Ben Shelton to skip the Paris Olympics to prioritize US Open
Ben Shelton has indicated that he will likely skip the Paris Olympics is he qualifies given the clash the tournament has with the start of the US Open swing.
Shelton hasn’t made his call on the tournament just yet but suggested the schedule made the Olympics an unattractive prospect for a player like himself.
The young American said that he wouldn’t be staying on in Europe after Wimbledon under his current plans.
“Yeah. Definitely thought about it a lot. I’d say now I’m leaning towards not going this year if I were to make it. I think it’s tough in the tennis schedule this year,” Shelton said.
“I’ll be in Europe for two months leading up to Wimbledon and then after, you know, I want to prepare and really get ready for the US Open. So having to go back to Europe to play on clay, a different surface, you know, it kind of messes up a few lead-up tournaments to the US Open that I would play if I wasn’t playing the Olympics,” Shelton added.
Shelton suggested that he would be eager to make his Olympic debut at the 2028 games in Los Angeles.
“But, you know, 100% I would want to play in LA in 2028 which is on the same side of the world as the US Open and on the same surface but I guess we’ll just see. Who knows what happens this summer,” Shelton said.
Shelton is breaking new ground all the time but was shocked to face a player two years younger than himself at Indian Wells.
“I was just in the locker room talking to somebody saying, ‘Yeah, this is the first time I’ve played someone who’s younger than me and not around my same age,” Shelton said. “I’ve played Carlos (Alcaraz) and Holger (Rune) who are like a year (younger), and Arthur Fils, who’s like a year and a half (younger).
“But three years younger, it’s really impressive what that kid is doing and brings to the table as an 18-year-old.”
Shelton had to fight back from a set down to best Jakub Mensik at Indian Wells.
He stayed calm under pressure though and showed why he gets so many plaudits.
“I knew the match was far from over after the first set and it only took one small chance or one look to be able to turn things around,” said Shelton.
“And I was able to execute in the right moments to make that happen.”
