VIDEO: Dogs serve as 'ballkids' for Venus and Kuznetsova

It seems too cute to be true, but there they are. A trio of trained dogs—named Oscar, Ted, and Super Teddy, no less—served as ball kids for an exhibition encounter between Venus Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova at the ASB Classic, the WTA Tour event in Auckland, New Zealand. Here's the video:

Turns out those pups even perch on small stands on both ends of the net when they're not retrieving balls for the Grand Slam–winning players on their court. Something says none of the dogs were exactly starstruck by either player, each herself a canine owner and lover. (Here's Kuznetsova's own dog, and Exhibits A and B of Venus loving on Super Teddy in particular.)

Not to be outdone—oh wait, they were completely outdone—Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova staged their own pet-friendly photo-ops this week. (Serena tends to sleep alongside her own two pooches, for the record.)

Serena got cuddly with a koala bear at Perth Park as she participates in Hopman Cup competition Down Under, while Sharapova cozied up to another koala in Brisbane, Australia, where she's into the semifinal round.

What player-animal meet-and-greet do you want to see next?

Got a tip or a point to make? Hit me on Twitter at @jonscott9.