Watch: When Venus Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova played tennis with ball dogs
Venus Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova have nine singles and 16 doubles Grand Slams between them. In addition to that, the two also have the envious record of participating in probably the only tennis match to use ball dogs in place of ball kids.
In the midst of the 2015 Auckland Open, Williams and Kuznetsova took part in an exhibition match that employed the services of three dogs - Ted, Oscar and Super Teddy. The trio took up positions on the court and rendered all the services expected of ball kids, the only exception being that they were fed treats after retrieving balls that hit the net.
The American, who herself has a dog named Harry, spent the entire match in stitches as the dogs ran after wayward balls with single-minded determination. The Russian, whose dog Dolce is a certified "emotional support animal," had her share of fun by playing a round of tug-of-war with the animals.
The video, uploaded to YouTube by the tournament's sponsor ASB Bank Limited, has almost six million views on the video-sharing platform.
Venus Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova experienced contrasting fortunes at the 2015 Auckland Open
The interaction with "the best ball boys in the world" did Venus Williams a world of good as she won her first Auckland Open a few days later. The former World No. 1 had reached the final the previous year as well, where she suffered a three-set loss against Ana Ivanovic.
Starting 2015 strong! @Venuseswilliams beats #Wozniacki to win her 46th career title in Auckland. Great job #Venus! http://t.co/lXKsgIn4Fg
Seeded third in 2015, Williams defeated former World No. 13 Elena Vesnina in the quarterfinals and compatriot Lauren Davis in the semifinals -- both in straight sets. The seven-time Grand Slam champion squared off against top seed Caroline Wozniacki in the final. After losing the first set, the American came back stronger in the next two to take the match 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Svetlana Kuznetsova, on the other hand, did not have an enjoyable time. Seeded fifth, the former World No. 2 fell in the very first round against qualifier Lucie Hradecka.
The pair returned the following year as well, where Kuznetsova managed to reach the second round as the fourth seed. However, she fell to qualifier Tamira Paszek. Venus Williams, meanwhile, was seeded first as the defending champion but fell in her opener against Daria Kasatkina in three sets.
The American returned a couple more times (2017 - second round, 2019 - quarterfinals), but could not recreate her magic from 2015. As of now, both players are still active even though they haven't played in a while.
Kuznetsova last played a game at Wimbledon in 2021 where she lost in the first round at the hands of Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove. She cut her season short after that to recover from lingering injuries and is now ranked No. 107 on the WTA tour.
Venus Williams played one more match after Wimbledon in 2021, losing to Su-Wei Hsieh in the first round of the Chicago Women's Open. A leg injury has since kept her on the sidelines, taking her WTA ranking all the way down to No. 464.