Room for more kibble! Watch Mertens reveal her AO trophy to her happy dogs

Tennis players love to share milestone moments with close family and friends -- and for Elise Mertens, that includes four-legged ones.

The Belgian is one of the biggest animal lovers on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz, and after she returned home following her Australian Open doubles victory alongside Zhang Shuai, couldn’t wait to show off the trophy to her brood of rescue dogs. Mertens posted a video of the special delivery to her social media accounts this week, and though her dogs were interested in the package, we’d wager they were happier to have their human home for a quick cuddle between the Australian and Middle East swings.

Mertens, who returned to the World No. 1 doubles ranking in the PIF WTA Rankings with her fourth major win, has made unboxing new hardware to her menagerie a habit. She also did it after winning Wimbledon and the WTA Finals Riyadh presented by PIF with Veronika Kudermetova last year, and posted the big reveals online.

But Mertens’ post wasn’t just celebratory; it also came with an important message. She hashtagged the video with “Adopt, don’t shop,” reminding fans and followers of the countless pups out there also in need of good homes.

Mertens is back in action this week at the upcoming WTA 1000 Qatar Total Open, where she is seeded No. 16 in singles and No. 2 in the doubles draw with Zhang.