Player Features

Inside the Ben Shelton evolution

Learn how the American has been changing his game

March 08, 2025

Ben Shelton is already one of the most dangerous players in the world with his wicked lefty serve and penchant for the big moment. The scary part for the rest of the ATP Tour is that the 22-year-old is rapidly improving.

“When you look at the top of the game, there’s nobody who can just serve,” Shelton, who is the 11th seed at the BNP Paribas Open, told ATPTour.com. “You’ve got to be complete to win Slams, to compete for big titles. You have to be a complete player, which is what I’m working towards.”

Some fans might not know that Shelton’s focus early on was American football — a former quarterback, it is no coincidence he has a dynamic serve. But the former University of Florida standout began his college career at No. 5 singles. He was a talent, but a raw talent with plenty of room for growth.

Shelton took little time to adjust to the biggest events in the world, reaching the 2023 US Open semi-finals in just his fifth major appearance and cracking the Top 20 in the PIF ATP Rankings less than a year and a half after turning pro.

Ben Shelton practises under the watchful eye of his coach and father, Bryan Shelton.” style=”width:100%;” src=”https://www.atptour.com/-/media/images/news/2025/03/08/01/14/shelton-bryan-indian-wells-2025.jpg?w=100%25″>
^{Ben Shelton practises under the watchful eye of his coach and father Bryan Shelton.}
But that did not mean his game was perfect, or anywhere near it. In fact, Shelton and his father, coach Bryan Shelton, spent time this offseason making a noticeable technique change on his backhand.

“It was definitely a fix, something that we looked at in the offseason, the greatest backhands on Tour and in history, what that swing path looked like, how they hit it, the speed that they hit it at, how they were able to change line, go both directions with it and complement it with the slice,” Shelton said. “So I never feel that every time my backhand has to be perfect, or every time my slice has to be perfect, because I can use both. So for me, that one technical fix that I made, and I spent a lot of hours on this offseason, started to come together when I played my first match in Auckland, and then by the time I got to Australia, it started feeling really good.”

Now Shelton says he does not have to think about the technique, and just needs to continue polishing it. Something that helped was watching side-by-side video of four backhands, belonging to Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic and himself.

“Those guys had a lot more of a higher starting point, let the gravity do the work to drop the wrists and then come through at a little higher angle than I did,” Shelton said. “And I think that’s something that if you look at the tape from last year to this year, it looks different on mine.”

According to Bryan, players tend to revert back to what they are comfortable with. Ben sometimes opens up his grip a little too much instead of closing it, which affects his backhand. They therefore return to the basics.

“[We] make sure that he’s got that right hand over far enough so the racquet is closed, just so that he can square up to the ball well. And then the second part for us is he’s always wanted to take the racquet back low, and there are some great players that have done that in the past. But with him, that reverse move, going low first, he ends up coming back down through the ball, and he doesn’t create topspin,” Bryan said. “And so we’re just trying to reverse that a little bit and just his initial setup, get him with the racquet head above the wrist, so that when he gets his unit turn, creates a little bit of topspin, which creates a little bit of arc for him, which gives him a little bit more margin on the shot.

“That’s we’re looking for — that when it’s really important, that he knows that he has control of the ball, because he can control the arc of the ball.”

That changes the dynamics of Shelton’s matches. There is less need to rely on his serve and more ability to work through rallies and change the rhythm of rallies to gain an advantage.

“I think when you believe that you can win in multiple ways, it takes pressure off of any other one part of your game. As he’s developed his backhand, as he’s developed his backhand slice, it’s just made him stronger mentally,” Bryan said. “I think that his second serve is what people don’t talk about probably enough, because I believe the first serve is only that good because the second serve is so good. And when he can do what he can do with his second serve, and make the ball jump the way he does, and get the ball out of the zone and have the confidence to hit multiple types of second serves, it takes a little pressure off the first.

“I think those things are huge, and being solid from the ground certainly helps knowing that, ‘Hey, I can get in the point against the best players in the world and hang in there’. The way he played that first set against Sinner at the Australian Open was a good example of that.”

As hard as Shelton has worked to shore up his game, he is also committed to accentuating his strengths, including his serve.

“I think it’s got to be more accurate. My first-serve percentage for the most part looks good, compared to all the best servers on Tour, but I think that it could be even higher,” Shelton said. “I want to have complete mastery and control of my serve, all spins and all placements, and I think there’s just certain spots that I have to be tighter on and be able to hit a little bit better.

“There are points in the past with certain serves that I have hit better in the past, and there are certain serves that I’m hitting better right now, and I’m kind of working on bringing that all together, so I have that full arsenal.”

Ben Shelton” style=”width:100%;” src=”https://www.atptour.com/-/media/images/news/2025/03/08/01/32/shelton-indian-wells-2025-practice-serve.jpg”>

His focus has been on correcting technique and finding the proper rhythm and routine before the serve, then repeating it to make his biggest weapon more consistent.

“For me, it used to be a crutch. I’m a competitive person, so I needed to have it to win, because I just didn’t have other things. And so when it came down to it, in the Challengers and the Futures, when I had to have it, I always had it. I’ve evolved,” Shelton said. “I’ve spent a lot of time working on other parts of my game. I can go through a service game easily now with only second serves, which I could never have done before, and it’s just been my evolution as a player to not just rely on the serve.

“But I still think that’s the most important shot in tennis.”

Shelton is at a career-high No. 12 in the PIF ATP Rankings and making a big push to crack the world’s Top 10. It is clear the lefty’s trajectory is still firmly pointing up, and the American is focused on continuing on that path.

“People talk about upside and potential a lot, but I think it’s only about the work that you put in. And I know that I’m putting in a lot of work, and I know I’m working hard to get better and become more complete,” Shelton said. “Sure, everyone else out here is as well, but I know I’m doing everything in my power, and that gives me confidence that I’m going to continue to grow and learn. I don’t see myself as a final product. So in that term, yeah, I would agree it’s exciting for me, and I just want to see how good I can get.”