Ben Shelton

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For the former baseball player, see Ben Shelton (baseball).
Ben Shelton
Shelton at the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters
Country (sports) United States
ResidenceGainesville, Florida, US
Born (2002-10-09) October 9, 2002 (age 21)
Atlanta, Georgia, US
Height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)[1]
Turned pro2022
PlaysLeft-handed (two-handed backhand)
CollegeFlorida
CoachBryan Shelton,
Dean Goldfine (traveling coach)[2]
Prize moneyUS$3,417,837
Singles
Career record44–34 (56.4%)[a]
Career titles2
Highest rankingNo. 14 (8 April 2024)
Current rankingNo. 14 (8 April 2024)[1]
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenQF (2023)
French Open1R (2023)
Wimbledon2R (2023)
US OpenSF (2023)
Doubles
Career record14–18 (43.8%)[a]
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 79 (19 February 2024)
Current rankingNo. 91 (8 April 2024)[1]
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open1R (2024)
French Open2R (2023)
Wimbledon1R (2023)
US Open2R (2022)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
US OpenSF (2023)
Last updated on: 11 April 2024.

Benjamin Todd Shelton[3] (born October 9, 2002) is an American professional tennis player. Shelton has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 14 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved on April 8, 2024. He has a career-high ATP doubles ranking of No. 79 achieved on February 19, 2024.

Shelton won the 2016 USTA junior national championship in doubles. He played college tennis for the Florida Gators. As a true freshman in 2021, he clinched the Gators’ first team national championship with his victory at fifth singles; the following year, he won the men's singles title at the 2022 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships. That same year, he was named the ITA National Player of the Year.[4]

He made his ATP Tour debut in July 2022 at the Atlanta Open where he defeated Ramkumar Ramanathan. The next week, he played in the Cincinnati Masters reaching the third round highlighted by a win over world No. 5 Casper Ruud. In August 2022, Shelton announced he would turn professional. In January 2023, Shelton reached the quarterfinals of just his second major tournament, the 2023 Australian Open. Later that year, he improved to reach the semifinals of another major at the 2023 US Open, and won his first title in Tokyo.

Early and personal life[edit]

Shelton is the son of former professional tennis player and Florida Gators men's tennis coach Bryan Shelton.[5] His mother, Lisa Witsken Shelton, was also a highly-ranked junior tennis player, and his uncle, Todd Witsken, was a professional tennis player. His sister, Emma, played college tennis at Florida.[6] Shelton was born in Atlanta, Georgia, as his father was the then-coach of Georgia Tech's women's tennis team.[7] He currently lives in Gainesville, Florida and graduated from Buchholz High School.[8]

Junior career[edit]

As a child, Shelton did not want to play tennis and, instead, played football.[6] Despite both of his parents having connections to the game of tennis, they did not pressure him to play the sport.[6] At age 12, Shelton began playing tennis regularly and was coached by his father, Bryan, who at the time was a college tennis coach.[2]

When Shelton turned 16, he considered playing ITF Junior tournaments abroad, but his father urged him not to do so saying: "Why do you need to travel abroad when you're not the best [player in the U.S.]?"[2] Shelton ultimately credits his father's advice not to play ITF Junior tournaments abroad as helping his tennis development because he was not constantly traveling and instead had a routine.[2]

Shelton peaked at a high of the No. 3 player in the USTA Boys’ 18s division and No. 306 ITF Junior.[8] He was a finalist at the 2020 USTA Boys 18s Singles Winter Nationals and won the 2019 USTA Boys 16s Doubles Clay Court tournament.[8]

College career[edit]

Shelton in 2021

In June 2020, on Father's Day, Shelton committed to play collegiate tennis for the Florida Gators, under his father, head coach Bryan Shelton.[9] A finance major, Shelton mostly played No. 5 singles as a freshman in 2020–21 and had an overall record of 28–5.[8] He helped the Gators win the Southeastern Conference (SEC) regular season title, and he won the championship-clinching match at the 2021 NCAA Championships, securing Florida's first national title.[8]

In 2021–22, Shelton shone during his second year, going 37–5 in singles matches (including 14–2 in the No. 1 spot).[8] He won the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-American Championships in the fall without dropping a set.[8] He helped Florida defend their SEC title and win the SEC Tournament Championship.[8] At the end of the season, Shelton won the 2022 NCAA Singles Championship over August Holmgren and finished the season as the nation's top-ranked player.[8][7] He was named SEC Player of the Year and National Player of the Year.[8]

