As Ben Shelton lapped up the explosion of joy and adoration from a full Arthur Ashe Stadium after reaching a grand slam final for the first time, one of his first thoughts was of his paternal grandmother, Regina Ann Shelton, who died this year. Shelton credited his grandmother with ensuring that his father, Bryan Shelton, made it as a top professional, becoming one of a small group of Black men on the tour. “My dad lost his mom earlier this year and she’s the reason he was able to play tennis,” he said. “Without her, there’s no Ben Shelton standing here today. So this one is for her.”
Just a couple of generations on, Shelton now stands on the verge of history. On Sunday, he will attempt to become the first Black American man to win the US Open singles title since Arthur Ashe in 1968, a feat he will attempt inside the stadium named after Ashe. Shelton would also be the first black man to win any grand slam singles title since Yannick Noah at Roland Garros in 1983, and the third overall. He is also aiming to become the first American man to win a major singles title since Andy Roddick won the US Open in 2003.
The final step, however, will be the most difficult. Tennis is a game of match ups and Shelton has had an especially difficult time against Alexander Zverev, the Roland Garros champion and the top seed in the absence of Jannik Sinner. After winning the first set they played, at Cincinnati in 2024, Shelton has lost 10 sets in a row to Zverev, compiling a 0-5 record against the German on hard courts, grass and clay.
Zverev is well suited for left-handed opponents due to the strength of his two-handed backhand, which allows him to counter the effects of their swinging serve out wide from the left advantage side as well as their crosscourt forehand from the same position.
There are plenty of reasons, however, for Shelton to be hopeful that things will be different in New York. He will remind himself of the fact that they have never faced each other in a grand slam tournament, where the American so often elevates his game, and particularly that the theme of this tournament has been breaking new ground in difficult match-ups.
“Problem-solving has been the name of the game here,” he said. “I was 0-1 against Stef [Stefanos Tsitsipas], 0-3 against Carlos [Alcaraz], Foe [Frances Tiafoe] beat me the last time we played on this court. It’s been a lot of uphill battle, so I think I’m fully ready for the challenge to problem-solve.”
His father and coach, the former player Bryan Shelton, stressed how well his son, who is 7-2 in finals, competes with a title on the line: “He’s got an amazing record on Sundays. Don’t want to jinx him here, but if you look at his record throughout his career, he’s played well on Sundays.
“So that’s where he wants to be. He feels like he’s going to play his best tennis at the end of the week, or end of the two weeks. So glad he has a chance at the US Open.”
One of the most striking aspects of Shelton’s emergence has been his relentless improvement. His path took him through the college route where he started as an unremarkable prospect. When he first emerged on the ATP tour, the massive strengths he showed with his enormous serve, athleticism and the variation he could play with were counterbalanced by glaring weaknesses in his backhand, return and consistency from the baseline. They were all still present on his explosive first full season on the tour in 2023, which he began with a run to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on his first trip outside the United States. He reached the semi-finals of the US Open that year, yet despite progressing only one round further this year, Shelton is a different player now.
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He has made such drastic improvements to his backhand, return of serve and consistency, which is what has allowed him to perform at such a high level during this tournament. Against Alcaraz, he returned well and was the far more stable player from the baseline. In his win over Tiafoe, he saved one of the best backhand days of his career for one of the biggest matches of his career.
“I still feel so many categories that I think I have a long way to go, but I’ve made important improvements and changes in some of the most important categories to be able to compete at the top,” he said. “Return of serve, stability from the baseline, even my serve, the way that I go about putting together my service games has improved, and my ability to focus for long periods of time are all areas that have come together and have helped me play at the level I’m playing. But the pursuit and hunger to get better, to find ways that I can improve, it’s just a part of who I am and something that will never change.”
Late on Friday night, as his son left the court and only just began to digest his achievement, a smile spread widely across Shelton Sr’s face. “To do it here at the US Open and be playing on the final day, this kid, it’s kind of surreal,” he said. “I didn’t think he was going to even get into this sport and then to be where he’s at right now, I mean, it’s just hard to believe, hard to believe and just super, super grateful.”
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