Ben Shelton has been causing a big stir on the ATP Tour recently. At the National Bank Open in Montreal a year ago, Shelton was the defending champion, and now, after the 23-year-old American swept Learner Tien 6-2, 6-3, he will face Brandon Nakashima in the final round. As a result, the US will have its own champion. This is Shelton’s fourth time in the finals this season, and he hasn’t played a set all through the week. To get an idea of who Ben is and how his lefty serve and stadium-filling swagger come to be, you will have to find out those two people who raised and shaped him.

Who are Ben Shelton’s parents?

Let us meet the tennis players behind Ben Shelton. And they are none other than his parents: Bryan and Lisa Shelton. Bryan was not only a tennis star but also one of the top athletes ever to play in pro tennis (he reached a personal high ranking of No. 55 at one point). In a nine-year stint as a pro player with ATP, Bryan secured two singles and two doubles titles. He hung up his racquet in 1997, but what followed was a much more exciting career.

The man who coached only a men’s team won the women’s championship in a college setting (with the team at Georgia Tech in 2007). Then, in 2021, he was coaching the Florida men’s team to a title and so joined an elite group of people who had won both men’s and women’s NCAA tournament titles, a feat no Division I coach had ever achieved. And he was the one who coached his son Ben at Florida up to 2023. But nowadays, he is focusing solely on supporting Ben’s career as a professional tennis player.

Lisa Shelton, who was born and raised in Carmel, Indiana, a place where her family was crazy about tennis, as she was one of eight children.

Coming from a family with deep roots in tennis, Lisa is also the sister of the late Todd Witsken. Todd, who died in May 1998 at the age of 34, was a highly accomplished tennis player. He reached No. 4 in the world in doubles and No. 43 in singles and was a three-time All-American at the University of Southern California, according to The New York Times.

The Sheltons are big on giving back, too. Bryan spent years developing young talent at the collegiate level, and the family remains deeply rooted in the Gainesville community.

When did Bryan Shelton and Lisa Shelton meet?

The details are a little fuzzy on the exact moment these two tennis souls crossed paths, but here’s what we know: they tied the knot in October 1999. Given their shared world, both were immersed in the tennis scene: Bryan as a rising coach and former pro, Lisa as a junior player from a famous tennis family; it’s safe to say their love story was written on the courts.

Lisa’s brother Todd was a well-known name on the tour, and Bryan was making his own waves in the sport. They likely met through the close-knit tennis community that connected players, coaches, and families across the country.

They’ve now been married for over 25 years, and their partnership has been the backbone of Ben’s rise. Bryan once told the New York Times that Ben’s success surprised even him: “It took me a long time to get to where he’s at, and he started later than I did”. Lisa, meanwhile, has been the quiet force behind the scenes; Bryan has even called her the “MVP of Team Shelton”.

What is the ethnicity of Ben Shelton’s parents?

Ben Shelton is biracial, and his ancestry plays an important role in shaping who he is. Ben’s father, Bryan, is African-American and was born in Huntsville, Alabama. On the other hand, Ben’s mom, Lisa, is Caucasian and of German ancestry.

Ben’s mixed ancestry, consisting of African-American and Caucasian, plays an important role in Ben being one of the up-and-coming African-Americans in American tennis, together with such names as Frances Tiafoe and Coco Gauff. Being raised in a biracial family in the South, first in Atlanta, then in Florida, influenced his personal development both on and off the tennis courts.

Inside Ben Shelton’s relationship with his parents

Ben’s bond with his parents is as unique as it gets, especially with his dad, who is also his coach. Bryan has mastered the art of switching between “dad hat” and “coach hat,” and Ben deeply respects that balance. “My dad does a great job balancing the two,” Ben once said.

As Ben has matured on tour, he’s actually dialed back how much he talks to his dad during matches, not because of tension, but because he feels more secure in his own game. “It’s probably become less just the more secure I feel in myself,” he explained. The mutual respect is off the charts, and Lisa provides the emotional anchor that keeps the whole operation grounded.

Looking ahead, Shelton has a huge opportunity in the Montreal final against Nakashima. A win would be his fourth title of the year and back-to-back Canadian Masters crowns. After that, all eyes will be on the US Open, where he made a semifinal run in 2023. With his parents cheering him on from the player’s box, this kid’s ceiling is somewhere in the stratosphere.