Steve Johnson makes his opinion about Ben Shelton’s coach perfectly clear after the 2025 season

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Ben Shelton has closed out another season on the ATP Tour, where once again he was coached by his father Bryan Shelton.

World number nine Shelton won one ATP title in 2025, emerging victorious at the ATP Masters 1000 Canada for his third career title.

But his focus now turns to another season, where Shelton will be eager to chase Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

The two superstars dominated the ATP Tour once more in 2025, which included sharing the four Grand Slam titles equally.

Steve Johnson says what he thinks of Ben Shelton’s coach and father

Shelton has been told to hire a new coach who would arguably help him close that gap, but his current coach Bryan has just been identified as a leading figure in that regard in 2025.

After Shelton senior’s nomination for ATP Coach of the Year, former player Steve Johnson said on the Nothing Major Show: “I would give it to Bryan Shelton, Ben’s Dad, because it felt like there were things missing in his game, like glaring weaknesses for a bit of time, which are now strengths, they are no longer weaknesses.

“They have done a great job of showing up those little soft spots in his game, and now there’s no weaknesses.

“So I would give it to Bryan Shelton, just for what he’s done with Ben and having him grow on Tour and still get better and better each time he goes out there.”

John Isner picks his 2025 Coach of the Year on the ATP Tour

Shelton has been joined in the nominations for the award by some familiar names, with the winner set to be announced next month.

Alcaraz’s team of Juan Carlos Ferrero and Samuel Lopez have been nominated, along with Sinner’s coaches Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi.

Also making the cut were Benjamin Balleret, coach of Valentin Vacherot, and Felix Auger-Aliassime’s coach Frederic Fontang.

Offering his potential winner, former player John Isner said: “I might give it to Freddy Fontang, the coach of Felix.

“He has been with Felix forever, through all the ups and downs. We have talked about how streaky Felix is and he has gone months where he has not won many matches at all.

“The last couple of years he has finished pretty low in the rankings. Felix sticks with his guys and his team.

“They clearly have a great relationship. I am going to go Freddy because they have stuck with it and now he’s finished top five in the world.”

It should be a fiercely contested award, although it may just be battled out between the teams of Sinner and Alcaraz.

But Vacherot, who has also been nominated for the Breakthrough of the Year award, did enjoy a superb season.

The Frenchman stunned the tennis world with his success at the ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai, where the qualifier claimed his first career win.

And Auger-Aliassime, who has also been nominated for the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award, ended the year fifth in the rankings after a hugely impressive campaign.