Ben Shelton joins Andy Murray by sharing an ‘unpopular’ tennis ‘hot take’ of his own

Ewan West
Ben Shelton smiling
Ben Shelton smiling in Tokyo

Ben Shelton has followed the recent trend established by Andy Murray of sharing “unpopular opinions” about tennis by offering a “hot take” of his own on a way the tour can be improved. 

The American star has argued that summer tournaments, such as the Atlanta Open, should copy the example of events like the Mexican Open by only having night matches.

Three-time Grand Slam champion Murray recently expressed two views he labelled “unpopular”, the first involving adding a South American Masters event to the ATP Tour calendar.

The former world No 1 also questioned top players for being critical about the long season when they play exhibition events during the short off-season period.

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Shelton is currently in action at the 2024 edition of the Mexican Open in Acapulco, where all matches are scheduled to be played in the evening — something only a handful of ATP Tour events do.

The world No 17 defeated Dan Evans 2-6, 7-5, 7-6(5) in the opening round of the ATP 500 tournament, having lost his only previous match at the event on his debut last year.

The 21-year-old will take on 42nd-ranked Matteo Arnaldi in the second round on Wednesday, after the Italian upset No 4 seed Taylor Fritz in the first round.

In a post shared on his Instagram story, Shelton referenced Murray’s recent words and explained why he feels more tournaments should implement the policy used in Acapulco.

“Hot take like Andy Murray….Unpopular opinion: a tournament like Atlanta in the summer should only have night matches like they do in Acapulco, stadium here is always packed, and a few other tournaments,” the American said.

“Would be better for the fans for sure, and probably end up with bigger crowds.”

The 21-year-old, who won his first ATP title at the Japan Open in Tokyo last year, added: “Daytime in ATL (Atlanta) in July is unbearable.”

Shelton played the ATP 250 tournament in his home city of Atlanta — which is part of the North American summer hard-court swing building up to the US Open — in 2022 and 2023

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