Daily Dose of Social Media: Jessica Pegula meets Hollywood star, Nick Kyrgios’ cryptic message as he trains for Indian Wells

In a new Daily Dose of Social Media, we review some of the standout moments of the day. American Jessica Pegula met Hollywood star Matthew McConaughey after reaching the final in Austin, while Zeynep Sonmez left the court in tears following her recent defeat at the Merida Open.

Some players are preparing for their training sessions ahead of Indian Wells. Elena Rybakina joined Madison Keys for a high-level training session, while Emma Raducanu teamed up with former world No. 2 Tommy Haas for a training session. Additionally, Nick Kyrgios – who shared a cryptic message while preparing for his next appearance.

Sonmez crumbles in tears after emotional loss to Navarro

The 2024 Merida Open champion was unable to defend her title—the first of her career—after losing to top seed Emma Navarro (4-6, 2-6). The Turkish tennis player made her major breakthrough at the Tour during the November 2024 edition of the tournament, which was still a WTA 250 event at the time.

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Sonmez failed to make the main draw cutoff and was granted a wildcard into the tournament. Nevertheless, the 22-year-old had an impressive run, defeating Maria Sakkari (7-5, 6-2) and Magda Linette (6-3, 3-1, ret.). Her dream campaign, with seven consecutive wins in the tournament, came to an end in the quarterfinals against Navarro. The Turkish player had an emotional moment as she left the court in tears after a tough loss, but still took the time to take photos and sign autographs for her young fans.

Kyrgios shares training photo ahead of Indian Wells

Nick Kyrgios shared a photo from Los Angeles as he trains for his upcoming tournament at Indian Wells. The Australian tennis player enters with his protected ranking of world No. 21, as he returns from injury, and will compete in his third tournament of the season.

The Australian played at the Brisbane International but cited wrist problems after being eliminated in the first round by Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. Kyrgios then competed at the Australian Open, although not in his best physical condition. This time, it remains to be seen if he can overcome the discomfort and show the level of play he demonstrated at times during his match against Mpetshi Perricard.

The photo from the former Wimbledon finalist was accompanied by a cryptic message from Kyrgios: "The VILLAIN is usually the character they remember anyway 🎲🎲👻👻"

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Sabalenka stuns at WTA brand launch event as part of 'Rally the World' campaign

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka shared a video of her preparation for the launch event of the WTA's new brand. The Belarusian tennis star was one of the main attractions, with everyone eager to take photos with her at the event held recently before the start of Indian Wells, in The Hills.

Sabalenka is one of the leading figures in the "Rally the World" campaign, which aims to highlight the players' stories, expand their personal brands and the WTA's presence, and continue to push for women's tennis to gain more ground in the sports and entertainment world. The campaign has also announced other major faces such as Coco Gauff, Zheng Qinwen, Paula Badosa, and Iga Swiatek, among others, to lead the WTA's new commercial strategy.

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Raducanu teams up with Tommy Haas for training session

Emma Raducanu has been training at Indian Wells with tournament director Tommy Haas. The former German tennis player, who won 15 ATP titles and reached world No. 2 in 2002, his highest ranking, also made it to four Grand Slam semifinals, earned a silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and was a finalist at the now-defunct Grand Slam Cup.

The British tennis star took advantage of her training days at ‘Tennis Paradise’ to work alongside the former player during a practice session on one of the main courts of the tournament. Raducanu played her last tournament at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, where she was eliminated in the second round by Karolina Muchova. The match was interrupted briefly by an incident with a stalker, who was escorted off the court by security.

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Pegula meets Matthew McConaughey after semifinal victory

Jessica Pegula had a VIP spectator during her semifinal match at the ATX Open in Austin, where she defeated Alja Tomljanovic and advanced to her second final of the season. The world No. 4 entered the tournament as the top seed and lived up to expectations, becoming the first local player to reach the final in Austin. Pegula had started the season with a loss in the final of the Adelaide International against her compatriot Madison Keys.

The 2024 US Open runner-up had actor and Academy Award winner Matthew McConaughey among the spectators. After the match, they shared a chat and took a photo together inside the stadium. McConaughey has shown himself to be a tennis enthusiast and has been spotted at major tennis tournaments in both Australia and the US.

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Elena Rybakina and Madison Keys face off in practice

Elena Rybakina and Madison Keys shared a high-level training session at Indian Wells. Two Grand Slam champions, they had previously faced each other at the 2024 Australian Open, where the American surprised the Kazakh by winning 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 on her way to her first major title.

Since then, Keys has not played another match, but she has maintained a 12-match winning streak, the longest of her career. Recently, she had to withdraw from the ATX Open Austin due to a WTA rule that prevents two top-10 players from competing in a WTA 250 event. On the other hand, Rybakina participated in the Middle East swing, where she was defeated in the quarterfinals of Doha (by Iga Swiatek) and the semifinals of Dubai (by Mirra Andreeva).

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