Ben became the youngest player in ATP Challenger Tour history to win three titles in three weeks, he was the Top 250's youngest American as well.
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American tennis player Ben Shelton was born on October 9, 2002. On January 16, 2023, Shelton earned his highest-ever ATP singles position of No. 89. Additionally, on November 14, 2022, he attained an ATP doubles rating of No. 280, which was a career best. At the 2016 USTA Junior National Championship, Shelton won in doubles. He played college tennis for the Florida Gators. In 2021, as a true freshman, he won at fifth singles to secure the Gators’ first team national championship, and the following year, he won the men’s singles title at the NCAA Division I Tennis Championships. The same year, he was named the ITA National Player of the Year. Shelton’s best weapon is the serve. He can deliver a powerful first serve that travels at an average speed of 126 mph. On both first and second serves, he is also capable of producing a substantial amount of kick. Shelton, a left-handed athlete, is strong and reliable on both the forehand and backhand side. He moves to the net easily to complete points after making strong groundstrokes. “I love to get to net, be able to use some of my hand abilities, athletic talents, and going up to collect the ball (to put away overheads) is one of my favourite things to do,” Shelton once stated. According to him, the serve-and-volley is a crucial component of his game and an area he wants to improve.
At the Atlanta Open, where he made his ATP Tour debut as a wildcard, he defeated Ramkumar Ramanathan in the opening round to earn his maiden ATP victory. He was defeated in three sets by No. 2 seed John Isner in his ensuing encounter. The Cincinnati Masters granted Shelton a wildcard berth. His first victory over a player ranked in the top 100 came in the opening round when he upset world No. 56 Lorenzo Sonego in three sets. Shelton faced world No. 5 Casper Ruud in the second round, facing a top-10 foe for the first time. For his first top-10 victory, Shelton defeated Ruud by a score of 6-3, 6-3 in straight sets. Additionally, he was given a wildcard to play in the main draw of the US Open on August 14 in order to make his Grand Slam debut. He recorded the second-fastest serve of the US Open competition in this match, clocking it at 139 mph, before falling to Nuno Borges in the opening round in five sets. Along with singles, he also played doubles with fellow American Christopher Eubanks. After defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas and Petros Tsitsipas in the opening round, they were eliminated in the following round. He debuted in the top 100 rankings after winning his third consecutive championship at the Champaign-Urbana Challenger, finishing the year at world No. 97 on November 21, 2022, and became the youngest player in ATP Challenger Tour history to win three titles in three weeks. He was the Top 250’s youngest American as well.
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Shelton is the son of Bryan Shelton, the Florida Gators’ men’s tennis coach and a former professional tennis player. His sister Emma played college tennis at Florida, his mom Lisa Witsken Shelton was a highly regarded junior tennis player, and his uncle Todd Witsken was a professional tennis player. The Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Thomas Group employs Lisa Shelton as a real estate agent. Her information can also be found on a profile with her name on the Better Homes and Gardens website. Before she became a realtor, Lisa, who is from Carmel, Indiana, briefly competed as a talented junior tennis player. Tennis for the Florida Gators is coached by Bryan Shelton. Bryan also used to play tennis professionally, competing from 1989 to 1997. MaliVai Washington, a 1996 Wimbledon finalist, was trained by Shelton after Shelton retired from playing tennis until he was appointed a USTA National Coach. He is the first head coach in NCAA Division I to have both men’s and women’s tennis national championships.
Anna Hall, a heptathlete from Denver, Colorado, is Shelton’s girlfriend. Hall and Shelton started dating in November 2021. The University of Florida’s Anna, an athletic participant, won the heptathlon at the 2022 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships. She also won the heptathlon in the 2022 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which allowed her to compete at the Eugene, Oregon, 2022 World Athletics Championships, where she finished third. Besides that, the couple’s romance started in November 2021, as Hall noted in an Instagram post where she noted that they had been dating for a year and included a video from their trip to Naples, Florida. Ben and Anna have not yet tied the knot and are not yet husband and wife.
