Ben Shelton is enjoying a strong year on the ATP Tour as he continues to impress.
The young American qualified for his second Grand Slam semi-final in January, when Shelton beat Lorenzo Sonego in the Australian Open quarterfinals.
Failing in his bid to reach the final, Shelton came up short against Jannik Sinner in straight sets, 6-7, 2-6, 2-6.
He’s had several good performances since, reaching the quarterfinals in Miami, the final in Munich on clay, and the semi-finals of the Stuttgart Open on grass.
Following his run to the last four in Stuttgart, Shelton broke into the ATP top ten for the first time in his career.
Reacting to the news, a former doubles world number one explained why nobody wants to play Shelton right now.
John Fitzgerald says Ben Shelton’s lefty serve is an ‘unfair advantage’ and claims nobody wants to play him
Appearing on the Australian Open TV podcast, seven-time Grand Slam doubles champion John Fitzgerald pinpointed the reason why Shelton is a nightmare to play against.
“I think when you serve that well, no one wants to play you,” he said.
“Those left-handers, that’s an unfair advantage. When you’re a lefty and you serve that well, it’s a difficult thing to combat if you’re just a non-talented right-hander.
“I wouldn’t have liked to play Ben Shelton, with that serve, you’re battling away to hold your own serve, and he can just blow it past you quickly, game after game.”
The Australian suggested Shelton is a ‘throwback’ player, who competes differently from other players on tour.
“He’s a bit of a throwback for me. He’s got a game that looks like it was played ten years ago or 15 years ago, but that can be a good thing,” said Fitzgerald.
“There were more players like him that had that style back then, there are more players these days that are so tight with their mistakes, they don’t give away balls as much as they should.
“Ben still does, but he’s got flair on the other side of that.”
Fitzgerald went on to predict what Shelton’s ‘ceiling’ is, and named his best surface.
“I don’t think there is a ceiling on this lad. I don’t think anyone knows,” he said.
“He’s got some talent, some strengths, and weaknesses that make him look like a more mature player. I think on the clay, you would imagine he would struggle a bit more, but on the hard court, it’s obviously where he grew up, and on the grass he can do serious damage.”
The 64-year-old highlighted the areas of Shelton’s game that can still be improved and commented on the current state of American tennis.
“I think he’s probably going to have to keep his unforced errors down, maybe his shot selection needs to be improved. He gives away some points at the wrong time, and plays some low-percentage stuff when he should think about high-percentage, but he’s good,” said Fitzgerald.
“He’s in the top ten, Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul are already there. The Americans are looking pretty strong.”
When Shelton made his top ten debut on Monday, he joined Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul among the world’s elite.
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Points |
| 1 | Jannik Sinner | Italian | 10,880 |
| 2 | Carlos Alcaraz | Spanish | 8,850 |
| 3 | Alexander Zverev | German | 6,500 |
| 4 | Taylor Fritz | American | 4,735 |
| 5 | Novak Djokovic | Serbian | 4,630 |
| 6 | Jack Draper | British | 4,550 |
| 7 | Lorenzo Musetti | Italian | 4,470 |
| 8 | Tommy Paul | American | 3,470 |
| 9 | Holger Rune | Danish | 3,440 |
| 10 | Ben Shelton | American | 3,170 |
The United States of America last had three players ranked inside the world’s top ten in 2006 with Andy Roddick (4), James Blake (6), and Andre Agassi (10).
Ben Shelton suffers Wimbledon setback at Queen’s
Full of confidence heading into the Queen’s Club Championships having reached the semi-finals of the Stuttgart Open, Shelton suffered a shock defeat.
Taking on French lucky loser Arthur Rinderknech in round one, Shelton lost in straight sets 6-7, 6-7.
Despite the loss, Shelton is likely to hold on to his place in the top ten, provided Andrey Rublev doesn’t reach the final of this week’s Halle Open in Germany.
He’ll want to push his latest defeat to the back of his mind as he looks ahead to Wimbledon later this month.
On Shelton’s two previous visits to the All England Club, he failed to reach the quarterfinals as he holds a 4-2 record at the event.
- 2024 Wimbledon 4R – Ben Shelton lost to Jannik Sinner, 2-6, 4-6, 6-7
- 2023 Wimbledon 2R – Ben Shelton lost to Laslo Djere, 6-3, 3-6, 6-7, 3-6
Only time will tell if Shelton can break through and reach the last eight of Wimbledon for the first time in 2025.
The 2025 Wimbledon tournament is scheduled to begin on Monday, June 30.
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