Ben Shelton doesn't trust radar gun on 159 mph serve

Jack Draper and Ben Shelton have been crowned “Two Princes” in Vogue’s upcoming March 2025 issue. Within 100 points of cracking the Top 10, the two are rising lefties on the ATP Tour.

“The eyes on Draper aren’t surprising,” writes journalist Alexis Okeowo. “This will be a proving year for him and for men’s tennis.”

With Andy Murray officially enjoying retirement and a move to professional coaching, Draper is the next big hope for Great Britain tennis—the next highest-ranked British player after Draper is lefty Cameron Norrie, who fell out of the Top 20 in 2024.

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Draper’s first title came in Stuttgart, Germany, which boosted his confidence, he recalls in the feature.

“Before Stuttgart, I’d say I was knocking on the door of winning things, but then to go there and win that one gave me a lot of confidence,” he tells the fashion magazine. “This is a difficult sport because you can have a great career, and not a lot to show for it. You don’t have a title or you don’t have a good result in a Grand Slam. It feels good having something to my name.”

Unfortunately for the Brit, injury has been a prominent battle throughout his career. He delayed the start of his 2025 season at the Australian Open, where he ultimately retired against Carlos Alcaraz in the round of 16.

Read More: Jack Draper withdraws from Dubai due to right abductor injury

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For the second prince crowned in the pages of Vogue, injury wasn’t the biggest obstacle in his path.

“Tennis was my dad’s thing,” world No. 14 Shelton told Vogue journalist Corey Seymour. “It was my sister’s thing. And for me, growing up in American public schools, tennis wasn’t really cool. Football is cool, basketball is cool—even baseball is cool.”

Shelton ultimately chose tennis too, turning pro at 19 years old in 2022. Still earning his place on the leaderboard, the American opens about playing against players like Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, and all the comparisons to their achievements.

"It's the left-handed thing."

"It's the left-handed thing."

“Most of these guys who are at the top of the game right now, they were prodigies—five or six years old, racket in their hand, training every day,” Shelton said. “I wasn’t really supposed to be this great player. And so to get to the Top 20 in the world within two years of playing college tennis? That’s something that I don’t take for granted.”

“It’s tough to be a finished product by 18 if you start at 12—but I’m not a finished product.” Ben Shelton, Vogue (March 2025)

Read More: Eugenie Bouchard reacts to Jack Draper in British Vogue

Both "princes" are set to play in Indian Wells, California, at the BNP Paribas Open, the first combined ATP and WTA 1000 tournament, as well as the first ATP Masters 1000 of the year.

Draper and Shelton each own one ATP 250 and one ATP 500 title to their name. Could one of them earn their career's biggest "crown" in just a few weeks?