Jack Draper outlines British favourites, Alcaraz hits with football legend Ronaldo, while Eala takes centre stage as flag-bearer

In a new Daily Dose of Social Media, images arrive from the Miami Invitational, which featured several stars watching the match between Joao Fonseca and Carlos Alcaraz, but highlighting the moment when "The Phenomenon" Ronaldo Nazario—a tennis fanatic—was on court rallying with Alcaraz.

On the other hand, Jack Draper picked his favorites among British traditions, Alexandra Eala took center stage at the SEA Games opening ceremony for the Philippines, while Eugenie Bouchard surprised with an appearance at a fundraising event in Boston.

Before Carlos Alcaraz defeated Joao Fonseca at the Miami Invitational exhibition, the World No. 1 shared a very special moment with Ronaldo Nazario. One of the greatest strikers in football history and a huge tennis enthusiast, Ronaldo didn’t hesitate to attend the exhibition in Miami to watch the World No. 1 face off against his compatriot, the young star Fonseca.

Alcaraz wrapped up his exhibition tour across the United States this Tuesday with a victory against Brazilian Joao Fonseca and a meeting with another Rio legend: Ronaldo Nazario. The El Palmar native rallied a bit with the former Real Madrid footballer, exchanged numerous stories, and also took home a prized gift: a Brazil jersey signed by O Fenómeno himself. The event also featured a couple of other football stars in the audience: Inter Miami players Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba—two men who won multiple Champions League titles with FC Barcelona and who, over the weekend, were proclaimed MLS champions

Jack Draper responded to a "British Quickfire Questions" challenge, where he chose his favorites among different questions about British traditions and culture. The former World No. 5, for example, picked chicken pie as his favorite British food, while he surprised everyone with his choice of favorite British tennis player: 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu—or perhaps not too much of a surprise, given that they will team up in the upcoming United Cup.

This will mark a return to official tournament play for Draper, the current World No. 10, who hasn’t played a match since his exit in the US Open second round, when he had to retire due to injury. The 2025 Indian Wells champion hopes to return to the tour in good shape, and the United Cup will be the ideal stage to start gaining rhythm ahead of the first Grand Slam of the year at the Australian Open. Great Britain will compete in Group E in Perth, where they will face France (with Tsitsipas and Sakkari) and Japan (led by Naomi Osaka and with Shintaro Mochizuki as the male No. 1).

Alexandra Eala was the star for the Philippines at the opening ceremony kickoff for the 2025 SEA Games, after being selected to carry her national flag at the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand. The announcement was made by Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino on Tuesday (2 December), who confirmed that Eala was chosen alongside men’s volleyball player Bryan Bagunas.

“Popularity aside, Alex (Eala) and Bryan (Bagunas) have made impacts in the global sports community and that makes them the best choice to carry the flag in the SEA Games,” Tolentino said. “It was surreal! I think it was just good vibes to be with the whole delegation, and I am so blessed. It’s an experience of a lifetime," said Alex, who is the youngest flag bearer for the Philippines at 20.

The World No. 50 had a notable 2025 season, in which she won the WTA 125 Guadalajara, reached the final of the WTA 250 Eastbourne Open, and had an impressive campaign reaching the semifinals of the Miami Open, beating two Top-5 players like Iga Swiatek and Madison Keys along the way. Eala is preparing for the upcoming season, where she won’t have too many points to defend in the first couple of months of competition and will have a good opportunity to keep climbing spots in the WTA rankings.

Maria Sakkari posted a video on social media showing her training session ahead of the 2026 season. The [former] World No. 3 is already getting physically ready with the goal of returning to the top level next year, following a couple of seasons with irregular results that saw her drop in the rankings. After finishing three consecutive seasons inside the Top 3, Sakkari has lost consistency on the Tour; she finished 2024 as No. 32 and this 2025 season outside the Top 50 (barely No. 52), her worst year-end ranking since 2017.

It’s not all bad news for the Greek star, who managed to recover from a delicate moment towards the middle of the year, when she was close to dropping out of the Top 100. However, some wins in the final part of the year—such as the quarterfinals of the DC Open or the third round of the US Open—allowed her to regain spots in the ranking. Her first challenge of the year will be at the United Cup, where, just like in the last three editions, she will join Stefanos Tsitsipas to represent Greece—although this time her compatriot is also far from the positions they occupied in previous years, when they arrived as main favorites, with both positioned inside the Top 10.

Eugenie Bouchard was one of the guests at Boston Game Changers, a fundraising event for the Boston hospital that featured various guests from the world of sports and business leaders. Together, they managed to raise over $5.7 million for patient care and research at Boston Children’s. Some of the athletes who shared speeches included David “Big Papi” Ortiz, Zdeno Chara, Genie Bouchard, and Charlie Davies.