Welcome to this week's edition of "Hot Shots," a USOpen.org-curated look at what you may have missed on social media over the past week. While clay-court action in Madrid continued, some of the most notable moments last week came from players currently away from the tour.
Sofia Kenin is on the road to recovery. While her peers are competing at the Mutua Madrid Open, the 2020 Australian Open champion shared an encouraging update regarding her latest injury hiatus on social media this week: She's off crutches and back in the gym.
The former world No. 4 has been sidelined since March's BNP Paribas Open, and has fallen down to No. 151 in the WTA rankings. She pulled out of the Miami Open citing an ankle injury and will also be sidelined for the duration of the clay-court season, including the French Open, as she continues to rehab.
While Kenin's getting ready to get back on court, Serena Williams is playing coy about her own return. The 23-time major champion was a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show last week where she dished on many topics, including her daugher Olympia's tennis lessons, but one comment certainly raised fans' eyebrows.
Asked by DeGeneres if she's playing much tennis herself lately, Williams, whose 2021 season ended abruptly when she was forced to retire due to injury in the first round of Wimbledon last summer, said: “I haven’t played recently, but I’m actually going to get back on the court in a couple days.”
While Serena was in-studio, Venus was hitting the red carpet. She and fellow former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki were among the guests at the invitation-only charity Met Gala at New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art, which raises money for the museum's Costume Institute.
Tennis hits the Met often: Naomi Osaka co-chaired last year's gala while US Open champion Emma Raducanu and finalist Leylah Fernandez were among the celebrity guests.
Wozniacki stepped out with husband David Lee, a former NBA player, on her arm while Williams arrived with comedian Amy Schumer and rubbed shoulders with actress Janelle Monáe.
Back at tournaments, the action in Madrid is winding down: Ons Jabeur and Jessica Pegula will play for their first WTA 1000 singles title in Saturday's championship, while Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev all remain in contention for the men's title as quarterfinal play begins Friday.
Even if Alcaraz doesn't come away with the trophy on home soil, though, he's already had a Madrid to remember: the Miami champion doubly celebrarted his 19th birthday on Thursday with a Round of 16 win against Cameron Norrie, and an on-court cake.
