Everyone knows Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner dominated men’s tennis in 2025.
Now, as we approach a new season, the question becomes: can Ben Shelton be the player to disrupt this two-horse race?
Shelton is right in the sweet spot as a candidate, a 23-year-old, 193cm-tall lefty whose hunger to join Sinner and Alcaraz in men’s tennis’ next big trio could ignite at Australian Open 2026.
When he turned pro in 2022, Shelton had never been outside the United States, nor inside the top 500. Since then, he’s won titles in three different countries, and reached semifinals at the Australian and US Opens, quarterfinals at Wimbledon and the fourth round of Roland Garros.
It’s a remarkable rise for someone who started tennis late.
“Most of these guys who are at the top of the game right now, they were prodigies – five or six years old, racquet in their hand, training every day,” he told Vogue.
“To get to the top 20 in the world within two years of playing college tennis? That’s something I don’t take for granted. It’s tough to be a finished product by 18 if you start at 12 – but I’m not a finished product.”
Behind the numbers is a player who revels in big moments – a mindset shaped from years as a high-school quarterback, where taking ownership of every play was critical.
That appetite for impact now shows up in his tennis, and Shelton says his relationship with Olympic gold-medallist Trinity Rodman has sharpened his mental edge further.
“[Being with her helps with] the mental toughness and perseverance and dealing with the difficulties that come up,” Shelton said of advice shared between them.
Of course, some of Shelton’s boldness was just baked in.
“Our family is very conservative, and everything [Ben] wore had to be neon,” Shelton’s father and coach, Bryan, said.
Aussie tennis fans will recall Shelton diving for balls in a sleeveless top, with sunset gradient, from the Federer-backed brand On. And while French fans may be more used to those shirts being covered in clay, the one constant is a kid who has a habit of standing out.
“He just wanted to do things differently,” Bryan said. “But somewhere along the way, a little switch went off.”
That switch was as much technical as it was mental. Shelton’s one-wood is a 240km/h-plus serve, but as the tour has collectively improved, the Atlanta native realised he needed more than raw power.
“For me, it used to be a crutch,” he told the ATP. “I spent a lot of time working on other parts of my game. I can go through a service game easily now with only second serves, which I could never have done before, and it's just been my evolution as a player to not just rely on the serve.”
Another piece of Shelton’s evolution is a distinct American swagger.
“I’m saying I’m dialled in,” he told reporters when asked about the ‘hang up the telephone’ celebration he used at the 2023 US Open.
And when Novak Djokovic mimicked the celebration, Shelton shrugged: “I see people telling me how I can celebrate or can’t celebrate. I think if you win the match, you deserve to do whatever you want.”
Whether it’s a 24-time Grand Slam champion giving him a taste of his own medicine, or anonymous critics sliding into his Instagram DMs, Shelton channels it all into purpose.
“I’m not gonna lie, I check social media from time to time. I can use that for fuel, and it really helps me play much better with a little bit of a chip on my shoulder,” he told GQ.
Shelton heads to Melbourne entrenched in the top 10, coming off a season he rates as “maybe an 8 out of 10” highlighted by his first Masters 1000 title in Canada.
“I made huge improvements and strides from the year before,” said Shelton, who this time last year was ranked outside the top 20.
“I’m a guy who gets into a really good rhythm when I'm playing a lot of matches. I had a lot of clarity this summer on how to play: shot tolerance, what shots to play at certain times. I had a lot of clarity on what my identity was on the court, how I was going to win, my winning formula. I'm still searching for that a little bit right now.”
There are no shortcuts in tennis. To break up the ‘Sincaraz’ duopoly, someone has to win a major, and everything about Shelton’s trajectory suggests he is primed to run the gauntlet.
Since Andre Agassi in 2003, no American man has reached an Australian Open final. AO 2026 could be when Shelton turns that tide – and makes his case as the third and final piece in tennis’ next era-defining trio.