Puppies steal the show as players participate in community service efforts at Miami Open

The Miami Open has made players giving back to the local community an annual tradition—and this year, the game's four-legged friends once again stole the show as the cutest supporting characters.

The most popular locale for this annual community service outing has historically been the Humane Society of Miami, where players play with puppies to socialize them, and raise awareness that all are up for adoption.

This year's lucky selections for the coveted outing were Alex de Minaur, Grigor Dimitrov, Casper Ruud, Katie Boulter, Jessica Pegula and Zheng Qinwen—all of whom enjoyed the opportunity for some puppy kisses and cuddles.

Pegula, a noted animal lover herself, co-runs A Lending Paw, a non-profit which trains dogs to be service animals, with her husband Taylor Gahagen, and was quick to take to social media to share the love.

"Please help these babies get adopted," the world No. 5 wrote on Instagram.

A service dog was also on hand with Ons Jabeur and Andrey Rublev, who paid a visit to the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital, a pediatric hospital in Hollywood, Fla. that has been treating children in the area for 30 years. The two players put smiles on the kids' faces with hugs and high-fives, and participated in arts and crafts with them.

"It's such an honor and pleasure to speak with them, to be with them ... they're super brave," Jabeur said of the children, while Rublev noted it was the "first time" that he'd participated in such an outing.

"I think they're teaching me a lot, how to be more brave, on and off the court," the Tunisian added.

Other community service efforts saw players go to a homeless shelter to serve dinner, plant seeds for vegetable gardens in under-resources communities, help repair homes for the elderly, and play tennis with young people who participate in the mentoring organization Big Brothers and Big Sisters.

"I think it's a great initiative that the Miami Open is doing and I think we can definitely [do] more of this," Holger Rune, who was among the players who served dinner to a homeless shelter, said, per the ATP website.

"We see how happy everybody is and if we can help to raise more happiness in this world we have to do it."