Ben Shelton Biography: Age, US Open Final, Career-High Ranking and Latest News

 

Ben Shelton

Quick Facts: Born 9 October 2002 (age 24) · Atlanta, Georgia, USA · Left-handed · Career-high ranking No. 4 · 2026 US Open finalist.

Ben Shelton began playing tennis at age 10 with his father and coach, Bryan, whom he calls his “biggest inspiration.” Bryan left the University of Florida after 11 years in June 2023 to travel with Ben on the ATP Tour. His father reached a career-high No. 55 in the ATP Rankings, winning the Newport title in 1991 and 1992 .

Shelton clinched the 2021 NCAA men’s team title for the University of Florida and added the 2022 NCAA singles title before turning professional in June 2022. He broke into the Top 100 in November 2022 without ever having traveled outside the United States. His favorite shot is his serve, his favorite surface is hard court, and his tennis idol is Roger Federer. Before focusing on tennis, he played quarterback in football. “Going into the end of middle school, there were a lot of huge kids in football, and I hadn’t really hit my growth spurt yet,” he told The New York Times. “I was maybe a little tired of getting bashed up all the time” .

His breakthrough came at the 2023 US Open, where he reached the semi-finals, becoming the youngest American man in a US Open semi-final since Michael Chang in 1992. He won his first ATP Tour title at 2023 Tokyo, joining Bryan Shelton as the fourth father-son duo to win a tour-level championship in the Open Era .

Latest News: Shelton achieved a career-high ranking of No. 4 in September 2026 after reaching his first Grand Slam final at the US Open. He ousted defending champion Carlos Alcaraz for the biggest win of his career and defeated countryman Frances Tiafoe in an all-American semi-final before falling in the final . He has now won seven ATP Tour titles and is the highest-ranked American man in the world. At 24, he represents the future of American men’s tennis alongside Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz.