Big Ben

While Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff were the main stories of the 2023 U.S. Open, with Djokovic capturing his record-setting 24^th major title, and Gauff winning the first of what she hopes are many major titles, there was another star to emerge at the end of this summer.

His name is Ben Shelton.

Coming into this year’s U.S. Open, most people, even in the tennis world, were not too familiar with the 20-year-old former collegiate standout who played at the University of Florida, but he quickly changed that. For two weeks in Queens, Shelton put on a show, blasting aces north of 140 MPH, dazzling the crowd with his whipping lefty forehand, and demonstrating the type of energy and intensity on court you would expect from a player not too far removed from college.

“I think I learned a lot about myself these two weeks, knowing how deep I can go, how deep I can dig, and what I can do competitively on the tennis court. Because I think it’s such a mental sport. I think that’s such a big side of it,” Shelton reflected after he lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Djokovic. “I kind of found a place where I can operate and still be calm and still be clear-minded but be a fierce competitor and get after the guy I’m playing…I was pretty happy with the way I competed throughout the tournament.”

While Shelton had reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open to begin the season, there is nothing quite like making a splash at your home Slam. By reaching the final four in New York, Shelton made a name for himself. It is quite the leap from just about 15 months ago, when Shelton was merely an aspiring professional tennis player with talent and potential, but with still a lot of room to grow.

Shelton’s ascent should not come as some huge surprise, however, with the sport being in his DNA. His father, Bryan Shelton, was a professional tennis player himself, who competed on tour for nearly a decade, reaching a career high singles ranking of 55th in the world. Following his time as a player, he led the Georgia Tech women to the National Title in 2007.

After taking the helm of the University of Florida men’s team, he guided them to the National Championship in 2021, a team led by his son Ben. In doing so, he became the only coach to win both a men’s and women’s national championship. Bryan stepped down as head coach at Florida to become his son’s full-time coach, an arrangement that began earlier this summer, but something they had dreamed of doing since Ben was younger.

“I think in his mind, he’s always thought that ultimately, we’d be able to do this together,” said Bryan. “We started together on the court and I think we’ve kind of built that coach-player relationship through the years as we continue to build our own relationship as father-son. And those two kind of went side by side along the way.”

Finding that balance between father-son and coach-player has been a bit challenging, as one would expect, but it’s something they continue to strive for.

“I always said, I had to put one hat on and take the other hat off, and then kind of understanding when to do both is a little bit tricky, because you hear about these stories with mother and daughter, father and son, mother and son, these stories that end up not being great stories. And so, my wife, Lisa, and I, we’ve really tried to have a balance with our kids and understand that they’re people first before they’re players,” Bryan added. “I think that along the way, I’ve put my coach hat on and to be able to do both still and for him to want me to come out there with him and help him in this area and share these experiences together, I think that speaks to the love that we have for one another and also the level of respect that we have for one another.”

When the announcement was made, Ben wrote on Instagram:

“The dream team is back together baby‼️ Can’t wait to have you out on tour with me, and see what we can accomplish together.”

The partnership did not immediately produce results however, as Shelton would struggle for much of the summer as he attempted to find his footing as a professional. Heading into the U.S. Open, Shelton lost 10 of the previous 14 matches he played, and didn’t seem to have any sort of form before competing in the year’s final major.

But something clicked when he got onto the courts of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Although the courts played slower this year, Shelton’s overpowering serve, topping out at 149 MPH at one point, and improved groundstrokes led to the best two weeks of his young tennis life.

After coasting through the first three rounds, Shelton knocked off his fellow Americans Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe, taking control of the raucous American crowd, especially in the quarterfinals as he denied the crowd-favorite Tiafoe a second straight semifinal appearance.

Afterwards, he was asked about what became his signature celebration, hanging up the phone on his opponents after a win.

“Our home phone when I was growing up in Atlanta was one like that. If I wanted to talk to my friends or call their home phone, seeing if they wanted to go outside and throw a football, that was what I did,” he explained. “But for me it’s kind of like I’m saying I’m dialed in. That’s what it is for me.”

That celebration, and the underlying passion and enthusiasm that it personified, became synonymous with Shelton, which made for great entertainment, but also caught the attention of his next opponent.

When Shelton took on Djokovic in the semifinals inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, the eventual champion would play clinical tennis for the first two sets, but Shelton woke up in the third set. The young American got the crowd involved and battled Djokovic into a tiebreaker, only to see Djokovic close it out in straight sets, and proceed to hang the phone up on Shelton.

“I just love Ben’s celebration,” Djokovic said smiling in his press conference. “I thought it was very original, and I copied him. I stole his celebration.”

Shelton did, to his credit, take it in stride and mentioned that he doesn’t like when people dictate how he celebrates, so he wasn’t in any position to tell Djokovic how to. It made for compelling television and sports oftentimes needs those sort of tense moments between players.

The most important point of that moment was that Shelton’s two-week run in New York caught the attention of his peers. Shelton has all the weapons and charisma to take the next step and become a star, so we may need to keep those phone lines open.