32 teams and one dream. The men’s doubles draw is set at the 2025 BNP Paribas Open, and it’s littered with top singles players as well as tried-and-true specialists of the doubles discipline. 

Here are five exciting tandems to be on the lookout for. 

Ben Shelton and Alex Michelsen 

They’re already “dogs” off-court. This year at Indian Wells good friends Ben Shelton and Alex Michelsen will take their snarl to the doubles court as they enter an ATP doubles event for the first time together. 

Michelsen has limited experience in doubles, but he did power into last year’s Cincinnati final alongside fellow California native Mackenzie McDonald. Shelton made the Washington, DC final in 2023, also with McDonald. 

There are genuine good vibes between the pair, which should lead to some entertaining moments when they take the court together. 

“Me and Alex are boys,” Shelton said of Michelsen this year in Australia. “I just love the way he plays. His movement, a lot of improvement. His serve. Obviously the backhand is cash, and he loves to come to the net.”

Rohan Bopanna and Ivan Dodig

Flash back to 2023, the year that then-43-year-old Rohan Bopanna became the oldest man to ever win a Masters 1000 title and the first man from India to triumph in the California desert since legendary Leander Paes in 2007. 

This year former World No. 1 Bopanna, who owns 526 career wins and 26 career titles, is back, partnered with Croatian stalwart Ivan Dodig. 45-year-old Bopanna won the Australian Open last year with Matthew Ebden. 40-year-old Dodig is a three-time major champion with six Masters 1000 titles to his name. He has reached at least the quarterfinals in six of his ten career appearances in the desert.

Learner Tien and Marcos Giron 

This generational Southern California tandem is sure to get voracious crowd support when the doubles draw kicks off. Learner Tien, the pupil, aged 19, and Marcos Giron, the savvy veteran, aged 31. Perhaps this pairing will spark a long-term pairing? If they can overcome the daunting challenge of former finalist Andrey Rublev and his partner Karen Khachanov in a first-round battle of wild cards, it will be a step in the right direction.

Jack Draper and Tomas Machac

There is only one doubles team in this year’s BNP Paribas Open men’s doubles draw that consists of two Top 20 singles players: Jack Draper and Tomas Machac. 

20th-ranked Machac already has one ATP doubles title, even though he’s only played eight doubles events on tour, but he has yet to win a doubles match at the Masters level. Draper, ranked 14th, is playing his second doubles event at the Masters. He reached the quarterfinals at Montreal last year. 

Christian Harrison and Evan King 

They’ve played just four events at the ATP level, but already Americans Christian Harrison and Evan King have demonstrated that they are a lethal combo. The pair earned their wild card into the doubles draw on the strength of those four appearances, which produced titles at 500-level events in Dallas and Acapulco, as well as a final in the Delray Beach final. 

Harrison and King will face the French duo of Arthur Fils and Ugo Humbert in the first round.