Ben Shelton responds when asked what Jannik Sinner’s best surface is after losing to him again at the ATP Finals

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Ben Shelton’s 2025 season finished with three defeats in a row at the ATP Finals.

It wasn’t the dream debut Shelton might have hoped for in Turin, as he lost to Alexander Zverev, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Jannik Sinner, finishing bottom of his group with an 0-3 record.

He was already eliminated from semifinal contention before his last group stage match, but that didn’t stop Shelton from playing some exciting tennis against the four-time Grand Slam winner.

Forcing Sinner into a tiebreaker deserves some credit, as he came closest of anyone in Group Bjorn Borg to winning a set off the Italian, even if he did fall in straights, 3-6, 6-7 [3-7].

Having now lost eight consecutive matches to Sinner, Shelton has become quite familiar with his game.

During his post-match press conference, he was asked what surface he believes Sinner is the most dangerous on.

Ben Shelton thinks Jannik Sinner is most dangerous on indoor-hard courts

The American has lost to Sinner on three different surfaces, but has particularly struggled against the Italian on indoor hard courts.

“Here, indoor courts, he’s hitting the lines a lot on the serve. Pinpoint accuracy. It’s easier to serve indoors in general,” said Shelton.

“If you look at the three guys I played, how tight they were on the lines. He was probably the closest of the three. But it’s a small difference between him, [Alexander] Zverev, and Felix [Auger-Aliassime], what they’ve been doing this tournament.

“I think his serve makes him really, really difficult here. Obviously, the ability to take time away and hit winners from different places, from the baseline, wherever on the court, is a big advantage.

“Yeah, I guess it’s hard to argue that indoor hard court is not his best surface. 

Jannik Sinner and Ben Shelton’s head-to-head record

“But I think the best players adapt. The best players are great at changing little things in their game to be effective on every surface.”

Shelton has been impressed by the way Sinner performs on all three surfaces.

“Different parts of his game are best on different surfaces,” he said.

“I think in Australia, his ability to build the point, to move you around the court, the groundstrokes come alive. It helps the serve as well there. It’s really what he does after the serve.

“To be winning slams on multiple surfaces, winning a bunch of titles on different surfaces throughout the year, you’ve got to be able to adapt.

“That’s one of my biggest focuses going into 2026.”

Shelton will head into the new year as a top 10 player, but where exactly will he be ranked?

Live ATP Rankings after Ben Shelton’s latest defeat

The young American travelled to Turin as the world number five, his career-high ranking.

However, after three straight defeats, Shelton has fallen to number nine in the live rankings.

• 1. Carlos Alcaraz – 11,650 points
• 2. Jannik Sinner – 10,600 points
• 3. Alexander Zverev – 5,160 points
• 4. Novak Djokovic – 4,830 points
• 5. Taylor Fritz (+1) – 4,135 points
• 6. Alex de Minaur (+1) – 4,135 points
• 7. Felix Auger-Aliassime (+1) – 4,045 points
• 8. Lorenzo Musetti (+1) – 4,040 points
• 9. Ben Shelton (-4) – 3,970 points
• 10. Jack Draper – 2,990 points

It should be noted that there are just 165 points separating fifth and ninth, giving Shelton a chance to make a move back up the rankings at the beginning of the 2026 season.

He also has a near 1,000-point buffer to world number 10 Jack Draper, meaning he can look forward, not backward, in the new year.

Only time will tell if Shelton can return to the top five in 2026, but you certainly won’t want to miss any of the action.

Shelton will likely begin his 2026 campaign ahead of the Australian Open, which starts on Monday, January 12.