Though Ben Shelton has dropped his first two matches at the ATP Finals in Turin, the American can still look back on a season that has been his best as a professional when it all comes to an end later this week.
Shelton, who made his Top 10 and Top 5 debuts this year (the latter on Monday), also made his ATP Finals debut this week, as the youngest American to contest the field since Andy Roddick in 2004.
And then there’s the leftiness. Shelton joins Rafael Nadal and Jack Draper as one of three men to have cracked the ATP’s Top 5 since the beginning of the century – a remarkable feat
There’s more upside for Shelton, who is still just 23, and considered to still have untapped potential. Crazy as it sounds, Shelton is the 17th lefty to have ever reached the Top 5 in the ATP rankings, which date back to 1973. If you’re scoring at home, five of those 17 – Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Thomas Muster, Marcelo Rios and Nadal, have ascended to No.1.
Could Shelton someday become No.6?
For now, he’s more interested in finishing his season with a win in Turin.
Asked to rate his season, Shelton seemed to hint at the untapped potential narrative in his game, without saying as much.
“I guess if I rated it 1 to 10, maybe an 8 out of 10, 7 or 8,” he said. “I made huge improvements and strides from the year before.”
Shelton, who suffered major disappointment at the last major of 2025 when he had to pull out of the US Open’s third round due to a shoulder injury, admits that he hasn’t really found his A game since.
“What I’ve done kind of post US Open I haven’t been happy with,” he said. “But the rhythm that I found in the first three-quarters of the year was really good.”
Shelton found his stride during the summer of a season that saw him win his first Masters 1000 title in Toronto, and reach another major semifinal at the Australian Open.
“I’m a guy that I get into a really good rhythm when I’m playing a lot of matches,” he said. “I had a lot of clarity this summer on how to play: shot tolerance, what shots to play at certain times. I had a lot of clarity on what my identity was on the court, how I was going to win, my winning formula. I’m still searching for that a little bit right now.”
Shelton reiterated that he isn’t quite firing on all cylinders this month, and expressed disappointment in the current status of his forehand after he fell to Felix Auger-Aliassime in three tight sets on Wednesday.
“These last four tournaments of the year – Shanghai, Basel, Paris, [London] – have been more difficult for me trying to find that ‘wow’ feeling that all the guys that I have played have been in form and playing great tennis, competing well,” he said. “Just certain things that feel very off that at this point of the year it’s, like, can’t be happening.
“For me this week, it’s been my forehand, which usually is a money shot for me, money-maker. First ball after the serve, things that have been a little off that make it disappointing”
Shelton’s biggest issue on paper is his performance against the Top 3. He dropped to 0-15 lifetime against players ranked in the ATP’s top three slots in his loss to Alexander Zverev on Monday. He’ll get a chance to create his biggest career win when he faces Jannik Sinner in his final round robin match on Friday.
No matter what happens, Shelton will continue his work to improve all facets, while letting his defeats fuel him on.
“For me it’s just go back to work regardless of how things end here,” he said. “Be proud about the season that I had and the things that I accomplished. Let the things sting that I wasn’t able to accomplish and that I fell short on. Just be motivation for me for next year.”
