Ben Shelton has had some tough times in the last few days! After losing the final match at the Swiss Indoors against the Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, we heard him say, “I almost killed myself trying to return your serve.” Now, yet another Frenchman gave Shelton a run for his money at the Paris Masters. It took him nearly 2 hours and 30 minutes to beat the world number 70, Corentin Moutet in the first round of the 2024 Paris Masters. Fans noticed Shelton was sweating a lot during the match, which they felt might be quite unnatural. What could be the real possible reasons behind it?

Previously, during the US Open, we saw British tennis star, Jack Draper suffering a lot while playing in uncomfortable conditions at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. He struggled with the humidity and was seen sweating a lot, He felt sick multiple times before calling the trainer for a medical timeout in the second set of his SF match against Jannik Sinner. He faced defeat at the hands of the eventual champion in that match and after the match, Draper said, “It’s the worst feeling ever.” Now, seeing Ben Shelton sweating so much in his match, several fans raised their concerns about what would happen when Draper would step onto the court to play his next match.

Players need to get themselves hydrated all the time while playing these types of marathon matches. For Shelton, it was perhaps more challenging because he had to step onto the courts after an exhausting run to the finals of the Swiss Indoors. That was just 48 hours before this match! 

Ben Shelton eventually defeated Corentin Moutet by 6-3,6(8)-7,6-3 in this match at Paris Masters, but there were a few moments that literally put the crowd on their seats. Playing against a French player on the French soil is never easy. The crowd literally makes things more difficult while cheering for their native star, and perhaps that’s also one of the reasons why we saw Shelton sweating so much in this match. There were moments when we saw him getting a bit more animated than usual while reacting to winning points against Moutet. Later on, we found out that his loud and passionate yelling seemed to have not only annoyed the Partisan crowd in Paris-Bercy but also a few fans on social media. What are they saying about his extreme sweating in this match, though?

Fans looking a bit concerned after seeing Ben Shelton sweating hard during his match against Corentin Moutet

This was the first meeting between Ben Shelton and Corentin Moutet. Throughout the match, both players managed to put up an exciting show by displaying some incredible shot-making skills. However, with Shelton (19) being placed at a much higher spot than Moutet (70), fans didn’t expect this fight to go so close. They were surprised to see Ben Shelton sweating so much so much in his match against a much lower-ranked opponent. A fan tweeted, “This shouldn’t be happening against Moutet but okay…“

Some of the fans brought up a completely different reason behind his extreme sweating. Ben Shelton signed a deal with Roger Federer-backed sportswear brand, On in March 2023. After joining hands with this Swiss brand, Shelton said, “I’m really pumped to be the first male tennis player sponsored by On.” However, after seeing Shelton sweat so much in his previous match in Paris, some of the fans have now started to take a jibe at the sportswear brand.

One of them wrote, “For the amount that on is charging for these shirts, they do not look good with sweats at all.” Clearly, the fans weren’t too pleased with the outfit which looked literally drenched with sweat.

There have been several complaints surrounding On’s design. Even Iga Swiatek has a partnership with On and there have been multiple such instances in the last few months when we saw her outfit sparking a disappointment among the fans. Take, for example, fans venting out their frustration after seeing her outfit for the 2024 French Open. Now, Shelton’s sweaty look in On’s outfit made some of the fans question, “Omg On still hasn’t fixed their cheap ass fabrics? Every player in On looks absolutely horrible with an ounce of sweat.“

Seeing so much sweat running down to the floor from Shelton’s body, a fan hilarious tweeted, “All this drip on me I need a mop.” Indoor stadiums can be a bit humid at times and when there is a jam-packed stadium, temperatures are bound to rise higher inside the stadium.

Did Corentin Moutet give a real tough time to the 22-year-old American or was it the humid conditions? Well, some of the fans claimed, “Never seen a player sweat as much as Shelton.” However, do you know in the 2022 edition of the Paris Masters, Novak Djokovic opened up by saying, he was “not feeling his best” and “sweating a lot” during one of his matches against Karen Khachanov. He was seen taking off his shirt and trying to cool himself during the changeover. So, this isn’t the first time that we’ve seen a player sweating a lot at this venue. Share your thoughts on what you think could be the possible reason behind this.