Shelton was slated to return to Florida for his junior year in 2022–23 and said he wanted to complete his finance degree.[7] Shortly after his successful run at the 2022 Cincinnati Masters, Shelton announced he would forego his remaining college eligibility to turn professional and continue his college education online.[10][2]

Professional career[edit]

2022: Main tour debut, Challenger titles, first top-5 win[edit]

At the Georgia's Rome Challenger in July, Shelton reached his first Challenger final, losing to Wu Yibing.[11] The next week at the Indy Challenger, he reached the semi-finals, highlighted by a win over world No. 103 Tim van Rijthoven.

He made his ATP Tour debut at the Atlanta Open as a wildcard, and in the first round he defeated Ramkumar Ramanathan for his first ATP win.[12] He lost his next match to the No. 2 seed John Isner in three sets.[13] Shelton received a wildcard entry into the Cincinnati Masters. In the first round, he defeated world No. 56 Lorenzo Sonego in three sets for his first win over a top-100 player.[14] In the 2nd round, Shelton faced world No. 5 Casper Ruud in his first matchup against a top-10 opponent. Shelton defeated Ruud, in straight sets, by a score of 6–3, 6–3 for his first top-10 win.[15]

Shelton at the 2022 US Open

On August 23, 2022, Shelton announced he would not return to college and would turn professional.[16][17] He announced that he would be represented by agent Alessandro Sant Albano, who is a part of Roger Federer's TEAM8 management firm.[2]

He also received a wildcard to appear in the main draw for his Grand Slam debut at the US Open on August 14.[18] He lost in the first round, in five sets, to Nuno Borges while also recording the second fastest serve of the US Open tournament at 149 miles per hour (240 km/h) in this match.[19] He also competed in doubles having paired with fellow American Christopher Eubanks. They were eliminated in the second round after defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas and Petros Tsitsipas in the first round.

He reached his third Challenger final of the year at the 2022 Tiburon Challenger after defeating top seed Denis Kudla. As a result, he moved into the top 160 in the rankings on October 10, 2022. He advanced to his fourth Challenger final at the Charlottesville Men's Pro Challenger where he defeated his doubles' partner Christopher Eubanks to secure his first Challenger title. As a result he moved into the top 150 in the rankings at world No. 128 on November 7.[20] His fifth Challenger final featured a repeat of his last with a win against Christopher Eubanks in the Knoxville Challenger which lifted him another 20 positions up to No. 108 in the rankings on November 14. After winning his third straight title at the Champaign–Urbana Challenger, he debuted in the top 100 of the rankings ending the year at world No. 97 on November 21, 2022 and became the youngest player in ATP Challenger Tour history to win three titles in three weeks. He was also the youngest American in the Top 250.[21][22]

2023: First Major semifinal, first ATP title, top 15[edit]

Shelton at the 2023 Miami Open

On his debut at the 2023 Australian Open, Shelton reached the fourth round, with wins against Zhang Zhizhen, Nicolás Jarry, and Alexei Popyrin.[23] This was only Shelton's second Grand Slam after the 2022 US Open.[24] Next he defeated compatriot J. J. Wolf to reach the quarterfinal of a Major for the first time in his career.[25] His run concluded with a four-set loss to fellow American Tommy Paul. As a result, he moved 45 positions up into the top 50, at world No. 44, for the first time in his career.[26][27]

In the beginning of the American hard court season for 2023, Shelton faced a tough start, experiencing defeat in the opening round at the 2023 Delray Beach Open, losing in straight sets to Marcos Giron. His struggles continued at the Mexican Open, where he once again fell in the first round, this time to the fourth-seeded Holger Rune, in a match that stretched to three sets. However, Shelton managed to bounce back at Indian Wells, securing a victory over Fabio Fognini in the initial round, only to be bested by fellow American Taylor Fritz in the second round.

