Ben Shelton of the USA plays a shot during his 1/4 final singles match at the ASB Classic tennis tournament in Auckland, New Zealand. Thursday January 11, 2024. Photo / Andrew Cornaga / Photosport
Ben Shelton of the USA plays a shot during his 1/4 final singles match at the ASB Classic tennis tournament in Auckland, New Zealand. Thursday January 11, 2024. Photo / Andrew Cornaga / Photosport
American young gun Ben Shelton is still getting used to fame.
From being fairly anonymous a couple of years ago – as just another player trying to break through on the ATP tour, albeit someone seen as highly promising – Shelton is now recognised across the tennis world.
That’s what happens when you reach the quarter-finals of your second major, then back that up with a run to the semifinals of your home grand slam as a 21-year-old. But it’s been quite an adjustment for Shelton, who never travelled outside the United States as a teenager.
“It’s not easy,” he admitted. “That’s the biggest difference in my life. I feel like there’s eyes on me no matter where I am, whatever country I am walking the streets, I get recognised a lot now. Obviously, you’re at tournaments and the camera’s on you all the time and there’s people watching every single practice.”
“I’m an outgoing person but [also] more of a private person and even the building I live in now, it seems like every time I get in the elevator, someone who I’ve never seen before knows who I am so that’s been a big adjustment for me.”
That focus will continue at the 2025 ASB Classic, as the world No 21 is again top seed, the title favourite in a deep field. Coming off what he describes as a solid – though not spectacular season – the left-hander believes he is on the verge of a career breakthrough.
That might sound strange, given Shelton has been in the top 20 for more than a year, reaching a career high of No 13 last September. But there is a lot more to come from the 22-year-old, as he starts his third season on tour. It’s been a rapid rise. This time three years ago Shelton was outside the top 500 and when he first came to the ASB Classic – in January 2023 – he had just cracked the top 100.
“I’ve definitely exceeded expectations for myself,” he said. “From what I’ve been able to do so far, I didn’t think I’d be in this position a couple of years ago, being in college, 600 in the world, [having] played a few pro tournaments, but not sure if it was a real possibility. Now I feel like an established pro. I finished my second season in a row around 20 in the world, and I feel like I haven’t scratched the surface in terms of my best tennis, so that gives me a lot of confidence.”
American Ben Shelton plays a shot during his quarter-final singles match at the ASB Classic in Auckland. Photo / Photosport
But Shelton can’t stand still – or get complacent - as the men’s game is constantly evolving.
“I have to continue putting in a lot of work,” said Shelton. “The draws are changing. You see new names all the time and if you don’t put in the work, these guys are going to come and take your spot. So that’s my goal this year; to keep improving and keep getting to places that I’ve never been before in terms of rankings or results in tournaments and try to hold off some of those new guys for sure.”
That work ethic has been evident so far in Auckland, with some punishing sessions overseen by his father, former professional Bryan, his long-time coach. Though the two have a strong relationship, Shelton senior is also not afraid to point out when he expects more from his protege.
While Shelton didn’t get the “big results” he wanted in 2024, he was pleased with his consistency. And there were some impressive weeks. He claimed his first clay court title, with his win in Houston. He reached the final of the ATP 500 in Basel and the semifinals in ATP 500 in Washington, along with a run to the last eight of the Masters event in Cincinnati and the fourth round at Wimbledon.
“Obviously I want to do bigger things than that,” said Shelton. “But in terms of how solid and consistent I was, I saw big improvements from the year before, so I’m in a great place.”
There are things to work on – always – but Shelton also preaches simplicity.
“A big thing on this tour is knowing what your strengths are and sticking to them,” said Shelton. “If you dwell too much on the things you aren’t good at, you can’t maximise your strengths. That’s why you see there’s so many guys on tour who are at the top and they’re not 100% complete and not every single shot is perfect, but what their strengths are, they maximise and they do better than anyone else in the world, and that’s the reason they’re at the top.”
Defending champion Alejandro Tabilo is also in action on Wednesday, after a remarkable rise in 2024. The Chilean has risen from No 85 to No 23 in a year, with his surprise triumph here – after coming through qualifying – the launchpad.
“Opening up in 2024 with this tournament was pretty crazy for me,” said Tabilo. “It gave me so much confidence and I started to play a lot looser and after that went all the way up.”
Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist since 2005, winning several national awards and covering Olympics, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns.
