Ben Shelton’s ‘tactical weakness’ questioned after difficult ATP Finals defeats

Oli Dickson Jefford
Pictured: Ben Shelton at the ATP Finals.
ATP Tour star Ben Shelton at the ATP Finals.

Ben Shelton’s “tactical weakness” has been questioned by French pundit Julien Varlet after a disappointing start to his ATP Finals campaign.

US star Shelton, who reached a career-high world No 5 in the ATP Rankings this week, has qualified for the ATP Finals for the first time, following a year which saw him win the Canadian Open title and reach the last four of the Australian Open.

Despite a successful season, the 23-year-old’s debut appearance at the year-end championships has so far not gone to plan, falling in straight sets to third seed Alexander Zverev before a three-set loss to Felix Auger-Aliassime on Wednesday.

Shelton’s loss to Auger-Aliassime, coupled with Jannik Sinner’s win over Zverev later on Wednesday, means that the American is at the bottom of Group Bjorn Borg after two matches, and is officially unable to qualify for the knockout rounds.

And, the American will be a significant underdog against reigning champion and second seed Sinner in his final round-robin match on Friday, with Shelton having lost seven straight matches — and 17 consecutive sets — to the Italian.

Despite a successful rise up the rankings, guided by his father and former professional tennis player Bryan Shelton, elements of the world No 5’s game continue to be questioned.

While his return game has come under scrutiny from some quarters, his tactical approach has now been called into question by Varlet, himself a former player.

Speaking on Sans Filet, the Frenchman was critical of Shelton’s approach and called for him to use fellow left-hander Rafael Nadal as an inspiration.

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“At this level, I don’t understand the tactical weakness of Ben Shelton, the world number 5,” said Varlet (translated from French).

“He doesn’t play the left-hander’s game. He plays with too much tension on his opponent’s forehand. I don’t get it. He doesn’t use the left-handed slice to force his opponent out of bounds often enough.

“I’m sorry, but Rafael Nadal’s strength was using his left-handed game. They don’t have the same style, but if I were his father, I’d tell him: ‘You’re going to study Nadal for hours to learn about his playing style.’

“I’m not talking about his playing style. He almost never uses the less powerful crosscourt shot, with a steeper angle, to force his opponent out and open up the court on the other side.

“I don’t understand how a world number five can be so tactically weak.”

Shelton’s ATP Finals campaign and 2025 season will end on Friday afternoon against world No 2 Sinner, with the clash between the two scheduled as a day-session match.

The pair will take to the court not before 14:00 local time, with the American hoping to end his year on a high by snapping his seven-match losing streak to the Italian.

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