Ben Shelton cracks ATP top 10 ahead of Wimbledon

USA Today

9 hours ago

Former Florida tennis star Ben Shelton has cracked the top 10 in the ATP rankings just ahead of his third Wimbledon appearance.
One of three Americans currently ranked in the top 10, Shelton rounds out the prestigious group at No. 10, climbing two spots with a semifinal appearance in Stuttgart at the beginning of the month.
Despite losing each of his last two games, he's held the top-10 ranking for two weeks and will move up to No. 9 on Monday, according to ATP's live rankings. Shelton dropped a Round of 32 appearance at the London Queen's Club ATP 500 event two weeks ago, losing the only game he played in two sets. The same thing happened in Mallorca, Spain, this week, where Shelton had a Round of 32 bye at an ATP 250 event and then lost in the Round of 16. The good news is that the points don't count from either tournament.
Plenty of the top players opt to rest ahead of the Grand Slam events, especially the older they get, but Shelton is taking the opposite approach by keeping his young legs active. The 0-2 record over the last two weeks isn't ideal, but the points have worked out and Shelton plays best at the big events, for better or worse.
Shelton's ATP ranking history
Three years ago, Shelton was just cracking the top 500 and still debating a full-time pro career while completing his sophomore year with the Orange and Blue. He made the right decision, leaving the collegiate ranks, as made evident by his growing success with each passing year.
His first full year saw him break into the top 100 after making the Round of 16 at the ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati and ATP 250 in Atlanta. He lost his first Grand Slam appearance at the US Open that year. In 2023, Shelton continued his climb, breaking into the top 50 after the Australian Open and the top 20 after a US Open semifinal appearance. He ended 2023 ranked No. 17 in the world.
Shelton stayed in the top 20 for the first 40 weeks of last year, including an 18-week run at No. 14 and two weeks at No. 13. A Round of 32 exit at the US Open dropped him back down to No. 17 and another early exit at the ATP 1000 Paris event put him at No. 21 to end the year.
So far in 2025, Shelton has delivered career-best performances at each of the two majors. Now inside the top 10 for the first time in his career, Shelton is hoping to continue that trend. It won't be easy, though.
Shelton's 2025 Wimbledon draw
Shelton faces 32-year-old World No. 179 Alex Bolt (Australia) in the opening round of Wimbledon this year. The two have never faced each other and Bolt only has one ATP game, a loss, under his belt this year. He is 17-32 all-time but has seen plenty of success on the Challenger Tour. Shelton is a heavy favorite to advance. The two meet on July 1 at a time to be determined.
Should Shelton make it through to the Round of 64, he'll face the winner of the David Goffin-Rinky Hijikata match. Shelton has a 1-0 record against Hijikata (2-1 including qualifiers and Challengers matches) and an 0-1 record against Goffin, so the preference here is clear.
Potential Round of 32 opponents include World No. 18 Ugo Humbert and No. 42 Gael Monfils. No. 7 Lorenzo Musetti and No. 29 Brandon Nakashima are the interesting names in the fourth round, and World No. 1 Jannik sits atop the bracket quadrant. No. 13 Tony Paul, No. 21 Grigor Dimitrov and No. 29 Denis Shapovalov are some other names that could make it to the quarterfinals.
Shelton's history at Wimbledon
Despite debuting on the ATP circuit in 2021, it took a couple of years for Shelton to work himself up to competing in every major. He played the only domestic Grand Slam on the circuit, the US Open, in 2021 and 2022, but 2023 was his first year playing all four majors. He made an early exit in the Round of 64, losing to Laslo Djere in four sets, after winning a five-set battle against Taro Daniel in the first round.
Shelton made it to the Round of 16 in 2024, winning three five-set matches along the way. He took down Mattia Bellucci first, then Lloyd Harris and finally Denis Shapovalov. He ran into a buzzsaw in the fourth round, losing to World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in straight sets.
Performing well at Grand Slam events is a major reason Shelton has climbed the ATP rankings this year. He made his second career Grand Slam semifinal in January at the Australian Open, losing in straight sets to Sinner once again, and made a career-best Round of 16 appearance at Roland Garros last month. World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz needed four sets to defeat the American.
Shelton is nearing the point of only losing to top-10 talent on the biggest of stages. It's always brought out the best in him, and grass might be the most complementary surface to his left-handed power serve.
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