At the 2023 US Open Shelton made it to his first Grand Slam semifinal,[28] where he lost in straight sets to second seed and eventual champion Novak Djokovic. As a result he reached the top 20 in the rankings at world No. 19 on 11 September 2023.[29]

At the 2023 Rolex Shanghai Masters he reached the quarterfinals of a Masters 1000 for the first time defeating fourth seed Jannik Sinner for the second biggest win of his career.[30] He reached his maiden final and won his maiden title at the 2023 Japan Open Tennis Championships defeating qualifier Taro Daniel, Jordan Thompson, fifth seed Tommy Paul, qualifier Marcos Giron and Aslan Karatsev.[31] He became the sixth first-time ATP champion in the season and as a result reached the top 15 in the singles rankings on 23 October 2023.[32][33][34]

2024: First clay court title, American No. 1[edit]

At the 2024 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships he reached his first quarterfinal on clay courts defeating Zizou Bergs,[35] and his first semifinal defeating compatriot Brandon Nakashima. Next he defeated fourth seed Tomás Martín Etcheverry to reach his first clay court final. He won his second career title and first on clay becoming the youngest champion since Andy Roddick in 2002, defeating third seed Frances Tiafoe in the first African-American men’s singles tennis final in the Open Era.[36][37][38] As a result he reached a new career-high singles ranking of world No. 14 on 8 April 2024 and became the American No. 1 player ahead of Taylor Fritz on 15 April 2024.[39]

Endorsements[edit]

As of March 2023, Shelton is sponsored by On for clothing and shoes and Yonex for racquets.[40][41] On January 14, 2024, Shelton announced his partnership with Rolex.[42]

Playing style[edit]

Shelton's best weapon is his serve. He has the ability to hit a big first serve, which averages 126 miles per hour (203 km/h).[7] At the US Open in 2023, he hit two service aces at 149.0 miles per hour (239.8 km/h) in the same game. He additionally hit a serve at 150.0 miles per hour (241.4 km/h) during the 2024 Indian Wells tournament. He also can produce a significant amount of kick on both first and second serves.[7] A left-handed player, Shelton is powerful and consistent on both the forehand and backhand side.[7] He is comfortable moving to the net off his powerful groundstrokes to finish points. Shelton has said "I love to get to net, be able to use some of my hand skills, athletic skills and going up to get the ball (to put away overheads) is one of my favorite things to do..."[7] He has said that the serve-and-volley is an important part of his game and an area he wants to further develop.[7] His tennis idol is Roger Federer.[43]

Performance timelines[edit]

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

Singles[edit]

Current through the 2024 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships.[1]

Tournament 2021 2022 2023 2024 SR W–L Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A QF 3R 0 / 2 6–2 75%
French Open A A 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Wimbledon A A 2R 0 / 1 1–1 50%
US Open Q2 1R SF 0 / 2 5–2 71%
Win–loss 0–0 0–1 10–4 2–1 0 / 6 12–6 67%
ATP Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells Open A A 2R 4R 0 / 2 3–2 60%
Miami Open A A 2R 3R 0 / 2 1–2 33%
Monte-Carlo Masters A A 1R A 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Madrid Open A A 2R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Italian Open A A 2R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Canadian Open A A 2R 0 / 1 1–1 50%
Cincinnati Open A 3R 2R 0 / 2 3–2 60%
Shanghai Masters NH QF 0 / 1 3–1 75%
Paris Masters A A 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Win–loss 0–0 2–1 6–9 3–2 0 / 12 11–12 48%
Career statistics
Tournaments 0 3 25 8 Career total: 36
Titles 0 0 1 1 Career total: 2
Finals 0 0 1 1 Career total: 2
Overall win–loss 0–0 3–3 26–24 15–7 2 / 36 44–34 56%
Year-end ranking 573 96 17

Doubles[edit]

Tournament 2022 2023 2024 SR W–L Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
French Open A 2R 0 / 1 1–1 50%
Wimbledon A 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
US Open 2R 1R 0 / 2 1–2 33%
Win–loss 1–1 1–3 0–1 0 / 5 2–5 29%
ATP Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells Open A 1R 1R 0 / 2 0–2 0%
Miami Open A QF 2R 0 / 2 3–2 60%
Monte-Carlo Masters A 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Madrid Open A 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Italian Open A 2R 0 / 1 1–1 50%
Canadian Open A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Cincinnati Open A QF 0 / 1 2–1 67%
Shanghai Masters NH 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Paris Masters A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Win–loss 0–0 5–7 1–2 0 / 9 6–9 40%
Career statistics
Tournaments 1 16 4 Career total: 21
Titles 0 0 0 Career total: 0
Finals 0 1 0 Career total: 1
Overall win–loss 1–1 12–16 4–4 0 / 21 17–21 45%
Year-end ranking 287 95

