This time last year Ben Shelton was ranked outside the world’s top 500 and few outside of the American tennis college circuit had ever heard of him.
Since then, the 20-year-old has managed to establish himself as the latest rising star to emerge from his country. During 2022 he rose steadily up the rankings by winning a trio of Challenger events, as well as reaching the final of three others. In November he cracked the world’s top 100 but at the time his experience on the ATP Tour was limited.
Nevertheless, Shelton illustrated at the Australian Open how much talent he has with a sensational run to the quarter-finals. Incredibly the tournament was only the second time he had played in a Grand Slam main draw, as well as the second he had played outside of America. In fact, until this month he had never left his home country full stop.
“The crowds have been pretty unbelievable. They supported me. I definitely didn’t expect it coming into this tournament, being an American,” Shelton told reporters. “They kind of treated me like one of their own. It was really fun to be able to kind of play with the support behind me during my matches.”
Shelton, who is currently the Division 1 NCAA men’s singles champion, might not have played a seeded player in Melbourne Park but has still produced some impressive tennis. In his opening match, he ousted China’s Zhang Zhizhen to record his first-ever five-set win. Then he defeated Nicolas Jarry and Alexi Popyrin before another marathon encounter occurred. In the fourth round, he battled back from two-sets-to-one down to defeat compatriot JJ Wolf before his fairytale run was ended on Wednesday by Tommy Paul who prevailed 7-6(6), 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.
According to the ATP Pepperstone live rankings, Shelton is projected to break into the world’s top 50. An incredible achievement for a player who has played just four main draw events on the ATP Tour.
“I definitely exceeded my expectations this week (at the Australian Open), what I thought I could do on the court – not just tennis-wise but physically being able to get through as many three-out-of-five-set matches as I did,” he said.
“I’ve only played one (Grand Slam match) before in my career. I was pretty pleased with myself in that aspect, as well.’
“I’ve learned that I have the ability to be really tough on the court, to stay tough for five sets. I’ve kind of proven to myself that I can hang with a lot of people for extended periods of time out on the court. I’m taking that as a huge positive, not just my tennis level but my mentality out on the court, the level that I was able to compete at, and maintain it through the week.”
Besides his talent on the court, the American is also continuing his academic career via online classes. At present, he is taking courses in entrepreneurship and international business. Balancing the two hasn’t been an issue but he admits it could be ‘tricky’ if his match days are close to when he takes his exams.
Then there is the question of how Shelton will fare for the rest of the season. He has already shown that he is a strong player on a hardcourt but what about other surfaces?
“I think that my game is really well-suited for the clay. I’m looking forward to being able to use the higher bounces to my advantage, moving, sliding,” he said.
“I’m really looking forward to getting on the red clay. And the grass as well.’
“Obviously new experience for me playing those tournaments that will mostly be outside of the United States. Yeah, I’m really looking forward to it. I have confidence that I’ll be able to figure it out.”
Shelton is the youngest American man to reach the quarter-final of a Grand Slam tournament since Andy Roddick did so at the 2002 US Open.
