Ben Shelton

Benjamin Todd Shelton (born October 9, 2002) is an American professional tennis player. Shelton has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 10 by the ATP, achieved on 16 June 2025. He has a career-high ATP doubles ranking of No. 68 achieved on 20 May 2024. Shelton has won two singles titles on the ATP Tour, and reached two major semifinals at the 2023 US Open and at the 2025 Australian Open.

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.

Shelton made his ATP Tour debut in July 2022 at the Atlanta Open, where he won his opening match. 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 tour title on 22 October 2023 in Japan Open in Tokyo. By virtue of this inaugural Tour title, on 23 October 2023, Shelton moved up from No. 19 to make his top-15 debut at world No. 15. The 2024 season saw Shelton make 2 more Tour finals, as well as his 2nd ATP Tour title at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, which was also his first clay court title.

Early and personal life

Shelton is the son of former professional tennis player and Florida Gators men's tennis coach Bryan Shelton. 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. Shelton was born in Atlanta, Georgia, as his father was the then-coach of Georgia Tech's women's tennis team. He graduated from Buchholz High School and currently lives in Gainesville, Florida.

In March 2025, Shelton began dating soccer player Trinity Rodman.

Junior career

As a child, Shelton played American football. His parents did not pressure him to play the sport. At age 12, Shelton began playing tennis regularly, coached by his father, who at the time was a college tennis coach.

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

College career

Since 2020, he played collegiate tennis for the Florida Gators. A finance major, Shelton mostly played singles as a freshman in 2020–21 and had an overall record of 28–5. 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.

In 2021–22, Shelton played 37–5 in singles matches (including 14–2 in the spot). He won the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-American Championships in the fall without dropping a set. He helped Florida defend their SEC title and win the SEC Tournament Championship. Shelton won the 2022 NCAA Singles Championship over August Holmgren and finished the season as the nation's top-ranked player. He was named SEC Player of the Year and National Player of the Year.

Shelton returned to Florida for his junior year in 2022–23 to complete his finance degree, but soon continued his college education online.

Professional career

2022: ATP debut, Challenger titles, top-5 win

At the Georgia's Rome Challenger in July, Shelton reached his first Challenger final, losing to Wu Yibing. 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. He lost his next match to the No. 2 seed John Isner in three sets. 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. 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 for his first top-10 win.

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

He also received a wildcard to appear in the main draw for his Grand Slam debut at the US Open on August 14. 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 in this match. 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. 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.

2023: First Major semifinal, first ATP title, top 15

On his debut at the 2023 Australian Open, Shelton reached the fourth round, with wins against Zhang Zhizhen, Nicolás Jarry, and Alexei Popyrin. This was only Shelton's second Grand Slam after the 2022 US Open. Next he defeated compatriot J. J. Wolf to reach the quarterfinal of a Major for the first time in his career. 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.

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, 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 September 11, 2023.

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. 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. He became the sixth first-time ATP champion in the season and as a result reached the top 15 in the singles rankings on October 23, 2023.

2024: First title on clay, American No. 1

At the 2024 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships he reached his first quarterfinal on clay courts defeating Zizou Bergs, 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. As a result he reached a new career-high singles ranking of world No. 14 on April 8, 2024 and became the American No. 1 player ahead of Taylor Fritz on April 15, 2024. He became the youngest American No. 1 player since Andy Roddick achieved the feat in March 2004.

At the 2024 Cincinnati Open he reached the round of 16 for the second time at the tournament, saving a match point against Tomás Martín Etcheverry. he reached his second Masters career quarterfinal with a win over Fábián Marozsán.

At the US Open, Shelton reached the third round, defeating former 2020 champion Dominic Thiem in his final US Open, and Roberto Carballes Baena in the second round, before losing to eventual semifinalist Francis Tiafoe.

At the 2024 Laver Cup, Shelton earned 6 of Team World's 11 points in a 13-11 loss to Team Europe. On day one, Shelton partnered Taylor Fritz to defeat Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz of Team Europe. On day 2, Shelton was defeated by Alcaraz in singles, while partnering with Alejandro Tabilo to defeat the doubles team of Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas. On the third day, Shelton defeated Daniil Medvedev, before losing to the doubles team of Alcaraz and Ruud. Shelton's played a total of 5 matches, more than any other Laver Cup participant, and earned 6 points, more than anyone on Team World.

2025: Australian Open semifinal, top 10 debut

Shelton, seeded first at the 2025 ASB Classic lost to Jakub Menšík in the round of 16.

In the 2025 Australian Open, Shelton advanced past the first week after defeating compatriot Brandon Nakashima in straight sets in round 1, Pablo Carreño Busta in round 2, Lorenzo Musetti in round 3, and advanced past Gaël Monfils after the Frenchman retired in the fourth set due to injury. In the quarterfinals, Shelton defeated Lorenzo Sonego in four sets. In his final match of the tournament, Shelton lost to defending champion Jannik Sinner in the semifinals in three sets.

At the 2025 BNP Paribas Open, Shelton reached the quarterfinals for the first time at the tournament becoming the youngest American to accomplish the feat since Andy Roddick in 2004.

Shelton made his top 10 debut following his quarterfinal win over Jiří Lehečka at the 2025 BOSS Open in Stuttgart. He lost in the semifinals to eventual runner-up and top seed Alexander Zverev.

Endorsements

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

Playing style

Shelton's best weapon is his serve. He has the ability to hit a big first serve, which averages . At the US Open in 2023, he hit two service aces at in the same game; he has hit serves at on multiple separate occasions. He also can produce a significant amount of kick on both first and second serves. A left-handed player, Shelton is powerful and consistent on both the forehand and backhand side. 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..." He has said that the serve-and-volley is an important part of his game and an area he wants to further develop. His tennis idol is Roger Federer.

Career Statistics

Singles

''Current through the 2025 Queen's Club Championships.''

Doubles

ATP Tour finals

Singles: 4 (2 titles, 2 runner-ups)

Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)

ATP Challenger Tour finals

Singles: 6 (3 titles, 3 runners-up)

ITF World Tennis Tour finals

Singles: 1 (1 title)

Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

National and international representation

Team competitions finals: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Wins over top 10 players

* Shelton has a win-loss record against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10.

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Notes

References

External links

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Florida Gators bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shelton, Ben
2002 births
Living people
African-American tennis players
American male tennis players
Buchholz High School alumni
Florida Gators men's tennis players
Tennis players from Atlanta
21st-century American sportsmen