Ben Shelton argues ‘stupid’ rule must change after what Alexander Zverev did in US Open final
Ben Shelton has described a tennis rule as “stupid” and called for a change after his defeat to Alexander Zverev in the 2026 US Open final.
The No 8 seed was beaten 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 by top seed Zverev in the championship match in New York on Sunday.
Shelton, who was playing his first-ever Grand Slam final, now holds a 0-6 record against Zverev.
Zverev’s high number of ball bounces before serving was a talking point during the US Open, and Shelton was asked if it was hard to deal with the German’s service rhythm.
“I think there’s not an athlete in the world that you’re going to look and watch them do their thing and they’re going to sit in a ready position for 30 seconds before the play starts,” the 23-year-old American said in his post-match press conference.
“So for me it’s the same. I’m not going to sit there in a ready position with my knees bent, tension in my body for 30 seconds while I’m waiting.
“I’m going to try to stay loose, and you know, I’ll let him do his thing when he’s up there, but I’m not going to sit there, be locked in, focused, in a ready position for that long.”
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At one point during the final, chair umpire Marijana Veljovic told Shelton to take up his return position earlier.
“[The umpire] was telling me I needed to get to the line earlier, and I was like, ‘he can start his routine whenever he wants. I promise you there will never be a time where he serves and I’m not ready’,” Shelton explained.
“But I shouldn’t have to sit at the line. If he’s bouncing the ball 20 to 25 times, I shouldn’t have to just sit there for that. He should be able to start it. He never does less than 10 bounces. I’m always going to be ready when he’s ready to serve.
“I think that that is a stupid rule, that you gotta be sitting there if it’s a guy who has his routine. As long as you’re ready when he puts his hands together and starts bouncing the ball, that’s what should matter.”
Asked if there should be a rule change, Shelton said: “I definitely think, for a first serve, you can do whatever you want. You can use the full 25 seconds every time.
“I think that there should be some sort of rule — I’m not sure exactly how you would do it — limiting time on second serve. You shouldn’t have unlimited time.
“I think for our sport, for the fans, I think it’s tough to be sitting there that long [waiting] for the next play, the next action to happen.
“I’m sure at some point, it’ll be something that these tournaments look at, just because there is such a delay in play in some matches.”
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