Ben Shelton

Benjamin Todd Shelton[3] (born October 9, 2002) is an American professional tennis player. Shelton has a career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 15 achieved on October 23, 2023. He also has a career-high ATP doubles ranking of No. 80 achieved on August 21, 2023.

Ben Shelton
Country (sports) United States
ResidenceGainesville, Florida, US
Born (2002-10-09) October 9, 2002
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$2,752,352
Singles
Career record29–26 (52.7%)[lower-alpha 1]
Career titles1
Highest rankingNo. 15 (23 October 2023)
Current rankingNo. 15 (23 October 2023)[1]
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenQF (2023)
French Open1R (2023)
Wimbledon2R (2023)
US OpenSF (2023)
Doubles
Career record9–14 (39.1%)[lower-alpha 2]
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 80 (August 21, 2023)
Current rankingNo. 85 (October 23, 2023)[1]
Grand Slam doubles results
French Open2R (2023)
Wimbledon1R (2023)
US Open2R (2022)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
US OpenSF (2023)
Last updated on: October 23, 2023.

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 Grand Slam, at the 2023 Australian Open. Later that year, he improved to reach the semifinals of another Major at the 2023 US Open.

Early and personal life

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 a highly-ranked junior tennis player, his uncle, Todd Witsken, was a professional tennis player and 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

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

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 helped lead the Gators to their first national championship.[8] Shelton had a singles record of 10–2 and won the championship-clinching match for the Gators.[8]

In 2021-22, Shelton shone during his sophomore year going 37–5 in singles matches and winning the NCAA Singles Championship over August Holmgren.[7] He finished the year as the No. 1 singles player in ITA rankings.[8] He was subsequently named the 2022 ITA National Player of the Year and the 2022 SEC Player of the Year.[8]

In 2022-23, Shelton was slated to return to Florida for his junior year and stated 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

2022: Three Challenger titles, ATP & Major & Masters & top 100 debuts, first top-5 win

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 semifinals, 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 139 miles per hour (224 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: Australian quarterfinal, US Open semifinal, Maiden top-5 win and ATP title, top 15

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 his first top-5 and 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]

Endorsements

As of March 2023, Shelton is sponsored by On for clothing and shoes and Yonex for racquets.[34][35]

Playing style

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). 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]

Performance timelines

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

Current through the 2023 Erste Bank Open.[1]

Tournament202120222023SRW–LWin %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A QF 0 / 1 4–1 80%
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 0 / 5 10–5 67%
ATP Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells Masters A A 2R 0 / 1 1–1 50%
Miami Open A A 2R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Monte-Carlo Masters A A 1R 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 Masters A 3R 2R 0 / 2 3–2 60%
Shanghai Masters NH QF 0 / 1 3–1 75%
Paris Masters A A 0 / 0 0–0   
Win–loss 0–0 2–1 6–8 0 / 9 8–9 47%
Career statistics
Tournaments 0 3 24 Career total: 27
Titles 0 0 1 Career total: 1
Finals 0 0 1 Career total: 1
Overall win–loss 0–0 3–3 26–23 1 / 27 29–26 53%
Year-end ranking 573 96

Doubles

Tournament20222023SRW–LWin %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A 0 / 0 0–0   
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 / 4 2–4 33%
ATP Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells Masters A 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Miami Open A QF 0 / 1 2–1 67%
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 Masters A QF 0 / 1 2–1 67%
Shanghai Masters NH 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Paris Masters A 0 / 0 0–0   
Win–loss 0–0 5–7 0 / 7 5–7 42%
Career statistics
Tournaments 1 16 Career total: 17
Titles 0 0 Career total: 0
Finals 0 1 Career total: 1
Overall win–loss 1–1 12–16 0 / 17 13–17 43%
Year-end ranking 287

ATP career finals

Singles: 1 (1 title)

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
ATP Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP Tour 500 Series (1–0)
ATP Tour 250 Series (0–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–0)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Finals by setting
Outdoor (1–0)
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

Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
ATP Tour 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 ITF Futures finals

Singles: 7 (4–3)

Legend
ATP Challenger Tour (3–3)
ITF Futures 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)

Legend
ATP Challenger (0–0)
ITF Futures (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

Team competitions finals: 1 (1 title)

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

Record against top 10 players

Shelton's record against players who have been ranked in the top 10, with those who are active in boldface.

