Daily Dose of Social Media: Draper spotlights Alzheimer’s awareness as Raducanu teams up with new fitness coach

Jack Draper participated in an emotional interview where he discussed his efforts to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s, a disease his grandmother—one of the greatest influences on his career—suffers from. Also in London, Emma Raducanu met with her new fitness coach and shared their first selfie together.

In a new Daily Dose of Social Media, we take a look at the most notable moments of the day from the ATP and WTA Tours, this time as players enjoy the off-season. Highlights include Stefanos Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa posing with personalised pizzas featuring their names in Dubai. All this and more, coming up!

Emma Raducanu has appeared in her first selfie with her new fitness coach, Yutaka Nakamura, who recently joined the 2021 US Open champion’s team. Nakamura’s mission is to help Raducanu overcome the injuries that have plagued her career. In her comeback 2024 season, Raducanu rose from outside the top 300 to world No. 57, although she had to withdraw from several tournaments due to both physical issues and her low ranking, which prevented her from qualifying.

Raducanu suffered ligament sprains during the WTA 500 Seoul Open, forcing her into a nearly two-month break. She returned at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, showcasing a high level of performance by winning all three of her singles matches.

The Brit is aiming high for 2025, and the hiring of Nakamura—a renowned fitness coach who has previously worked with Maria Sharapova and Naomi Osaka—is a clear statement of her intentions to compete at the top of the Tour while maintaining physical consistency.

Jack Draper spoke in an interview with the BBC about his close relationship with his grandmother and her battle with Alzheimer’s. The British No. 1 recently took part in a Memory Walk to raise awareness of this degenerative neurological disease.

"I always know she's there in spirit, even if she can't always understand what's going on," Draper told the BBC. "She got Alzheimer's about 11 years ago now and has been on a slow deterioration over the last 11 years. Really tough to see. She was a huge part of my development growing up. In terms of my tennis, also just being an amazing grandma. Always had a trick up her sleeve when she was younger. She'd say, 'Get that ball toss up, Jack.’"

"This is still something I'm trying to do now. I'm 22 years old and 15 in the world. Maybe I need to start listening to what she used to say back in the day. Just an amazing woman. I know she'd be incredibly proud of this walk, where I'm at with my tennis, and hopefully who I am as a person as well.”

Draper has just finished his best professional season as one of the Most Improved Players of the year. He claimed two ATP titles and reached the semi-finals of the US Open, his best Grand Slam performance so far, finishing the year inside the top 15.

Paula Badosa and Stefanos Tsitsipas were spotted in a photo enjoying a meal together in Dubai, complete with personalised pizzas bearing their names. The tennis couple is gearing up for the 2025 season, making the most of the off-season to spend time together before the demanding ATP and WTA Tour calendars kick off.

The pair, who have been dating for about a year and a half, recently enjoyed a European holiday but are now training in the United Arab Emirates. Badosa is preparing to start her season at the Brisbane International, beginning on 29 December, where she will enter as the 5th seed in a star-studded draw featuring Aryna Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula, and Emma Navarro, with eight top-15 players competing.

Meanwhile, world No. 11 Stefanos Tsitsipas will represent Greece at the United Cup, partnering with Maria Sakkari for the third consecutive year. The 26-year-old will travel to Perth, where Greece is set to face Spain (featuring Pablo Carreño Busta and Jessica Bouzas Maneiro) and Kazakhstan, led by Elena Rybakina and Alexander Shevchenko, in the group stage.

Distracting themselves with toys appears to be a hobby adopted by several tennis players during their free time, and Nicolas Jarry is no exception. This season, players like Iga Swiatek and Barbora Krejcikova shared their passion for building Lego sets as a way to unwind. Meanwhile, a recent photo of Nicolas Jarry shows the Chilean player calmly assembling a miniature car.

Jarry had a rollercoaster season, reaching his first Masters 1000 final with an impeccable performance at the Rome Open, where he seemed ready to make the next big leap on the Tour. However, some injuries hampered him in the second half of the year, where he managed just three wins in his last 15 matches.

Jasmine Paolini is eagerly anticipating her return to Melbourne for the Australian Open, reflecting on her favourite moment at the year’s first Grand Slam. Entering the tournament as a two-time Major finalist and the 4th seed, the Italian will undoubtedly be among the title contenders this season.

“My favourite moment of the Australian Open was the first round this year because, before that, I had never won a match at the Happy Slam,” laughed the world No. 4, who defeated Diana Shnaider 6-3, 6-4 in her 2024 Melbourne debut. Paolini advanced to the fourth round, where she suffered a heavy defeat to Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya (4-6, 2-6).

The 28-year-old will kick off her 2025 season at the United Cup, teaming up with world No. 32 Flavio Cobolli, 22, as they aim to bring glory to Italy. The duo will be among the favourites, especially after Italy secured both the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup titles to close out 2024.