Serena Williams pays tribute to Wimbledon, Alcaraz stars in Mr. Beast video; as Andreeva gets giant panda gift

In a new Daily Dose of Social Media, Serena Williams stole the spotlight with photos of her white look for receiving an important award—paying tribute to the all-white outfits worn at Wimbledon, as she herself commented. Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz appeared in the most recent video by the renowned YouTuber Mr. Beast.

Meanwhile, from Riyadh—amidst the WTA Finals—Mirra Andreeva received a special gift from fans, a giant panda, while Aryna Sabalenka shared her joy on social media following her second consecutive victory—this time against Madison Keys—and moving closer to securing qualification for the semi-finals.

Serena Williams referenced Wimbledon in her social media photos after sharing a picture in a white dress, which she wore to receive an important award. The 23-time Grand Slam champion was in Oviedo, Spain, to receive the Princess of Asturias Award for Sports 2025, and participated in several events alongside the Spanish royalty. Her chosen outfit on this occasion apparently contained a reference to Wimbledon, a tournament she won 7 times.

The former World No. 1 has been retired for over 3 years, and her participation in major events and acceptance of awards is no surprise. The award honors a person or institution who, in addition to the exemplariness of their life and work, has achieved new goals in the struggle for self-improvement and has made important contributions to the promotion and diffusion of sport.

Several sports legends have received the recognition, including race car driver Carlos Sainz, Alpine skier Lindsey Vonn, and World Cup champion footballers Iker Casillas and Xavi Hernández. Williams won two titles in Spain during her career: the Madrid Open in 2012 (on the memorable blue clay) and in 2013 (back on traditional clay).

"What does one wear when they get an award from the King, Queen, and Princess of Spain?” she posted. “I decided to go with white...all white. The All England Club taught me well.”

Carlos Alcaraz was the protagonist of the most recent video by the famous YouTuber Mr. Beast, joining several athletes who have participated in the videos of one of the world's most relevant content creators. The 6-time Grand Slam champion used his visit to Riyadh for the Six Kings Slam to film a video where Mr. Beast, along with his friends, attempted to return an Alcaraz serve, showing the vast difference between a professional and an amateur.

The YouTuber has more than 79 million Instagram followers and over 450 million on YouTube, and has made videos with several important athletes, including footballers Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar, NFL legend Tom Brady, and 8-time world champion sprinter Noah Lyles.

The World No. 9 Mirra Andreeva received a special gift from a fan in Riyadh: none other than a giant stuffed panda, which was thrown to her from the crowd after her training session this Tuesday. The teenager failed to qualify for the singles draw—having been surpassed last week by Elena Rybakina—but she still traveled to the tournament to compete in the doubles draw with her usual partner, Diana Shnaider.

The Russian doubles pair is the youngest in the tournament, and their lack of experience perhaps caught up with them, as they were eliminated in the Round Robin. The 5th seeds debuted with a straight-sets loss to 3rd seeds Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe, while in the second match they lost in the third-set super tie-break, this time against Luisa Stefani and Timea Babos.

Daria Kasatkina reappeared after several weeks out of the public eye, sharing a post about her days off after concluding the season: "recharging p1," she wrote on Instagram. The former World No. 8 appears in several photos with her girlfriend, figure skater Natalia Zabiiako, just a few weeks before starting a well-deserved end-of-season break.

'Dasha' reported burnout in the final part of the season, which led her to end her year in late September, following a painful defeat at the China Open (3-6, 0-6), her third consecutive loss. The Russian player had, in fact, secured her last victory in late August in the US Open second round, defeating Kamilla Rakhimova in three sets.

Aryna Sabalenka celebrated her second victory at the WTA Finals on social media, remaining undefeated and moving closer to semi-final qualification. The World No. 1 recovered from doubts in the second set and finished with a comeback—winning 5 of the last 6 games played. The 4-time Grand Slam champion showed her usual sense of humor, posting a photo where she is seen soaring through the air to hit a forehand, to which she wrote: “The floor is lava challenge pt 2 🔥 @wtafinalsriyadh”

The 27-year-old player has already secured finishing the season atop the rankings, and her last goal for the year is to win the title in Riyadh, one of the tournaments still missing from her resume. The Belarusian reached the final in 2022, losing to Caroline Garcia, while reaching the semi-finals in 2023 and 2024—both times losing to the eventual champion, Swiatek and Gauff.

Jannik Sinner is already in Turin making final adjustments before beginning his participation in the ATP Finals. The Italian returned to World No. 1 this week—after winning titles at the Vienna Open and Paris Masters—although he will have a tough mission to defend it. He is defending 1,500 points as the 2024 champion, so he cannot add points. The Italian needs to defend the title undefeated and hope that Alcaraz is eliminated in the Round Robin stage.