"In better shape than 99% of the field" - Tennys Sandgren jokes about presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy's US Open chances; praises tennis skills

American tennis player Tennys Sandgren recently praised tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy for his physique and tennis skills, saying he could very well compete at the 2023 US Open.

Vivek Ramaswamy posted a video of himself hitting the ball on a tennis court on the social media platform X, formerly called Twitter. The Indian-American entrepreneur showed some great footwork and shot-making in the short clip, in which he was shirtless.

Ramaswamy, 38, is currently running as a candidate in the Republican primary for the 2024 US presidential elections. Along with the video, he jokingly wrote that the hitting session was his preparation for the upcoming Republican presidential primary debate on August 23.

"Three hours of solid debate prep this morning," Ramaswamy wrote on X.

The video has gone viral among the tennis community on social media, and American tennis star Tennys Sandgren shared his thoughts on it on X. In his post, the 32-year-old wrote that Ramaswamy's style of playing is excellent, and if he can play like this for three hours, he has a great chance of putting on a good show at the US Open. Sandgren added that Ramaswamy is in better physical shape than most of the players who will compete at Flushing Meadows.

"If Vivek can hit at this intensity for 3 hours then he’s in better shape than 99% of the field here in NYC," Tennys Sandgren wrote.

Tennys Sandgren is also currently in New York, competing at the US Open. The former World No. 41 has to go through qualifying rounds to enter the main draw. He will face fellow American Denis Kudla in the first round on August 23.

US Open 2023 officially kicks off with qualifying rounds this week

US Open 2023

While the main draw action at the US Open will begin next week, matches at the year's last Grand Slam are already underway. 128 men and 128 women have entered the qualifying round at Flushing Meadows in hopes of entering the main draw. Only 32 players—16 in each field— will join the main draw after winning three qualifying matches.

Spain's Jaume Munar, World No. 81, is the top seed on the men's side of the qualifying draw. Cristian Garin and Federico Coria are the No. 2 and 3 seeds, respectively. Other notable entrants in the men's draw are former top-10 players like David Goffin, Kevin Anderson, and Fabio Fognini.

WTA World No. 80 and recently crowned Prague Open champion, Nao Hibino of Japan, leads the women's qualifying draw. Diana Shnaider and Yanina Wickmayer are the No. 2 and 3 seeds, respectively. The qualifying draw also features many familiar names, including Sara Errani, Eugenie Bouchard, Kristina Mladenovic, and Vera Zvonareva.