Ranked No. 5 in the world, underdog Ben Shelton was favoured to clinch the coveted Wimbledon title and become the first American man in 23 years to win a major. However, his dramatic opening round 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 6-2, 7-6 loss to Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen broke many hearts, including that of Martina Navratilova. The former tennis player and coach didn’t mince words while analyzing Shelton’s performance on The Tennis Channel.

“Virtanen is a nasty player. He comes to the net and takes time away, and Ben is not the best passer. But I still thought, for me, Ben would have been a surprise winner. But I thought he had a chance to win the whole thing if he puts it all together. So very disappointing. Just couldn’t quite get it done.”

The last time he was knocked out in the opening round of a major was in 2023 at the French Open. This result means Shelton becomes the first top-10 player to be eliminated from SW19. It also continues the unequal cycle of results that he has been recording lately. Despite winning three singles titles so far, the 23-year-old has mostly disappointed in important tournaments.

After reaching the Australian Open quarterfinals and winning the Dallas Open final, Shelton’s form dipped at the Indian Wells Masters. He suffered a third-round exit there before heading to Miami, Madrid, and Rome, where he suffered second-round exits. His only notable performance of the clay swing would come at the Munich Open, where he won the title after defeating Flavio Cobolli in the final.

Fans didn’t expect much from Shelton as he entered the grass swing following a second-round exit at Roland Garros. But the World No. 5 significantly improved his form on the surface and won the title in Stuttgart. He followed that up with a run to the last 8 at the Terra Wortmann Open. But he faltered once again when it mattered most.

Having reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon last year, Shelton’s loss to Virtanen could severely affect Shelton’s ranking. The American will lose 360 points in the rankings, and this will see him fall to No. 6 behind Alex de Minaur if he manages to make it past the R16 at SW19.

Although disappointed by the defeat, Shelton didn’t forget to credit Virtanen for putting in one of his strongest performances on grass.

“I think the way that he was playing, hitting the ball, it definitely forced my hand. He’s playing aggressive. He wasn’t really making any mistakes. Towards the end, any ball I left semi-hanging, he was ripping a winner… I thought I put myself in a great position to win at the end. He came up with the goods.”

While many have tried to analyze why Shelton’s form has dipped so significantly this season, the reason may actually be quite personal.

Ben Shelton’s grandmother had passed away earlier this March

The Shelton family was rocked to the core after they lost the beloved presence of Regina Ann Shelton, who passed away at 90 on March 27. It was during this time that Shelton’s form started to drop.

Though Shelton had received a lot of support from both his family and friends, he still wasn’t able to turn his form around. He could have stayed with his family, but decided to continue participating in tournaments.

While Shelton clinched the doubles title alongside Andres Andrade in Houston and before his triumph in Munich, he wasn’t able to replicate those results in the tournaments that followed.

But Shelton still has a lot of time to save his season from derailing. Hard courts are considered his preferred surface, with three of his six titles coming on asphalt. The 23-year-old will be desperate to improve his form as he enters the hard-court season later this month.