From no passport to tennis star: The rise of Ben Shelton

By Michael Burgess

ASB Classic top seed Ben Shelton has some big tennis goals for 2024 – but he won’t be revealing them in the media.

The American was the breakout star of last year, progressing from world No 96 to inside the top 20. When he arrived in Auckland last year it was his first trip outside the United States, but was the start of a remarkable season, culminating in the run to the US Open semifinals.

From being relatively unknown, Shelton is now big-time, which comes with much more expectation and focus. He is adamant that he hasn’t changed, though he’s wary of feeding the hype around him.

“I have a lot of developmental goals for 2024, things that I want to see improve in my game,” said the 21-year-old. “In terms of result-based goals, I just keep that between me and my team. I feel like there’s no winning in the media. You set your goals too low - people are going to give you a hard time. You set them too high, they’ll give you a hard time. So, that’s for me and my team and I’ll let you know how I did at the end of the year.”

Shelton’s reticence is understandable. He didn’t even play on centre court in Auckland last year – now the world No 17 has top billing, with his face on giant billboards around the city. But he doesn’t sense any extra pressure.

“Maybe it looks like that from the outside - a lot of the matches that I’m playing now, maybe I’m the favourite,” said Shelton. “Whereas last year I was more of an underdog. [But] I’m [not] where I want to be yet with my game, definitely not the final product. So I have a lot to look forward to and that’s what I’m focusing on.”

Last year was “crazy”. He had taken a different path as a junior – staying in college rather than playing tournaments around the world – so there was a lot to adjust to.

“I got to see a lot of different places, different continents, cultures,” said Shelton. “A lot of these guys got to experience these different things at young ages, 15 or 16 playing ITFs. For it to all happen in one year was crazy for me - like it was all flooding in at once.”

One of the biggest challenges was the constant jet lag. He took eight days “to feel alive” in Australia last January, whereas this year the acclimatisation was much swifter. Shelton is in a new echelon but admits he is still in awe of some big names around him, like Rafa Nadal or Novak Djokovic.

“I’d say there’s definitely still a little bit of star-struck,” said Shelton. “I wouldn’t say if I have a practice with those guys, I’m not nervous any more, you know, it just feels like a normal practice. But, yeah, it’s cool to be around those guys. It’s been quick for me the change; from not really being on tour and not knowing anyone to feeling like I know everybody out here.”

After winning his first overseas ATP match in Auckland, Shelton enjoyed a dream run in Melbourne, becoming the youngest American male to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals since 1982. If that was big, what followed in New York was another level. As world No 47, he beat two top-20 compatriots, before being stopped by Novak Djokovic in the last four.

“It was hard to believe after one year on tour, I was playing in Arthur Ashe stadium with multiple matches in a row,” reflected Shelton. “I was a little surprised with how calm I was on the court.” In between those milestones, Shelton struggled – especially on clay – but rebounded at the end of the season, winning his first ATP title in Tokyo, after a quarter-final run in Shanghai. For now, the left-hander is happy to be back where it all began, ahead of his second-round match on Wednesday.

“I learned a lot of things throughout the year,” said Shelton. “But it started here in Auckland. This was my first main draw outside of the United States - I was lucky that the tournament gave me a wild card.”

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission