A year after his professional debut in 2022, Ben Shelton had already broken into the Top 20. However, when asked about his tennis goals, he said that he didn’t want to set a specific ranking goal because he felt that way, he could limit himself or his ceiling. So for him, the real goal was “showing up to tournaments and competing for titles.” So far in his career, Shelton has managed to win two titles in singles events, but the 2025 season has gone pretty well for the American!

Although he’s yet to win a title this year, the current world number 7 has made it to the SF of the 2025 AO and the QF of Wimbledon. Shortly after that, he came inches closer to lifting the title at the Citi Open, but was defeated by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in straight sets. Following that, Shelton has now yet again managed to get back to winning tracks at the Canadian Open. After defeating Adrian Mannarino in the first round (R64) by 6-2,6-3, he has now secured a hard-fought victory against his compatriot, Brandon Nakashima.

He defeated Nakashima by 6(8)-7,6-2,7-6(5) in this match, and with this win, he has now set up a clash with in-form Flavio Cobolli in the R16. But what did Ben Shelton say after this win? Following this match against Nakashima, Shelton opened up on his ambitions for the tournament. In his post-match interview, he said, “Yeah, for sure I always wanna go one step further than the year before…given to the deeper parts of the tournament, sometimes in tennis we always try to compete for titles. At the Masters 1000, I haven’t had that sweet spot yet, but I’m getting closer and closer, and matches like these certainly help.”

With this win, Ben Shelton has now got a lead of 5-0 against Brandon Nakashima. Further drawing an analysis of this epic duel, Shelton said, “It was back and forth. There were a lot of huge moments, like being able to break back after getting broken in my first service game of the third set. I feel like I showed a lot of perseverance tonight.“

Ben Shelton has now moved into the fourth round of an ATP Masters 1000 event for the second time this season (after Indian Wells). This is also his deepest run at the Canadian Open yet after two back-to-back R32 exits last year and the one before. What’s more? He’s just one win away from securing his 100th tour-level win. It goes on to show why the tennis community has been so interested in him.

Ben Shelton’s impressive performance in 2025 has drawn attention from tennis bigwigs

Ben Shelton has a win-loss record of 29-16 this season, and considering his performances at the majors in recent times, he’s really going to be a real threat at the US Open. But before stepping onto the courts in NY, Shelton pinpointed two areas of his game that he has been really trying to improve this year. “For me, I’m finding the game style that works no matter who I’m playing. The way that I’m serving, how to be an effective server against anybody. The returners are so good on tour nowadays that you’ve got to be smart about the way you serve. You can’t just serve big.“

The other thing that he has been working on recently is taking control of the court, especially against the top players. At the French Open, although he gave a tough fight against Carlos Alcaraz in the fourth round, the American was eventually defeated in a four-set thriller. A similar thing happened in his three-set defeat to Jannik Sinner in the QF of Wimbledon. 

Despite these setbacks, American former pros looked pretty impressed with his performances in the last few tournaments. How can Shelton get the better of other superstars at a tournament like the US Open, though? According to former ATP pro Jack Sock, “Obviously, everyone knows that his serve and his forehand are all strengths of his. If that backhand is becoming a weapon, which it looks like it is, at times, he can literally use it as a weapon and not have to run around it as much. If that is now becoming a strength, it is just going to make everything easier. It is going to make matches less physical for him if he is able to use that backhand side and dictate points.”

He believes that if Ben Shelton starts doing this, then it’s going to be “pretty scary” for other players on these fast, high-bouncing hard courts. Even John Isner claimed that although Shelton didn’t get the results he would have wanted, he still believes Shelton is moving in the right direction. “He is obviously top 10, but he is inching closer in my mind to the ultimate goal,” said Isner.

What is Ben Shelton’s goal for the 2025 season, though? In a previous interview with Tennis Channel, Ben Shelton claimed Turin is a “big goal” for him at the moment, and he also wants to solidify his spot at the top and finish the year on a better note. How far can Shelton reach in the singles ranking this year, according to you?