Daily Dose of Social Media: Paolini delights a ball kid, while Paul & Navarro go wild with dice challenges

In a new Daily Dose of Social Media, the final stages continued to be played in both the men's and women's draws, still with several amusing moments from the stars who remain in competition. In a fun game during Media Day, Tommy Paul and Emma Navarro faced off in an on-court challenge with giant dice, which determined the challenges they faced.

On the other hand, local favorite Jasmine Paolini filled the local fans with smiles, and a ball kid who was next to the Italian created a special moment with an unforgettable smile while standing near the rest chair of the two-time Grand Slam runner-up. Meanwhile, Zheng Qinwen also generated smiles after a peculiar mishap in her on-court interview following her elimination of Aryna Sabalenka from the tournament.

A sweet little girl stole the spotlight on the official Rome Open broadcast cameras at the beginning of the match between Jasmine Paolini and Peyton Stearns. The young ball kid was positioned next to world No. 6 Paolini, the highest-ranked local female tennis player, and the girl couldn't hide her happiness, with an evident smile upon seeing the two-time Grand Slam finalist so close.

Surely even greater was the joy after seeing the local hero achieve her passage to the final of the Italian Open, becoming the first local woman to do so since Sara Errani reached the final in 2014 against Serena Williams. Paolini took the victory against Stearns 7-5, 6-1 and this Saturday will seek her second WTA 1000 title, while still waiting to find out her opponent, who will emerge from the winner of Zheng Qinwen and Coco Gauff during the afternoon of Thursday, May 15th.

Emma Navarro and Tommy Paul engaged in a friendly tennis match that quickly escalated into a fierce battle of skill and wit. Navarro, fresh off her triumphant run at the Merida Open, faced Paul in a unique challenge where the roll of a die determined their next moves on the court.

“It’s a tie-break to seven, but every two points we’re going to roll the dice. The number gives us each a difficulty modifier, telling us how we have to play the next two points,” stated Paul, who recently reached the semifinals of the tournament for the second consecutive year.

With Paul emerging victorious in a tie-break to seven, the match was full of unexpected twists and turns as the die dictated rules like ‘The Back of the Court is Lava’, leaving Navarro at a disadvantage. Despite her best efforts, Navarro fell to Paul with a score of 8-6, leading to a playful exchange between the two players.

ATP and WTA stars responded to a round of questions and answers, where the question of the day was ‘who would you choose as your stylist among your colleagues’. One of the main picks was female world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, a known enthusiast of the fashion world. “I like the way that she dresses, and I feel like she has a good taste. Don’t let me down on this one, I like my outfit, so I need it,” commented Berrettini after choosing the 3-time Grand Slam champion.

On the other hand, the same Italian tennis player was another one mentioned by his colleagues for his fashion style, with Holger Rune, Alex De Minaur, and Alexander Zverev among those who chose him. “Matteo or The Queen,” stated Jessica Pegula, referring to the Paris 2024 gold medalist Zheng Qinwen.

Zheng Qinwen experienced a funny moment in her on-court interview at the Rome Open after defeating Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals. The 22-year-old tennis player managed to overcome a streak of 6 consecutive losses against the Belarusian and reached the semifinals of a WTA 1000 for the fourth time in her career, after a notable 6-4, 6-3 victory. The Paris 2024 gold medalist received congratulations from the interviewer, including a greeting in Italian, and the ovation of the local crowd after one of the best wins of her career.

“Thank you very much and congratulations again! Grazie mille e e congratulazioni!,” the interviewer concluded, speaking in Italian. However, Zheng did not understand the last part of what was said to her, asking for a repetition: “Sorry what did you say?” Zheng said, smiling as she didn't realize the message was in Italian.

The stars of the Rome Open starred in an interesting video called ‘GladiaTour’, where in the style of a Hollywood movie teaser trailer, the stars featured in some fun clips, including the presence of Carlos Alcaraz, Aryna Sabalenka, Jannik Sinner, and Jasmine Paolini, among others.

The tournament will hold the men's semifinals this Friday, with Jannik Sinner facing Tommy Paul, while on the other side Carlos Alcaraz and Lorenzo Musetti will star in the second semifinal. Meanwhile, the women's final will be played on Saturday – with Jasmine Paolini as the protagonist against the winner between Zheng/Gauff – while Sunday will be the last day of the tournament with the men's final.

Marta Kostyuk participated in a WTA video showing a more personal side of her day off from competition. The world No. 27 had a busy week at the Rome Open, reaching the quarterfinals after straight-set victories against Leylah Fernandez, Daria Kasatkina, and Alexandra Eala. However, she ended up falling to Aryna Sabalenka – just like two weeks prior in Madrid.

The 22-year-old began by showing the outfit she would wear on her day off. “Hi guys, Marta Kostyuk here. Come get ready with me on my day off,” the Ukrainian starts by saying. “The base of my outfit today is this beautiful Khaite dress that I purchased in New York last year during the US Open,” she mentions while showing her dress.

Kostyuk has no tournaments on her schedule for the upcoming week, so she will return directly at the French Open, the last major challenge of the clay-court swing. The Ukrainian will be the 27th seed at the tournament, where she only reached the second round in 2024.