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. With one Instagram post announcing her grass-court return, Serena Williams set tennis alight.
"Thrilled and excited" - Jabeur ready to be by Serena's side
The biggest news of the week came from Serena Williams, who, with one Instagram post, broke the Internet. The 23-time Grand Slam champion is returning to tennis for the grass season, and Ons Jabeur is one of the players most excited to see her.
The Tunisian world No. 4 will be Williams' doubles partner in her comeback event in Eastbourne next week, and was "over the moon" when she got the news that the all-time great wanted to play with her.
Jabeur is set to join an exclusive club: only four players not named Venus (Alexandra Stevenson, Martina Navratilova, Alison Riske and Caroline Wozniacki) have ever played doubles with Serena.
Stephens heads to the White House
In addition to her success on the court, 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens has grown into a leader off the court, from her time on the WTA Players' Council to her mental health advocacy. This week, Stephens had the honor of introducing U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris at a White House event, the launch of a task force designed at combating online harrassment and abuse.
Stephens is no stranger to the administration: In February, she joined a virtual roundtable to discuss mental health and wellness in the Black community in celebration of Black History Month.
Auger-Aliassime, Fritz, Schwartzman headed back to Laver Cup
In May, Roger Federer's agent Tony Godsick announced that the Swiss champion plans to compete for Team Europe at the 2022 Laver Cup in London in his return from a knee injury, and Rafael Nadal also committed. We now know three of the players who'll compete against them there: Felix Auger-Aliassime, Taylor Fritz and Diego Schwartzman have confirmed their participation for Team World in a series of Twitter posts.
Launched in 2017, the Laver Cup is the tennis equivalent of golf's Ryder Cup, pitting Team Europe and Team World against each other over the course of three days. Team Europe has won every edition of the competition so far.
Roland Garros champion Arevalo honored by El Salvador
Last month, Marcelo Arevalo became the first man from Central America to win a Grand Slam when he and Jean-Julien Rojer won the men's doubles title at Roland Garros. The 31-year-old was recently given a hero's welcome when he returned home, as he was awarded the country's highest honor by El Salvador's president Nayib Bukele.
Andreescu, Venus celebrated
June's a great month to be born if you want to be a Grand Slam champion: both Bianca Andreescu (June 16) and Venus Williams (June 17) had their special days this week. At the bett1open in Berlin, Andreescu turned 22 in style: She and Sabine Lisicki won their doubles quarterfinal match on her birthday, and the tournament celebrated accordingly by serving her a cake.
(Lisicki, the 2013 Wimbledon finalist, is playing her first WTA event since 2020 in Berlin after recovering from a torn ACL.)
Coco asked, they answered
How do you pick a doubles partner if you're Coco Gauff? You open your DMs. After a stellar Roland Garros campaign that culminated in her reaching both the singles and doubles finals, the American teenager is already looking forward to the grass-court Grand Slam—and who she'll play with when she gets there.
When asked in Berlin who she's chosen, Gauff played it close to the vest. Looks like we'll all find out in two weeks when play begins at the All-England Club.
