Ben Shelton is known for his aggressive, attacking style of play, and he loves coming to the net after hitting powerful groundstrokes, especially from his forehand side. Other than his strong forehand, ‘Big Ben’ is also known for his powerful serves. But talking about his backhands, although it was considered one of his solid and reliable shots, it was never his primary weapon. However, things might have changed in recent times. Both Shelton and his father, Bryan Shelton, who is also his coach, spent time this offseason making a noticeable technique change on his backhand. Was the change fruitful, though?
Well, talking about those little tweaks, Ben Shelton said it was definitely a fix, something that they had looked at in the offseason. He spoke about how they analyzed the greatest backhands on Tour and what that swing path looked like, how they hit, the speed with which they hit, and how they were able to change line. According to Bryan Shelton, players tend to revert to what they are comfortable with, and the problem with Ben Shelton was that he sometimes opened up his grip a little too much instead of closing it.
Ben Shelton’s father believes that was one of the factors that affected his backhand. But seeing his performance in recent months, especially in his SF match against his compatriot Frances Tiafoe, there shouldn’t be doubt over his massive improvement. During the recent episode of ‘Nothing Major’ Podcast, Sam Querrey brought up this topic on the discussion table, saying, “Did you see that return that Shelton hit like 10 feet behind the baseline? That’s the hardest return I’ve ever seen anyone hit, I think maybe in tennis.”
That’s how the discussion started, and later on John Isner chimed in, saying, “That return was ridiculous, and that was some of the best tennis I think I’ve ever seen being played. That match against Frances, the way he was hitting his backhand in particular, just so many RPMs on his backhand in that match.” Although Ben Shelton lost his next match against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina by 2-6,5-7, Isner says Shelton can take a lot of confidence from that tournament, especially from the match against Tiafoe.
He admitted Shelton could’ve done a few things better, though, but then Isner was left in awe with the way he hammered the balls from the baseline. Considering his performances in this tournament, what are Shelton’s chances in the upcoming events? “He’s going to be nasty in Toronto and Cincinnati and especially, the US Open. We know how he does in the Grand Slams…He’s not going to have a day like that on his backhand every single day, but that wing is improving a lot, I think, just by virtue of being on the match court and players trying to pick on that wing. So, it’s just improving a lot. I’m really impressed with Ben,” said Isner. He believes Ben Shelton’s trajectory is in the right direction at the moment!
RECORD DATE NOT STATED 9th July 2025 All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, England Wimbledon Tennis Tournament, Day 10 Ben Shelton USA wiping sweat off his face in his match against Jannik Sinner ITA with the result of Cupping Therapy on Ben Shelton USA left shoulder PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxUK ActionPlus12811664 JohnxPatrickxFletcher
How much does Ben Shelton think his backhand has improved in recent times? Well, after his second-round match against Rinky Hijikata at Wimbledon, Shelton said, “My backhand has improved a lot, especially my ability to deal with pace to the backhand, hitting low balls off the backhand, being able to put topspin on the backhand sometimes, and hit passing shots.” He believes that it’s very much part of his evolution, and still, he considers that it’s a bit far from where he wants to be with his game. So, it’s still a work in progress! Ben Shelton’s impressive performances over the last few months have drawn praise from several tennis bigwigs. But what did he say after facing a defeat at the hands of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the SF of the Citi Open?
Ben Shelton analyzes his performance against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
It was their third meeting on the Tour, and guess what? Ben Shelton is yet to win against the Spaniard! However, despite this setback, Shelton has now climbed up to number seven in the ATP Rankings. So, this will be a massive boost ahead of the 2025 US Open. Talking about the big event, Shelton recently claimed that the feeling of playing the US Open can’t be compared to any other tournament.
“The biggest goal is the US Open, but I love all the early tournaments, lead-up tournaments in the U.S. swing…I always say I want to go one step deeper than I went the year before, and that’s not always the case, but yeah, I hope to have some good results in this U.S. swing,” said Shelton. Last year, Shelton was defeated in the third round by Frances Tiafoe. However, his best record at the US Open came in 2023 when he reached the semifinals. Can he make a better run this year?
Well, in order to improve, he first needs to learn from his mistakes. What were his mistakes from his previous match against Fokina? According to Ben Shelton, he really “struggled” with two things during that match. After hailing Fokina’s incredible switch from defense to offense during the matches and praising his solid play along with a spectacular court coverage, Shelton admitted, “I struggled with my serve from the start. I didn’t think that I was moving great, and those two things kinda weighed on the rest of my game.” Ben Shelton had hit seven aces in that match, but committed five double faults. So, that’s perhaps a bit of concern for the American ahead of his next campaign at the Canadian Open. Can he rectify all of these and come up with a better performance in his next tournaments?
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