ATP Tour career finals[edit]

Singles: 2 (2 titles)[edit]

Legend (singles)
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
ATP Finals (0–0)
ATP Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP Tour 500 Series (1–0)
ATP Tour 250 Series (1–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–0)
Clay (1–0)
Grass (0–0)
Finals by setting
Outdoor (2–0)
Indoor (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Oct 2023 Japan Open, Japan 500 Series Hard Aslan Karatsev 7–5, 6–1
Win 2–0 Apr 2024 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, United States 250 Series Clay United States Frances Tiafoe 7–5, 4–6, 6–3

Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)[edit]

Legend (doubles)
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
ATP Finals (0–0)
ATP Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP Tour 500 Series (0–1)
ATP Tour 250 Series (0–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–1)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Finals by setting
Outdoor (0–1)
Indoor (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Jul 2023 Washington Open, United States 500 Series Hard United States Mackenzie McDonald Argentina Máximo González
Argentina Andrés Molteni 		7–6(7–4), 2–6, [6–10]

ATP Challenger and Futures/ITF World Tennis Tour finals[edit]

Singles: 7 (4–3)[edit]

Legend (singles)
ATP Challenger Tour (3–3)
Futures/ITF World Tennis Tour (1–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (4–3)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Jul 2021 M25 Champaign, USA World Tennis Tour Hard Netherlands Gijs Brouwer 7–6(7–4), 6–3
Loss 1–1 Jul 2022 Rome, USA Challenger Hard (i) China Wu Yibing 5–7, 3–6
Loss 1–2 Aug 2022 Chicago, USA Challenger Hard Roman Safiullin 3–6, 6–4, 5–7
Loss 1–3 Oct 2022 Tiburon, USA Challenger Hard United States Zachary Svajda 6–2, 2–6, 4–6
Win 2–3 Oct 2022 Charlottesville, USA Challenger Hard (i) United States Christopher Eubanks 7–6(7–4), 7–5
Win 3–3 Nov 2022 Knoxville, USA Challenger Hard (i) United States Christopher Eubanks 6–3, 1–6, 7–6(7–4)
Win 4–3 Nov 2022 Champaign, USA Challenger Hard (i) Australia Aleksandar Vukic 0–6, 6–3, 6–2

Doubles: 2 (1–1)[edit]

Legend (doubles)
ATP Challenger Tour (0–0)
Futures/ITF World Tennis Tour (1–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–0)
Clay (0–1)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Jul 2021 M25 Champaign, USA World Tennis Tour Hard United States Eliot Spizzirri South Korea Chung Yun-seong
Japan Rio Noguchi 		6–4, 6–0
Loss 1–1 Oct 2021 M15 Vero Beach, USA World Tennis Tour Clay Canada Liam Draxl Denmark Johannes Ingildsen
Portugal Duarte Vale 		3–6, 4–6

National and international representation[edit]

Team competitions finals: 1 (1 title)[edit]

Finals by tournaments
Davis Cup (0–0)
United Cup (0–0)
Laver Cup (1–0)
Finals by teams
United States (0–0)
World (1–0)
Result Date W–L Tournament Surface Team Partners Opponent team Opponent players Score
Win Sep 2023 1–0 Laver Cup,
Vancouver,
Canada 		Hard (i) Team World Taylor Fritz
Frances Tiafoe
Tommy Paul
Félix Auger-Aliassime
Francisco Cerúndolo 		Team Europe Andrey Rublev
Casper Ruud
Hubert Hurkacz
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Arthur Fils
Gaël Monfils 		13–2

Wins over top 10 players[edit]

  • Shelton has a 3–8 (27.3%) record against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10.[44][45]
Season 2022 2023 Total
Wins 1 2 3
# Player Rank Event Surface Rd Score BSR
2022
1. Norway Casper Ruud 5 Cincinnati Open, United States Hard 2R 6–3, 6–3 229
2023
2. United States Frances Tiafoe 10 US Open, United States Hard QF 6–2, 3–6, 7–6(9–7), 6–2 47
3. Italy Jannik Sinner 4 Shanghai Masters, China Hard 4R 2–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–5) 20
*As of October 10, 2023

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b In ATP Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, Summer Olympics, Davis Cup and Laver Cup

