'It's something which inspired me as well': WTA stars give back with Miami Open Unites

MIAMI, FL, USA - The WTA's biggest stars took time out of their preparations for one of the tour's biggest tournaments to give back. 

Nearly a dozen WTA players joined forces with their ATP men's counterparts to take part in "Miami Open Unites," on Monday - a day of service that was dedicated to giving back to the South Florida community.

See it in pictures: WTA, Miami Open Unites out and about in service

Petra Kvitova joined ATP stars Kei Nishikori, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Marin Cilic, Nick Kyrgios and Nicolas Jarry at the Miami Open UNICEF Kid Power event, participating in a question-and-answer session and a community clinic with the next generation of tennis players. 

"It's beautiful to see all the kids from around the world. It's a beautiful place to be and it's something which...inspired me as well," Kvitova said. 

"To see young kids, it's like seeing myself when I was a kid, trying to enjoy life and play tennis."

Elsewhere, the quartet of Ashleigh Barty, Belinda Bencic, Jelena Ostapenko and Danielle Collins visited the Greater Humane Society of Miami, grooming dogs to increase their chances of adoption - and getting in some canine cuddles, too.

"It would be great if somebody would adopt them after maybe they see a video of us playing with them or something," said Ostapenko.

"I feel so bad when I see homeless dogs on the street...and for dogs, it's very important to have human attention."

Added Bencic: "Once you go in there, you get really emotional as well, and you just want to take all of them home with you."

Elsewhere in Miami-Dade County, players took part in various activities with various community groups. 

Garbine Muguruza and Anett Kontaveit volunteered with the Miami Rescue Mission, feeding lunch to the homeless; Kiki Bertens, Julia Goerges and Elise Mertens helped repaint and repair a home with  Rebuilding Together, which  repairs and rebuilds homes for the elderly, veterans and the disabled; and Aryna Sabalenka visited young cancer patients at the Baptist Health Children’s Hospital and Cancer Center.

"I'm very privileged to have the life I'm living," Goerges reflected. "It's a great opportunity to share something with people who need a lot of help. I think it's great for us to come here."

After visiting with sick children and their families, bringing with her toys and smiles, Sabalenka said: "This was amazing. The kids are so nice and they're really cute. They're happy, no matter what and it means a lot to me to share what I have with the kids, to make them smile, to see that they're happy. It's acutally unbelievable."