Beyond the Baseline and the Net

How Maria Sharapova, Paula Badosa, Marta Kostyuk, Anna Kalinskaya, Linda Noskova, Iva Jovic, Sara Bejlek, and Meryem Cabbaroglu Spend Their Weekends

The life of an elite athlete is defined by rigid schedules, intense physical training, and immense public pressure. For professional tennis players and volleyball stars, the weekend often represents a rare pocket of time to disconnect from their demanding sports and recharge their mental and physical batteries. While tennis icons like Maria Sharapova, Paula Badosa, Marta Kostyuk, and Anna Kalinskaya often balance corporate commitments with relaxation, younger prodigies such as Linda Noskova, Iva Jovic, Sara Bejlek, and Turkish volleyball sensation Meryem Cabbaroglu seek simple weekend pleasures that bring them closer to family and nature. Examining the offline weekend hours of these eight sports celebrities reveals a shared human need for balance, creative output, and tranquility away from the stadium lights.

For retired legends and active veteran players, the weekend represents an opportunity to blend business acumen with wellness. Maria Sharapova, though retired from professional tennis, maintains a highly active weekend routine focused on entrepreneurial pursuits, architectural design appreciation, and health. Sharapova frequently spends her Saturdays exploring art galleries or checking in on her various business ventures, always pairing her work with strict wellness rituals such as cold plunges and hiking in the California hills (Vogue, 2024). Similarly, Spanish star Paula Badosa utilizes her weekend downtime to focus on physical recovery and mental wellness. When not competing on the WTA tour, Badosa enjoys spending her Sundays relaxing with loved ones, enjoying Mediterranean cuisine, and exploring fashion photography, which serves as a creative escape from her rigorous training schedule (Marca, 2025).

In contrast, active eastern European stars often use their weekends to find solace amidst personal and regional turbulence. Marta Kostyuk, known for her high-intensity play, shifts her energy on weekends toward exploring nature and spending quiet moments with her husband and family. Kostyuk often shares snippets of her peaceful weekend walks and culinary adventures, viewing these moments as essential for maintaining psychological stability during a long competitive season (Tennis World, 2025). Her compatriot Anna Kalinskaya similarly values a relaxed, low-profile weekend. Kalinskaya prefers spending her Saturdays and Sundays listening to music, reading, and walking her dog in local parks, intentionally keeping her weekend circles small to preserve her mental energy for upcoming tournaments (WTA Tour, 2024).

The younger generation of tennis stars utilizes their weekend free time to maintain a sense of normal teenage life. Czech sensation Linda Noskova prefers weekends filled with outdoor adventures and animal companionship. An avid nature lover, Noskova often spends her Sundays hiking or visiting local animal shelters, using her offline hours to advocate for animal welfare and connect with the natural environment (iNews, 2026). Her American contemporary, teenager Iva Jovic, stays grounded by dedicating her weekends to her Southern California roots. Jovic spends her Saturdays catching up on schoolwork and enjoying beach outings with childhood friends in Torrance and Los Angeles, ensuring her rapid rise in the tennis world does not detach her from regular teenage experiences (BNP Paribas Open, 2025). Meanwhile, Czech player Sara Bejlek uses her weekends to return home to Znojmo, where she relaxes by cooking traditional meals with her family and supporting grassroots youth sports events at her childhood tennis club (ASB Classic, 2026).

Breaking away from the tennis court, Turkish volleyball player Meryem Cabbaroglu experiences a very different kind of weekend rhythm, though one still centered on grounding oneself after immense public exposure. As a young libero for Bodrum, Cabbaroglu has recently faced an explosion of global social media fame due to viral photos of her on-court elegance (Fanatik, 2026). To escape the digital noise and intense training demands of the Turkish Women's First Volleyball League, Cabbaroglu uses her weekends to explore the scenic coastline of Bodrum. She enjoys quiet beach mornings, offline hours away from her growing social media following, and casual dinners with her teammates, balancing her rising celebrity status with the simple routines of a twenty-year-old athlete (Cumhuriyet, 2026).

Ultimately, whether they are global business moguls like Sharapova, established top-flight competitors like Badosa, Kostyuk, and Kalinskaya, or rising stars like Noskova, Jovic, Bejlek, and Cabbaroglu, these athletes view the weekend as a sanctuary. Away from the court or the net, their leisure time is not defined by trophies or viral metrics, but by family, nature, and the intentional pursuit of personal peace.

References

• ASB Classic. (2026). Sara Bejlek Player Profile and Off-Court Interests. ASB Classic Official Site.
• BNP Paribas Open. (2025). Iva Jovic: Staying Grounded in Southern California. BNP Paribas Open News.
• Cumhuriyet. (2026). Meryem Cabbaroglu: Career and Personal Life of Bodrum's Rising Star. Cumhuriyet Sport.
• Fanatik. (2026). Turkish Volleyball Player Meryem Cabbaroglu Generates Global Social Media Attention. Fanatik International.
• iNews. (2026). Linda Noskova’s Life Outside of Tennis: Animals, Nature, and Philanthropy. iNews Sport.
• Marca. (2025). Paula Badosa on Wellness, Fashion, and Recharging for the Tour. Marca Tennis.
• Tennis World. (2025). Marta Kostyuk Discusses the Importance of Mental Rest and Weekend Balance. Tennis World WTA.
• Vogue. (2024). Inside Maria Sharapova's Weekend Wellness and Business Routine. Vogue Culture.
• WTA Tour. (2024). Anna Kalinskaya: Finding Peace in a Demanding World. WTA Tennis Features.