Who doesn’t like flaunting their physique, especially if you have a gym body? The young ATP pros stepping onto the court in bright sunshine often like to get free from their outfits. Well, it might be due to hot weather conditions or, some would say – simply for fun. Take, for example, the Indian Wells event itself. Remember when the Norwegian star Casper Ruud ditched his shirt for a practice session ahead of his R32 match against Arthur Fils last season? Prior to that, more than a decade ago, we saw Stan Wawrinka practicing on the court during his BNP Paribas campaign in 2013. So, why do these stars often like to go shirtless?

On Friday, during an episode of the Nothing Major podcast, the host and former ATP pro Sam Querrey received an intriguing fan question. But what was it about? Apparently, they wanted to know, “How many guys practice shirtless because of the heat vs want to do it?”

Responding to that, another ex-pro and co-host, Jack Sock, didn’t mince his words. He said, “A 100 percent for the looks, zero percent because it’s warm outside.” And guess what? Querrey also agreed with this reason. “Bingo. No one’s ever been, ‘Oh my god. It’s so hot that I gotta take my shirt off. It’s the guys with good bodies, they like, they have tan at the moment. Those are the guys that want to take their shirts off.”

Not just at Indian Wells, we have seen other occasions, too, where modern-day ATP stars ditched their t-shirts on the court. American Tommy Paul was seen practicing shirtless during his last year’s French Open campaign. And how can you forget four-time Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz? Remember his no-shirt moment from this year’s Australian Open? Ahead of his QF round against Novak Djokovic, he was seen flaunting his chiseled abs while hitting stylish forehands and backhands. Even in the past, back in 2023, during the Hopman Cup, he went shirtless for a practice session.

But guess what? The Spaniard is not all about looks and fitness, but his on-court dominance too. After clinching his first-ever hard-court indoors title last month at the ATP Rotterdam, the former World No.1 looks set to defend his Indian Wells title.

Carlos Alcaraz looks to pull off a three-peat at the Indian Wells

Carlos Alcaraz is going through an invincible form at the BNP Paribas Open this month. On Wednesday, he beat Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo 6-3, 7-6(4) to make it to his third straight Indian Wells semifinal. The Spaniard will now face Great Britain’s Jack Draper to seal a spot in the third straight summit clash.

Speaking of his opponent, Draper has been consistent as well at the Indian Wells this season. The Brit began his campaign against 18-year-old tennis prodigy Joao Fonseca and ousted him with a score line of 6-4, 6-0. After that, he eliminated three American ATP pros on the trot. First, he took out Jason Brooksby in the R32 before beating World No.4 Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton in R16 and QF, respectively.

“I knew coming out here facing him on on this court in front of the Americans was was going to be really difficult today and it was. Huge respect to him, huge credit to him. He’s going to keep on winning, keep on having an amazing career, so I wish him all the best,” said Draper after overcoming local favorite Shelton in front of American fans, as reported by ATP’s website on March 14.

Going against Alcaraz, Draper won’t have it easy. In their last meeting, during the Australian Open back in January, the Spaniard reigned supreme. In the fourth round encounter, he ousted the Brit with a score line of 7-5, 6-1. Currently, their H2H is 3-1 in Alcaraz’s favor. Do you think he will seal a spot in the Indian Wells summit clash on Sunday? Or will Draper avenge his loss from Melbourne? Let us know in the comments below.