Ben Shelton confirms what his relationship with Taylor Fritz is really like now

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Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz are the two American representatives at the 2025 ATP Finals.

Making his debut in 2025, Shelton has joined last year’s runner-up, Fritz, in Turin.

Shelton and Fritz have been placed in different groups, with the former taking on Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, and Felix Auger-Aliassime, and the latter, Carlos Alcaraz, Lorenzo Musetti, and Alex de Minaur.

Losing his first two matches, Shelton was eliminated from the ATP Finals, while Fritz can still qualify, depending on how he performs against De Minaur in his last group stage game.

Whatever happens in Turin, the relationship between Shelton and Fritz won’t change, as the pair continue to enjoy each other’s company on the ATP Tour.

‘We’re boys’ – Ben Shelton opens up about friendship with Taylor Fritz

During an interview with CNN, Shelton and Fritz took a while to get serious about their friendship…

“I hate him,” joked Fritz.

“We’re not boys at all! Couldn’t sit down at a dinner together. We don’t get along with each other,” added Shelton.

Providing a real answer, Shelton shared his thoughts on Fritz and other American ATP players.

“Yeah, we’re boys, it’s as simple as that,” he said.

“I think that’s kind of the way that we are with a lot of the guys on tour. For him, and Tommy [Paul], and Frances [Tiafoe], and Reilly [Opelka], that group were kind of like big brothers to me when I was coming out on tour, and young, kind of my first couple of years figuring things out.

“So that’s kind of how I see our relationship. It’s obviously evolved; the more we’re around each other, the more we’re travelling the same places every single year.

“I spend more time around him than some of my family members!”

Fritz agreed, as he commented on his friendship with the 23-year-old.

“Yeah, exactly. Obviously, I grew up with the rest of our group, so we’ve known each other forever, and then as soon as Ben [Shelton] came on tour, we all just started hanging out and became friends, and it’s just kind of how it is,” he said.

Shelton and Fritz seem to be getting along well, but who’s had the better of their ATP rivalry so far?

Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz’s head-to-head record

The pair have only played two matches against each other in their careers to date.

Fritz won their first career meeting at Indian Wells two years ago, defeating Shelton in three sets, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

They didn’t play another match until this year’s Canadian Open, where Shelton got his revenge, winning in straight sets to advance to his maiden Masters 1000 final.

With Shelton eliminated from the ATP Finals, they won’t meet again in 2025, as fans will have to wait until the new year to see the pair face off for a third time.

However, while Shelton has been knocked out of the tournament, he still has a match to play, as he takes on the world number two, Jannik Sinner.

Should Shelton pull off the upset against Sinner, he could jump back above his countryman in the Live ATP Rankings.

Only time will tell if Shelton can get the job done against Sinner, but you certainly won’t want to miss any of the action.

Sinner and Shelton will play their round-robin match on Friday, November 14.