Welcome to the latest edition of “Hot Shots,” a USOpen.org-curated look at what you may have missed on social media over the past week. After Carlos Alcaraz and Marketa Vondrousova won the Wimbledon singles titles, players and fans alike are looking forward to the US Open.
For Denis Shapovalov and Mirjam Bjorklund, US Open preparations took a backseat this week to a far more personal matter. On Thursday, the tennis power couple announced their engagement on social media after Shapovalov proposed in Bjorklund’s native Sweden.
The pair, both 24, began dating in 2019 and are now set to become the latest tennis tandem to tie the knot. Canada’s Shapovalov reached the US Open quarterfinals and broke into the Top 10 in 2020, while Bjorklund, ranked inside the WTA’s Top 150, made her New York debut last year in the US Open Qualifying Tournament.
The couple got engaged in Bastad.
Daria Saville married fellow Aussie tennis pro Luke Saville in 2021. While she is lucky in love, the former singles world No. 20 is in search of a doubles partner for the US Open.
Offers from fans came flooding in, as did suggestions of fellow WTA stars to team with. Former doubles world No. 1 Rennae Stubbs, now an ESPN analyst, also threw her name into the hat.
Hiring for a doubles partner for Us Open. Dms are now open for applications. Reach out for more information.
— Daria Saville (@Daria_gav) July 20, 2023
In addition to looking ahead to the 2023 US Open, the WTA is looking back this year in celebration of its 50th anniversary. To honor the occasion, the International Tennis Hall of Fame launched a new “Transcending Tennis: 50 Years of the WTA.”
If you can’t make it out to Newport, visit the digital exhibit on the ITHF website.
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That’s not the only attraction at the ITHF this week. On the ATP side, the storied site is hosting the Hall of Fame Open, where top seed Tommy Paul and John Isner will square off in an all-American quarterfinal on Friday.
Isner advanced to the quarters at the US Open Series event with a straight-sets win against eighth seed Corentin Moutet, who tried a behind-the-back serve as he struggled to find answers against the American’s powerful game.
This week, our #WTA50 look-back takes us to the site of the first US Championships in 1881: the International @TennisHalloFame in Newport, RI!
Re-live the consequential moments in both women’s tennis and the women’s rights movement in the link below 🔗👇#JustStarting
— wta (@WTA) July 18, 2023
Isner also chimed in on Twitter, poking fun at himself for missing the easy return. Fortunately for him, the trick serve was out.
While the tactic didn’t work for Moutet in Newport, that didn’t stop him from recommending it to Pavel Kotov after seeing his underarm serve backfire against Andrey Rublev.
it's go time pic.twitter.com/JIyONerFzD
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) July 17, 2023
Might we see another behind-the-back attempt at the US Open? We’ll find out soon enough.
With Wimbledon in the books, it’s full steam ahead to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, with the US Open Series already underway in Newport. US Open tickets are available here.
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