Despite the competitive atmosphere, Aryna Sabalenka and Paula Badosa took some time to entertain the crowd with their salsa dance moves ahead of their doubles match at the ongoing World Tennis League.
The World Tennis League is a mix-gender team event that features some of the sport’s biggest names. Sabalenka and Badosa are members of Team Kites, and the duo were slated to face off against the team of Mirra Andreeva and Sofia Kenin, who were representing Team Eagles.
Pre-match salsa routine delights crowd
Sabalenka and Badosa, who are close friends in real life, thrilled the crowd ahead of their match as they swayed to salsa music. Their camaraderie and chemistry translated to the tennis court, as the pair pulled off an easy 6-3 6-3 win over the Andreeva-Kenin duo.
Team Kites also includes ATP stars Grigor Dimitrov and Stefanos Tsitsipas, both of whom have played a role in edging the Kites to the top of the standings with 27 points.
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
Paula Badosa & Aryna Sabalenka dancing before their doubles match at World Tennis League 😂
It sure is nice to see Paula back on the court. ❤️
(via @popalorena)