Today in our Daily Dose of Social Media, we review the most significant activities and Entertainment from ATP and WTA players. The stars of the WTA Finals gathered for the usual photoshoot ahead of the tournament, dressed in luxurious outfits, and attended the players' party, featuring Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Zheng Qinwen, and more. In the ATP, the stars reacted to an incredible point by Benoit Paire, which they even dared to call one of the best in history.
Emma Navarro and Naomi Osaka shared some insights, while Maria Sakkari returned to training. Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal and Paula Badosa joined in sending good wishes to the people of Valencia amid the terrible floods in the Spanish city.
Rafael Nadal extends his best wishes to the Spanish city of Valencia amid the severe floods—the worst in decades in Spain, with over 200 people reportedly dead, according to provisional government figures.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion was not indifferent to the tragedy, and like Paula Badosa, he shared a message on social media for those affected and the significant displays of solidarity that have emerged across the country in recent days. “Valencia. What we are witnessing: An example of solidarity from its residents 👏🏻,” Nadal wrote on his Instagram account. “Much encouragement and strength to all the victims affected by the torrential rains 💔❤️🩹🙏,” posted Badosa a day earlier.
Muchas personas están sufriendo y es fundamental que unamos fuerzas para ayudarles. Yo ya he hecho mi donación, y los animo a que consideren hacer lo mismo. Cada contribución, sin importar su tamaño, puede marcar una gran diferencia en la vida de quienes lo necesitan.🙏 Gracias
Miles de personas se han visto afectadas por la #Dana. Trabajamos las 24 horas para ofrecerles alojamiento seguro y cubrir sus necesidades básicas. Es momento de ayudar. Si puedes, ¡colabora!
Ons Jabeur got a photo with her idol Cristiano Ronaldo after attending the Al-Nassr match in the Saudi Professional League. The three-time Grand Slam champion has become one of the sports ambassadors in Arab countries and took advantage of her visit to Saudi Arabia to get a close look at the legendary footballer.
The former world No. 2 was in the VIP box and later entered the locker room to take a picture with one of her greatest inspirations. Jabeur has often expressed her love for football and was recently seen playing with Aryna Sabalenka at the Center Court of the WTA Finals.
No words needed🙏🥺 Thank you @Cristiano 😍
Emma Navarro shared a video on social media showcasing her daily life as a tennis player and the behind-the-scenes work required before stepping onto the court for tournaments. The video starts with Navarro playing at the Cincinnati Open, where she lost in the first round to Mirra Andreeva three months ago (2-6, 2-6).
However, the American included numerous clips of herself training, participating in media days, engaging with fans, doing post-training recovery work, and more. Navarro spent a good part of the year among the WTA Race’s top players, but she fell out of contention for the Finals in recent weeks after some tough results (first-round losses at the WTA 1000 China Open and Wuhan) and Zheng Qinwen's strong performance in recent months.
Maria Sakkari is back in training after more than two months since her last tournament. The Greek player was one of the most consistent over the previous three years, staying in the top 10 for over 150 weeks. However, a challenging 2024 marked by injuries has led to a significant drop in the rankings, which will leave her out of the top 30 by the end of the season for the first time since 2018.
A shoulder injury forced her to end her season early and take time for recovery. Her last match was in the first round of the US Open, where she had to retire against Wang Yafan after losing the first set 2-6. Sakkari is expected to return at the end of December at the United Cup, where she will team up with Stefanos Tsitsipas as one of the favorites to win the title.
Naomi Osaka shared a new photoshoot from her days in Hong Kong. The 4-time Grand Slam champion was one of the main stars confirmed for the Hong Kong Open, but an injury forced her to end her season early, with her last match being at the China Open, where she retired in the round of 16 against Coco Gauff (6-3, 4-6, ret.).
Nonetheless, Osaka kept her commitment to the WTA 250 tournament and traveled to Hong Kong, where she took part in pre-tournament promotional activities alongside other stars. The former world No. 1 also stayed a few extra days, exploring the city and continuing her gym workouts as she focuses on recovery, with her sights set on the 2025 season.
ATP stars reacted to one of the most incredible points in Paris Masters history, when Benoit Paire pulled off an almost impossible dropshot volley during his match against Gilles Simon. Back in 2015, Paire and Simon (the 14th seed) faced off in a second-round clash between French players, with Simon eventually winning in three sets. However, the match seems to have gone down in history thanks to Paire’s remarkable shot.
Currently ranked outside the top 300, the 35-year-old player remains active, mainly competing in Challenger tournaments. In fact, this week he was in Seoul, where he fell to Taro Daniel in the first round (6-7, 6-4, 7-5).
Among the stars reacting to the play were Carlos Alcaraz, Richard Gasquet, Alex De Minaur, Andrey Rublev, and others. “This one is one of the best touches that I’ve ever seen in tennis,” commented Alcaraz. “Benoit is also one of the most underrated talents, I think, on tour,” mentioned Alexander Zverev. Check out Paire's point and his colleagues' reactions in the ATP video below.
The twenty three stars of the WTA Finals posed in the iconic participant photoshoot and attended the players' party night as the final events before the tournament debut. The singles and doubles players were photographed by renowned New York photographer Jingyu Lin in the historic center of Diriyah.
The tournament brings together eight singles players and eight doubles teams, totaling 24 players, with Jasmine Paolini being the only competitor in both categories (so actually they are 23 players). The WTA Stars posed in elegant outfits by luxury brands alongside the trophy that will be awarded to the champion. Later, they attended the players' party, with photos from the event now appearing on social media.
The tournament will kick off this Saturday with the match between Su-Wei Hsieh and Elise Mertens against Nicole Melichar and Ellen Perez. Later, the singles round robin begins with world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka facing gold medalist from Paris 2024, Zheng Qinwen.
Singles players.
Doubles players.
From Ellen Perez’s Instagram story. Party time! 😍 #wtafinals
Elena Rybakina, her sister and all her team durinh players party at Riyad. #WTAFinalsRiyadh 📸jimmie48
Elena Rybakina enjoying the show at the WTA Finals Gala in Riyadh. ❤️ (via Ellen Perez IG)
