Ben Shelton is back in action this week at the Dallas Open, his first event since a quarterfinal exit at the Australian Open.
Shelton lost to Jannik Sinner at the Grand Slam in Melbourne, having suffered the same fate in the 2025 Australian Open semifinals.
Following the conclusion of the hard-court tournament, Shelton has fallen to ninth in the world rankings, dropping two places.
But Shelton now turns his focus to the Dallas Open, one of two ATP 500 events in the calendar alongside the Rotterdam Open.
Who will win the 2026 Rotterdam Open?
Ben Shelton has fine chance to win the Dallas Open as the draw is confirmed
Shelton is the second seed in Dallas, but has been handed a tricky opening match against Canadian Gabriel Diallo.
However, should the American emerge victorious from that clash, he has a great chance of going all the way.
Shelton could face either Adam Walton or Adrian Mannarino in the round of 16, and potentially Tommy Paul in the quarterfinals.
Denis Shapovalov and Grigor Dimitrov represent potential semifinal opponents, with Shelton importantly avoiding two real dangermen until the final.
Top seed Taylor Fritz represents one such opponent, along with their fellow American and rising star Learner Tien.
Shelton has also avoided Frances Tiafoe and Flavio Cobolli until the very last match should he make it that far.
And even if Fritz does make it all the way, he is clearly not fully fit, giving Shelton another boost in his bid to put his Australian Open disappointment behind him.
He also has three qualifiers in his half of the draw, which definitely represents a lucky and indeed welcome break for Shelton.
| Round | Opponent |
| R32 | Gabriel Diallo |
| R16 | Adam Walton/Adrian Mannarino |
| Quarterfinal | Tommy Paul/Jenson Brooksby |
| Semifinal | Denis Shapovalov/Reilly Opelka/Grigor Dimitrov |
| Final | Taylor Fritz/Learner Tien |
Ben Shelton deserves lucky break after Australian Open test
Shelton certainly has some tricky tests ahead of him in Dallas, where there is a strong field dominated by American talent.
But he might just be quietly confident of a lengthy run on home soil following the confirmation of the draw.
While it arguably could have been even better, he may be breathing a sigh of relief after his deadly Australian Open draw.
Which American man has the best chance of winning a Grand Slam in 2026?
Before meeting and eventually losing to Sinner, he needed to overcome the likes of Casper Ruud, Valentin Vacherot and Ugo Humbert.
Of course, the 23-year-old will need to beat the best to be the best, but a bit of luck certainly goes a long way.
But Shelton is also taking such matters into his own hands in Dallas, using the doubles event to sharpen his singles game.
He will play alongside Aleksandar Kovacevic, with the American duo taking on Bulgarian pairing Dimitrov and Georgi Georgiev in their opener.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