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "Ben Shelton". ATP Tour. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Ben Shelton is poised to be the next big thing in American men's tennis". ESPN. August 23, 2022. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
  3. ^ "Find a Ranking or Player Record".
  4. ^ "Florida's Ben Shelton, Texas' Peyton Stearns win NCAA tennis singles titles". ESPN. May 28, 2022.
  5. ^ "Touted Ben Shelton Signs with Florida Men's Tennis". Florida Gators.
  6. ^ a b c Clarey, Christopher (August 23, 2022). "An N.C.A.A. Champion Is Turning Pro. He Already Has a Big Win". The New York Times. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h "NCAA champion Ben Shelton could be the next big thing in American men's tennis". USA Today. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "BEN SHELTON". Archived from the original on July 5, 2022. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  9. ^ "Father's Day Commitment: Sons Choose To Play For Dad". Tennis Recruiting Network.
  10. ^ "Ben Shelton Turning Pro". Florida Gators. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
  11. ^ "Yibing Wu Wins Georgia's Rome Challenger". Tennis TourTalk. Archived from the original on August 17, 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  12. ^ "Brooksby Breezes Past Paire In Atlanta". ATP Tour.
  13. ^ "Atlanta Open: Isner books spot in quarter-finals". TennisMajors. July 29, 2022.
  14. ^ "NCAA Champ Shelton Earns Win In Masters 1000 Debut". ATP. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  15. ^ "Ben Shelton keeps "moving in the right direction" by knocking out Casper Ruud in Cincinnati". Tennis.com. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  16. ^ "Ben Shelton Turns Pro Ahead of US Open | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  17. ^ "NCAA champ turns pro, accepts US Open invite". August 23, 2022.
  18. ^ "Sudden Impact: Shelton Surging On Challenger Tour". ATP Tour. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  19. ^ "Men's Singles Fastest Serve Speed Leaders". Archived from the original on September 16, 2022. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  20. ^ "Title runs propel Caty McNally, Ben Shelton to new career-high rankings". Tennis.com.
  21. ^ "Ben Shelton Etches Name in ATP Challenger Tour History". Florida Gators. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  22. ^ "Ranking Reaction: Casper Ruud finishes year at No. 3 following run to final of ATP Finals". Tennis.com.
  23. ^ Kemp, Emma (January 21, 2023). "Popyrin's muted Australian Open exit leaves rising star Shelton shining bright". The Guardian. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  24. ^ "Ben Shelton's Dream Australian Open Debut Continues Into Fourth Round | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour.
  25. ^ "Ben Shelton Reaches The QFs At The Australian Open | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  26. ^ "Tommy Paul Defeats Ben Shelton In All-American QF | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour.
  27. ^ "Ranking Reaction: Novak Djokovic returns to No. 1 after winning 10th Australian Open title".
  28. ^ "Showman Ben Shelton Finds His Biggest Stage Yet | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  29. ^ "Ben Shelton Cracks Top 20, Mover of Week | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  30. ^ "Ben Shelton Defeats Jannik Sinner in Shanghai | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  31. ^ "Ben Shelton Wins First ATP Tour Title in Tokyo | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  32. ^ "Ben Shelton wins first ATP title of career in Tokyo, will break into Top 15 on ATP rankings".
  33. ^ "First-Time Winner Spotlight: Ben Shelton | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  34. ^ "Can Ben Shelton Find a Way to Turin? Mover of Week | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  35. ^ "Shelton serves up a first in Houston". April 4, 2024.
  36. ^ https://twitter.com/TheTennisLetter/status/1777092038921781689
  37. ^ "Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe Play First ATP All African-American Final At A Place Arthur Ashe Was Not Welcomed". April 7, 2024.
  38. ^ "Shelton surges to Houston title, joins Roddick in history books". April 7, 2024.
  39. ^ "Shelton joins Connors, McEnroe as lefties to reach American No. 1". April 15, 2024.
  40. ^ "Brands Endorsed By American Tennis Star Ben Shelton". tennisfansite.com. August 5, 2022. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
  41. ^ "On Signs Iga Swiatek And Ben Shelton To Head-To-Toe Tennis Deal". Forbes.com. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  42. ^ "Ben Shelton joins Rolex family ahead of 2024 Australian Open campaign".
  43. ^ "Ben Shelton | Bio | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  44. ^ "ATP Win/Loss record vs top 10".
  45. ^ "Ben Shelton vs Top 10". Tennis Abstract.

External links[edit]

Sporting positions
Preceded by SEC Tennis Player of the Year
2022 		Succeeded by
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