Heading into his final match of 2025, Ben Shelton believes there are plenty of positives from his past 12 months on the Tour, but he admits there is still room for improvement.
The world No.5 is currently making his debut at the ATP Finals in Turin at the age of 23. Shelton is the youngest player from his country to play in the event since Andy Roddick in 2004. His campaign at the tournament hasn’t gone to plan with back-to-back defeats to Alexander Zverev and Felix Auger-Aliassime. In his most recent match against Auger-Aliassime, he was two points away from victory before losing in three sets.
Despite those losses, 2025 has been a breakthrough year for Shelton, who won his first Masters 1000 title in Canada and reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open. He was also a quarter-finalist at Wimbledon.
“If I rated it 1 to 10, maybe an 8 out of 10, 7 or 8,” Shelton said of his season.
“I made huge improvements and strides from the year before.
“What I’ve done kind of post-US Open, I haven’t been happy with. But the rhythm that I found in the first three-quarters of the year was really good.
“I’m a guy who gets into a really good rhythm when I’m playing a lot of matches. I had a lot of clarity this summer on how to play: shot tolerance, what shots to play at certain times. Had a lot of clarity on what my identity was on the court, how I was going to win, my winning formula. Still searching for that a little bit right now.”
After retiring from his third round match at the US Open with a left shoulder injury, the American has struggled to regain momentum on the Tour. He has lost five out of his last eight matches played, but three of those defeats were to top-10 players.
“These last four tournaments of the year – Shanghai, Basel, Paris, here – have been more difficult for me trying to find that ‘wow‘ feeling,” he admits.
“All the guys that I have played have been in form and playing great tennis, competing well. Just certain things that feel very off that at this point of the year it’s, like, can’t be happening.
“This week (at the ATP Finals), it’s been my forehand, which usually is a money shot for me. First ball after the serve, things that have been a little off that make it disappointing.”
Shelton’s final match in Turin will be on Friday against Jannik Sinner, who recently beat him at the Paris Masters. Since beating the Italian in their first meeting at the 2023 Shanghai Masters, he has lost to him seven times in a row without winning a set.
