Their forehands may be flawless, their serves formidable. But there’s one area where even the most decorated U.S. Open players are vulnerable: their sex appeal.

But the tour’s hottest players are untouchable. It doesn’t matter if Andy Roddick’s abs are still covered in a layer of baby fat. When he took off his shirt to practice with his coach, Brad Gilbert, on Thursday afternoon, a swooning crowd of teenaged girls immediately assembled.

“Oh my god, he’s too cute,” gushed Tammy Gleeson, 14, a young fan from New Jersey who wore a homemade “I Love Andy” T-shirt.

Acros the court, an older girl dressed in a pink top and a denim miniskirt, squealed and nearly hyperventilated after Mr. Roddick signed her visor.

Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova’s game has been shaky at the Open – she was eliminated from the singles draw on Saturday and the mixed doubles bracket yesterday – but her celebrity burns bright. On Friday, as Ms. Sharapova hit balls in a fenced-off practice area, a battalion of male onlookers crowded on the side of the grandstand nearby just to get a peek. The leggy 17-year-old, dressed in white hot pants and a cropped Nike top (the same company that sells a “Feelin’ Setsy” T-shirt on the Tennis Center grounds) played with her back to the crowd.

“Do you recognize that guy? That’s her father,” said one onlooker.

“I haven’t paid much attention to the father,” joked a man old enough to be Ms. Sharapova’s grandfather, eliciting appreciative chuckles from the crowd.

Ms. Sharapova’s treatment by the press hasn’t been any less prurient.

“You’re a hot item right now, Maria,” noted a male journalist in an after-match press conference. “With endorsers and so on,” he clarified.

“You know, unfortunately you just have to say no and be mean to many of those people,” Ms. Sharapova replied with disdain.

“Hard to say no?” the journalist teased.

“You know, I’d rather say yes than no, of course, to people with any kind of questions. But no is shorter.” End of interview.

This girl can handle the spotlight.

If Mr. Roddick and Ms. Sharapova seem to receive unconditional love from the fans – or at least unconditional lust – other players can’t seem to get a second look. Number-one seed Justine Henin-Hardenne is the most precise and consistent player on the woman’s tour, but when it comes to her style, she’s not on the same level.

On Thursday of last week, an opinionated young Open official sitting behind the media credentials desk was watching Ms. Henin-Hardenne’s hard-earned second round victory on the television behind him.

“Man, she’s ugly,” he announced out of the blue.

“Yeah, she’s not much of a looker,” conceded his desk mate, a girl just in her 20s, with long, curly hair and lots of mascara.

Journalists are hard on Ms. Henin-Hardenne, too, asking her why she’s so pale if she’s outside playing.

Then there’s an opinion-divider like Serena Williams, who attracts controversy as readily as honey does flies.

Friday, a writer in the media commissary was arguing with a colleague over whether or not to stay for cocktail hour or head up to Arthur Ashe stadium to watch Ms. Williams’s third-round night match. “None of the writers ever see an actual game,” the man’s elder colleague protested. But his friend wasn’t having any of it.

“The only reason I came here was to see a hot woman wearing skimpy clothes,” he said.

Not everyone is so impressed with Serena’s attire. A female reporter asked her colleague, just back from Ms. Williams’s press conference, “Did anyone ask her why she dresses like a trannie hooker?”

The only player on the men’s side who comes close to pushing similar buttons is Germany’s Tommy Haas, back on the tour after a shoulder injury required surgery. Though plenty of players may outstrip Mr. Haas in the sex appeal department, it was Mr. Hass who first dared to go sleeveless at the Open, opening the door for hunks like Spain’s Carlos Moya to show off their guns.

It’s not just on court that Mr. Haas dares to bare. In 2000, he posed for nude photographs with his girlfriend. And in Sunday’s center court match, it looked as if Mr. Haas was playing with depilated legs. Whether the tennis player – a 2000 silver medalist in Sydney – dares to Nair could not be confirmed. How do you say that in German?