Watch: Tennis stars get cozy with kangaroos, koalas and other Australian species
As is tradition, organizers of the Australian Open brought animals to the players’ lounge Tuesday, giving tennis stars from across the world a chance to pet the many species of the Outback.
While some of these species were furry, cute ones, others were of the venomous variety – but properly trained to engage with regular humans.
American star Sloane Stephens was particularly excited to pet a koala, sharing a photo of her gleeful self holding the furry creature after her first-round victory over Olivia Gadecki.
Mirra Andreeva – the 16-year-old prodigy from Russia – was thrilled to make her acquaintance with a baby rock-wallaby, a bigger koala and a python.
Meanwhile, men’s World No. 5 Andrey Rublev was caught nuzzling with a koala and later holding a python across his shoulders. The latter pose got fans on social media speculating if he was trying to recreate Britney Spears’ 2001 MTV Video Music Awards moment.
Several other players had a blast meeting a hedgehog, a lizard and members of the kangaroo/wallaby family.
For years, organizers of the Australian Open have brought animals to the Rod Laver Arena. In 2018, Roger Federer – the winner of that year’s men’s singles title – shared a photo of himself and a quokka that went viral on social media. The photo inspired Rafael Nadal to recreate a similar pose with a quokka two years later, propelling the essential “Who did it better” question.
Here's hoping the date with the animals inspired the players to produce riveting tennis over the next few weeks, as Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka defend their respective singles titles. Both defending champions put away their first-round opponents Sunday and will now return to the court for their second-round matches on Wednesday.
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