No matter if you are an ordinary Tom, Dick or Harry or an eminent person, everyone has a weakness for a furry critter.
Even tennis players have succumbed to the charms of these animals and keep them as pets.
A number of well-known tennis players own a pet; the most popular ones are dogs, naturally but there are a few felines and other animals thrown into the mix. So let’s explore the unique relationship between the players and their pets.
1.Novak Djokovic
Trending
The “Djoker” as he is so fondly called, is the proud owner of 2 poodles Pierre and Tesla. Pierre even has his own Twitter account and was even featured in the Vogue magazine. 7 year old Pierre is described as a calm and distant dog, 2 and ½ year old Tesla is more playful and loves to cuddle.
Bonus Fact: Pierre is gluten free like his owner. He even has his own passport with the necessary documents.
2.Andy Murray
Murray owns 2 border terriers, named Rusty and Maggie May.
The Scot is very devoted to them and explained the origins of their names. Rusty was named after the legendary Lleyton Hewitt, who was Murray’s all-time favorite player.
Maggie May was named after Andy’s favorite song of the same name by Rod Stewart.
Bonus fact: Maggie May “writes” articles for Tennis Space.
3.Juan Monaco
The Argentinian player has 2 German Shepherds, named Pincha and Duvan. Duvan is apparently the naughtier of the two because according to Monaco’s stories on Twitter, Duvan loves a good dip in his owner’s swimming pool.
This is actually quite a headache for Juan because Duvan sheds quite often and the hair clogs up the pipes. That brings up a rather amusing story where Duvan actually got loose, one baking summer’s day and dove into a pool at a nearby spa while all the tourists were still in. when Monaco was informed of the incident he “nearly died of embarrassment!”
4.Venus and Serena Williams
While both Williams sisters are devoted to their pooches, older sibling Venus goes one step further by letting her Havanese train alongside her in sessions.
According to Williams, Harold doesn’t even like tennis but win or lose, he always remains happy to see her. Harold is really quite a pampered pooch because he loves being carried around in her handbag. Serena owns a Jack Russell called Jackie as well as a Maltese called Lorelei.
5.Santiago Giraldo
The Colombian owns 2 border collies, 4 year old Miel and 6 year old Limon. Giraldo says that every time he comes home they commence jumping and gamboling around him.
He even said that he wasn’t sure if they were happy to see him, or dreading the long walks that now awaited them. Santiago revealed that although they seemed energetic, the long walks always sapped their energy so they spend the rest of the day lolling about in the house.
6.Maria Sharapova
Sharapova’s dog Dolce is regarded as one of the most famous celebrity pets, because it even featured alongside her in commercials for Canon.
Dolce is a Pomeranian, they are usually highly protective and territorial with their owners – and Sharapova relates that her dog is much the same.
7.Alexandr Dolgopolov
Going away from canines and kicking off the feline list is the Ukrainian Dolgopolov who owns a wild cat – an African Serval by the name of Pablo who is 2 months old.
Although Pablo has been tamed, he still had a tendency to bite, Dolgpolov tweets.
8.Roberto Bautista Agut
The Spaniard was gifted a horse called Baguira at the young age of 10 on Christmas Day. Roberto was always an equestrian, so his jubilation was unimaginable when he first laid eyes on Baguira.
Since then he has gone on to own many more horses!
9.Andy Roddick
The now retired American named his dog Billie Jean after the legendary Billie Jean King. According to Roddick, the English bulldog has low self esteem issues and constantly needs pampering so Roddick has to always faun over the bulldog and “tell her she is beautiful”. Roddick’s wife Brooklyn Decker even revealed that Billie Jean was pretty jubilant when Roddick announced his retirement
10.Vasek Pospisil
The Canadian used to own 2 golden retrievers named Majka and Sunny. Pospisil said that Majka was the better guard dog of the 2 and Sunny on the other hand was the complete opposite.
But one thing Sunny had going for him was that he was a good “actor” who would echo his mother Majka’s barks and pretend like he was also helping guard the house. But on less exciting occasions he was as lazy as a log, said Pospisil.
Another ace up his paw was that Sunny was always ready to take over Pospisil’s Instagram account!
Venus Williams and Father Richard recall one match that 7-time Grand Slam champion "should have won"
