Tennis off-Season buzz: Ben Shelton & Sebastian Korda's joint session, Carlos Alcaraz welcomes Cobolli to his academy and more

Tennis is currently in offseason mode as players like Ben Shelton, Sebastian Korda and Carlos Alcaraz have started preparing for the 2026 season after relaxing last month.

We've got the latest updates on top players and how they are preparing this offseason.

Ben Shelton and Sebastian Korda poses after intense practice

After a year comprising success and injuries in the late half, Ben Shelton has resumed his tennis training with Sebastian Korda. On Saturday, Korda and Shelton were posing side by side on one of the practice courts under the United States Tennis Association.

Shelton's sweat-filled t-shirt showed how intense the training session might have been, with Korda also soaking wet under the sun.

Korda's Instagram story

Carlos Alcaraz and Flavio Cobolli become new training partners at Ferrero Academy

Carlos Alcaraz is looking forward to another big year in 2026 as he looks forward to adding to his tally of six Grand Slam titles and 24 ATP tour singles titles. On Saturday, a reel was posted on Instagram showcasing Alcaraz engaged in a fun training session with Italian tennis star Flavio Cobolli at the Ferrero Tennis Academy ahead of the 2026 campaign.

In the reel, the two are seen playing close to the net as they gain sharpness in their skills. Cobolli talked about his training with Alcaraz in Murcia.

"Two hours of training with Alcaraz feels like 20 minutes, but when you train with another player, it seems to last two hours," Cobolli said via Tennis Temple. "He obviously gives me a lot of advice, and even if he doesn't tell me directly, I incorporate them."

Cobolli is Italy's second-best-ranked tennis player, as he trails four-time Grand Slam champion Jannik Sinner. Talking about the level of competitive gap, Cobolli added:

"You have to be a bit realistic in life. I try, I work every day to reach Sinner's level, but I realize that I'm still far from it."

Novak Djokovic spotted practicing in Dubai

Novak Djokovic has not won a Grand Slam in the last two year but he is far from calling it quits. After Djokovic decided to skip the ATP Finals, there were intense speculations that he might retire. But the hunger and self-belief in himself are motivating him to make another run for the historic 25th Grand Slam title.

On Saturday, Djokovic was spotted in Romania's Ana-Maria Gavrilovici's Instagram reel. The Romanian star shared Djokovic training intensely at Atlantis The Royal, just next to her court.

Djokovic looked sharp and engaged, hitting strong groundstrokes and displaying no visible signs of lingering injury. The Serb has signed up to compete at the Adelaide International before turning up for the 2026 Australian Open.

Edited by Krutik Jain