Photographs by} John Russo
Interviews by} Ken Waller
Clothing by} Ace Rivington
Location} The Indian Wells Tennis Garden
Alex Michelsen
KW: What player, either past or present, has inspired you the most?
AM: I would like to say Rafael Nadal because he is the biggest fighter on the sports scene. I would like to think I’m a fighter. Obviously, I am not of his caliber, but I think I am a good fighter, and I compete for every point. I am not like him, but I try to emulate that.
KW: What would you say is your biggest weapon on the court?
AM: My biggest weapon is my backhand; it’s always been my biggest weapon since I was four. So yeah, definitely the backhand.
KW: What is the best thing about being on the tour?
AM: I think the best thing about being on tour is just experiencing all these different cities and countries. There are not a lot of professions where you get to do this, so I think that’s my favorite thing by far.
KW: If you could go back in time and play one retired player, who would it be?
AM: Definitely Roger. I mean I started on tour a little bit after he retired, but if I had gotten to play Roger, I mean that would have been the sickest thing ever.
KW: Who is your ultimate mixed doubles partner?
AM: For my ultimate mixed doubles partner, I could say Coco Gauff. She’s my age—19, a couple of months older than me—and she’s American, so I would say Coco.
To learn more about Alex, follow him at @Alexmichelsen
Luca Van Assche
KW: What player, either past or present, has inspired you the most?
LV: Roger Federer. I think he’s one of the best players in the world. His game was beautiful, and I liked him very much. I watched many matches, and he was my favorite player.
KW: What would you say is your biggest weapon on the court?
LV: I think it’s my backhand. I can be very solid with my forehand or backhand, so I like to play both. But I think, yeah, when I was little, you played a lot with your forehand and played with my forehand, and now I think I prefer to play some backhands.
KW: What is the best thing about being on tour?
LV: The best thing is that there are many good things. So I like to play in different countries, travel a lot, learn from different civilizations, and play matches and win matches.
KW: If you could go back in time and play one retired player, who would it be and why?
LV: It would be Roger Federer because he is my favorite player. Of course, I would love to play with him and see how it would be to play against him.
KW: Who would be your ultimate mixed doubles partner?
LV: Mixed doubles, I think it would be, I don’t know, Jessica Pegula. She is a very good player!
To learn more about Luca, follow him at @lucavanassche
Juncheng Shang
KW: What player, either past or present, has inspired you the most?
JS: I think Novak Djokovic has inspired me the most, mostly on the court for all his performances, obviously coming back from so many matches, being down and being physically unable to compete and always performing his best, which is very incredible, obviously, the hard work that he has done off the court, that shows a lot as well, to be an amazing athlete you have to work incredibly hard for it.
KW: What would you say is your biggest weapon on the court?
JS: I’m not the strongest guy or the fittest guy on the tour, so I would say kind of mentally that I am trying to be positive the whole time and try to fight for every point whenever I get the chance. And yeah, just to have more fun than the other player, I think that’s a huge advantage, something also that my parents have taught me since I was a little kid.
KW: What is the best thing about being on the tour?
JS: Definitely the traveling part. I’m not a big fan of going on planes, but you get to see so many beautiful cities and so many places that I have never been to. So I think that’s the biggest advantage of being a tennis player. But also you are away from home a lot of the time, so I think that’s like a plus and a minus at the same time.
KW: If you could go back in time and play one retired player, who would it be and why?
JS: I think my answer will be the same as most people’s: I would want to play Roger. In Tennis, he’s the one that everyone wants to be like and play like, and that’s something really cool. I haven’t hit or practiced with him, but I want to play with him.
KW: Who is your ultimate mixed doubles partner?
JS: I will go with Qinwen; I think we’ll make a good doubles team.
To learn more about Alex, follow him at @junchengshang05
Jakub Mensik
KW: What player, either past or present, has inspired you the most?
JM: I have to say, of course, in the past and the present, there are a lot of good players; in the Czech Republic, it was always Tomas Berdych, who I think because of him I started to play when I was young he was practicing at our club so I watched him when he played. Novak Djokovic is one of the big three. When I was young and started playing tennis, he was one of the greatest tennis players ever. I think many good young players, such as Alcaraz and Sinner, inspire me because they are very young and already on top. So, for me, it’s best that I am here at the tournaments to take all of the great things of what they are doing, on and off the court, and to go step by step and someday hopefully reach that same level.
KW: What would you say is your biggest weapon on the court?
JM: I would have to say serve and forehand probably because, for my game style, I am very tall, so I have a great serve and forehand.
KW: What is the best thing about being on the tour?
JM: Competing against the best players in the world.
KW: If you could go back in time and play one retired player, who would it be?
JM: Roger Federer for sure, he is an icon.
KW: Who is your ultimate mixed doubles partner?
JM: (laughs) Right now, in the present? I don’t know, Elena Rybakina
To learn more about Jakub, follow him @mensik.jakub
Arthur Fils
KW: What player, either past or present, has inspired you the most?
AF: Gael Monfils and Roger Federer.
KW: What would you say is your biggest weapon on the court?
AF: My forehand.
KW: What is the best thing about being on tour?
AF: Going to all the great places in the world.
KW: If you could go back in time and play one retired player, who would it be?
AF: Oh, Federer, I just want to see how it would be to play against him.
KW: Who is your ultimate mixed doubles partner?
AF: Caroline Garcia, because she’s French. (laughter)
To learn more about Arthur, follow him at @arthur.fils