The American star has become more consistent than in previous seasons and has especially shown this in Grand Slam tournaments, where only two champions such as Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have interrupted his run.
Notably, the Italian star prevented him from progressing to the Australian Open (where he reached the semi-finals) and the Wimbledon Championships (quarter-finals), while the 22-year-old Spaniard’s excellent performance in the round of 16 of Roland Garros thwarted him.
Ben had an impressive season
The 23-year-old American also won his first Masters 1000 in Toronto this summer and entered the Top 5 of the ATP rankings for the first time in his career, but was struck by an unfortunate shoulder injury at the end of 2025. He was forced to retire during his match against French veteran Adrian Mannarino at the US Open and left the court in tears, saying goodbye to his home fans and staying away from the professional tour for several weeks.
Despite that break, Ben had no problem qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin for the first time in his young career. The fast surface of the Inalpi Arena should have improved his play, instead his run ended already in the round robin with three defeats and zero wins.
During the latest edition of his podcast, former ATP CEO Andy Roddick said he recently spoke with Shelton’s father: ‘I was talking to Bryan Shelton, Ben’s father, a few weeks ago, I just went by… I don’t know if my opinion is right or wrong, but I just go by his game.
I told him I was heartbroken for Ben at the US Open, because what you want as a professional tennis player is to get to the point where you build and build and build, and then you’re pretty much positive about what your output is going to be on any given day. Ben had that, he had gotten to that point, but then an injury interrupted it. I was very excited about his US Open prospects before that injury.
#ATP #CEO #analyzes #Ben #Sheltons #season