ATP Tour

'Entertainer at heart', Shelton steps onto his biggest stage

It’s showtime for Shelton.

Having recently won his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Toronto and building a reputation as someone who produces his best at the majors, American World No. 6 Ben Shelton has laid the foundation for what could be an explosive campaign at his home Slam.

“This is the biggest tournament of the year for me. This is the one,” Shelton said Friday during his US Open pre-tournament media interview. “I put a lot of work into being in a good place when I got here. Feeling confident about my game. Feel really good and prepared going into this tournament.”

Just two years ago as a raw 20-year-old, the former University of Florida standout won over fans with an unlikely run to the semi-finals, barely a year after turning pro. It was apparent from the outset that the big stage of the 23,000-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium and rowdy New York fans were a perfect complement to his personality.

“I think I'm an entertainer at heart,” he said. “But I have kind of figured out what state I need to be in to be locked in but also having fun at the same time.

“I'm never going to be the guy who is able to robotically go about my business and not change expression or show any emotion. I think that I play better when I do show some emotion.”

In his young career, Shelton has reached the second week six times in 12 appearances at the majors. He is three for three in 2025 following a semi-final at the Australian Open, fourth round at Roland Garros and quarter-final at Wimbledon.

Along with World No. 4 Taylor Fritz, No. 14 Tommy Paul and No. 15 Frances Tiafoe, Shelton is one of four Americans in the Top 20 of the PIF ATP Rankings, giving American fans hope that they will celebrate their first home-grown men’s champion since Andy Roddick in 2003.

“I'd love to see it,” Shelton said. “I feel like there have been a lot of guys who have been close here. Foe is always on a different level when he plays here. Fritz was in the finals. I think Tommy always plays really well here, too.

“We've got a lot of guys... who can make deep runs here and play against the best players in the world. I think that it's a matter of time for us.”

With Fritz defending 1300 points from his run to last year’s final to Shelton’s 100 points for reaching the third round, the 2023 semi-finalist has the chance to become the top-ranked American with a deep run at Flushing Meadows.

Shelton is fourth in the PIF ATP Live Race to Turin, about 1000 points inside the cut for the Nitto ATP Finals. A deep run in New York will go a long way to shoring up his debut appearance at the elite eight-man season finale in Turin from 9-16 November.

Shelton comes into the tournament with a 35-17 record on the year, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, on track to top his record 42-26 season in 2024.

Shelton will play his opening match against a qualifier or lucky loser. He is seeded to meet Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor in the third round, Casper Ruud or Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round and Carlos Alcaraz or former finalist Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals.

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