Follow Up Friday: Liars, Bagel Lovers and the Genie Obsession

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| Genie Bouchard: The Ever Rising Star |

While most would agree that 2014 has been Canadian-born Eugenie Bouchard’s most successful year, the WTA – or should I say Stacey Allaster – has had a lingering obsession with this teenage dream ever since she clinched the Junior Girl’s Wimbledon title in 2012. This year marked her first Grand Slam final debut, appropriately at the 2014 Wimbledon Championships, where she faced a purple-patch Petra. Though she didn’t quite capture the Sharapova dream (falling to her knees without a phone signal in sight), it’s fair to say Bouchard has worked hard to prove tennis is her first and foremost priority.

So what does this have to do with social media? The WTA announced their monthly Player of the Month polls via Twitter on Tuesday. In a month that saw Petra reach back-to-back finals in Wuhan and Beijing, claiming the former, and Sharapova claiming the latter, it’s little surprising both were nominated for Player of the Month. Nominated for the Rising Star of the Month were – shock horror – Genie Bouchard, along with 20-year-old Spaniard Garbiñe Muguruza and Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina. Reaching the Wuhan final may have given the Canadian a leg up, but October marks the 4th time she’s won in that category, sparking an outcry within the Twittersphere. Let’s not forget that she’s ranked no. 6 in the world.

What are your thoughts about Genie-gate? Leave a note in the comments!

| Serena Slams CaroLiar |

Serena Williams has been known to share her most honest feelings via her many social media platforms. Does anyone remember the iconic ‘I Made You’ tweet posted after her Australian Open defeat to Sloane Stephens? Another spark to catch fire saw Serena directly tweet her long time friend on tour, Caroline Wozniacki. While she didn’t have an out-and-out Twitter brawl, it was made clear the two had a little altercation. I can only assume it was a minor falling out as both are still friends. But this is Follow-Up Friday, and a minor fallout is good enough for me. Serena apologized to Wozniacki for evidently calling her a “liar,” lamenting her mean friend qualities, which was shortly followed by a forgiving response from the Dane. Some news outlets suggested the two were fake feuding, causing drama for drama’s sake. But who cares? Everyone loves a cat fight.

| Berdych The Bagel Collector |

It’s not often that a player can publicly admit their failures. That’s exactly why I love following the trials and tribulations of world No.7, Tomáš Berdych, on twitter. A known comedian on social media, the Czech star unabashedly posts dubious photos of himself receiving massages in uncompromising positions. This week, Berdych made the obvious obvious following his quarterfinal defeat to Gilles Simon at the Shanghai Masters. The scoreline? 76 46 60.

The response?

| Nole Launches E-Store For Charity |

World No.1 Novak Djokovic took to Twitter this week to announce the launch of his new e-store via his official site. Djokovic is giving his fans the chance to purchase some of his on-court equipment in collaboration with his sponsored brand Uniqlo. The proceeds will go to the Novak Djokovic Foundation, a charity that creates education and health projects for disadvantaged children in Djokovic’s native Serbia. It isn’t the first time the Serb has felt charitable. Earlier this year he donated his total prize money from winning the Rome Masters to victims of the Balkans floods. It must always be said how he’s an excellent ambassador both on and off the court.