World No. 5 Casper Ruud of Norway playfully commented on the attractiveness of American tennis player Tommy Paul (ranked No. 11) following their mixed doubles exhibition match in Indian Wells. This remark was a lighthearted reference to a recent online contest by the “Nothing Major” podcast, hosted by John Isner, Sam Querrey, Jack Sock, and Steve Johnson, which aimed to determine the most handsome male tennis player. Tommy Paul was a finalist in the contest, ultimately losing to Italian player Matteo Berrettini.
In the exhibition match, Ruud and his partner Maria Sakkari of Greece were defeated by Paul and Madison Keys of the USA with a score of 6-10.
After the match, Ruud quipped, “It’s tough. When you play against an Australian Open champion and a model, you have to be at your best, and we weren’t. The model outplayed us.”
