Today in
our
Daily Dose of Social Media, we review the most significant activities and
Entertainment from ATP and WTA players. Roger
Federer was the special guest at the US Open and received a standing ovation
from the crowd as he watched
Aryna Sabalenka and Frances Tiafoe win their
quarterfinal matches at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The stars
of the US Open are back in a fun video, this time sharing their 'random
mid-match thoughts.'
Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka,
Jannik Sinner, and more
opened up about the things that distract them on the court.
From dinner plans to music: Tennis stars confess random court thoughts
ATP and WTA
stars participated in a fun video, shared by Tennis Channel, where they
revealed their “Most random mid-match thought?” With players like Iga Swiatek,
Jannik Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka, Frances Tiafoe, and others, they confessed during the US Open, what they think about on the court and the
distractions they deal with.
“How can I
choose only one?” commented World No. 1 Iga Swiatek. “What I'm gonna do in the
evening, where I'm gonna go after the match, where I'm gonna eat,” she added.
“Yeah, I'm
planning my dinner,” responded Aryna Sabalenka, laughing, while Arthur Fils and
Daniil Medvedev agreed with the WTA World No. 2: “To be honest, a lot of random
things. I think about what I'm gonna have for dinner,“ commented the Russian former
World No. 1.
Frances
Tiafoe, Jasmine Paolini, Tommy Paul, Jessica Pegula, and Holger Rune were among
those who highlighted that they think about music while playing. You can find
the video with all the stars' thoughts here:
Roger
Federer makes a star appearance at US Open night session
The 20-time
Grand Slam champion visited the US Open during the Tuesday night session. Roger
Federer, a five-time champion of the tournament, was the special guest during
the quarterfinal matches. First, he watched the women's match between Aryna
Sabalenka and
Zheng Qinwen, where the Belarusian player was overwhelmingly
superior, securing her spot in the semifinals for the third consecutive year
with a decisive 6-1, 6-2 victory.
Later, the
American Frances Tiafoe and Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov took the court. After
four hard-fought sets, Dimitrov could not continue due to an injury and ended
up retiring with the score at 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-3, 4-1.
Federer won
the title five consecutive times between 2004 and 2008, in addition to being
the runner-up in 2009 (loss to Juan Martin Del Potro) and 2015 (loss to Novak
Djokovic).
Chris Evert
and Andy Roddick address pronunciation dispute over Zheng Qinwen’s name
A user on X
criticized ESPN commentators for their pronunciation of World No. 7 Zheng
Qinwen's name. The user "Ratazana" tagged the network, explaining how
the 21-year-old player's name should be pronounced in Mandarin:
“Hey ESPN,
please let Mr. Drysdale, Ms. Fernandez, and Ms. Shriver know that Qinwen is
pronounced as ‘Chinwen’ (closest to the Mandarin pronunciation). Not ‘Kinwen’.
Please and thank you.”
18-time
Grand Slam champion
Chris Evert defended the way they have been pronouncing
Zheng's name over the past weeks. According to the former World No. 1, they
confirmed the correct pronunciation with the player herself: “We actually asked
her directly, and she gave us that pronunciation!”
2003 US
Open champion
Andy Roddick also weighed in, responding to Evert’s comment with
a sarcastic reply about the user: “Yes, but did you ask Ratazana on Twitter
before committing to what Qinwen told you to call her?”
Putintseva responds to ball girl controversy: "I was deep in my thoughts"
Yulia
Putintseva shared her thoughts on social media following the controversy
involving a ball girl. The Kazakh player faced boos from the crowd and
criticism on social media due to her behavior during her third-round match
against Jasmine Paolini.
While serving, a ball girl threw a ball to Putintseva, but
she remained still, repeating the action when the girl threw a second ball.
Finally, on the third ball, Putintseva reluctantly picked it up. After
receiving a wave of criticism, she has now shared her perspective on social
media.
“It’s kind of scary the way the world can judge someone from
just a 3-second video that someone posts from one side, without seeing the rest
of what was really happening,” she wrote. “At that time, the girl was giving me
the ball, which I didn’t even notice or so, because I was deep in my thoughts…
I was not trying to humiliate her (or anyone) by not taking this ball that she
was giving to me.”
“I cant
say, that i am perfect all my career. I am getting angry on court,pissed,saying
stupid stuff and curse like no tomorrow sometimes😂 Guilty for that. But i did never put myself “on top” of someone. Thats
just not me at all.”
“What
the Vlog” returns: Kasatkina shares sneak peek of US Open episode
Daria
Kasatkina drops a new teaser for “What the Vlog” in her US Open episode. The world No. 13 secured a
first-round victory against Jaqueline Cristian but then fell in the next match
to local player Peyton Stearns.
The Russian
tennis player had a disappointing hardcourt swing during the US Open Series
tournaments, with a poor 2-4 record. Just a couple of months ago, Kasatkina was
in the race to return to the top 10, but in recent weeks she has lost ground to
other contenders vying to enter or remain among the world’s top 10 players.
In addition
to her tennis career, Kasatkina has made a strong foray into the world of
social media with her video blog alongside her girlfriend, Natalia Zabiiako.
Together, they showcase the behind-the-scenes of the WTA Tour and have featured
some of the top stars of the tour.
In the
teaser for her upcoming episode, some of the players that will appear include
Mirra Andreeva (with her coach Conchita Martinez), Katie Boulter, Arina
Rodionova, among others.
Nadal’s sweet
moment with fan on Spanish TV program goes viral
Rafael
Nadal had a touching moment with a fan during his appearance on "El
Hormiguero." The popular Spanish television program featured the 22-time
Grand Slam champion as the star guest on the latest episode this Wednesday,
September 3rd.
A moment
shared on social media captured Nadal, while moving through the TV set,
interrupting the host to approach and greet some of the audience members,
causing one fan to react with shock and delight.
Alycia
Parks shares a glamorous photoshoot with Serena Williams
Alycia
Parks shared a special photoshoot with 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena
Williams. The world No. 117 has yet to fully demonstrate the potential she
showed during her junior years and failed to reach the main draw of the US Open
after falling in the second round of the qualifiers.
The
23-year-old player has repeatedly acknowledged that her great idol is Serena
Williams, and the former world No. 1 met with Parks during her visit to
Flushing Meadows, where she is promoting Serena's new makeup line,
"Wyn."
Alycia Parks captioned: “Everyone loves to @Wyn. Thank you
@serenawilliams for an amazing time getting dolled up, and it’s always fun
hanging with you.”