Ben Shelton Is The Next Great Hope Of American Men’s Tennis

Ben Shelton is the next great hope of American men’s tennis. The 20 year old is now into the US Open semifinals after beating fellow American Frances Tiafoe on Tuesday. This is his first ever major semifinal. Up next is Novak Djokovic, the greatest tennis player of all time.

This is a meteoric rise for Shelton, who, before the 2023 Australian Open, which he made the quarterfinals of, hadn’t even been outside of the country. Shelton’s movement, and combination of excellent placement and power on his shots, make him a force to be reckoned with.

His serve, while sometimes hit or miss, is deadly when he is firing on all cylinders. He had two separate 149 mile per hour serves against fellow American Tommy Paul in the round of 16 of this tournament. Shelton’s shot making ability, power, placement, and variety, all at such a young age, in my opinion, make his ceiling higher than any other American man at the moment.

And there are multiple American men who are coming up. Two 25 year olds, Taylor Fritz, and Frances Tiafoe, are ranked in the top 10 in the world. 26 year old Tommy Paul made the 2023 Australian Open semifinals. The fact that there are three American men ranked in the top 15, and Ben Shelton is not (yet) one of them, speaks to the improvement and depth of American men’s tennis compared to the 2010s, when John Isner’s appearance at the 2018 Wimbledon semifinals was the highlight of the decade.

There are 11 American men ranked in the world’s top 100, more than any other country. But none of the other American men in the top 100 have the ceiling that Ben Shelton has. None have Shelton’s shot making ability. And none who are even close to as good as Shelton now are nearly as young as him.

Obviously, there are never guarantees that young stars fulfill their potential. And winning a Grand Slam is extremely difficult. Everything has to line up for you; form, luck, and seizing your opportunity. But I truly believe that Ben Shelton has the tools to do it. Ben Shelton is the next great hope of American men’s tennis.