It is quite common that players play pranks on each other to maintain a good rapport between them and the Halloween celebration can be regarded as one of the best occasions to pull off one. So, it was not much of a surprise that the participants at the 2022 WTA Finals in Fort Worth, Texas indulged in pranks to grace the occasion.
Ons Jabeur, who is nicknamed “the Minister of Happiness”, as she is widely regarded for being jovial and engaging in making people happy, was the player who took to playing the prank. The Tunisian gave vent to her spooky side as she attired herself in a black cloak along with the haunted, skeleton mask.
Calling herself “the Minister of Scariness”, she stated that it was indeed a pleasure to scare her fellow competitors, deviating away from the norm. She added,“… I’m gonna hide behind the social media screen and I’m gonna jump out and scare a few players….”
The Minister of SCARINESS 💀@Ons_Jabeur wishes @CaroGarcia & @iga_swiatek a Happy Halloween! 🫣 pic.twitter.com/m3ySaDcUnv
— wta (@WTA) October 31, 2022
Ons took to the prank by scaring Caroline Garcia and Iga Swiatek when they were involved in what they believed to be a pre-tournament interview. Though both of them were scared, Iga appeared to be horrified as she was engrossed in the interview. She screamed “Oh My God!,” and added, “This is the worst. Are you kidding me?”
Swiatek then got back into good spirits and started laughing on seeing Jabeur, behind the dreaded mask. On the other hand, Caroline Garcia laughed saying, “Good job. Good job, Ons. She did good. She did good. Good job. I’m fine,” thus displaying comparatively better composure in handling the prank.
Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka dress up for Halloween 2023
Coco Gauff has enjoyed a stellar year and is presently at Cancun, having qualified for the 2023 WTA Finals after winning her maiden WTA 500, WTA 1000, and Grand Slam events this year. In a recent interview, the American opened up on her thoughts on celebrating Halloween with her family members and recollected her childhood experiences on a celebratory day.
According to Gauff, she is always delighted to dress up for the festival and has always been eager to make appearances at events. She said “I’ve always been passionate about Halloween since I was a kid. I always loved to dress up. I would do it, like, year-round. I’ve always talked about wanting to go to Cosplay, the conventions, and all of that.”
Coco Gauff is Freddy Krueger for Halloween.
Spooky season. 🎃 pic.twitter.com/CJG1IJreXA
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) October 27, 2023
Coco added, “My favorite Halloween costume I’ve done as a family was a Scooby-Doo one a couple of years ago. I thought that was pretty cool.” She concluded by stating a few outfits she has worn for Halloween over the years which include Thor (Marvel Cinematic Universe), and Raven (Marvel Comics).
Aryna Sabalenka also discussed her favorite costumes for Halloween during the pre-tournament press conference. She said “If I would dress, I would be – I don’t know… Barbie. The most popular for this year. Barbie or a ghost. I don’t know. Need to think about that. Tiger. Now the ideas coming,” and added that she didn’t get much of chance to dress up before due to the schedule.