Daily Dose of Social Media: Badosa or Jabeur? – Aryna Sabalenka picks her ‘bestie’

In a new Daily Dose of Social Media, Aryna Sabalenka starred in a fun video where she had to choose between her two closest friends on Tour: Paula Badosa and Ons Jabeur, giving her definitive answer about the one she called her 'soulmate'. On the other hand, Carlos Alcaraz had a friendly encounter with his next opponent Jaume Munar prior to their match at the Queen's Club Championships.

Meanwhile, Elena Rybakina shared several posts of her 26th birthday celebrations while competing at the Berlin Ladies Open, while Iga Swiatek left a series of images updating on her training as she prepares for her upcoming return to grass courts at the Bad Homburg Open next week.

Iga Swiatek gave fans a glimpse of her grass-court work as she prepares for her first tournament of the season on the surface. Unlike the rest of the top-10, the Pole has yet to debut in the grass-swing, and decided to wait one more week for her first appearance at the WTA 250 Bad Homburg Open, her only preparatory tournament for Wimbledon.

Nevertheless, the five-time Grand Slam champion's expectations for this swing are surely high, and she is working at full pace to get back into contention for another major title. Swiatek is currently World No. 8 – after failing to defend her Roland Garros title – which is her lowest ranking since January 2022.

Elena Rybakina shared some snapshots of her birthday celebration amidst the Berlin Ladies Open, where she was showered with gifts and took time to celebrate with her team. The former Wimbledon champion debuted with a victory this Tuesday against American lucky loser Ashlyn Krueger, advancing to the Round of 16.

The Kazakh player was initially drawn to face Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen, but the Chinese star withdrew from the tournament as a physical precaution ahead of Wimbledon. Rybakina's next challenge will be this Thursday against Czech Katerina Siniakova. The 26-year-old is in direct contention to return to the Top 10, though to achieve it this week, only winning the title would suffice. Last week, she suffered a surprising defeat in the quarterfinals of the Queen's Club Championships, falling to eventual champion Tatjana Maria.

Carlos Alcaraz had a friendly encounter on the practice courts with his upcoming opponent at the Queen's Club Championships, fellow Spaniard Jaume Munar. The five-time Grand Slam champion was the focus of attention on the grass-court training grounds in London – a tournament he won in 2023 – as he awaits his Round of 16 clash against Munar.

The World No. 2 defeated Australian Adam Walton (6-4, 7-6) in his debut, while Munar benefited from Jordan Thompson's retirement after just one set (7-5, ret.). Alcaraz is on a remarkable streak of 14 consecutive victories – after securing titles at the Rome Open and Roland Garros – and will be looking to extend his run to 15 against Munar. The head-to-head record currently stands at 2-1 in favor of Alcaraz, although Munar's single victory came a long time ago in 2021, when Alcaraz was just 18 years old.

Aryna Sabalenka answered the question of whether she would choose between Ons Jabeur and Paula Badosa, her closest friends on Tour. The World No. 1 has shown her great off-court relationship with both Badosa and Jabeur, and this time, in a video from the Berlin Ladies Open social media, she gave her final answer about who she would pick, responding jokingly. "Well, I would pick Paula, since Ons is always saying that 'she's her best best friend'," Sabalenka said in a teasing tone. "But we're soul mates with Paula, so, I'll pick Paula," she added, finishing with a playful tongue-out.

The three-time Grand Slam champion played her first-round match in Berlin this Wednesday, but couldn't finish it due to weather conditions. Sabalenka had a 6-2 lead against Rebeka Masarova, but once the set ended – and after the rains intensified – the umpire decided to suspend the match until this Thursday. The Belarusian will return to the court in the morning to try and seal her spot in the tournament's quarterfinals.

Teen star Diego Dedura-Palomero left a memorable moment in the first round of the Poznan Challenger, when he faced Frenchman Matteo Martineau. The German of Chilean origin showed his frustration during the second set against Martineau, when the score was 3-6, 0-2, 15-40, and he was about to serve to stay in the game, while his opponent had two opportunities to get the second break of the set. Dedura hit a first serve that stayed in the net, and then showed his anger by intentionally launching his second serve towards the sky, walking quickly to the bench for the changeover.

The German recently became the first player born in 2008 to achieve an ATP-level victory at the recent ATP 500 Munich Open. The 17-year-old passed through qualifying – defeating Alexander Bublik along the way – and debuted with a win against Denis Shapovalov, in a controversial match due to Dedura's effusive celebration when Shapo retired injured in the second set.