US Open: Ben Shelton is ready to carry American men's tennis out of the wilderness
· Yahoo Sports
For 23 years, it has been the world’s most annoying sports trivia question: Who’s the last American man to win a Grand Slam singles title?
Visit umafrika.club for more information.
Ben Shelton has always been the one with the ability to change it.
No disrespect to any of the others who have carried the red, white and blue banner for more than two decades across the men’s tennis tour since Andy Roddick won his US Open title in 2003. John Isner served his way to millions of dollars and a few nice tournament wins. The likes of Mardy Fish and Sam Querrey did the best they could in the Roger Federer/Rafael Nadal/Novak Djokovic era. Taylor Fritz has worked tirelessly to improve his game and continues to be a factor among the best players in the world.
But there is no divine right for any country, even one as big and athletically successful as the USA, to produce Grand Slam champions in a global sport where only a select few are going to rise to the top. It takes everything: Talent, development, the right set of circumstances and maybe a little bit of luck.
And for Shelton, the 23-year old who was born in Atlanta, raised to be an NCAA champion in Gainesville, Fla., and unleashed onto the world stage by a meticulously patient father/coach, only one more match stands in his way of the ultimate American story.
After beating his good friend and fellow American Frances Tiafoe in the US Open semifinals, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5, Big Ben on Sunday can complete a journey that tormented so many other very good careers. More than two decades of American frustration just a few hours of good tennis away from being in the rear-view mirror.
“It’s a lot of emotion,” Shelton said in his on-court interview. “I’m going to need you guys on Sunday to bring this energy. I’m going for it here. I’m going to leave it all on the court. I hope you guys come and back me. Let’s do this for the USA.”
Of course, there is plenty of work to do to turn Shelton’s dreams into reality. Alexander Zverev, the No. 1 seed at this US Open who finally broke through for his first Grand Slam title earlier this year at the French Open, looms as a huge threat in Sunday’s final.
But with all due respect to Zverev, he does not come into a major final with the aura or ability of a Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner, both of whom have dealt with injury issues this year after dominating the sport in 2024 and 2025. It’s a perfect opportunity for Shelton to get a Slam under his belt before scar tissue starts to burrow into his psyche. It’s a rare moment to win one of his sport’s biggest prizes on home soil and relieve a burden not just for himself, but every generation of American players who won’t have to be asked about a drought that went on way too long.
It’s a lot to deal with. Whether it’s this weekend or sometime in the near future, Shelton is the first one since Roddick with the tools to make it happen.
“I think I’ve grown up,” Shelton said. “I’m more mature, more focused. I know what my goal is. I know what my job is out here and I’m fully committed to those goals.”
Until about four years ago, it would have been absurd to predict that Shelton would be the one with America’s hopes on his shoulders.
Relative to his peers, he was late to focus on tennis, at one point even preferring to play football. He wasn’t on the international junior circuit, where agents and academies scout for future champions. Even in the summer of 2022, when Shelton got invited to play a few ATP Tour events as the recently-minted NCAA singles champion, he expected to return to Florida where his father Bryan had built one of the country’s dominant programs.
Bryan Shelton, right, has helped his son Ben to the cusp of a Grand Slam victory.Julian Finney via Getty ImagesBut when Shelton started to stack his game up against real pros, it emerged almost immediately that he had something different than your typical college player.
Shelton’s lefty serve translated into the same devastating weapon that was crushing college opponents. His athleticism at 6-foot-4 popped right away. His borderline cockiness and stage presence suggested that he had the mental fortitude to play well in the biggest moments.
And then, after winning enough matches that he had no choice but to turn pro, Shelton left the country for the first time at the beginning of 2023 to play in the Australian Open. He made the quarterfinals, a result that should have screamed to his home country that they finally had a star on the men’s tour who was going to eventually lift one of the sport’s biggest trophies.
Shelton’s progress from that moment until now has not been completely linear. In his first couple years as a pro, he’d play above his ranking in the majors — his supreme physicality really showed up in the best-of-five set format — but wasn’t getting consistent results at all in regular tour events. He’d flash the talent and the big weapons on occasions but without the consistency to back it up from one week to the next.
Shelton and his father Bryan went to work. Born in Huntsville, Ala., Bryan Shelton was a solid pro, a classic serve-and-volleyer, but never had the complete game to really compete with the best. After reaching a career high of No. 55 in 1992, he left the tour a few years later and started coaching, leading the Georgia Tech women’s team to an NCAA title in 2007.
After Ben established himself on tour, Bryan left Florida to coach his son full time. As anyone who has followed tennis can tell you, parent-child coaching relationships are usually fraught with problems and emotional distress. But when Bryan watches his son compete, his demeanor is always positive, always healthy, even amidst some struggles and bad losses.
As a team, they’ve taken the long view to keep developing Ben’s strengths (serve, forehand, net skills) and chip away bit by bit as improving his weaknesses (return of serve, primarily).
It has resulted in the best tennis of Shelton’s life: Four tournament titles this year, including the recent Canadian Open, and now a chance to win his first Slam. No matter what happens Sunday, he will leave New York ranked No. 4 in the world and is getting better every year.
“It’ll be amazing to play in front of this crowd,, feel their energy, be able to ride that wave. This is a tournament where I’m doing things I haven’t done before, breaking barriers I haven’t broken before. I haven’t had success against (Zverev) in the past, but that doesn’t scare me. This is the perfect opportunity to put it all on the line.”
It’s coming sooner or later. For the sake of American tennis, sooner would be preferable because goodness knows it’s been long enough.