Ben Shelton started the 2025 season in style by reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open, before surrendering to world No.1 Jannik Sinner in a match that was only balanced in the first set. There is no doubt that the American ace has grown in all respects in recent months and is ready to win a major title as early as this year.
The current world number 12 has the right weapons to make a difference in modern tennis, having already shown that he can defeat even the top players in the most prestigious tournaments. Ben just needs to be more consistent during the season and improve his level away from the hard courts, where his game is less effective and often becomes predictable for his opponents.
Shelton discusses his rise
Unlike many other players, Shelton has improved through various steps and was not considered predestined at the beginning of his career.
The American only started playing tennis at the age of 12 and did not seem to have a special talent, although his family has always been very close to the sport.
The 2025 AO semifinalist was world number 1829 four years ago and made his entry into the Top 100 of the ATP ranking at the end of 2022.
In a long interview with ‘Vogue’, the American star – who wants to achieve a prestigious result in front of his fans in Indian Wells – retraced his rise in professional tennis: “Most of these guys who are at the top of the game right now, they were prodigies—five or six years old, racket in their hand, training every day. I wasn’t really supposed to be this great player. And so to get to top 20 in the world within two years of playing college tennis? That’s something that I don’t take for granted.
It’s tough to be a finished product by 18 if you start at 12—but I’m not a finished product.”
Tennis World USA