Ben Shelton Comes to Terms with the Level of His Game After Crashing Out of the ATP Finals in Turin

Ben Shelton bowed out of the ATP Finals on Friday (November 14) after failing to win a match, leaving Turin empty-handed. The American star fell to former World No.1 Jannik Sinner in his final round robin match at the tournament. He has now come to terms with the fact that he needs to improve in many aspects of his game.

Shelton has been one of the biggest American sensations this season, reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open and the quarter-finals of the Wimbledon Championships. He earned his career-best run at Roland Garros, reaching the fourth round, and began this week at a career-high ranking of World No.5.

He won his first ATP 1000 Masters title in Toronto after beating Karen Khachanov in the final. However, since suffering a shoulder injury at the US Open, he has failed to carry on the same momentum he had before that unfortunate experience. Since returning to tour in October, Shelton has posted an underwhelming 3-6 record on tour.

Nonetheless, three of those losses came at the ATP Finals. He fell to Alexander Zverev in straight sets in the first round robin match. He was destined to win his second match after winning the opening set, but Felix Auger-Aliassime pulled a spectacular comeback to beat the World No.5.

Shelton’s run at the tournament came to an end against Sinner. With an underwhelming 0-3 record in Turin, Shelton revealed that he now understands the gap he’s trying to bridge against top opponents. He added that he hopes to get delayed gratification from the things he has improved in his game:

I think tennis is a sport where you don’t get instant gratification. I could be working on things now this week or have worked on things for the past three months, past two months, past month when I’ve been trying to come back. I may not see it on the court yet. But maybe in Australia, Paris, at some point next year I start to see those things come along. It’s always been like that in my career.

Shelton has relied heavily on his serves against opponents on the court, always aiming to out-serve them. But that failed to happen at the ATP Finals, as the likes of Auger-Aliassime, Zverev, and Sinner always read his plan. He will now have to improve on other aspects of his game, which will make him less vulnerable on the court.

Ben Shelton admits he was outplayed by Jannik Sinner in the final round robin match in Turin

Ben Shelton finishes the season with a 40-24 record. The highlights of his season came at the ATP 1000 tournament in Canada, where he won his biggest career title. However, he fell to defending champion Jannik Sinner 3-6, 6(3)-7, taking their head-to-head record to 1-8 on tour. His only win against the Italian star was at the 2023 Rolex Shanghai Masters.

During the aforementioned press conference, the 23-year-old was asked about Sinner’s performance against him. The American star admitted that he was completely outplayed by the World No.2 on the court. He added that he understands that he’s not in his best form as he’s still finding his rhythm on the court:

I just honestly got out-served. That was kind of the theme of all three matches I played here, the guys served better than me. That’s not the biggest concern. I know I have a great serve. Got to give a lot of credit at the end of the year, the way that guys — in-form players played. Me, coming back from being out for a while, it takes me a little bit to find my rhythm.

Shelton will now take a vacation away from the court, probably with his girlfriend and American soccer star Trinity Rodman. The 23-year-old then confirmed their relationship with a kiss on Instagram in March 2025.

Also Read: Wim Fissette Admits Iga Swiatek Has Plans to Skip Tournaments in 2026

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