Daily Dose of Social Media: Behind the scenes at UTS – Rublev, Ruud, and De Minaur joking around

In a new Daily Dose of Social Media, the clay swing is now entering its first week, and the ATP stars are getting ready for the first big challenge at the Monte-Carlo Masters. While the players went through their preparation week, several big names attended the Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) in Nîmes – including Andrey Rublev, Casper Ruud, and Alex de Minaur – and a video on social media shows a fun behind-the-scenes moment.

Meanwhile, in Monaco, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, and Matteo Berrettini were among the stars spotted on the practice courts this Saturday ahead of the tournament’s start.

Alex De Minaur chose his favourite stadiums in a recent video for the Ultimate Tennis Showdown, following his first clay matches of the season. The World No. 10 decided to participate in the UTS exhibition, as he has in several previous editions, as preparation for the Monte-Carlo Masters. The Australian was the 2024 UTS champion after completing all the stops of the tournament and the Finals.

Recently, De Minaur participated in a Q&A session where he had to choose his favourite venues to play. The Australian had to decide between UTS London’s Central Court and Oslo, although he was also asked about several iconic ATP Tour venues, including Philippe-Chatrier, Brisbane Centre Court, and Rod Laver Arena, among others. Check out his answers from the former World No. 6 below.

The last weekend of the UTS was particularly special, as it was the first edition held on clay courts and took place in an ancient Roman coliseum in France, built 2,000 years ago, in front of more than 12,000 people. While the UTS continues to gain relevance in the tennis world (with a prize pool of over $420,000 on this occasion), the official social media shared a behind-the-scenes look at the best moments that took place off the court.

Andrey Rublev and his new coach, former World No. 1 Marat Safin, joked behind the scenes, but they were not the only ones. Tomas Machac, Alexei Popyrin, and Casper Ruud were also seen chatting in the locker room, offering a close-up look at the players off-court.

Three-time Grand Slam finalist Casper Ruud claimed the tournament title after defeating Tomas Machac in the final (12-13, 16-14, 15-14, 15-11). On the same Saturday, the Norwegian had defeated Andrey Rublev in a tight match (11-14, 8-17, 15-13, 18-12, 3-2), while Machac had surprised Australian Alex De Minaur (12-13, 12-11, 6-20, 17-13, 2-1).

The Norwegian lifted a Lightning bolt - the trophy for the champion - at the end of the tournament in the Colliseum Arena of Nimes.

World No. 15 Arthur Fils stole the spotlight during his practice sessions ahead of his Monte-Carlo Masters debut. The 20-year-old showcased his football skills while controlling a tennis ball on the practice court. The Frenchman will debut this Monday, April 7th, against Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor, marking his second participation in the tournament.

Fils has been a standout this year, reaching the quarterfinals at both Indian Wells and the Miami Open, including a recent win over World No. 2 Alexander Zverev, his most significant victory in terms of ranking and his 6th win over a Top-10 player in his few years as a professional. A post shared by the official tournament accounts and Tennis TV even joked that Fils could be a new signing for AS Monaco, competing in France's Ligue 1.

On Saturday, the stars of the Monte-Carlo Masters put the final touches on their preparations for the first Masters 1000 of the clay-court season. In a 56-player draw, the first round kicks off this Monday, while the top eight seeds receive a bye and will debut in the Round of 32 starting Tuesday.

Several players were spotted training on Saturday, as captured by the tournament’s official social media accounts. These included Novak Djokovic training with Daniil Medvedev, as well as sessions from Carlos Alcaraz, Matteo Berrettini, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Félix Auger-Aliassime.

The defending champion is Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has triumphed in Monte-Carlo in 2021, 2022, and 2024. In last year’s surprising final, he defeated Casper Ruud 6-1, 6-4. Despite both being strong clay players, their 2024 semifinal wins were upsets—Tsitsipas took down World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, while Ruud ousted 24-time Grand Slam champion and two-time Monte-Carlo winner Novak Djokovic.

Alex Michelsen stole the spotlight in a fun video where he hilariously impersonated Frances Tiafoe during the US Men’s Clay Court Championships. Both players competed this week in their first clay-court tournament of the season—what better place to start than at home, right after finishing the Sunshine Double in Miami.

Both picked up early wins in Houston and ended up facing off in the quarterfinals, where “Big Foe” claimed victory 7-5, 6-1 to reach the semifinals. Tiafoe will now meet fellow American Brandon Nakashima (4th seed) as he aims to reach the final for a third straight year. He won the title in 2023 and was runner-up in 2024, losing to Ben Shelton.

After Michelsen’s spot-on impression, the tournament media team showed the clip to Tiafoe, who laughed heartily and agreed that the young star had nailed his mannerisms and speech. Watch the video below!