Roger Federer’s former coach tells Ben Shelton what he needs to do to improve his game with one concern shared

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A former coach of 20-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer suggests how Ben Shelton can improve his game.

In 2024 the American made some more progress in his young career, as he reached a career-high ranking of number 13.

Ben Shelton has positioned himself as one of the ATP’s bright young talents and he plans to build on that momentum heading into 2025.

At just 22 years of age, the player possesses some heavy artillery, especially where his serve is concerned, this will cause opponents plenty of problems next season.

What does Roger Federer’s former coach think Ben Shelton can improve?

Shelton has made some great strides in the time he has been on the ATP Tour.

He has two titles to his name and came close to winning a Grand Slam title after reaching the semi-finals of the 2023 US Open.

His biggest strength is on serve. The speed and shape Shelton generates is a nightmare for players to handle, and he achieved a serve rating of 294.0 on serve in 2024, the sixth highest rating.

But Paul Annacone, a former coach of Roger Federer, thinks Shelton can improve by being more solid and consistent in other areas of his game

The 61-year-old told the Tennis Channel podcast: “It never has to be great in terms of never missing a return or never missing from the ground because he does everything so well and he is going to bring fear, but he just has to be a little bit more solid.”

What concern does Roger Federer’s former coach have about Ben Shelton?

Shelton is developing into a fine young player and he aims to be a top contender for Grand Slam titles in 2025. Having a big serve will certainly help him achieve that goal and also boost his chances of breaking into the top 10.

As Shelton aims to polish and refine his game, Annacone expressed his worries with some previous comments Shelton and his and coach Bryan Shelton made about serving at a slightly slower pace.

“It’s interesting because he has got a huge serve but it was Ben Shelton who told us last Fall with his Dad Brian that he is going to become more of a pitcher of the ball,” Annacone added.

“He says he is not going to serve as big, he is going to try and hit spots and take more off of it. I think he has a more dynamic game [that to be known as a serve bot], he doesn’t just bring the heat.

“But I personally hope he doesn’t shy away too much from the big serve that he has, because sure he has a lot of movement but you take too many mph’s off of it too consistently and you have to be a little bit wary.

“But boy he has got a great release with the arm, he has great big muscles with the leg. He just has a loose shoulder and so many things going for him but the dynamic tennis is what needs to get a little bit better.”