Daily Dose of Social Media: Swiatek and Alcaraz join Nadal's tribute as Big Four shares emotional reunion

In a new Daily Dose of Social Media, the tribute to Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros stole the show, featuring a Big Four reunion thanks to the presence of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray on court. Additionally, Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek met in the stands to closely follow the homage.

Meanwhile, Aryna Sabalenka and Mirra Andreeva posed in a unique t-shirt during their training, while ATP and WTA stars picked their respective male and female title contenders.

The tribute to Rafael Nadal was undoubtedly the highlight of the second day of Roland Garros. The 14-time French Open champion was joined by his greatest rivals: Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray, who were present on court to join the tributes to Nadal and pose for several photos with him.

A total of 69 Grand Slam titles have been won by these four players – 22 of them by Nadal. Nadal now joins the already retired Federer and Murray, with only Djokovic remaining as an active player. Nevertheless, it was a new occasion to see the Big Four reunited, with Nadal this time, leaving his career behind.

Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek were also present at the tribute ceremony. The Pole – a four-time French Open champion – has always highlighted Rafael Nadal as her ultimate idol, and so far, she has followed in Nadal's footsteps as a dominant force at Roland Garros for the past three consecutive years. They were in the stands together with Juan Carlos Ferrero – Alcaraz's coach – and members of their respective teams. The two defending champions also took a selfie together, posing with the 'Merci Rafa' t-shirt distributed throughout the stands.

WTA tennis players picked their favorites to win the men's title, with a clear favorite among them, but also room for surprises. Madison Keys leaned towards world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, while Italy's Jasmine Paolini had some doubts. "I would like to see Sinner or Musetti... but I don't know, I'm thinking maybe Carlos Alcaraz... but hopefully no," she said laughingly.

World No. 6 Mirra Andreeva clearly backed her compatriots: "Maybe Andrey Rublev, maybe Daniil Medvedev, maybe Karen Khachanov, because I really like their personalities. I feel like Carlos should also defend his title. No pressure, I just feel like it would be nice to defend the title here in Paris."

Others who gave their opinions included Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka, Zheng Qinwen, Jessica Pegula, among others, who also offered their dark horse selections within the draw.

ATP players also weighed in on their favorites for the women's title, a tough decision that divided the male players even more than their female counterparts. Americans largely backed their compatriot Coco Gauff as the future champion, with Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, and Ben Shelton all supporting her. Arthur Fils also highlighted the American's "big athlete" qualities.

Casper Ruud and Jannik Sinner leaned towards Poland's Iga Swiatek. "Iga usually plays good here, moving well on clay. So I'm going with her," stated the world No. 1. Many others – led by Carlos Alcaraz and Jack Draper – opted for the female world No. 1, Aryna Sabalenka.

Aryna Sabalenka participated in a Q&A session where she highlighted the best players she has faced, naming Serena Williams and Iga Swiatek. She also didn't hesitate to pick Belgium's Elise Mertens as her best doubles partner. The world No. 1 answered several questions, also revealing her best match played, her favorite title, and her opinion on the tennis GOAT. The Belarusian debuted in the tournament this Sunday with an easy win against Kamila Rakhimova with a 6-1, 6-0 score, easily securing her spot in the second round. This was the 18th consecutive time Sabalenka has won her first main draw match at a Grand Slam. She aims to defend her quarter-final run from 2024, where she fell to Mirra Andreeva (7-6, 4-6, 4-6).

During a training session at Roland Garros, Sabalenka met with the Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva for a practice, a meeting between two players with high expectations for the tournament. However, they particularly drew attention for a photo they took after training, where both are seen wearing the same Nike shirt, in tribute to the world No. 1 Sabalenka. Andreeva wore the shirt, which features a photo of Sabalenka with her arms raised in triumph, and they happily posed together on the Roland Garros courts.