Chanda Rubin: Ben Shelton made “smart decision” to retire at US Open after shoulder injury

NEW YORK—Ben Shelton came into the 2025 US Open among the favorites to win the title but the National Bank Open champion suffered a shock left shoulder injury in the middle of his third round against Adrian Mannarino, ultimately retiring after Mannarino took the fourth set, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, ret.

Clearly in pain from the start of the fourth set, the No. 6 seed came to post-match press in utter disbelief in the wake of his first-ever mid-match retirement, unsure what caused the injury or how long it will take to heal.

“It was tough to watch,” former Australian Open semifinalist Chanda Rubin said on Tennis Channel Live, “and you just hope it’s not as serious as it looked in the moment. There’s a lot of things that could go wrong with the shoulder. It could be a really bad impingement; that would be preferable. It could be torn, but maybe not a bad tear, or it could be something that keeps him out for quite a while and even something that could require surgery.

📲 🖥️ STREAM THE ENTIRE EPISODE: Click here

“So hopefully, he can find out that information and he can use it to get back healthy, first and foremost. He’s got the experience of his dad, and we saw Bryan telling him to call it and just get off the court to figure out what this is to get ahead of it. I think that was a smart decision and they’re going to have to make a lot of smart decisions going forward.”

Shelton made his major breakthrough at this tournament back in 2023, shocking higher-ranked Americans Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe to make his first Grand Slam semifinal, where he pushed eventual champion Novak Djokovic tough over three sets. Fresh off his first Masters 1000 title earlier this month in Toronto, he was projected to face former champion Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.

“As an American player, this is the tournament you grow up dreaming about trying to win,” noted 1998 US Open champion Lindsay Davenport. “This is the one that most of us, as junior players, this is the first one we got to step foot in for the majors. You could just see how crushed he was. He has hopes of winning this tournament. He’s been close. He built so much momentum this summer to try and make a run here. He wanted to play Alcaraz in the quarters and see what would happen. So, you could see the heartbreak on him.

“He’ll be back before we know it, but pretty crushing as an American. The first real time you think you have a chance to win here, and then injury takes you out? That’s hard to swallow.”

Fellow former world No. 1 Jim Courier looked for positives following Shelton’s retirement, noting that, while the 22-year-old was clearly in pain on the forehand, his serves and overheads largely appeared unimpeded.

“That’s the most important shot for him overall, so that doesn’t seem to be troubled by whatever this is. So, that’s my silver lining I’m trying to take from it. I’m sure they’ll be getting scans in New York City today or sometime soon to figure out what they need to do to go forward.”

Tiafoe followed Shelton out of the tournament with a straight-sets loss to Jan-Lennard Struff on Friday, leaving American hopes on the shoulders of—among others—2024 finalist Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul in the men’s event while 2023 champion Coco Gauff and Taylor Townsend are waving the flag for the women.