Sinner & Jabeur shine at F1 Abu Dhabi, Sabalenka beats Osaka in Atlanta as Anisimova links up with McEnroe

In a new Daily Dose of Social Media, the weekend was loaded with events, ranging from exhibitions to the F1 final. Stars from the ATP and WTA were present around the world, with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix featuring 4-time Grand Slam champion Jannik Sinner front and center, along with visits from Ons Jabeur and Stan Wawrinka.

On the other hand, social media was filled with the best images of Aryna Sabalenka and Naomi Osaka leading an exhibition in Atlanta—which also featured Nick Kyrgios and Ben Shelton—as Alex de Minaur celebrated his triumph at the UTS in London. Meanwhile, Amanda Anisimova met with John McEnroe prior to her appearance in an exhibition in New Jersey, and Paula Badosa shared a series of photos while preparing for her return from training in Dubai.

On Saturday night, one of the most anticipated exhibitions of the off-season took place, featuring World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka facing off against former No. 1 Naomi Osaka in a duel of Grand Slam champions at the Atlanta Cup. The victory went to the Belarusian by a score of 6-3, 4-6, [10-4], and both players shared several interesting moments throughout the day, where smiles and the good relationship between them were on full display.

It was the first of the exhibition duels held in Atlanta, followed by Ben Shelton taking on Nick Kyrgios on Court B—marking the Australian's first appearance in 9 months. The match ended with a win for the American World No. 9 by 7-6, 6-3 in a worthy performance by Kyrgios, who showed flashes of his talent, even treating the crowd to his trademark under-arm serves to surprise his rival. The event concluded with a mixed doubles match where Kyrgios paired with Osaka, while Sabalenka joined Shelton to close out the day.

While some played exhibitions during the off-season, others made the most of their free time, including Italian World No. 2 Jannik Sinner, who was in Abu Dhabi for the F1 Grand Prix finale. The 4-time Grand Slam champion arrived with his sports superstar status and was a center of attention off the track, posing for photos with various stars, including the former World Cup champion with Brazil and Ballon d'Or winner, Ronaldinho Gaúcho.

The Italian—a recognized F1 fanatic—took the opportunity to send a greeting on social media to McLaren champion Lando Norris, with whom he has met in the past. In fact, the British racing driver has previously congratulated Sinner on winning the Wimbledon title, and this time it was Sinner who, via his IG stories, congratulated Lando after witnessing from the front row the 4th F1 triumph of another of today's most standout athletes.

However, Sinner was not the only one from the tennis world present this weekend in Abu Dhabi. Former World No. 2 Ons Jabeur used her time away from the courts to attend one of the most important sporting events of the year. The 3-time major runner-up posed smiling in several photos, enjoying her free time after taking a pause in her career. A month ago, Jabeur announced her pregnancy, which will extend her time away from the courts, presumably throughout 2026, although the Tunisian herself has commented that she is not thinking about retirement and hopes for a return to the tour in the future.

Another attendee was 3-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka, who shared some photos on social media following a meeting with Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, a key figure in the cultural, tourism, and economic development of Abu Dhabi, UAE, serving as Chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) and a member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council. Stan was another who witnessed Lando Norris's triumph in Abu Dhabi up close.

Speaking of sporting events, one of the most significant upcoming events is the Winter Olympic Games in Milan 2026, which has already begun its final countdown. The Olympic torch began its 62-day journey on Saturday throughout Italy with a route through Rome that visited the Colosseum and the surroundings of St. Peter's Square, among many other points of interest in the Italian capital. While Jasmine Paolini had been one of the torchbearers on the first day—the first since Athens—this time it was former Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini who took charge of a part of the relay, which features a total of 164 torchbearers.

Another exhibition event that set the agenda over the weekend was the Ultimate Tennis Showdown Grand Final in London, which featured stars such as Andrey Rublev, Casper Ruud, and Alex de Minaur among those attending the tournament created by Patrick Mouratoglou. The London edition brings together the 8 best players of the year on the UTS Tour—which featured three events this year—and this Sunday, De Minaur was crowned champion after defeating Ruud in the final.

The Australian showed off some photos of his trophy on social media and celebrated his third UTS triumph—becoming the first to reach that number of titles—in addition to retaining the Grand Final trophy in London, repeating his feat from 2024 where he defeated Holger Rune.

Paula Badosa is preparing for her return to the courts for the start of the 2026 season, following a 2025 marked by injuries. The Spaniard had managed to return to the top 10 at the beginning of the year—after a great campaign reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open—but her lack of rhythm during the second part of the year, due to a relapse of her habitual back injury, caused her to fall in the rankings toward the end of the year.

The former World No. 2 maintains good spirits regardless and is preparing for a tough challenge at the start of 2026, where she is defending a large amount of points. She will seek to maintain her position, as she currently appears as World No. 25—although if she does not achieve a good campaign in Melbourne, she could lose almost half of her points, and even fall out of the top 80 in the event of an early defeat.

Amanda Anisimova surprised fans with a meeting with 7-time Grand Slam champion John McEnroe, after attending a training session at the legendary former player's Academy. The current World No. 4 in the WTA rankings shared moments with McEnroe after visiting his academy in Manhattan, as part of her preparation for her appearance at the Prudential Center. There, she will face her compatriot Jessica Pegula in an exhibition that will also feature stars Carlos Alcaraz and Joao Fonseca.