Ben Shelton

Ben Shelton is one of the greatest hopefuls of American and world tennis, with ambitions to become the best in the world and make his mark on international sport, as he opened up in a video filmed by UTS. “It’s hard to put him in a box or set limits for him,” says Patrick Mouratoglou. He arrived on the pro scene like a bullet in 2022 from the American university circuit, and was a semi-finalist at the 2023 US Open. Left-handed, he has an exceptional serve, which is his trademark.

Shelton, nicknamed The Mountain, won the Frankfurt edition of the UTS circuit created by Patrick Mouratoglou in 2024, a year after a semi-final in 2023 in Los Angeles. “Ben Shelton is used to taking risks in his game, but UTS allows him to take even more, and he has such a good feel for the serve that these rules finally suit him,” commented Patrick Mouratoglou.

Ben Shelton is the son of former US player Bryan Shelton and former player Lisa Witsken, sister of pro Todd Witsken.
 

Junior career: NCAA Champion and MVP

After taking part in the USTA Under-18 finals of the Winter National Championship (2020), Ben Shelton confirmed his place at university level. In his first season, he won the university championship with his Florida Gators team and brought his first national title to the University of Florida. In 2022, during his sophomore season, Shelton won the national singles final and became number one at the same time. He went on to win the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year award and the National Player of the Year award.

ATP career: A very promising start

After an excellent start to his career in the American university championship, Ben Shelton decided to turn professional after the Cincinnati Masters 1000 (2022), where he was eliminated in the third round. Shelton came out of his box in 2023 with a quarter-final appearance at the Australian Open and, above all, a semi-final appearance at the US Open, where he lost only to Novak Djokovic. In April 2024, he became the youngest American number one since Andy Roddick in March 2004.

ATP honours: 2 titles, 1 final

Ben Shelton, who is still at the start of his career, has already won two titles in Tokyo (2023) and Houston (2024). He also lost a final in Basel in 2024.

He has beaten five members of the Top 10, and each time on a hard court, as in Shanghai, where Ben Shelton beat Jannik Sinner in three sets (2-6, 6-3, 7-6).

UTS honours: 1 title in Frankfurt

Ben Shelton won the only UTS tournament he played in in 2024, on the indoor courts of Frankfurt, dominating Ugo Humbert in the final, thanks in particular to his legendary forehand returns.

Ben Shelton is sponsored by the Swiss clothing brand On, co-founded by Roger Federer, and Yonex rackets. He has also been a partner of Rolex since 14 January 2024.