Ben Shelton makes surprise confession about his love for tennis

Shahida Jacobs
Ben Shelton in action
Ben Shelton (USA) during a match

Ben Shelton is currently one of the most exciting youngsters on the ATP Tour, but he admits he didn’t really take a liking to tennis at a young age as he “didn’t want to be part” of the sport.

The American took a slightly different route to top-level tennis as he first went to college, unlike the majority of young tennis players who turn professional as soon as they leave high school.

But that approach has worked brilliantly for Shelton as he finally turned pro in 2022 and this year his star has shown brightly as he has risen to a career-high No 19 in the ATP Rankings on the back of reaching the semi-final of the US Open.

But the 21-year-old is the first to admit that he was initially more into “other sports” and the bug only bit him after he won his first professional match.

“I think my first memory is being a really young kid and my parents started me out with a tennis racket and a balloon to practice tennis for the first time,” he said during an interview on the ATP tennis podcast.

“I didn’t love tennis at the start and I didn’t want to be a part of it, I just wanted to play other sports. But I got back to it. I think the moment I realised that I wanted to be a tennis player was probably the first professional match I won in Illinois.”

READ MORE: Ben Shelton reveals his healthy ‘addiction’ after the biggest win of his career

Just over a year ago, Shelton was ranked outside the top 150 in the world but he rose to inside the top 100 before the 2022 season was out.

By the end of this year’s Australian Open – his first tournament outside of the United States – he was ranked inside the top 50 and made his top 20 breakthrough after the US Open.

Many believe it is only a matter of time before he reaches the top 10, but the youngster believes his performances, especially at the Grand Slams, will stand him in good stead.

Shelton added: “Being able to do five sets, last five sets, you know I’ve never done before in my career and I kinda proved to myself that I was fit enough to compete in Grand Slams and mentally tough enough to compete in front of big crowds.

“I think that’s something that helped me gain a lot of confidence this year.”

Related Articles