Tennis pro Ben Shelton begs banking giant to allow sister to stay at Wimbledon during viral moment

Daily Mail​

3 days ago

American tennis pro Ben Shelton has issued a cheeky plea to banking giant Morgan Stanley in the hopes of extending his sister's vacation.
Emma Shelton, 24, who works at the company, has become a viral sensation at Wimbledon, after supporting her younger brother courtside throughout the tournament.
In London on Saturday, during a post-match interview following Ben's win against Marton Fucsovics, the 22-year-old revealed that Emma, who he described as his 'lucky charm' was scheduled to fly back to the US for work.
Ben explained: 'My sister's here. She's been here for every match I've played in this tournament so far.
'She's been the lucky charm. But she has work back in the US starting on Monday. She works for Morgan Stanley.'
Loud booing erupted in the crowd as the camera captured Emma, who was seen laughing with her hands over her mouth.
'Ay ay ay! Come on now,' Ben continued, before he jokingly tried to get her out of her work commitment.
'If any of y'all have some connects and can get her a couple extra days off, we're gonna keep this rolling, and that would be great,' said the tennis star.
Shelton's parents and his girlfriend, United States women's national soccer team star Trinity Rodman, were also seen laughing at his plea.
His lighthearted appeal quickly went viral - and clearly paid off.
Ben has since posted a video to his Instagram Stories that showed Emma jumping up and down as he asked her: 'You got the week off or what? Shoutout Morgan Stanley.'
On Monday, Emma was spotted back in the stands, cheering Ben on during his fourth-round match against Italy's Lorenzo Sonego.
'[Emma's] still around here because Ben's urging probably helped her company, her employer … let her stay a little longer and skip a little more work,' one of the announcers said as cameras zoomed in on Shelton's family.
The announcers also discussed the boos that were heard amongst the crowd during Ben's comments.
'Were those boos just because she works back in the US?' one of the announcers asked.
'I am not sure,' another replied.
'But you know what, you gotta keep the rhythm going. A lot of players - they like when they look up at the player's box and see the same people in the same area, time and time again.
'So maybe for Ben it is important to see Emma with mom, dad, coach, in that order.'
The dedicated sister, who played tennis at both the University of South Carolina and the University of Florida, is now a digital virtual engagement associate at Morgan Stanley in Georgia, according to her LinkedIn profile.
She played two seasons of women's tennis in South Carolina before transferring to the University of Florida, where her father is the head coach of the men's team.
During the 2022-23 season - which was her last - Emma was a perfect five to zero in singles play at the Bedford Cup.
Ben's plea came just before a British Wimbledon reporter went viral for a 'beyond embarrassing' error during an interview with the young star.
Famous British TV presenter Annabel Croft wanted to dive into the athletic background of the No 10-ranked Ben moments after he secured his first Wimbledon quarterfinals appearance on Monday.
What was lost in translation between what those in the United Kingdom and the United States refer to as football led to the error.
'I was reading that, in college, you loved your American football and you were a quarterbacker. What are the comparisons? I hope I've got this right. What are the comparisons between tennis and American football?' Annabel said.
'I'm not sure many people in the crowd know what that is,' Ben said, drawing a laugh from the All England Club crowd.
'They use that brown, oval-shaped ball. Sometimes they kick it between the uprights. But yeah, I grew up playing quarterback or quarterbacker, either way.'
Before continuing with his response, Ben broke out into laughter, with Annabel needing to drop her microphone as the household name had a massive grin on her face.