Daily Dose of Social Media: Mpetshi Perricard’s serve hits Shelton in painful moment

Today in our Daily Dose of Social Media, we review the most significant activities and Entertainment from ATP and WTA players. If anyone had doubts about Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard's incredible serve, Ben Shelton experienced the Frenchman's power firsthand after taking a hard shot to the body during the Basel Open final.

Meanwhile, Zheng Qinwen celebrated her title in Tokyo, Simona Halep had a special day with children in Hong Kong, and Carlos Alcaraz trained with Daniil Medvedev ahead of the Paris Masters. All this and more in a new day on social media.

Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard launched a 236 km/h serve that struck Ben Shelton in a painful moment at Basel. The 21-year-old claimed his second title by defeating the American 6-4, 7-6(4), moving up to his career-high ranking as world No. 31.

It was an incredible run for Mpetshi Perricard, who hit 22 aces in his match against Shelton and a total of 109 aces across his five matches, taking advantage of his towering 2.03-meter height. One of the Frenchman’s serves hit Shelton directly on the body, making for one of the most striking images of the final in Switzerland. Mpetshi Perricard quickly apologized as Shelton took a moment to recover before resuming play.

"First of all, obviously, I want to congratulate Gio on a great week and a great match today. I almost killed myself trying to return your serve. So many other parts of your game have improved so much; you're such a great young talent and so good for the sport," Ben Shelton said after the match.

Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev held a joint practice session just before the start of the Paris Masters. They took to the Central Court at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris Bercy for an open practice in front of French fans. After an intense training session, both players took photos and signed autographs for the crowd.

The Spaniard is seeded second and the Russian fourth, giving them both a bye in the first round as they await their opening-round opponents. Alcaraz will face the winner between Nicolas Jarry and qualifier Lorenzo Sonego, while Medvedev awaits either Alexei Popyrin or Matteo Berrettini. If both uphold their rankings, they could meet in an anticipated semifinal showdown.

Zheng Qinwen is the WTA’s player on the rise with her impressive form in recent months, celebrating her latest title on social media after defeating Sofia Kenin on Sunday. Since Wimbledon, the Chinese tennis star has compiled a record of 28-4, with titles in Tokyo, Palermo, and a gold medal at the Olympic Games. She also reached the semifinals at the China Open and the final in Wuhan, key results that helped her pull ahead of Emma Navarro in the Race and secure her place at the WTA Finals.

The 21-year-old achieved her second WTA 500 title and celebrated her remarkable performance on social media after defeating former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in the final. “Very happy to win my second WTA 500 title in Tokyo🏆 what’s coming next🔮” she posted.

Alja Tomljanovic is set to make her debut at the Merida Open Akron and recently participated in a Q&A session shared on social media by the account Hablemos de Tennis. The former world No. 32 is one of the main stars of the WTA 250 event held in Mexico as she works to regain her form following a long injury.

The Australian player is the third seed and shares the draw with players such as Alycia Parks, Renata Zarazua, Nadia Podoroska, and Tatjana Maria, among others. In the interview, Tomljanovic revealed whether she prefers to play with her forehand or backhand, chose her favorite Grand Slam, and talked about her favorite on-court outfits. You can check out the rest of the interview at the following link.

This Sunday, some of the main stars of the Paris Masters arrived for training, with a video capturing the players’ arrival, led by Carlos Alcaraz. The tournament will begin on Monday with the first-round matches, from which the top 8 seeds are exempt.

The video shows the players arriving at training on Sunday morning, including greetings from Carlos Alcaraz, Andrey Rublev, Taylor Fritz, Alexander Zverev, and local stars Arthur Fils, Adrian Mannarino, and Ugo Humbert.

Simona Halep returns to the court once again, this time at the WTA 250 Hong Kong Open, where she received a wild card for her first tournament of this category. The Romanian star took part in the fan-day, participating in a promotional activity with dozens of children. A few weeks ago, the former world No. 1 achieved her first victory in over two years—since the start of her doping ban—defeating Arina Rodionova in three sets, also in Hong Kong.

The two-time Grand Slam champion is one of the tournament’s main stars and faces a tough debut against sixth seed Yue Yuan. Halep also shares the draw with players like Leylah Fernandez, Katie Boulter, Sofia Kenin, and Diana Shnaider.

“It’s really a pleasure to be back here in Hong Kong after three weeks. I enjoyed the time last time, and now I’m enjoying the time,” Simona Halep said. “It’s a little bit humid as you can see, but I just want to thank all the fans for the previous tournament, because so many of them came, and they created a great atmosphere,” added the former world No. 1.

The New Zealander has been one of the most intriguing newcomers on the Tour and arrived as one of the strong names at the Hong Kong Open, where she met the legendary Chinese tennis player Li Na. The 2-time Grand Slam champion, who is the tournament director, posed for photos with Sun, the players' representative, at the draw ceremony. “Omg did I just meet Li Na? 😭🙊,” she posted on Instagram.

Sun reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals coming from the qualifiers, with notable wins against opponents like Zheng Qinwen in the first round and Emma Raducanu in the Round of 16. She also recently reached her first WTA final at the Monterrey Open.

The 23-year-old will be one of the stars at the Hong Kong Open, featuring an impressive draw for a tournament of this category, with players like Diana Shnaider, Leylah Fernandez, Sofia Kenin, and Katie Boulter, along with former world No. 1 Simona Halep, who recently returned to victory in the same city.