Halep works with Sinner in Dubai; Djokovic–Wawrinka hit with McLaren’s CEO as Nadal drops emotional Davis Cup throwback

In a new Daily Dose of Social Media, there were some partnerships between great champions, following a video of Jannik Sinner training with former world No. 1 Simona Halep in Dubai, while 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic was having fun alongside Stan Wawrinka and none other than the CEO of McLaren on the tennis courts.

On the other hand, Rafael Nadal posted an unknown photo on social media from when he was the flag bearer for the Davis Cup won by Spain exactly 25 years ago, while Joao Fonseca shared some postcards of his first clash against Carlos Alcaraz in Miami and his participation in the exhibition.

Jannik Sinner continues his preparation for the start of the season and trained today in Dubai with Romanian Simona Halep, who retired from tennis at the beginning of this year and used to be coached by Australian Darren Cahill, a member of the Italian tennis player's team with whom he will also continue in 2026.

Under his guidance, both Sinner and Halep, who reached the summit in October 2017, were number one in the men's and women's rankings, which is why Cahill himself posted a video on Instagram today showing them training together with the caption: "A duo of champions."

Cahill's presence was surely decisive in bringing Sinner together with Halep, especially because the Romanian, suspended for doping at the US Open in 2022 for four years (a sanction later reduced to nine months), questioned at the time the light punishment (three months agreed with WADA) that the Italian received for his double positive for clostebol in March 2024.

Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka were having fun playing tennis with none other than Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren, who had the fortune of enjoying time on the tennis court with the two multi-Grand Slam champions. Brown himself joked on his social media about his tennis partners: “Could not resist the chance to play alongside these absolute legends – thanks @djokernole and @stanwawrinka85 for the great sportsmanship - and for not completely kicking my ass on court. Between the 3 of us we have 27 Grand Slams 😂” he posted.

Recently, the former world number one highlighted the Swiss player's enormous career and lamented that he does not always receive the recognition he deserves within the tennis world. “He is underrated and underappreciated considering he is a three-time Grand Slam champion. People forget about him and what he has achieved. He has achieved more than 90% of players in the history of the sport,” Djokovic stated in a recent interview.

The Serbian and Wawrinka starred in memorable duels throughout the last decade, especially in the big tournaments, where the Swiss was one of the few capable of beating Djokovic in Grand Slam finals, just as happened at Roland Garros 2015 and the US Open 2016.

Joao Fonseca left some photos of his time in Miami at the Miami Invitational, where he faced Carlos Alcaraz for the first time. Despite being an exhibition, there were high expectations regarding the first duel between two players who promise to have repeated clashes in the coming years, with a Fonseca who has taken giant steps and seems like one of the names that will soon be threatening the dominance of Alcaraz (and Sinner) on the Tour.

The world No. 1 showed his credentials to one of the greatest hopes of South American tennis by incredibly coming back from a 5-0 deficit in the super tie-break, prevailing 7-5, 2-6, and 10-8, and taking the big ovation of the night on the court installed inside the MLB's Miami Marlins baseball field.

"Almost had it, guys,” mentioned Fonseca after finishing the match. “He has a little bit of skill, the guy is good, the guy is very good. It is a pleasure to be here, it is a pleasure to face Carlos, and also to play doubles. Very grateful to Carlos and congratulations."

Karolina Muchova dropped a ‘walks in off-season’ photo carousel on her social media. In an interesting series of snaps, the former French Open runner-up showed how she is spending her free time after the season ended, enjoying travel days in Hong Kong. The Czech player faced injuries again mid-season but managed to regain her physical form during the final part of the year, reaching the quarterfinals at the US Open and following up with a solid performance in the Asian swing, allowing her to finish the season as World No. 19.

Rafael Nadal shared a photo on social media amidst the celebrations for the 25th anniversary of Spain's first Davis Cup title. This Wednesday marked a quarter of a century since the Spaniards lifted the "Salad Bowl" for the first time, with players like Albert Costa, Juan Carlos Ferrero, and Alex Corretja defeating Australia in Barcelona.

There was a unique detail about that squad: when the team entered the court, they were led by a junior flag bearer—a very young, 13-year-old Rafael Nadal. The official Davis Cup accounts shared the photo, and the 22-time Grand Slam champion himself reposted the memory from his X account with a simple emoji: “👀”