Venus Williams is back at the Australian Open for a remarkable 22nd main-draw appearance, this time arriving as a married woman after a Palm Beach ceremony last month with Andrea Preti. The former world No. 1 discussed the meaning of celebration and commitment at her Media Day press conference, with Preti watching from the seats.

“Well, the day is a celebration,” Williams said. “The commitment comes long before. It’s kind of like getting here. It’s the celebration of arriving and getting to actually play. The training happens long before.

“It’s just our opportunity to celebrate with family and friends and to create lasting memories.”

Williams confirmed her engagement at the start of her summer comeback at the Mubadala Citi DC Open, where Preti accompanied her to her first tournament in more than a year. At 45 years old, she won a round in both singles and doubles at that event. After a September ceremony, the couple were officially wed in a week-long celebration close to home in Palm Beach, Florida.

“I can’t describe how beautiful, calm, sacred, exciting, and exalting it was,” Venus told Vogue in December. “It was just a dream.”

Between planning the celebration with Jennifer Zabinski of JZ Events and preparing for Melbourne, Williams accepted a wild card and drew Olga Danilovic in the first round. On the training that preceded her return she said, “Yeah, I was training nonstop those three months. There were periods where I was super busy so I’d have to take a week off here or three days off there, but for the most part I was training and trying to get myself back in the groove.”

Since accepting the wild card, Williams lost two tight matches at the ASB Classic and Hobart International. She made her Australian Open debut in 1998 and, at 45, insisted her outlook remains unchanged.

“I’m definitely the same person. I definitely, like, I had my head on straight. It’s still on pretty straight.

“That’s the thing about sport is you keep stepping up to the line, and while there is nothing to prove, it’s all about the attitude and the effort. No one can control that. Controlling that part is really the win.”

Coco Gauff spent media day insisting a new sports drama is worth the attention of her peers and her mother. Since arriving for the Australian Open she has been urging colleagues to sample Heated Rivalry, the six-episode adaptation that debuted at the start of the November off-season and dramatizes a long-running romance between fictional hockey stars Shane Hollandar and Illya Rozanov.

“I’m their number one fan, I think,” Gauff said when asked about her enthusiastic social posts. One of those posts read, “heated rivalry…. lemme give you your 10s 🫡 👏🏾” and her praise has been steady across conversations on tour.

Gauff described how the show first caught her attention: “I just kind of saw people talking about a hockey show, a gay hockey show. That interested me,” she said during her Australian Open Media Day press conference. “I was like, ‘Oh, six episodes, perfect.’ I just dove, like, right in.

“Obviously, there’s some nice spicy scenes. It’s such a beautiful love story, I think. I think that was like the main thing.”

Her endorsement has not been private. Gauff has recommended the series to teammates and other players, naming Jess Pegula and [Giuliana Olmos] among those she has told to watch. She also relayed a family reaction: “She gave it an 8 out of a 10, which is really high because she watches a bunch of shows.” Gauff added, “Yeah, I wanted the world to know about this show. I’ve been telling everyone. I told Jess Pegula and [Giuliana Olmos] to watch it today. We’ll see how much of the WTA I can convince to watch the show.”

Fans within the tennis community are joining the conversation, including Morgan Riddle, Naomi Osaka and others. On the common debate over which character to prefer, Gauff declared her allegiance plainly: “My favorite is Ilya on the show, for sure.”

Iga Swiatek made it clear at a Media Day press conference that she does not want to know her projected path through the Australian Open. When a journalist disclosed that Naomi Osaka and Elena Rybakina were in her quarter, the former world No. 1 reacted with visible irritation and cut the line of questioning short.

“I’m not looking at the draw,” said Swiatek who, like many players, prefers not to see the full bracket. “So thanks for the heads-up.”

“It’s not a joke,” she added firmly. “I’m literally not doing that. So please don’t spoil it for me. I want to be surprised after every match. No, because I didn’t know. That’s it.”

Swiatek, a six-time major champion and the reigning Wimbledon winner, has been direct with the media before, notably after last summer’s US Open loss. She moved on quickly at the session when the topic shifted to her appearance in the One Point Slam event.

“It was great,” smiled Swiatek. “I think it was so much fun. Honestly, like, everybody was watching. Like also off the court, everybody said they were so, like, emotional about it, you know?”

She described competing against ATP players Frances Tiafoe and Flavio Cobolli as an enjoyable challenge, noting the different demands of those matches.

“It’s fun. It’s something new, refreshing. I think this is what tennis sometimes needs, to put the events out like that. Yeah, playing against Flavio was super fun. Honestly, I like to play against guys. I already could do that in some mixed doubles. Here, I felt like I need to really push him. When he would have a chance to open the court, I would be nowhere there.

“Half of the players I think took it seriously; half of them didn’t. I was, like, warming up, I was ready. I really wanted to play a backhand cross-court rally with Frances, but didn’t get a chance!”

At 24, and after a United Cup win for Poland to start the year, Swiatek acknowledged talk about a Career Grand Slam but said she is not focused on that storyline.

“I think you guys are thinking more about it,” she said through another awkward—but decidedly less tense—exchange. “Since the beginning of the year, there are many people coming to me and talking to me about it. I’m really just focusing on, like, day-by-day work. This is how it’s always been for me. This is how I actually was able to achieve the success that I already have, just focusing really on grinding, match by match.

Winning a Grand Slam is tough. Like a lot of things have to come together to do that. Yeah, it’s a tough tournament. So, I have, like, no expectations. Obviously, it would be a dream come true. This is not, like, my clear goal that I wake up with. I’m thinking more about how I want to play, what I want to improve, like, day by day.”