Ben Shelton’s electrifying US Open performance is all the more remarkable considering his position in the rankings not that long ago.
The unseeded American now has the rare distinction of notching his first tour-level semifinal at a Grand Slam event.
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Only two other players under the age of 21 have ever done this; Wayne Ferreira at Australian Open 1992, and Gustavo Kuerten at Roland Garros in 1997. Kuerten went on to win that year in Paris.
Just over two years ago, Ben Shelton didn’t even have an ATP ranking. Now he is expected to crack the top 20 with his latest success.
Shelton began season 2023 as the world No.96. Only four American men in Open Era history – John McEnroe, Andy Roddick, Arthur Ashe and Andre Agassi – have started from lower down the rankings to crack the top 20 within a single season.
We chart Shelton’s rise shortly after his ATP rankings debut in July 2021, to his current position of world No.19 in the ATP live rankings.
1 August 2021: Wins first ITF Futures title
In Champaign, Illinois – a place that would come to be extremely fruitful for him – Shelton won five matches without losing a set to win his first professional title. He beat Gijs Brouwer in the final – an opponent ranked almost 1000 places higher. Shelton joined Brouwer inside the top 1000 after that triumph.
(Rankings rise after Champaign ITF: +619 to world No.808)
19 November 2021: First Challenger quarterfinal
In the same city three months later, Shelton won another four straight matches to charge into the quarterfinals of the Champaign ATP Challenger as a qualifier. His run was stopped by Yosuke Watanuki, but it pushed him toward the top 500.
(Rankings rise after Champaign Challenger: +110 to world No.568)
4 June 2022: More Challenger success
Shelton did not play professionally for six months due to college tennis, but picked up right where he left off from late 2021. A first Challenger-level semifinal in Little Rock – where he fell in two tight sets to Jason Kubler – vaulted him inside the top 500.
(Rankings rise after Little Rock: +105 to world No.442)
18 July 2022: First Challenger final
He continued competing on the ATP Challenger circuit throughout the United States, and in Rome, Georgia, he started as a qualifier and won six straight matches to progress to his first Challenger final, where Wu Yibing awaited. The Chinese rising star won, but Shelton shaved another 100-odd places from his ranking.
(Rankings rise after Rome: +110 to world No.323)
17 August 2022: Immediate impact on ATP tour
In just his second tour-level event after debuting in Atlanta three weeks earlier, Shelton scored a result that put him on the tennis map. He outplayed world No.5 Casper Ruud to advance to the third round of the Cincinnati Masters, a round after earning his first top-100 win over Lorenzo Sonego. His exciting run in the Midwest saw him crack the world’s top 200.
(Rankings rise after Cincinnati: +58 to world No.171)
6 November 2022: First Challenger title
After losses in three ATP Challenger finals earlier in 2022, Shelton finally broke through in Charlottesville, with a win over Christopher Eubanks. It helped him enter the top 150, and sparked a purple patch of form.
(Rankings rise after Charlottesville: +28 to world No.128)
21 November 2022: Cracks top 100
Shelton went on to win 15 consecutive matches, a run culminating with his third straight Challenger title in Champaign after beating Aleksander Vukic in the final. Having started 2022 ranked No.573, he ended the season as a top-100 player.
(Rankings rise after Champaign Challenger: +11 to world No.97)
23 January 2023: First Grand Slam quarterfinal at AO 2023
In his first trip outside the United States, Shelton enjoyed a dream run at Melbourne Park. By the time he beat fellow American J.J. Wolf in five sets to reach his first major quarterfinal, Shelton had won 20 of his past 22 matches. Tommy Paul ended his run, but Shelton debuted in the top 50 shortly afterward.
(Rankings rise after Australian Open: +45 to world No.44)
5 May 2023: First Challenger QF on European red clay
Shelton had barely played on clay in his career, and never on the red European variety until 2023. With a quarterfinal at the ATP Challenger in Cagliari, Italy, Shelton peaked at world No.35 – his highest ranking of the season.
(Rankings rise after Cagliari: +3 to world No.35)
6 September 2023: US Open semifinalist
Shelton technically hasn’t gone higher than that, but live rankings show he will rise to a career-best mark of world No.19 after the US Open. He avenged his Australian Open defeat to Paul in the fourth round in New York, then upstaged Frances Tiafoe for his second top-10 win. In his first Grand Slam semifinal, Shelton will take on 23-time major champion Novak Djokovic.