Ben Shelton

Shelton is the son of former professional tennis player and coach Bryan Shelton and Lisa Witsken Shelton, a highly ranked junior tennis player. His uncle Todd Witsken was a professional tennis player, and his sister Emma played college tennis at Florida. Bryan Shelton was coaching Georgia Tech's women's tennis team when Ben was born in Atlanta, and the family later moved to Gainesville after Bryan became head coach of the Florida Gators men's team.

Shelton played American football as a child and initially resisted tennis. He began playing the sport regularly at age 12 after becoming frustrated with his size and experiences on the football field. His parents emphasized schooling, friendships, and a balanced upbringing, and he graduated from Buchholz High School. Shelton has been dating soccer player Trinity Rodman since March 2025.

Shelton played collegiate tennis for the Florida Gators from 2020 to 2022 while majoring in finance. As a freshman, he posted a 28-5 singles record and clinched Florida's first national team championship with his victory in the 2021 NCAA Championships. He also helped the Gators win the Southeastern Conference regular-season title.

Shelton went 37-5 in singles during the 2021-22 season, including a 14-2 record while playing at the No. 1 position. He won the ITA All-American Championships without dropping a set, helped Florida retain its SEC title, and won the 2022 NCAA singles championship by defeating August Holmgren. He finished the season as the nation's top-ranked collegiate player and received SEC Player of the Year and ITA National Player of the Year honors.

He initially planned to return to Florida for his junior season, but announced in August 2022 that he would leave college and turn professional.

Shelton made his ATP Tour debut as a wildcard at the 2022 Atlanta Open, where he earned his first tour-level victory against Ramkumar Ramanathan. At the Cincinnati Masters, he defeated Lorenzo Sonego for his first win over a top-100 player and then beat world No. 5 Casper Ruud in straight sets for his first top-10 victory.

He reached three consecutive Challenger titles late in 2022, winning in Charlottesville, Knoxville, and Champaign-Urbana. That run made him the youngest player in ATP Challenger Tour history to win three titles in three weeks, and he finished the year inside the world's top 100.

At the 2023 Australian Open, Shelton reached the quarterfinals on his Grand Slam debut at the tournament. Later that year, he reached his first Grand Slam semifinal at the US Open, defeating Dominic Thiem, Tommy Paul, and Frances Tiafoe before losing to Novak Djokovic. He followed the New York run by winning his first ATP Tour title at the 2023 Japan Open, defeating Taro Daniel, Jordan Thompson, Tommy Paul, Marcos Giron, and Aslan Karatsev during the tournament.

Shelton won his first clay-court ATP title at the 2024 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, defeating Frances Tiafoe in the final. It was the first all-African-American men's singles final in the Open Era and made Shelton the youngest champion at the event since Andy Roddick in 2002. The result helped him become the American No. 1 player and reach a career-high singles ranking of No. 13 in 2024.

In 2025, Shelton reached the Australian Open semifinals and made his first ATP Masters 1000 final at the Canadian Open. He defeated Karen Khachanov in the final to win his first Masters title and later reached a career-high ranking of world No. 5. He also qualified for the ATP Finals for the first time.

Shelton won the Dallas Open in 2026 after saving three championship points against Taylor Fritz in the final. That season he won titles in Munich and Stuttgart, gaining his first European clay and grass-court titles, and became the first American man since 2010 to win titles on hard, clay, and grass in the same season. He also won a doubles title at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships with Andrés Andrade and successfully defended his Canadian Open title.

A left-handed player with a two-handed backhand, Shelton is known for a powerful serve that has reached 150 miles per hour. He combines his serve with aggressive groundstrokes, quick movement to the net, and increasingly effective longer rallies. His on-court celebrations, including a phone gesture at the 2023 US Open, have also become part of his public image.

Shelton made his Davis Cup debut for the United States in the 2024 Finals quarterfinals against Australia. He played both singles and doubles, partnering with Tommy Paul in the doubles match. He was later selected for the 2025 Davis Cup qualifiers but withdrew because of a shoulder injury.

Shelton appeared in the second season of the Netflix documentary series Break Point in 2024. In December 2025, he launched the YouTube docuseries The Long Game, which follows aspects of his tennis career and life on tour.