Ben Shelton teases Taylor Fritz about his off-season workout 'pain': "Only to get right for 2025 photoshoots"

Ben Shelton playfully teased Taylor Fritz about the "pain" he had to endure during his off-season workouts. Shelton and Fritz wrapped up their 2024 tennis seasons after representing the United States of America in the knockout stages of the Davis Cup Finals.

In the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup Finals, Team USA faced Australia and lost 2-1. The only victory came from Fritz, who won a singles match against Alex de Minaur with a score of 6-3, 6-4. Shelton, on the other hand, played in the other singles match and the doubles match alongside Tommy Paul but lost both.

After the conclusion of their 2024 tennis season, Shelton and Fritz enjoyed some time away from the court. Recently, the World No.4 took to social media to share a series of photos of his off-season training in the gym. He also shared pictures of him hitting on the practice courts in preparation for the 2025 season.

“Smiling through the offseason pain 💪🏻 ," Fritz captioned his Instagram post.

Reacting to Fritz's photos, Shelton humorously commented that Fritz seems to be focusing solely on his "core" workouts to ensure he looks good in the photo shoots he will be doing in 2025.

“Guys only doing core work to get right for 2025 photo shoots 😂 ," Shelton commented.

Screengrab of Ben Shelton's comment [Image Source: Instagram]

Taylor Fritz had a successful 2024 season, winning two titles - the Delray Beach Open and the Rothesay International. He was also the runner-up at the BMW Open in Munich and the ATP Finals. He reached the semifinals at the Madrid Open and the Shanghai Masters.

The American competed in all four Grand Slam tournaments and finished runner-up at the US Open. He had a quarterfinal run at the Australian Open and the Wimbledon Championships and reached the fourth round at the French Open.

On the other hand, Ben Shelton also had a strong season in 2024, winning the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship in Houston and finishing as the runner-up at the Swiss Indoors in Basel. He had semifinal finishes at the 2024 ASB Classic, Dallas Open, and Citi Open.

At the Grand Slam stage, the former World No. 13 reached the third round at the Australian Open, French Open, and US Open, with his best result coming at the Wimbledon Championships, where he reached the fourth round.

Ben Shelton will begin his 2025 season at the ASB Classic while Taylor Fritz will compete at the United Cup

Ben Shelton (L) & Taylor Fritz (R) at 2023 BNP Paribas Open [Source: Getty]

Ben Shelton will begin his 2025 season at the ASB Classic in Auckland. In 2024, he made it to the semifinals before being defeated by Taro Daniel. The ATP 250 hard court tournament will begin on January 6, 2025, and conclude on January 11, 2025.

On the other hand, Taylor Fritz will be starting his 2025 season at the United Cup, where he will be representing the USA alongside the likes of Danielle Collins, Coco Gauff, Denis Kudla, Robert Galloway, and Desirae Krawczyk with Michael Russell serving the team as the captain.

The tournament is scheduled to take place from December 27, 2024, to January 5, 2025. Team USA will be competing in Group A and face Canada and Croatia with the matches taking place at the RAC Arena in Perth.