Ben Shelton leads emerging American men's players by 'letting it all hang out'

Tennis these days is all about hairline margins, precise technique, a degree of consistency in which each point is gold not to be frittered away. It’s about economy of motion and in thrall to the general embrace throughout sports of data and statistics.

Shirts may be collarless these days, but the imperative in all aspects, from nutrition to stroke production, is to button it up.

But there are still some players out there who act on the urge—to dust off a phrase from looser times, who “let it all hang out.” The most striking example among them is the exuberant 24-year-old native of Atlanta, Ben Shelton.

Shelton’s fearless ways have carried him to two Grand Slam semifinals and a career-high No. 12 in the rankings. He is also becoming the leader of a group of emerging U.S. players—Learner Tien, Alex Michelson, Brandon Nakashima and Jenson Brooksby, to name a few—who are gently putting pressure from below on the generation spearheaded by the only recent men’s Grand Slam finalist from the U.S., Taylor Fritz.

“Ben is kind of driving the bus for the younger guys,” Paul Annacone, the broadcast analyst who is also one of Fritz’s coaches, told me.

>>> Read More: **Ben Shelton's the youngest American man to reach the Australian Open semifinals in 22 years**

A 6'4" left-hander whose dad Bryan is a former ATP pro, Ben seems almost destined to occupy that front seat. Shelton’s serve is a conversation starter—and stopper. But that kinetic ka-boom is only part of an overall package that has become more complete at an impressive rate.

“The great thing is [Shelton] came onto the tour with sort of a terrible backhand, and a forehand that could be dangerous but inconsistent,” Jimmy Arias, Tennis Director at IMG Academies told me. “But he got right up into the Top 100 in a minute, didn't he? He was already Top 100 but with a ton of room to improve on.”

The process of rounding off some edges in his game hasn’t dampened Shelton’s zeal for extravagant shotmaking. His first match at Indian Wells, a 6-3, 6-2 win over Mariano Navone, was a typical Shelton smoke-show. He didn’t face a break point, and won 80 perent of his first serve points despite a so-so conversion rate of just 63 percent.

He also made twice the number of unforced errors at Navone, but that did nothing to diminish his exuberance. It was palpable throughout, and expressed as a profligate use of power—an unusual tendency among elite players who prize smart, energy-conserving tennis.

Any ball up in Shelton’s wheelhouse lights up his eyes, and he’s happy to spend twice the energy required to hit the ensuing shot. He swings so hard that he practically comes out of his shoes, and when an unforced error results it bothers him not one little, tiny bit. After one Navone crosscourt backhand landed wide, Shelton just continued sprinting despite the “out” call. He leaped, performed a Monfils-esque mid-air split, and walloped a forehand down-the-line. That particular ball may still be flying, but never mind.

⬆️⬆️⬆️ Watch live HERE

Shelton clearly enjoys using all of his tools, from the wicked, cutting slice backhand to the cupped drop volley to any number of the serves in his repertoire, including his nuclear option: the big lefty kicker unloaded on a right-hander in the ad-court.

The late Tim Gullickson, who preceded Annacone as the coach of Pete Sampras, liked to say that his protege’s serve was like the storied Green Bay Packers end sweep during the Vince Lombardi years.

“You know it’s coming,” Gullickson would say with a wicked smile. “But you can’t do anything to stop it.”

Shelton’s serve is like that, but with added lefty juju. And he employs the full palette, from cannonball to banana-bending slice.

“Ben gives you so many different looks and different serves,” Arias said. “There have been games when a point gets started because Ben doesn’t hit a nasty serve, and I found myself wondering, 'Is he doing this just to practice the rest of his game?'”

Annacone also praises Shelton for not having become a one-trick serving pony. Both coaches agree that the guidance provided by the elder Shelton has been invaluable in that regard. But ultimately, the key is Ben’s natural disposition.

The extroverted, animated Ben Shelton couldn’t be more different in most ways from understated, laconic Taylor Fritz. But Annacone sees a key similarity between them.

“Taylor had a great year in 2024,” Annacone said, “But at the end he was like, ‘Okay, how do I get better in December?’” And Ben has that same mentality. That’s always the question: ‘How do I improve?’”

For Shelton, the answer lays largely in what had become a somewhat love-hate relationship with his serve. An enormous advantage in his junior and collegiate years, the big boomer made it easy for Shelton to neglect other facets of his game. The tour provided a rude awakening when he made his first big move in early 2023.

You can see how much Ben enjoys the game. I just love to see young guys like that, who love to compete and aren't afraid of the consequences of winning or losing. Paul Annacone

Ranked just No. 89, Shelton made a surprise run to the quarterfinals at the Australian Open. Then he lost his first match in six of his next seven events, and went just 13-13 in first matches that year. It became clear that he could not ride his rocket to the desired degree of success—not on an off day, and not on any day against pro-quality return games. He needed to shore up his greatest weakness, the service return. Shelton worked on that, and since the start of last year he hasn’t lost a first match in 13 outings.

After losing to Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open semis this year, he reaffirmed his commitment to developing a well-rounded game: “I just want to get better. I want to be able to be on the tennis court and feel like a complete player, that I have no limitations. I want to feel that I have a lot of options on the tennis court.”

But mere hard work and things like an improved returned serve percentage are only part of any player’s story. There are intangibles in play, chief among them a player’s natural disposition. Shelton is a confident young’un, but in a way that’s cheerful—almost happy-go-lucky. He just doesn’t seem to sweat the small stuff, like those pesky unforced errors. There’s always another ball to clobber, until there isn’t.

>>> Read More: Ben Shelton’s killer serve—and improving return—are representative of this moment in tennis

“He has a couple of things that you can't teach,” Arias said. “Number one, he’s got the long game in his mind. So he recognizes that he needs to be able to win when he’s not serving great. He also understands he's not going to grind you to death. He's going to beat you with some spectacular shots, and he's okay missing a few. And that's probably the right way for him to play.”

And then there’s that other thing that can’t be taught, the sense of belonging among the elites. Arias was impressed by how Shelton, in making his first major semifinal, looked utterly at-home and comfortable. It was similar to the attitude of Fritz.

“He didn't go on to the court with any sense of, ‘I shouldn't be here. How did I get here?’ Arias said. “He goes on the court with, ‘I'm playing Sinner in the semis, but I think I can win. I'll be upset if I don't win.’”

>>> Read More: Jack Draper, Ben Shelton crowned “Two Princes" in latest Vogue issue

Annacone sees another point of commonality between Fritz and Shelton. Although each of them has been dogged in the pursuit of excellence, both are animated by a deep love of and passion for the game.

“You can see how much Ben enjoys the game,” the coach said. “I just love to see young guys like that, who love to compete and aren't afraid of the consequences of winning or losing. They kind of embrace the fact that, you know, stuff happens. ‘Yeah, I’m going to lose sometimes and win sometimes. I’m going to leave it all on the court, and I'm going to try to enjoy doing that.’ It's easy to say that, but it’s hard to actually live it.”

Perhaps not so very hard, at least not for Ben Shelton.