4 tennis players and their famous pets

Arjun
Caroline Wozniacki with her pet Pomeranian Bruno
Caroline Wozniacki with her pet Pomeranian Bruno

Tennis at the outset is physically a very demanding sport. The tennis season is long and practically there is very little off-season time for the players as even during the off-season they are expected to hone their skills, rectify weaknesses etc. in the run-up to the succeeding season.

The 4 Grand Slams, numerous other tournaments at the Masters level, ATP 500 and ATP 250 Tour Level tournaments coupled with the ITF's Team event -- the Davis Cup all make the schedule extremely cramped. Players and their respective teams have to constantly travel around the world living off a suitcase. This is something they have to do in addition to the numerous events that they have to attend for their sponsors.

There have been many cases of players suffering from fatigue and injuries due to burnout. Most notable example that comes to mind is Brit Andy Murray who literally played in every tournament in his remarkable 2016 season. The consequences were to be seen as Murray has battled injuries over the past couple of years and is yet to reach the high-level that he achieved in 2016.

So how do the tennis players spend whatever little time they get during the break or off season? Well, a number of tennis players have a pet; the most popular ones being dogs, of course there are a few felines and other animals too. Some even have their own Twitter and Instagram accounts.

This slideshow is exclusively dedicated to the pets of 4 such tennis players who leave no stone unturned in showing off their prized possessions:


#1 Andy Murray

Murray and his wife Kim Sears taking their dogs out on a walk
Murray and his wife Kim Sears taking their dogs out on a walk

Scot Andy Murray is very fond of his two Border Terriers, named Rusty and Maggie May. Murray named one his Terriers 'Rusty' after his all-time favourite player, Australian Lleyton Hewitt. Maggie May was named after the song of the same name by legendary music artist Rod Stewart. Maggie May has now her own Twitter account with over 30,000 followers.

#2 Andy Roddick

Andy Roddick with Billie Jean King and his dog named after the legend
Andy Roddick with Billie Jean King and his dog named after the legend

Retired American tennis star Andy Roddick is an out-and-out dog lover. He even spearheads a campaign called "Call for Incredible" which is a stage to demonstrate dogs' athletic abilities in Olympic style events.

"I've been a dog person my entire life. I grew up with dogs. My mother-in-law rescues dogs. We (Roddick, wife Brooklyn Decker and young son Hank) have two English Bulldogs. Their names are Billie Jean and Bob Costas," said Andy in a recent interview.

"Billie Jean, the dog, was named after Billie Jean King. She knows about it and asks for photos all the time," Roddick said of the famous tennis star of yesteryear. "With Bob Costas, I think simple human names for dogs is kind of funny. I also think it's funny for dogs to have first and last names. So when the vet calls, they say, 'Bob Costas' is ready to be picked up.' That's just funny to me," said Roddick referring to his second dog.

#3 Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova with her pet dog Dolce
Maria Sharapova with her pet dog Dolce

Maria Sharapova is one of ten women to have completed a Career Slam in tennis. She also has the best companion -- her Pomeranian named Dolce.

Dolce even featured in commercials for camera giant Canon along with Sharapova. Dolce actually means “sweet” in Italian. Maria Sharapova adopted Dolce back in 2006. In August 2012, Sharapova was seen at the LAX airport on her way to New York City to launch a line of her own sweetened candies called Sugarpova. She was also spotted carrying a bag and a small crate where she was carrying Dolce.

Since 2016, Sharapova has been sharing pictures of her and a cute Bernese Mountain Dog. This dog is named Bruiser and has become good friends with Sharapova and Dolce.


#4 Caroline Wozniacki

Caroline Wozniacki had to endure a lot of tough times to get to where she is today. From a break-up with golfer Rory McIlroy to whom she was engaged to contemplating retirement, Wozniacki has come a long way and her persistence paid off when she won the Australian Open in 2018.

Wozniacki is also a dog-lover and when she was dating McIlroy, the couple adopted a Pomeranian named Bruno. After their split, the former World No. 1 got custody of Bruno and has since been regularly posting photos on social media of the two of them bonding and having fun. Bruno appears to be a natural in front of the camera, even doing a classic model head tilt on one occasion. Wozniacki even takes Bruno to court whenever she has practice.