A solid 2025 season has officially come to an end Ben Shelton with his straight sets loss to Jannik Sinner on Friday at the ATP Finals. Shelton’s job? Well, it’s still a work in progress.
The American talked about the improvements he wants to make in the future and said that based on previous experience, it takes time to see dramatic changes.
“I think tennis is a sport where you don’t get instant gratification,” the 23-year-old told reporters on Friday after falling to Sinner, 6-3, 7-6 (3).
“It’s always been like that in my career. I set a goal, I start working every day towards it. It doesn’t come right away. It’s frustrating. Of course, at the end of the line, as long as I keep putting in consistent work every day, which has never been a problem for me, I see those things start to work and start to come alive in my matches.”
When he looks back on his career, Shelton will no doubt be disappointed that his current record against the ATP’s Top 3 stands at 0-16. But it’s still early days in his career and his development as far as Shelton is concerned. He has never been one to back down from a challenge.
“I’m always trying to follow the people in front of me. How can I improve? How can I be more effective? Also not to forget what makes me great and not try to change too much,” he said.
Shelton says the list of improvements he wants to make to his game is long, as is his energy to meet the challenge.
“(It was) definitely an eye-opener to be able to play against some of the best players in the world about the things I need to do better,” he said. “I’m not the player I want to be yet. Not close. There are so many things I need to work on.”
Shelton ends his season with 40 wins and 24 losses. He won his biggest career title in Toronto this year, and also reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open. This week he debuted in the Top 5, but is now down to No. 9 in the live rankings after Friday’s loss.
Sidelined by a shoulder injury after the US Open, the former Florida Gator missed out on a chance to end the Grand Slam season on his own terms.
“You can look at it two ways: I was either out for a month and a half with an injury or I took a month and a half off,” he said. “Now, when I go home, it’s not like I need time to decompress and not play for a while before I start training. I can be right back.”
For Shelton, who has less than 200 matches in his career, the experience gained will surely help him as he looks to become an ATP Top 10 and possibly Top 5 player in the years to come.
