After missing three tournaments, sixth-ranked Ben Shelton is set to make his return to the ATP Tour in the Shanghai Masters 1000 Tournament.
Shelton was having a breakout season when he suffered a painful shoulder injury vs. France’s Adrian Mannarino in the third round of the U.S. Open, forcing his retirement with the match knotted at two sets apiece.
It was his first in-match retirement in any ATP Tournament. He was disconsolate, but chose to look on the bright side.
“You won’t hear me pouting about how bad things are,” Shelton said in his post-match press conference. “The summer that I have and what I’ve been able to do in this sport in a short amount of time.”
Even before the summer, Shelton, who will turn 23 years old on Oct. 9, was rising up the rankings. He lost to eventual champion Jannik Sinner in the semifinals of the Australian Open and reached career bests with a fourth round appearance at the French Open and a quarterfinal exit at Wimbledon.
Shelton, who is ranked fourth this season in percentage of service games won (88.9), won his first ATP 1000 title at the Canadian Open in late July.
Before the injury, the former University of Florida standout seemed to be a cinch to reach his first-ever ATP Finals in Turin. Even though he is hanging on to his No. 6 ranking, No. 7 Alex de Minaur of Australia and No. 8 Lorenzo Musetti of Italy are closing ground. But the biggest threat to bump Shelton out of the top 8 and a berth in the 2025 finale is No. 9 Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, who reached the semis of the U.S. Open.
“It’s the first time that I’ve put myself in a good position, at this point in the year, to make Turin,” Shelton told ATP Media ahead of this week’s tour stop. “Hopefully I get a couple more good results and get over the line…
“I’m happy with the way that I’ve played this year and what I’ve been able to do. I’m not done. I have more things that I want to accomplish this year, so let’s see where we are in a month’s time.”
His road will not be easy. After a first-round bye, Shelton will face veteran Belgian David Goffin on Friday. Big-serving Canadian Gabriel Diallo may await in the third round, while Casper Ruud, Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner are all on Shelton’s half of the draw.
“It’s getting there,” he said about his recovery. “As (with any) injury, it takes time to recover, but I wouldn’t show up to a tournament unless I thought I was ready. That’s why I skipped a few, but I should be ready to go now.”
Shelton is also set to team up with Alexander Bublik in doubles. The duo is set to open against Romain Arneodo and Zizou Bergs.
–Field Level Media
