Ben Shelton has reached a new career-high ranking at the perfect time, with the American now in California for Indian Wells.
Indian Wells 2025 is now underway, with Shelton rising to 12th in the world in the latest ATP Tour rankings.
Shelton has been backed to shine at Indian Wells, where his tournament gets underway in the second round.
The new ATP number 12 begins his quest for a third ATP title on Friday, where he plays either Mariano Navone or Learner Tien.
Shelton is the 11th seed in California, with that seeding earning him a bye into round two of the ATP Masters 1000 event.
Brad Gilbert thinks Ben Shelton can break ATP top five
A champion in Tokyo and Houston in 2023 and 2024 respectively, the 22-year-old has been catching the eye of Brad Gilbert in recent times.
“Could he be top 10? Sure – I mean, he could be top five,” said Gilbert, a former coach of Coco Gauff, as quoted by Vogue.
“I like his size, his movement; he’s got a wicked serve, obviously; and I like his potential – he’s also just really fun to watch. The big thing for him moving forward is improving his return game.”
Ben Shelton reacts on Instagram after reaching 12th in the ATP rankings
Shelton would be wise to continue taking things one step at a time, but the youngster can, of course, celebrate this fine milestone.
And his attitude towards the rise has emerged, with the American sharing the ranking on his Instagram story with the words “keep digging”.
In a similar vein, his compatriot Gauff adopted a shovel celebration at the 2025 United Cup, having been told by her retiring teammate Denis Kudla to “keep digging”.
Both Shelton and Gauff have been flying the flag proudly for American tennis in recent times, although the latter has managed to rise to third in the WTA rankings.
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