"Elena Rybakina is blushing";"Everywhere except football field": Fans amused by Neymar Jr's surprise appearance in Kazakh's WTA Finals opening match

Fans online expressed their amusement and curiosity as Neymar Jr. made a surprise appearance at the 2024 WTA Finals ahead of Elena Rybakina's much-awaited return against Jasmine Paolini. The Brazilian soccer icon conducted the coin toss before the Purple Group clash.

On Saturday (Nov. 2), Rybakina returned to action after over two months as she faced Italy's Paolini in their WTA Finals campaign opener. Before their match, the pair were greeted by Al-Hilal star Neymar on-court. The Brazilian forward got pictures clicked with the tennis stars before conducting the coin toss.

Notably, he was also present during the Six Kings Slam exhibition event where he met Carlos Alcaraz and was gifted a racket by Rafael Nadal. There was a mix of excitement and disbelief among fans on X at Neymar’s recurring cameos in the tennis world.

"Neymar has been in more tournaments than Kyrgios this year lol," one fan joked.

"They get little girls to do this bit all year and then Neymar gets to join in for no reason 😭" another fan wrote.

Multiple fans referred to the Brazilian's prolonged absence due to injury with one fan writing:

"Mans everywhere except a football field"

"He really be everywhere but playing football lol," another fan wrote.

One fan felt Elena Rybakina was blushing upon meeting the soccer star. They wrote:

"LoL see how Rybakina is blushing 😂"

One fan posted a polar bear meme to humorously capture their shock, highlighting the unexpectedness of Neymar showing up in the tennis world. They captioned the meme:

"Neymar at wta finals"

Eventually, Paolini managed to win on her WTA Finals debut 7-6(5), 6-4. Despite ending in straight sets, this match was a tightly contested battle.

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"It’s good to see Elena Rybakina back on tour" - Jasmine Paolini after her WTA Finals debut win over Kazakh

Jasmine Paolini (L), and Elena Rybakina at the WTA Finals 2024 (Image: Getty)

Elena Rybakina last played a professional match at the end of August at the US Open. She has barely played in the second half of the season due to several health issues and injuries.

However, at her WTA Finals campaign opener, she put up a tough fight against Jasmine Paolini. The first set, which lasted over an hour, came down to the wire. The Kazakh initially led with a mini-break in the tiebreak, but the Italian surged ahead, ultimately securing the set 6-2.

In the second set, Paolini achieved the decisive break for a 4-3 lead, which she maintained to clinch the victory.

"It’s amazing, I’m really happy with the win today," the World No. 4 said after the match (via Tennis Channel). “All tough matches here, and Elena, she’s playing unbelievable. It’s good to see her back on tour."

"It’s always tough to play her, big serve, big forehand, everything is big—I mean, she’s hitting the ball so strong, so I’m happy how I managed to play this match. And it wasn’t easy, because it’s my first time here at the WTA Finals. I'm very happy with the win," she added.

In the first match of the day, Aryna Sabalenka defeated Zheng Qinwen in straight sets. The Purple Group consisting of Sabalenka, Zheng, Rybakina and Paolini will play their second round-robin matches on Monday (Nov. 4).