The ATP Tour is currently focused on the Italian Open, the latest clay-court tournament in the build-up to Roland Garros.
ATP number one Jannik Sinner is among the players remaining at the Masters 1000 event, which is now in its midway stages in Rome.
Shortly after, many players will turn their attention to Hamburg and Geneva, before the clay-court swing concludes with the French Open.
Afterwards, seven tournaments comprise the grass-court swing, which starts with the Boss Open in Stuttgart, where Ben Shelton has just been confirmed to play.
Which American man has the best chance of winning a Grand Slam in 2026?
Ben Shelton to join Taylor Fritz and Nick Kyrgios in Stuttgart
Shelton is the latest name added to a long list of high-profile players that will take part in the ATP 250 event.
Taking place in early June, Shelton’s fellow American Taylor Fritz is also confirmed for the Stuttgart Open, where he is the defending champion.
And 2025 runner-up Alexander Zverev will also be involved on the Stuttgart grass, where there will be a rare appearance from Nick Kyrgios.
Also confirmed are the likes of Alexander Bublik, Flavio Cobolli, Jiri Lehecka, Matteo Berrettini, Jakub Mensik and Valentin Vacherot among others.
Meanwhile, Shelton and Fritz are certainly not the only American players set to be involved, with Tommy Paul, Learner Tien, Frances Tiafoe, Sebastian Korda, Alex Michelsen and Brandon Nakashima all confirmed for Stuttgart.
What is preventing Taylor Fritz from winning a Grand Slam?
Is Ben Shelton America’s most likely Grand Slam champion?
The ATP 250 tournament arrives at an intriguing stage of the 2026 calendar, taking place immediately after the French Open.
There, American fans will be desperate to finally end their men’s Grand Slam drought, which continued at the Australian Open.
Remarkably, Andy Roddick represents the last such player to clinch a major title, doing so at the 2003 US Open.
Wimbledon then provides another opportunity for American men’s Grand Slam success, with their failures not looking like ending anytime soon amid the dominance of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
Alcaraz has been ruled out of Roland Garros with injury, but that will likely merely boost Sinner’s chances of success as opposed to resulting in a very rare American champion.
| 6 | Ben Shelton | ||||||
| 7 | Taylor Fritz | ||||||
| 18 | Tommy Paul | ||||||
| 21 | Learner Tien | ||||||
| 22 | Frances Tiafoe | ||||||
| 32 | Brandon Nakashima | ||||||
| 42 | Alex Michelsen | ||||||
| 43 | Sebastian Korda | ||||||
| 48 | Ethan Quinn | ||||||
| 63 | Jenson Brooksby | ||||||
Shelton arguably represents his nation’s best chance of success in the near future, with his fellow youngster Learner Tien perhaps next in line.
World number six Shelton is America’s highest-ranked ATP player, followed by Fritz in seventh and Paul in 18th.
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