Daily Dose of Social Media: Osaka unveils Team Japan box, Gauff and Pegula TikTok dance

In today's Daily Dose of Social Media, we recap the latest from WTA and ATP Tour players. Players finish getting ready for the Olympic Games to be played at the Stade Roland Garros starting July 27. Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula highlighted with video dancing in the Olympic Village, while Naomi Osaka reveals shows off Team Japan's Olympic kit.

On the other hand, Poland could suffer further withdrawals from the women's team after flight problems for Linette and Frech. Djokovic adjusts details for the tournament with Nicolas Jarry, while Maria Sakkari celebrated her birthday with a special surprise from Team Greek.

More withdrawals for Poland?

Although most players in the Olympic Games draw decided to use the days leading up to Paris 2024 to train at Roland Garros, some continued competing this week. At the WTA 250 Prague Open, Polish players Magda Linette and Magdalena Frech reached the tournament final, which poses a problem for their travel to Paris.

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Linette posted on X that they are having issues traveling to Paris due to the final's schedule, which would prevent them from traveling before the air zone closure. Both are entered in the singles draw. Frech will debut against Viktoriya Tomova, and Linette will face Mirra Andreeva. Linette will also pair up with Alicja Rosolska in doubles.

The problems continue for Team Poland, which had already suffered the withdrawal of Hubert Hurkacz, leaving them out of the mixed doubles where he would have participated with Iga Swiatek.

“Hey, what do you do when you have no friends with Private Jet and the WTA postpones your final match, so you have no chance to fly to Paris for the Olympics before the air zone closes? From @MFrech97 we are waiting for your tips,” Linette wrote today on X.

Magda Linette

@MagdaLinette

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Ej, co się robi, kiedy nie ma się znajomych z Private Jetem, a WTA przesuwa Ci finałowy mecz, przez co nie masz szans dolecieć do Paryża na Igrzyska przed zamknięciem strefy powietrznej? Z @MFrech97 czekamy na Wasze tipy😁

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Naomi Osaka unboxes Team Japan Olympic gear ahead of Paris 2024

Former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka shared a video on social media showcasing some of the gear she received for the upcoming Olympic Games. Osaka will be participating in her second Olympics, having previously lit the Olympic torch at Tokyo 2021, where she faced an early upset in the third round against Marketa Vondrousova.

This time, expectations are high for Osaka at Roland Garros. During the last French Open, she came close to defeating the 4-time champion Iga Swiatek, missing a match point in what was perhaps the best match of the women's draw.

"Unboxing my Team Japan Olympic Bag," Osaka wrote in the video caption. “Okey dokey, so I opened it up and a bunch of clothes. So cute,” she began, showing off the various items that came in the luggage as part of Team Japan. The gear included several shirts and jackets from Japan, as well as shoes, socks, and various other items that she displayed on her social media.

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Gauff and Pegula join Osorio for TikTok dance in Olympic Village

The camaraderie among players in the Olympic Village has led to some fun moments across different nations. Former world No. 33, Maria Camila Osorio, will be the sole Colombian representative but didn’t miss the chance to enjoy some downtime with players from other countries.

The American duo will be the top seeds in the doubles draw, debuting against the Australian pair of Daria Saville and Ellen Perez. Additionally, Gauff is the second seed in the singles draw and will face Ajla Tomljanovic, while Pegula is the 5th seed and will compete against Viktoria Golubic.

Both Americans appeared in a TikTok video with Colombian Osorio, dancing to “Si antes te hubiera conocido” by Colombian star Karol G. You can find the video of the moment from inside the Olympic Village here.

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Zheng Qinwen set to lead Team China

Zheng Qinwen arrives at the Olympics full of confidence, having recently secured her second title on clay at the Palermo Open. The Chinese player was one of the first to qualify for Paris after winning gold at the Asian Games, and as the 6th seed, she is the top contender for Team China in tennis.

“Queen Wen” shared photos of her arrival in Paris and her time with the Olympic tennis team. On the women's side, she will compete alongside players like Xiyu Wang, Yue Yuan, and Xinyu Wang. Zheng Qinwen will also team up with Zhizhen Zhang in the mixed doubles.

Djokovic training at Roland Garros

Novak Djokovic is fine-tuning his preparations for Paris 2024, sharing photos of his early training sessions at Roland Garros and his participation in the Team Serbia press conference. Djokovic is the top seed in the singles draw following Jannik Sinner's withdrawal and will debut against Australian Mathew Ebden.

Meanwhile, Djokovic practiced with 16th seed Nicolas Jarry on Thursday and shared an Instagram story featuring the Serbian team alongside the Chilean player. Djokovic aims for his first gold medal, with a potential second-round clash against Rafael Nadal, though there are concerns about the Spaniard's physical condition.

VTC Tenis

@VtcTenis

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🥵 EXCESO DE CALIDAD EN UNA FOTO PARTE 2 💪🏼 Nicolás Jarry publicó esta foto en sus historias en donde entrenó con Novak Djokovic 🇷🇸.

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Sakkari celebrates birthday with special surprise from Team Greece

Maria Sakkari had a special birthday celebration as she turned 29 in the Olympic Village, receiving flowers and a birthday serenade from Team Greece amidst preparations for the Olympic Games.

The 7th seed in the singles draw, will debut against Danka Kovinic in the first round. The former Roland Garros semifinalist is a strong medal contender for Greece and will also team up with Stefanos Tsitsipas in the mixed doubles. Here you can find the video of Sakkari's special moment with Team Greece:

Ηellenic Olympic Committee

@HellenicOlympic

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Μετά την Αλεξία Καμμένου και η Μαρία Σάκκαρη γιόρτασε τα γενέθλια της στο Ολυμπιακό Χωριό. Την τούρτα – έκπληξη της ετοίμασε το Αρχηγείο της ελληνικής αποστολής και μαζί με μία ανθοδέσμη, της ευχήθηκαν όλοι χρόνια πολλά. hoc.gr/hocnews/tourta…

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"Your captain speaking": Donna Vekic jokes about her journey to Paris

The 28-year-old Croatian shared a photo of herself in the airplane cabin, joking about her arrival at the Olympic Games: “This is your captain speaking, we have finally made it to Paris !!!!” Vekic initially experienced a flight cancellation to France but eventually managed to fly from Croatia to compete in the Olympics.

Vekic’s last tournament was Wimbledon, where she delivered one of the best performances of her career by reaching the semifinals of a Grand Slam for the first time, but was defeated by the 7th seed Jasmine Paolini. In Paris, she will be the 13th seed and will debut against the Italian Lucia Bronzetti.

Monica Puig reminisces about historic Olympic gold medal win

The former Puerto Rican tennis player retired in 2022 and has since worked as a Spanish-language commentator for tennis and baseball on ESPN. At 30 years old, Puig dealt with injuries for much of her career, but this did not stop her from achieving one of the most coveted milestones for an athlete: an Olympic gold medal.

In a field full of stars, Puig defeated players like Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Garbiñe Muguruza, Petra Kvitova, and Angie Kerber in the final. At 23, she became the first and only athlete from Puerto Rico to win an Olympic gold medal. The former Latin American star reminisced about her remarkable journey in Rio 2016 in an emotional video.