Zverev’s behind-the-scenes moment, Djokovic celebrates 101 titles with dalmatians as Andreescu chills after a tough year

In a new Daily Dose of Social Media, the ATP Finals are the event of the week and Alexander Zverev brought a behind-the-scenes look at his preparation for the tournament's welcome players' party. On the other hand, Novak Djokovic celebrated his 101st title in Athens with a fun photo next to Dalmatians, in a reference to the famous movie.

Separately, Bianca Andreescu shared some photos of her vacation days, while doubles stars Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe announced their separation after two and a half seasons together and two joint Grand Slam titles.

Alexander Zverev shared a video showing his preparation routine for the start of the ATP Finals event, where the stars gathered in formal attire for the player’s party to kick off the year-end tournament. "We are in Turin, getting ready for the official photographs for the Nitto ATP Finals," Zverev mentions at the start of the video, as he shows the clothes he will be wearing for the event.

The World No. 3 started his ATP Finals campaign in the best way, achieving a victory against Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6(8-6). The German saved three set points in the second-set tie-break and secured the win in straight sets, which puts him in a great position ahead of his upcoming matches against Jannik Sinner and Felix Auger-Aliassime in pursuit of a spot in the semi-finals. Zverev is the most experienced player in the tournament this time, with seven previous participations and titles in 2018 and 2021.

Novak Djokovic celebrated his 101st title with a unique photo from the Acropolis in Athens, where he appears alongside several Dalmatian dogs—a clear reference to the famous film. The 24-time Grand Slam champion was crowned on Sunday at the Hellenic Championship after defeating Lorenzo Musetti in the final—coming from a set down—4-6, 6-3, 7-5. The Serb used extreme resources but ultimately took his second title of the season and secured his World No. 4 ranking.

The Serb secured his qualification for the ATP Finals weeks ago, but ultimately decided to withdraw—according to official reasons due to a shoulder injury—and ended his season in Athens, the city where he has resided for a few months. The Serb recently spoke about his potential retirement, assuring that he still has a few years of competition left, setting the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games as his likely retirement date, an event where he will already be 41 years old.

With the WTA Finals and a new season of the women's Tour concluded, the announcement of the separation of an emblematic doubles pair has arrived. They were present in Riyadh last week: Gabriela Dabrowski (No. 10) and Erin Routliffe (No. 8) decided to end their partnership ahead of 2026, after more than two years together. They had a highly successful association, with 7 titles together—including the US Open (2023, 2025) and the WTA Finals (2024).

However, today, they joined in an Instagram post to announce their separation ahead of the 2026 challenges, anticipating a new season where several partnerships are expected to re-form. Just a few days ago, Asia Muhammad and Demi Schuurs—others who were in Riyadh—also announced their separation.

“2.5 years. Titles, tears, and triumphs. A rollercoaster of emotion no one could have predicted. A business partnership comes to its end, and a friendship remains,” DAbrowski posted on Insrtagram. “We want to thank every person who has supported us through our journey on tour together. Through our stubbornness you encouraged us to keep an open mind. Through our tiredness you held space for rest and resets. Through our injuries you trusted us to come back stronger. Through our desire to be better, you helped us win Slams. We couldn’t have achieved anything without all of you. We love you.”

Bianca Andreescu reappeared on social media to share some photos of her vacation days, while she awaits her return to the courts for 2026. Injuries have not left the former US Open champion alone, causing her to miss the first three months of the season—and then another couple of months during the American hardcourt swing during the US Open Series.

The Canadian managed a return to the courts in the Asian Swing, though without much success, ending the year with three consecutive main-draw losses (she also played the Wuhan qualifying, with one win and one loss that kept her out of the main draw). Andreescu finished the season with a poor 10-12 record and barely ranked at World No. 228.

Lorenzo Musetti regretted the loss in his ATP Finals debut after falling to Taylor Fritz in the Turin opener. The local player entered at the last minute after the withdrawal of Novak Djokovic—just hours after the Serb defeated him in the Hellenic Championship final and mathematically left him out of Turin. However, Nole opted to withdraw, and Musetti entered at the last minute, but ended up paying dearly for the little adaptation time he had in Turin—besides being the only player who competed in the week prior to the ATP Finals.

fter playing the Athens final on Saturday, he was already making his debut against Fritz this Monday, in which the American claimed the victory 6-3, 6-4. The Italian still has chances to advance, although he faces a difficult challenge ahead, as he will face Alex de Minaur and Carlos Alcaraz.