Yes, Ben Shelton Has Seen Your Thirsty TikTok Edits of Him. The Tennis Star Has Some Thoughts (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Ben Shelton at the 2025 Australian Open.Photo:Hannah Peters/Getty

Hannah Peters/Getty

Ben Sheltonsees it all.

Since his breakout performance at the2023 US Open, where he became theyoungest American man to make the semifinal since 1992, the 22-year-old tennis phenom has only attracted more eyes to his game. In the digital age, growing popularity translates to more Instagram followers — 853,000 for Shelton — and dreamy TikTok montages of him.

In short clips that have reached upward of four million views and 600,000 likes on TikTok, users are fawning over the rising star’s good looks and passionate on-court personality. He’s even picked up the attention of non-tennis fans. Under a20-second videoset toNLE Choppa’s “Self Esteem,” the top-liked comment said, “I should start watching tennis.”

Ben Shelton at the 2025 Australian Open.Fred Lee/Getty

Fred Lee/Getty

When asked if he’s seen the edits, Shelton tells PEOPLE ahead of theBNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, “It’s hard not to see that.”

While the edits have popped up on his TikTok For You page, he and his friends also have an “ongoing joke” in which they send over videos to poke fun at him.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

His fellow players have noticed the hype. The hosts of tennis podcastNothing Major, retired American tennis starsJohn Isner, Sam Querrey, Jack Sock and Steve Johnson, included Shelton in their men’s tennis “hottie” bracket.

In a 16-man fan-voted tournament of the sport’s sexiest heartthrobs, Shelton progressed to the second round, encountering eventual winnerMatteo Berrettini. Then, he personally withdrew.

“I didn’t want no smoke with [Matteo],” he explains. “No, I think that all those guys in that draw are way better looking at me, so I’m not really sure why they picked me.”

Ben Shelton at the 2023 Shanghai Rolex Masters.Lintao Zhang/Getty

Lintao Zhang/Getty

At the 2025 Australian Open, Shelton became the youngest American sinceAndy Roddickto reach the semifinal, losing to eventual champion and world No. 1Jannik Sinner.

During his quarterfinal press conference, the athlete made headlines for speaking out about the Australian media’s “disrespectful” treatment of players.

“[It’s] something I noticed at a few different tournaments with different people, the way that athletes got treated or talked about,” he says. “I thought that it was disrespectful at times, and that was something that I thought needed to be addressed. … I thought it was really poor in Australia this year.”

Shelton kicks off his Indian Wells campaign on Saturday, March 8.

source: people.com