Collins swaps racquet for pickleball; Djokovic godly pose; Rybakina’s dress and Gauff’s gala magic

In a new Daily Dose of Social Media, the stars of the WTA Finals are stealing the spotlight at the tournament that brings together the eight best players of the season. After a few days of competition, several of the stars shared pictures of their appearance at the Players' Party, showing off their gala dresses before the start of the event.

Meanwhile, Aryna Sabalenka is another star shining in Riyadh, having received her Year-End World No. 1 trophy, while Novak Djokovic prepares for his debut in Athens with a photo in 'goddess mode.'

Danielle Collins was the latest tennis star to join the pickleball craze, sharing a video of herself playing pickleball doubles on a tennis court that had been reduced to fit the doubles match. The former World No. 8 had openly discussed the possibility of making her professional pickleball debut in the future, following in the footsteps of others who swapped the tennis racquet for the pickleball paddle, such as Eugenie Bouchard and Jack Sock. “Any brave souls out there that think they can hang with this pickleball crew!? 🤪🥳” she posted on Instagram.

The former Australian Open runner-up played her last match of the season at the US Open, where she suffered a 2-6, 0-6 defeat against Romania's Jaqueline Cristian. Collins had a difficult 2025, falling from World No. 11 at the beginning of the year to end the season at World No. 64—and as the 13th-ranked American. A year ago, Collins had reversed her decision to retire (which she had announced for late 2024) following a year full of great results, including the WTA 1000 Miami Open title. It remains to be seen if we will see the best version of the 31-year-old Collins again in 2026.

Novak Djokovic is warming up ahead of the Athens Open, where he will be the main star. The 24-time Grand Slam champion will be the top favorite for the title in Athens, where he is the first seed and received a first-round bye. He is set to debut this Tuesday against his familiar opponent, Chile's Alejandro Tabilo, who won their two previous encounters.

The Athens Open is a tournament owned by the Djokovic family, with Djordje Djokovic—Nole's brother—serving as its director. The tournament was previously held in Belgrade, Serbia, but after the World No. 4 changed his residence to Greece, the Djokovic family also opted to move the tournament amid conflicts with the Serbian government. Djokovic shared a photo on social media as he prepares for his complicated debut this Tuesday. “Topping up on some Greek god energy ⚡️” he posted

The 2025 Miami Open champion Jakub Mensik is enjoying his time off in Czechia, having ended his season early due to an injury sustained during the Swiss Indoors. The Czech player's last match of the season was in the first round of the Basel tournament, where he defeated junior Henry Berney 7-6(1), 6-7(7), 6-3. He was expected to face João Fonseca in the second round, but the 20-year-old Czech ultimately chose to withdraw from the tournament, ending his season and opting not to attend the Paris Masters.

Mensik traveled back to Czechia and shared photos of his days in Prague with his girlfriend, where he enjoyed some of the Czech capital's attractions and even emulated the traditional photo taken of Depeche Mode at the Statue of Pieta in Prague.

Aryna Sabalenka is full of joy in Riyadh and shared several photos of her Year-End World No. 1 trophy, which she received upon arrival at the WTA Finals. The four-time Grand Slam champion secured finishing the year atop the rankings after reaching the semifinals in Wuhan, thanks to her significant points lead over second-place Iga Swiatek. Sabalenka is now focused on finally winning the WTA Finals title this week, after four previous appearances, including the 2022 final where she fell to Caroline Garcia.

The 27-year-old Belarusian is currently in a good position to compete for the champion's trophy in Riyadh and potentially finish the season perfectly. Sabalenka debuted with a commanding victory over Jasmine Paolini in the Round Robin (6-3, 6-1) and will play her second match this Tuesday, this time against Jessica Pegula. Against the American, she will seek revenge for her loss in Wuhan, while the winner of the match will be practically assured of a spot in the Riyadh semifinals. “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend and the Year-End World No. 1 trophy has a lot of them soooo 🏆♥️ @wta” posted Aryna Sabalenka.

Meanwhile, in Riyadh, the WTA stars continue to liven up the tournament that brings together the eight best players of the season. Seven of the players had previous appearances—led by five for Swiatek and Sabalenka, as well as four for Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula.

A few days ago, the official tournament gala was held—the Players’ Party—an event that kicks off the tournament and featured all the biggest stars from the singles and doubles draws, who also participated in official gala photo shoots. Several of the tournament players shared the looks they wore in Riyadh on social media, including Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, and Elena Rybakina.