Daily Dose of Social Media: Swiatek trains hard in Poland, while Alcaraz and Djokovic shine with kids in Riyadh

Today in our Daily Dose of Social Media, we review the most significant activities and Entertainment from ATP and WTA players. In the midst of the Six Kings Slam, the stars had a day off, with Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic as the main figures in a tennis clinic alongside children in Riyadh. At the same time, Iga Swiatek is training hard in Poland before traveling to Riyadh to compete in the Finals.

On another note, the behind-the-scenes footage from the Wuhan Open featuring Aryna Sabalenka and Zheng Qinwen as the main stars has been released, Frances Tiafoe reviews highlights from his career, and Stan Wawrinka celebrates his best run in years— all this and more in a new social media recap.

Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz participated in the Kids Tennis Clinic in Riyadh during the Six Kings Slam. The world No. 3 and No. 4 players were the main stars on a tournament rest day, interacting with dozens of children as they hit balls, took photos, and signed autographs.

Both players still have matches scheduled this Saturday to determine the tournament's outcome. Alcaraz defeated Rafael Nadal in straight sets on Thursday, advancing to the final, where he will face world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the battle for the trophy and over $6 million in prize money for the champion. Meanwhile, Djokovic will face Nadal for third place in the match preceding the final.

The WTA shared a new video following the Tour’s stop at the Wuhan Open. The tournament returned after a four-year absence, once again featuring Aryna Sabalenka as the star, who claimed her third consecutive title. In the final, she faced Zheng Qinwen, the first local player to reach the tournament final in its seven editions. Sabalenka won 6-3, 5-7, 6-3, extending her unbeaten streak in Wuhan to 17-0.

However, it wasn’t just the Belarusian who caught the local crowd’s attention. “I’m really happy with how I played in Beijing, and obviously I hope to carry it on here in Wuhan. But you know, either way, I’m super proud of how my Asian swing went,” said 2023 US Open champion Coco Gauff upon her arrival. “The fans here are crazy and amazing and so excited. It’s nice to have them here cheering for all of us,” added 2-time Grand Slam runner-up Jasmine Paolini.

With footage both on and off the court, the WTA bids farewell to the last WTA 1000 of the year as the top stars begin wrapping up their season. There are still two weeks left before the start of the WTA Finals, where the top eight players of the season will compete for one final trophy.

The ATP shared a funny video starring Casper Ruud, where they showed a photo of the Norwegian to people on the streets, and they tried to guess what his profession is. The participants in the video were not tennis fans, so they gave some hilarious answers, and it stood out that many of them repeatedly said Ruud looks like a “finance guy.”

Later, some of Ruud’s colleagues reacted to the public’s responses. Featuring Felix Auger-Aliassime, Arthur Fils, Marcos Giron, and Jakub Mensik – along with Ruud himself – most seemed to agree with the answer linking the Norwegian to finance, though others speculated about other professions. You can watch the full video below:

Novak Djokovic took advantage of his days in Riyadh to participate in several promotional activities. The 24-time Grand Slam champion received an incredible reception from fans in Saudi Arabia and expressed his enthusiasm for playing the Six Kings Slam this week. The Serbian shared several photos on his Instagram, where he appeared like any other tourist in various places around the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Djokovic debuted on Friday in the exhibition tournament but couldn’t overcome world No. 1 Jannik Sinner. The Italian had a spectacular start, but Nole managed to recover and fought until the end, though he ultimately lost 2-6, 7-6(0), 4-6. Nevertheless, he still has a match for third place against none other than Rafael Nadal, which will be their last encounter with Nadal as a professional tennis player, as he announced his retirement for the end of the season at the Davis Cup Finals.

Stan Wawrinka isn’t giving up on the Tour and has returned to the semifinals of an ATP tournament. The 3-time Grand Slam champion is showing great form again, with three consecutive wins, although the latest one was probably the most special as he defeated Andrey Rublev (No. 7), his best victory since 2022.

The Swiss player celebrated his great moment on social media while competing at the Stockholm Open, where he had already beaten strong opponents like Brandon Nakashjima and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. His next rival will be American Tommy Paul (4th seed), and if he wins, he could play in his first hardcourt final since 2019.

Frances Tiafoe reacted to the best shots of his career. In a video shared by the ATP, the American world No. 15 revisited some important moments from his career, featuring clips that date back to his early days at the Next Gen ATP Finals in 2019.

“One of my favourite points, I played a great week, it was a final and I could’ve easily put this ball away and just won the point, but seeing him run up and back was pretty funny. Twice. So yeah, and the crowd loved it,” he mentioned regarding a great rally against Alexander Zverev in the final of the Vienna Open 2021.

The video also includes highlights from matches against players like Emil Ruusuvuori, Lorenzo Musetti, Milos Raonic, among others.

Iga Swiatek is not wasting any time as she prepares for the last tournament of the year at the WTA Finals, training at high intensity in Poland before traveling to Riyadh. The 5-time Grand Slam champion skipped the Asian swing amid changes in her coaching team, deciding to part ways with Tomasz Wiktorowski and bringing in Wim Fissette as her new coach in search of new strategies. The Belgian coach has an impressive career, having coached several of the most notable WTA stars of this century: Victoria Azarenka, Kim Clijsters, Simona Halep, Naomi Osaka, Petra Kvitova, Angelique Kerber, and now he adds Iga Swiatek to his remarkable roster.

The world No. 1 last played at the US Open, where she fell in the quarter-finals to Jessica Pegula. Not having played any tournaments since then, she has lost ground in the WTA Race to Aryna Sabalenka, who seems determined to reclaim the world No. 1 title by the end of the year at the WTA Finals, while holding a slight advantage to achieve it. Swiatek will be one of the favourites as the defending champion.