Ben Shelton goes behind-the-scenes on off-season, Australian Open prep on YouTube channel

MELBOURNE, Australia—In between press conferences at the 2026 Australian Open, Ben Shelton released an interview of his own on his official YouTube channel, one that chronicled his off-season and prep for the summer Down Under.

“I've kind of been excited to be able to tell my story a little bit,” Shelton told me after his second-round win on Thursday, “and have people see, especially in this episode, some of the off-court stuff, the behind the scenes, in the off-season, away from tournament life.”

With help from a WME production team, Shelton debuted the series, entitled The Long Game, back in December after ending the 2025 season with a first appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals post in Turin.

“If I was, like, traveling around with a big crew with a bunch of, like, equipment and big cameras, that's not something I would be comfortable with, but we've found a way to do it with the minimal amount of people and still make it look good,” explained the No. 8 seed.

“My camera guy, he's a good friend. He's like a fly on the wall. You don't even notice that he's there sometimes. He gets clips [and] I didn't even realize he was recording!”

Shelton has become TikTok’s favorite tennis player since his rise up the ATP rankings, in combination due to his effusive on-court celebrations and some of the dances he’s roped into performing alongside girlfriend Trinity Rodman.

“I think I'm good at following direction and whatever dances that Trinity wants to do. I don't do every one, but I feel like I do a good bit of them when she asks me to. It's not my thing, but…” he trailed off with a laugh.

Shelton is the latest player to embrace the documentary format, a trend 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic believes is the cost of doing business in the current online economy.

“We're living in a world today of digital media,” Djokovic said after joining Shelton in the third round with a straight-sets win over Francesco Maestrelli. “The communication of the brand happens pretty much only through digital and social media channels.

“Most of the civilized world, people that can afford have a mobile phone with them at all times, this is how you want to communicate and connect with people. Yeah, that's what we have. I guess everyone has a different opinion and subjectively what they think is the borderline, how much do you want to open the doors to your, you know, not just professional but private life to people worldwide. That's very individual.

“I don't judge. Everyone has their own likings. But yeah, that's the way to reach people is definitely through Internet.”

For his part, Shelton will look to gather even more viral content in his next match when he takes on No. 30 seed Valentin Vacherot, the surprise Shanghai Masters champion. He may have already made at least one moment: Shelton addressed the growing depth among players ranked in the Top 15 to comic effect to end his press conference.

“That's a very specific range,” teased the 23-year-old. “What about No. 16? What do you have against Karen Khachanov?”