Jacob Ganz
Tennis stars have been opening up on social media during the shutdown. Here’s a summary.
- Roger Federer started a wall volley challenge which quickly took off across the internet. https://twitter.com/rogerfederer/status/1247511322067185665
- Rafa Nadal sported a full beard and showed off his culinary skills. https://twitter.com/RafaelNadal/status/1249749650128674817
- Serena joined in a light-hearted workout with comedian Amy Schumer as they exercised with weighted alcohol bottles. https://pagesix.com/2020/03/27/venus-and-serena-williams-join-amy-schumer-for-alcohol-curl-workout/
- Williams also used her quarantine to spend more time with her daughter. https://twitter.com/serenawilliams/status/1234841704324370434
- Kristie Ahn has become a TikTok star, posting many an inventive, hilarious videos – a star is born. http://baseline.tennis.com/article/88397/kristie-ahn-TikTok-Evan-King-Jamie-Loeb-coronavirus, https://twitter.com/kristieahn/status/1250479555216846854, https://twitter.com/kristieahn/status/1250129190785081350
- Andy Roddick asked for an on-air broadcast “internship.” The Tennis Channel gladly obliged. His commentary has been a bright spot amidst the gloom. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2882872-andy-roddick-asks-tennis-channel-for-job-offers-to-intern-at-home-amid-covid-19.
- Roddick declined to take up Federer’s volley challenge. Instead tweeted this chippy challenge: “Let me know if there’s a chip/push backhand and hope someone misses, while holding serve routinely challenge.” https://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2020/04/federer-backboard-challenge-andy-kim-murray-100-volley-friendly-competition/88344/
- Maria Sharapova shared her personal cell phone number and the recently retired and usually very private star invited fans to text her. She got over 2.2 million views in 40 hours. https://twitter.com/MariaSharapova/status/1246908924344725505
- Coco Gauff accepted Federer’s volley challenge, completing it while wearing her little brother’s football helmet. https://twitter.com/CocoGauff/status/1248018975197286402
- Novak Djokovic and his wife Jelena touted their flexibility in an acro yoga challenge https://twitter.com/DjokerNole/status/124942526309772084
- They comfortably handled Murray’s 100 volley challenge https://twitter.com/DjokerNole/status/1248610451044200455
- And their foundation donated $1.1 million to Serbian hospitals https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/29038849/novak-djokovic-praised-italian-health-authority-donation
- Andy Murray and his wife Kim created a 100-volley challenge on social media, leading some to wonder if Kim would be teaming up with Andy for the next mixed doubles tournament. https://twitter.com/andy_murray/status/1248230648160059392
- Stefanos Tsitsipas had fun reading sentences in different languages from French to Russian to Portuguese. https://twitter.com/StefTsitsipas/status/1246839078907248643
- Nick Kyrgios added a new tattoo to his collection, a sleeve featuring hoopsters Lebron James and Kobe Bryant. https://wwos.nine.com.au/tennis/nick-kyrgios-tattoo-kobe-bryant-lebron-james-nba-tribute/d121cb12-1b2d-434e-8abb-b040fd88d61c
- Stan Wawrinka takes home the award for the funniest ATP player as he posted photos of himself going to his own birthday party and on assorted other adventures. https://twitter.com/stanwawrinka/status/1249756177447227394, https://twitter.com/stanwawrinka/status/1246498650848714758, https://twitter.com/stanwawrinka/status/1242183889218568193
- Andre Agassi’s foundation announced that they will be matching donations to help combat Covid-19. https://twitter.com/AndreAgassi/status/1244708357031620608
- Patrick McEnroe tested positive for Covid-19 on March 31st. https://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/news/Tennis_Interviews/86369/patrick-mcenroe-i-m-waiting-on-another-test-to-confirm-i-m-not-positive/ His condition improved and he posted videos showing him completing both Murray’s and Federer’s volley challenges. https://twitter.com/PatrickMcEnroe/status/1249060248561819653, https://twitter.com/PatrickMcEnroe/status/1249102048827592705
- John Isner joked that the Covid lockdown may last longer than his marathon match with Nicholas Mahut. https://twitter.com/JohnIsner/status/1248974886455980040
- Billie Jean King, a part owner of the Dodgers, honored her fellow pioneer Jackie Robinson by wearing a Dodgers themed mask on her afternoon walk. https://twitter.com/BillieJeanKing/status/1250578622232092672
- King partnered with the Women’s Sports Foundation and Yahoo Sports for a virtual panel of star female athletes to encourage girls to keep “exercising and playing.” https://www.wtatennis.com/news/1655139/-wekeepplaying-billie-jean-king-superstars-join-together-to-inspire
- King posted a photo of her family’s virtual seder. https://twitter.com/BillieJeanKing/status/1248035379141320704
- Martina Navratilova has been active on Twitter with scathing critiques of President Trump for his response to Covid-19. https://twitter.com/Martina.
- And Chris Evert has also been outspoken and has had wonderful weekly Instagram conversations with the students at her academy https://twitter.com/ChrissieEvert?s=20
- Eugene Bouchard agreed to go on a date with a fan on Instagram in exchange for a donation to provide meals to healthcare https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/tennis/article-8213501/Eugenie-Bouchard-agrees-3-800-charity-date-fan-provide-meals-healthcare-workers.html
- Venus Williams joined Grigor Dimitrov for a workout. https://www.atptour.com/en/news/venus-dimitrov-instagram-live-april-2020
- Gigi Fernandez offered free pilates classes, a free instruction ebook and helped raise funds for an ICU https://www.gigifernandeztennis.com/
- Naomi Osaka posted a Tik-Tok mocking her father. https://twitter.com/Luke16572469/status/1249499133561303041?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1249499133561303041&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.essentiallysports.com%2Fnaomi-osaka-makes-fun-of-her-father-in-a-funny-tik-tok-video-wta-tennis-news%2F
- Bianca Andreescu virtually visited a children’s hospital. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2020/04/14/bianca-andreescu-encourages-sickkids-patients-with-tips-for-keeping-morale-high.html. Bianca also published a self-isolation diary in Fashion Magazine. https://fashionmagazine.com/wellness/bianca-andreescu-self-isolation-diary/
- Madison Keys teamed up with the WTA for a Kindness in Crisis Auction to raise funds for families for struggling families. https://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/news/Tennis_Stories/85733/madison-keys-and-wta-charities-join-forces-for-covid19-relief/
- Sloane Stephens and her fiance – soccer star Jozy Altidore – comfortably handled Andy Murray’s 100-volley challenge. https://twitter.com/SloaneStephens/status/1250443149845069824
As for us, Inside Tennis posted pieces on coping with crisis, Indian Wells, Wimbledon, the Joy of Tennis, the World According to Andre Agassi and Yogi Berra at InsideTennis.com