Player Record Win % Hard Clay Grass Last Match
Number 1 ranked players
Spain Carlos Alcaraz 0–1 0% 0–1 Lost (3–6, 6–7(3–7)) at 2023 Toronto
Serbia Novak Djokovic 0–1 0% 0–1 Lost (3–6, 2–6, 6–7(4–7)) at 2023 US Open
Number 2 ranked players
Norway Casper Ruud 1–1 50% 1–0 0–1 Lost (2–6, 6–7(1–7)) at 2023 Barcelona
Number 3 ranked players
Austria Dominic Thiem 1–1 50% 1–0 0–1 Won (7–6(7–1), 1–0 ret.) at 2023 US Open
Bulgaria Grigor Dimitrov 0–1 0% 0–1 Lost (1–6, 6–3, 3–6) at 2023 Monte Carlo
Greece Stefanos Tsitsipas 0–1 0% 0–1 Lost (6–7(3–7), 6–7(2–7)) at 2023 Cincinnati
Number 4 ranked players
Italy Jannik Sinner 1–1 50% 1–1 Lost (6–7(2–7), 5–7) at 2023 Vienna
Denmark Holger Rune 0–1 0% 0–1 Lost (7–6(9–7), 4–6, 2–6) at 2023 Acapulco
Number 5 ranked players
United States Taylor Fritz 0–1 0% 0–1 Lost (6–4, 4–6, 3–6) at 2023 Indian Wells
Number 8 ranked players
United States John Isner 0–1 0% 0–1 Lost (6–7(8–10), 6–4, 6–7(3–7)) at 2022 Atlanta
United Kingdom Cameron Norrie 0–1 0% 0–1 Lost (0–6, 2–6) at 2022 Cincinnati
Number 9 ranked players
Italy Fabio Fognini 1–0 100% 1–0 Won (6–4, 6–1) at 2023 Indian Wells
Number 10 ranked players
United States Frances Tiafoe 1–0 100% 1–0 Won (6–2, 3–6, 7–6(9–7), 6–2) at 2023 US Open
Total 5–11 31% 5–8
(38%)
0–3
(0%)
0–0
(  )
* Statistics correct As of October 25, 2023.

Wins over top 10 players

  • He has a 3–7 (30.0%) record against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10.
Season20222023Total
Wins123
# Player Rank Event Surface Rd Score BSR
2022
1. Norway Casper Ruud 5 Cincinnati Masters, United States Hard 2R 6–3, 6–3 229
2023
2. United States Frances Tiafoe 10 US Open, New York City, 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

  1. In ATP Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, Summer Olympics, Davis Cup and Laver Cup
  2. namerecord

References

  1. "Ben Shelton". ATP Tour. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  2. "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. 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. "NCAA champion Ben Shelton could be the next big thing in American men's tennis". USA Today. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
  8. "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. https://www.atptour.com/en/news/sinner-shelton-shanghai-2023-tuesday
  31. https://www.atptour.com/en/news/karatsev-shelton-tokyo-2023-final-sunday
  32. https://www.tennis.com/news/articles/ben-shelton-wins-first-atp-title-of-career-in-tokyo-will-break-into-top-15
  33. https://www.atptour.com/en/news/shelton-pepperstone-atp-live-race-to-turin-23-october-2023
  34. "Brands Endorsed By American Tennis Star Ben Shelton". tennisfansite.com. August 5, 2022. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
  35. "On Signs Iga Swiatek And Ben Shelton To Head-To-Toe Tennis Deal". Forbes.com. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
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