Ben Shelton enjoyed a standout year on the ATP Tour as the rising American soared up the rankings in 2025.
Shelton won his first Masters title at the Canadian Open and he also cracked the top five of the ATP rankings for the first time.
The young American will be looking to make the next step up in 2026, although Shelton’s record against Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will drastically need to change.
John Lloyd believes there’s one thing Shelton needs to do in order to challenge the very top players of the ATP Tour.
John Lloyd says Ben Shelton needs to ‘get’ tennis
In an interview with the Inside-In Tennis podcast, Lloyd questioned Shelton’s in-game management across this season.
The British pundit said: “Ben Shelton to me is one of these players who you just don’t know with the way he plays, is he ever going to get tennis? In terms of knowing what to do on the right points.
“He had a very good year this year and got better but there is still such a rawness there and you just wonder how long will it take.”
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Lloyd did, however, suggest that the change could come pretty quickly for Shelton as he looks to build upon an impressive season.
He explained: “It could happen in the off-season, all of a sudden the lightbulb goes off and you go I have to play more percentage on this type of shot, but with the weapons he has got in his game, those are the two [Jack Draper] I think could really make some inroads this year or next year.”
Shelton is yet to beat Alcaraz in their three meetings, and he’s only beaten Sinner once in their nine matches.
How does Ben Shelton’s 2025 compare to his previous seasons?
Despite achieving a career-high ranking, and winning his maiden Masters title, Shelton actually won less games in 2025 than 2024.
The American won 42 matches in 2025 compared to 40 the year prior, but he did manage to lose fewer games this season.
Shelton lost 24 matches throughout 2025, which is two less than the 26 defeats he faced during the 2024 season.
The American reached as many finals in 2025 as the year prior, and he also managed to win the same amount of tournaments.
However, his Canadian Open title is far more prestigious than the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships he won in 2024.
