ATP Tour

Shelton back to winning ways on the big stage: ‘One match can change everything’

Ben Shelton has hardly struggled for title successes in 2026 — the American arrived at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers as a three-time champion for the season — but his triumph at the ATP Masters 1000 event nonetheless represented an upturn of fortunes for the American when it comes to the biggest stages in the sport.

The 23-year-old Shelton was 1-4 at ATP Masters 1000 events in 2026 prior to his dominant successful title defence in Montreal, while he also fell to early exits at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. As a player who is renowned for thriving in big atmospheres, Shelton unsurprisingly found his championship-match triumph against Brandon Nakashima in Canada as something of a tonic.

“It hasn't been the best stretch for me at the big tournaments,” Shelton reflected in his post-match press conference after his 6-3, 7-6(4) win against Nakashima. “I've definitely had some big highlights this year with the titles won. And once I've got going in a tournament, it's tough to slow me down. But I hadn't performed so far this year as well as I wanted to at the big tournaments.

“It's always good to be able to turn that around. I think that tennis is a sport where you get so many opportunities to compete... And for me, I know that just one match can kind of change everything. So I think that's how I look at things, and it really does help me stay in the moment and be ready for when my opportunity does come up that I'm in the right mental space.”

By marching to the Montreal crown without dropping a set, 2025 Toronto champion Shelton became just the fifth player in ATP Masters 1000 series history (since 1990) to win the Canadian event in back-to-back years after ATP No. 1 Club members Andre Agassi (1994-95), Andy Murray (2009-10), Novak Djokovic (2011-12) and Rafael Nadal (2018-19). Now back to No. 6 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Shelton will acknowledge but not dwell on joining a list featuring such iconic names.

“It's an elite group to be a part of, even if it's just one category,” Shelton said. Those are guys that have won absolutely everything that there is to win in tennis. Obviously, I'm nowhere near that, and I would never say or claim to be among those guys. I've got a lot of work to do in terms of my game. So that's what I continue to focus on, the ways that I can improve, the way that I can increase my level, get closer to the guys who are at the top of the game.

"I'm not as much thinking about the legends of the sport. I'm more thinking in the present and the future, where I'm going and what I'm doing right now. But obviously those are the tennis legends and icons. So to be among them in anything is an honour, for sure.”

Shelton did not face a single break point en route to defeating Nakashima, who he now leads 6-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series. He sealed his victory with a stunning forehand winner that left his opponent with no chance, one of the more crowd-pleasing championship points in recent ATP Tour history.

“A hundred per cent, I think that the way you win, for me, it also matters,” Shelton said when asked how it felt to produce a special moment to seal his triumph. “Not just winning, but the way you do it, and I couldn't be more happy with the way I did it this week.

“I thought tonight it was such a good display from me, the way that I moved on the court, the way I struck the ball, my serve and return. I thought I was versatile. I played all-court tennis. And I'm super happy with the way that the match turned out. And then ending the match on a fading backwards forehand winner down the line feels good, for sure.”