their passion for golf multiple times and take every opportunity the calendar allows to hit the links, playing together on several occasions.

The Norwegian and the Spaniard showed their great relationship off the court and once again faced each other on the golf course, taking some photos they shared on social media before starting their journeys in Cincinnati. Ruud is the 11th seed and will debut against France's Arthur Rinderknech, while Alcaraz is the second seed and will debut against the winner of the match between Mattia Bellucci and Damir Dzumhur. This day, Alcaraz also appeared in a promotional video on his social media, which showed details of how he surprised several fans by joining them for a dinner for one of his sponsors.

Aryna Sabalenka is already getting a feel for her Cincinnati Open debut, and this Friday she shared a series of photos from her first few days in the American city. The world No. 1 is the defending champion and took a photo next to the champion's poster—which features herself along with the trophy she won a year ago by defeating home favorite Jessica Pegula in the final.

The Belarusian has been one of the main players in practice and is waiting for her debut this Saturday against the former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, following a tough draw in what will be her only tournament before the US Open, where she will also defend her title.