“Cobolli is fit.” A WhatsApp message that pinged onto my phone mere moments after I’d been asked to write this story on the new generation of tennis “talent” in the men’s game. It went on – stream-of-consciousness style – in individual messages:

“He’s beautiful”

“He’s a bit like a Greek god”

“We had bloody Pete Sampras to fancy”

“Why didn’t we have faces like this?”

Flavio Cobolli is the Italian player who just stormed to his first Wimbledon quarter-final with genius flashes from his neon orange racket, before he was eventually defeated by the evergreen GOAT Novak Djokovic. But what caught many people’s eye – arguably more than his tennis skills – were his holiday romance good looks: the golden tan, sunkissed hair and blue-green eyes of a young Roman you might meet on an island off Sicily.

Cobolli is part of a crop of men’s tennis players who are bringing fresh attention to the sport, from girls holding the same superfan crushes that teenagers had on Björn Borg in the 1970s, to mums who would call them “lovely young men”, to gays who are feverishly setting up queer Instagram fan accounts in praise of their big legs, washboard abs and high performance butts (see: @tennis.atp.hot).

So how does the tennis talent really stack up? Here’s our digest of the dishes of the day…

Alcaraz is Wimbledon’s defending champion and the holder of five Grand Slam titles at just 22. Soon after bursting onto the scene as a teen and becoming the youngest ever world number one, he shocked tennis and fashion fans with a racy Calvin Klein underwear campaign that loomed provocatively on its Houston Street billboard. Now, he’s entering his eligible young man era, being picked by Louis Vuitton as an ambassador and appearing as a cover star for GQ and Fantastic Man. The recent announcement that he’ll be playing mixed doubles with Britain’s back-in-form Emma Raducanu at the US Open sent the internet into a portmanteau face-off over whether they should be called “Alcaranu” or “Raducaraz”. They insist they’re just good friends.

Alcaraz’s biggest rival, the redheaded Italian Jannik Sinner, might get followed around the world by a bunch of grown men dressed as carrots (Sinner once famously ate a carrot rather than the usual banana at a changeover, leading to the formation of the “Carota Boys” fan club), but he’s infinitely more chic when dressed head-to-toe in Gucci (he’s an ambassador). In fact, Sinner is a real exception in tennis: he looks even better off-court than on it, releasing his curls from under his cap, beaming his gap-toothed smile and carrying off a suit with genuine style. Still less of a global public figure than Alcaraz, he’s beyond big in Italy, where his face is used to sell everything from suncream (especially necessary for someone so fair) to coffee (he is Italian, after all).

Sinner’s fellow Italian Lorenzo Musetti had a sensational start to the season, but sadly lost in the first round at Wimbledon, meaning the British public didn’t get a chance to enjoy him in all his glory, jumping up off prime calf muscles to strike the most beautiful one-handed backhand in the men’s game. In the spring’s European tournaments, Lore looked resplendent in an APC X Asics outfit against the clay courts, and in round one at The Championships, he briefly appeared in Bottega Veneta’s white intrecciato leather bomber jacket (he’s starred in a campaign for the brand). Once known for his beautiful long locks, he cut his hair just before the 2025 season, causing a great deal of distress amongst his lusty followers, but just like with Federer before him, fans have grown accustomed to the new look, finding him more handsome than ever.

He was a Burberry model when he was still on tennis’s junior circuit, and now Jack Draper is back in the British brand’s fold, appearing in a summer campaign alongside Rosie Huntington-Whitely. Fans have commented on his hot, strong-jawed, boxer-esque face. This year, his hard-won super fitness has also brought on a bruisingly good body on his 6’4” frame. Like Musetti and Sinner, Jack can actually carry off a fashion look, as evidenced by his British Vogue shoot with Clay Stephen Gardner. His changing hairstyles are also cause of much debate: whether it’s floppy curtains or Peaky Blinders buzzed sides, fans lap it up.

The Bulgarian heartthrob is one of the only true casanovas of the current game – a throwback to glamorous, playboy sportsmen of old. A notorious flirt, the 34-year old is currently dating Mexican actress Eiza González, and has previously been linked to supermodels, oligarch’s daughters, Nicole Scherzinger and Maria Sharapova. Sadly he exited Wimbledon early, having been two sets up against world number one Jannik Sinner before being forced to retire after a rare pectoral injury. A loss for us all.

As a teen, American player Ben Shelton was the baby brother, or the fun labrador puppy, of the tennis scene. Now 22, he’s one half of one of sport’s biggest power couples alongside American soccer player Trinity Rodman, and is emerging as one of the pin-ups of the men’s game off the back of his loved-up displays. One of the big faces of the Roger Federer-backed brand On, he’s yet to be picked up by a big fashion house, but surely Ralph Lauren will come calling before long.

Paul looks like something out of an old Abercrombie & Fitch ad, and has indeed been shot by the creator of those campaigns: Bruce Weber. It’s little wonder, because he’s not only got the golden good looks, but he also loves jockish pursuits like fishing off the coast of North Carolina and driving around in his big pick-up truck (which he forgets to keep up with the payments on). The glamour factor is upped by his partnership with influencer girlfriend, Paige Lorenze. Once, at the Rome Masters, I overheard an Italian screaming: “Tommy! L’unico bell’americano!” (“Tommy! The only beautiful American!”) For that’s what he represents to outside eyes: the all-American boy!

Berretini was behind a spike in female and gay interest in the game after becoming a finalist at Wimbledon in 2021, where he lost out to Novak Djokovic. After a series of injuries, he’s been more absent from the circuit, but when he does appear, crowds swell. And as a face of Boss, along with American number one Taylor Fritz, he’s walked shows and appeared on billboards, keeping him firmly on the public’s lust list.

The brooding, feisty French number one has been breaking hearts all around the world, but was sadly absent from this year’s Wimbledon after sustaining a stress fracture to his back at the French Open. But when the 21-year-old rejoins the tour, he’ll be winning even more admiring fans than matches. He’s a real talent coup for French brand Lacoste, who will surely benefit from his massive sex appeal.