The heat is surely turning on ahead of the US Open. Top male players across the globe are in Toronto to participate in the Canadian Open. However, one player is definitely catching the eyes of the tennis world. He is none other than Ben Shelton, who is looking to have a fruitful US Open Swing after showing a lot of promise earlier this season. With Shelton’s enthusiasm and determination reaching sky-high, he was involved in a controversial moment at the tournament yesterday. Amid this, Shelton received the backing of Coco Gauff’s ex-coach, Brad Gilbert.
In what was a keenly contested encounter, it went into the final-set tiebreaker. However, toward the closing stages of the match, Cobolli made a gesture that made Shelton unhappy. The American sensation made his feelings felt and had a cold handshake with his Italian opponent at the net. Despite facing massive criticism for it, Shelton found support in the form of Gilbert.
Taking to his official X handle, Gilbert wrote, “I’ve watched a few videos online doesn’t look like that much between Gimme Shelton and Cobolli obviously very tight match in the heat of the moment.” The legendary coach completely downplayed the controversy and explained that the match was closely contested and hence such a moment had taken place. Nonetheless, it was all within the boundary and no further action was taken in this regard.
i’ve watched a few videos online doesn’t look like that much between Gimme Shelton and Cobolli obviously very tight match in the heat of the moment,
— Brad Gilbert (@bgtennisnation) August 4, 2025
Interestingly, Shelton also downplayed the incident and maintained that all was well between him and Cobolli. It was a sort of misunderstanding that the two players cleared later. “He made a gesture in the tiebreak, and I asked him about it. He said it wasn’t directed at me, so all good,” Shelton revealed during the post-match interview, as he advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament after defeating Cobolli.
Amid this controversy, Shelton praised his opponent for putting on a great show in the pre-quarterfinal battle. The American sensation also explained how the two cleared the air surrounding their misunderstanding.
Ben Shelton plays down the Canadian Open controversy
The 22-year-old has had a tough going so far at the Canadian Open. Although he advanced to the last eight, Shelton has had to fight his way through this stage. While he began his campaign here with a straight-set win, Shelton took three sets to defeat Brandon Nakashima in the round of 32. Subsequently, against Cobolli as well, Shelton had to dig deep to pick out the win. Nonetheless, he had a contented look after getting past his Italian opponent.
After the match, Shelton said, “Yeah, I think I was really mentally tough tonight. I got to give credit to Flavio; he did a lot of things throughout the match that made it difficult. I thought he played very well. He’s really fast, neutralizes a lot of things that I do well, and that’s always a tough matchup for me, so just happy to come through it… We’re good. We talked about it in the locker room, so I’m not going to answer any more questions about that. There’s no story, we’re good, that’s it, so, thanks.”
Shelton will next face Alex de Minaur in the last eight. The Australian star is coming off winning the Citi Open title, and it promises to be an exciting clash ahead.
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