Daily Dose of Social Media: Wedding postponed for glory, Kichenok and Ostapenko win US Open doubles

Today in our Daily Dose of Social Media, we review the most significant activities and Entertainment from ATP and WTA players. The victory of Jelena Ostapenko and Liudmila Kichenok in the US Open doubles was marked by the Ukrainian’s confession that she had to postpone her wedding to play the semifinals and final of the tournament.

On the other hand, Maria Sharapova joked on social media after her appearance in the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd for the women's semifinal matches.

Maria Sharapova joins the many stars who have visited Flushing Meadows to watch the US Open unfold. The former world No. 1 won her second Grand Slam title back in the 2006 US Open, when she defeated Justine Henin in straight sets.

It was recently announced that the former Russian tennis player is one of the candidates for induction into the Tennis Hall of Fame this year. Alongside her, the nominees in the “player” category include brothers Bob and Mike Bryan, and Canadian Daniel Nestor.

The 5-time Grand Slam champion was in the crowd for the women’s semifinal matches, where Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula secured their spots in the final. The official cameras caught Sharapova looking tense during the match, and the Russian humorously reposted the moment: “😅 I look like I just missed a second serve return on break point and saw my coach’s reaction 😆”

Jelena Ostapenko and Lyuda Kichenok were crowned champions of the US Open women's doubles this Friday, after defeating the pair of Zhang Shuai and Kristina Mladenovic in the final by 6-4, 6-3. The 7th-seeded duo did not drop a single set throughout the tournament and secured their first Grand Slam doubles title.

They had already come close earlier this year when they reached the Australian Open final together but lost to Elise Mertens and Su-Wei Hsieh.

After the victory, Kichenok, who is a doubles specialist, revealed that she was set to marry her boyfriend Stas Kumarsky, who is Ostapenko’s coach. "We had an appointment to get married this Wednesday, but I had the semifinals," Kichenok said during the trophy ceremony.

"It's a good excuse to postpone it a bit," said Ostapenko. "And now, win a U.S. Open and go get married, I think it's pretty great."

Both players also shared a message later on WTA's social media.

Anna Kalinskaya is once again present at Flushing Meadows to support her boyfriend, Jannik Sinner, this time during the Italian’s semifinal match. The world No. 1 faces Britain’s Jack Draper (No. 25) in Friday’s first match, aiming for his first US Open final.

Kalinskaya was eliminated in the third round by Beatriz Haddad Maia on Saturday, August 31. However, she has remained in New York, supporting Sinner through his impressive run in the tournament. The Russian is set to play in the WTA 500 Guadalajara Open, where she is the sixth seed. However, the tournament begins on Monday, so it remains to be seen whether Kalinskaya will make it in time.

If Sinner advances to the final, he will play on Sunday night, which may leave Kalinskaya with the decision to stay in New York or travel quickly to the tournament without proper preparation. The world No. 15 will be in a star-studded draw, featuring players like Zheng Qinwen, Maria Sakkari, Jelena Ostapenko, and Emma Navarro, among others.

Andy Roddick shared a photo with John Isner and Kevin Anderson in the US Open café area. The former world No. 1 joked about the ex-players, saying, “Literally why we play tiebreakers in slams now,” according to the 2003 US Open champion.

Both Isner and Anderson are known as two of the greatest servers in tennis history. Back in 2018, Isner and Anderson played the longest Grand Slam semifinal in history when they faced off at Wimbledon, with the South African winning after 6 hours and 35 minutes.

It is also the second-longest match in Wimbledon history. The longest match also involved Isner, back in 2010, when he played a total of 11 hours against Nicolas Mahut in the first round of the tournament.

ATP and WTA stars took part in an interesting Tennis Channel video where they answered the question, “Why do ball kids have the toughest job in sport?”. The video featured Naomi Osaka, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud, Ons Jabeur, and others.

"Players on court can be pretty demanding... Unfortunately, sometimes we don’t treat you guys as well as you deserve," said former world No. 2 Casper Ruud. "There’s always the threat of being hit by a big serve if we miss it and it’s out," he added.

"I feel there’s such a responsibility, to also know the exact rules, when to move, how to give the ball at the right times," said 3-time Grand Slam runner-up Ons Jabeur. "I just want to say thank you to everybody, ball boys and ball girls, for doing an amazing job."

"When we get a break and sit in the shade, you guys are out there holding the umbrellas for us, so you really get no break," commented Denis Shapovalov.