Daily Dose of Social Media: Gauff looks forward to United Cup debut, Bouchard impresses at pickleball World Championships

Today in our Daily Dose of Social Media, we review the most significant activities and Entertainment from ATP and WTA players. Coco Gauff anticipated her participation in the United Cup starting on December 29, while Jasmine Paolini answered a round of questions with the WTA amid her participation in the WTA Finals.

Meanwhile, Eugenie Bouchard shared highlights from her time at the World Pickleball Championships, and Nicolas Jarry posted a heartfelt message announcing his split with coach Juan Ignacio Chela.  

Elina Svitolina recently participated in the Ministerial Conference on Ukraine’s Peace Formula in Canada. Since the start of the war with Russia, the former World No. 3 has often spoken out on the Tour, directly criticizing Russian and Belarusian players for remaining silent on the issue and being one of the players who refuses to shake hands with them.

The 30-year-old tennis player has been active in advocacy through her foundation and collaborations with the government, promoting sports among children. Svitolina attended the important peace conference in Montreal, stating, “Honored to speak at the Ministerial Conference on Ukraine’s Peace Formula, representing my country and our children. 20,000 Ukrainian kids have been forcibly displaced by Russia,” she posted.

Jasmine Paolini took part in a Q&A session with the WTA, where she shared some personal details, including the languages she speaks, her debut tournament, and her favorite song. Paolini revealed that she speaks three languages: Italian, Polish, and English. The World No. 4 also tried to remember her WTA debut, saying, "Maybe Prague?" she hesitated when asked. "No? I don’t know! 2018?" she guessed, though it was actually in Bastad in 2017.

The Italian played her first WTA Finals in the Purple Group, where she defeated Elena Rybakina but lost to Aryna Sabalenka and Zheng Qinwen, resulting in her elimination from the singles draw. She was also the only player in both the singles and doubles draws, alongside Sara Errani, who will aim for qualification against Veronika Kudermetova and Chan Hao-Ching.

Nico Jarry thanked his fans for their support after wrapping up a rollercoaster season and ending his relationship with his coach, Juan Ignacio Chela. The Chilean player achieved his best result in a Masters 1000 by reaching the Rome Open final (losing to Alexander Zverev), though he later faced a long losing streak of seven consecutive defeats and just three wins in his last 15 matches.

The 29-year-old split from Chela, a former world No. 15 and Jarry's coach since the beginning of the season, "to whom I am very grateful for his professionalism and hard work." In a special Instagram post, Jarry shared photos from his season along with a heartfelt reflection.

"Now back in Chile, I am finally closing out this 2024 season. I can say with certainty that it was the most challenging year so far," Jarry posted. "A year of much learning—I reached my career-high ATP ranking (16), made it to my first Masters 1000 final, and faced a highly debilitating illness. However, I felt the support from each of you, from the United States to Europe and even in China."

Coco Gauff anticipates her debut in the United Cup, starting on December 29, representing Team USA alongside Taylor Fritz. They will be the top seeds thanks to their high combined rankings as World No. 3 and World No. 6. “This will be my first time playing the United Cup, so I’m super excited to kick off the year in Australia. It’s a really cool event, and I had a lot of fun playing mixed doubles at the Olympics, so I kind of want to do that again,” Gauff mentioned.

The 2023 US Open champion is currently competing in the WTA Finals, where she secured her spot in the semifinals following victories over Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula. The American No. 1 will have one last Round Robin match against Barbora Krejcikova; another win will secure her the top spot in the group and avoid Aryna Sabalenka

Rising star Alina Korneeva trains at the Rafa Nadal Academy and spoke of her admiration for the 22-time Grand Slam champion. The 17-year-old Russian player, currently World No. 184, appeared in the latest video from the Spanish player's Academy, after joining to train on its courts.

“My God of tennis is Rafa. In December, I practiced on the same courts as him, and I felt, oh my God, this guy is practicing close to me, and to be here and see how he works is really motivating,” commented the 2023 Australian Open junior champion, who defeated Mirra Andreeva in the final. “It was really nice meeting him; he said some really kind words to me, gave me support. Because when you feel the support from the biggest person in this sport, it’s something that really helps you to stay positive,” she added.

Eugenie Bouchard shared a video of her highlights from her recent appearance at the Pickleball World Championships. The Canadian made her debut in the Round of 64 against Lara Giltinan, scoring one of the best points of the day, which was even featured by ESPN in the tournament’s top-10 plays so far.

The World No. 997 is balancing her tennis career with a new interest in pickleball, where she has had notable performances. The former Wimbledon runner-up easily defeated Giltinan 11-3, 11-5 in just under 35 minutes and will face the 11th seed Lacy Schneemann next.

Bouchard made her last appearance on the Tour at the Canadian Open in early August. The former world No. 5 received a wildcard from the organizers to compete in the qualifiers but lost in the first round to Moyuka Uchijima (7-5, 5-7, 4-6). Bouchard then participated as an expert commentator in the television broadcasts and conducted several on-court interviews with the tournament stars.