Daily Dose of Social Media: Aryna Sabalenka showcases fashion side as Alexander Bublik hands racket to ball kid

In a new Daily Dose of Social Media, Aryna Sabalenka shared a video of her "Day in the Life," showing her latest photo shoot for Flaunt Magazine, where she later appeared on the cover.

On the other hand, Alexander Bublik stole the spotlight in Montpellier after handing his racket to a ball kid to play a point, interrupting his quarterfinal match. The same tone left a peculiar image hours earlier when a power outage forced a halt in the match between Flavio Cobolli and Jesper de Jong.

Weather chaos strikes Montpellier: Power outage disrupts de Jong vs. Cobolli match

Incredible but true. The weather can even disrupt the normal flow of an indoor tournament. This was the case in the Jesper de Jong vs. Flavio Cobolli match at the ATP 250 Open 13 Provenze. The unpredictable weather had consequences on the electrical systems of the Arena Sud de France. Power went out more than once, affecting the continuity of the game.

After the first blackout, a second one occurred about twenty minutes later. The stadium was plunged into darkness, and naturally, the match was stopped. The city, with about 300,000 inhabitants, is experiencing violent storms, but the indoor tournament was not supposed to suffer any consequences.

The match ended with a victory for Dutch player Jesper de Jong, 6-3, 7-6, sending the third seed out in the Round of 16. The young Italian talent has had a shaky start to the season, with three consecutive losses and no victories so far.

Read also

Daily Dose of Social Media: Aryna Sabalenka takes well-deserved break, Jannik Sinner becomes golf cart driver

"Pressure is part of the journey": Zverev opens up on dealing with sports pressure

Alexander Zverev participated in Adidas' latest campaign, where he reflected on what pressure means to him in his career as a professional. The World No. 2 recently reached his third Grand Slam final at the Australian Open, but once again, he was defeated and came up just short of his first major title. Italian and World No. 1 Jannik Sinner claimed the victory comfortably with a score of 6-3, 7-6, 6-3.

A few days after the painful defeat, Sascha participated in a video for his sponsor Adidas, reflecting on both success and failure as professional athletes. "I think pressure is part of sports. I think we’re used to it, basically on a weekly basis. Of course, there are some tournaments that are, or you feel like, are more important than others. You feel like you want to perform well at those, but yeah, it’s all part of the journey," commented the 27-year-old German player.

“It’s all part of succeeding and also sometimes failing, and I think that you got to learn how to deal with pressure and kind of enjoy it as well,” Sascha Zverev added. You can watch the full video below:

Read also

Sunshine Double warm-up: Paula Badosa & Stefanos Tsitsipas ready for mixed doubles action

"Beyond tennis": Aryna Sabalenka showcases fashion side in new "Day in the Life" video

Aryna Sabalenka shared a "Day in the Life" video, where she revealed a different side of herself, including her ventures into the world of fashion. The 3-time Grand Slam champion participated in an interview with a fashion magazine and also took part in photoshoots featuring Chanel and Louis Vuitton outfits.

“I think [the picture] is always the same for me—just tennis, basically. You’re always on the court sweating, wearing sports stuff, a ponytail—the same picture of yourself and of your life,” she said.

“When you go for photo shoots, you have makeup, you have your hair done, you try different styles. You see yourself from different perspectives. I love it. You forget about your normal life,” she added in the interview.

The World No. 1 recently suffered a disappointing loss in the Australian Open final, ending her 20-match winning streak at Melbourne Park. After securing titles in 2023 and 2024, she missed out on a third consecutive victory, which would have equaled Martina Hingis' achievement between 1997 and 1999 with three Aussie Open titles. Sabalenka will return to the courts in two weeks at the Qatar Open in Doha, where she will be the top seed in a draw that includes 9 of the top 10 players.

Read also

Daily Dose of Social Media: Kyrgios calls Sinner "Cluster Bowl" in word association game, Sabalenka and Swiatek’s behind-the-scenes photos

Bublik stuns fans by letting ball kid play a point against Kovacevic

Alexander Bublik once again captured everyone's attention during his match against Alexander Kovacevic by handing his racket to one of the ball kids to play a point against the American. The Kazakh even acted as a ball boy, tossing balls to the fortunate youngster who got to serve against Kovacevic and ultimately won the point after the American sent a backhand into the net.

Both the audience and Bublik’s opponent were surprised by the unusual moment, especially as the Kazakh was struggling, being down 3-6, 1-5, and serving. After the brief interruption, Bublik (4th seed) managed to hold his service game, but it wasn't enough as Kovacevic remained unfazed and closed out the match 6-3, 6-2, advancing to the semifinals of the Open Sud de France.

Read also

"Take your time" – Henman reveals Murray ignored his retirement advice

Alcaraz Returns to the Court in the Netherlands

Carlos Alcaraz already trains in the Netherlands for the ATP 500 Rotterdam Open and shared a first training video on social media from the Netherlands. The 4-time Grand Slam champion returns to the court after his quarterfinal loss at the Australian Open to Novak Djokovic and will be the top favorite for the title on indoor hard courts after Jannik Sinner's recent withdrawal.

It was noted that Alcaraz traveled without Juan Carlos Ferrero, who stayed in Villena, Spain, although the former French Open champion was present at Carlos's training sessions. Alcaraz is now training with Samuel Lopez as his head coach, and according to Punt de Break, he is recovering from a recent cold but is almost fully fit to return to competition in search of his first indoor title.

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Unlock your ultimate tennis experience—subscribe today for exclusive access to top stories.

Subscribe