Ben Shelton enjoyed a solid start to his 2025 season, but headed to Wimbledon on a two-match losing streak.
Kicking off his grass-court campaign in fine form, Shelton qualified for the Stuttgart Open semi-finals, where he came up short against Alexander Zverev.
His run to the last four saw him debut in the ATP top ten, joining his fellow Americans Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul.
However, he was unable to carry that momentum through to Queen’s, as Shelton lost to Arthur Rinderknech in the first round.
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Suffering another defeat, Shelton was beaten by Learner Tien 4-6, 6-7, in his opening match at the Mallorca Championships.
With the 22-year-old struggling on grass, two German tennis legends highlighted the biggest issue he is currently facing.
Boris Becker says Ben Shelton hits the ball ‘too late’ and with ‘too much topspin’ on grass
During the Becker Petkovic podcast, six-time Grand Slam champion Boris Becker shared his thoughts on Shelton’s grass-court troubles.
“So overall, first of all, the basics, he is 1.95m tall, a top athlete, left-handed, a real thoroughbred athlete. On grass, a dream,” he said.
“But I think he fundamentally hasn’t found his game yet. I mean, at the elite level, he’s world number 10, so he can play tennis. But I actually see him in the top five.
“He has an incredibly high loop. That’s why he often hits too late, he also has too much topspin for my taste.”
Becker explained why Shelton’s forehand is being exposed on grass more than on clay or hard courts.
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“He still needs to work on his forehand, and on grass, due to the speed of the game, he doesn’t have the time,” he said.
“That’s why he often hits it on the frame. Needing time to find the forehand in the latter rounds is simply not good enough; that’s why you usually lose, but the foundation is there.”
Becker’s co-host, Andrea Petkovic, was keen to weigh in with her thoughts, as she questioned whether Shelton’s backswing is ‘too big’.
“I commented on the match between Ben Shelton and Jannik Sinner last year. That was, I think, the fourth round of Wimbledon. What I noticed, when someone like Jannik [Sinner] takes the ball very early on the line and plays very fast, then Ben Shelton is too late with his forehand,” she said.
“Actually, the forehand is his weapon, but he has this huge backswing. I don’t know, technically, whether it’s almost too big.
“Sometimes, when he hits it well, when he has it on his racket, then of course, it’s an absolute bomb.”
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Petkovic believes Shelton’s forehand is costing him against the very best players on the ATP Tour.
“I already found against [Alexander] Zverev in Stuttgart, when he plays against the top players, they get in there quickly,” she said.
“Especially when he’s nervous or tired, he plays half of his forehands [all over the place].
“He didn’t take out a bit and play in first [gear], but instead he just kept hacking at it. Against Jannik last year, he needed 2.5 sets to find his rhythm on the forehand, then he became really dangerous. Then it went to a tiebreak and Jannik brought it home.
“But 2.5 sets to find a forehand is just too long against the best in the world.”
Shelton lost to Sinner in three sets, 2-6, 4-6, 6-7 [9-11] at Wimbledon in 2024, coming up short against the number one seed.
Hoping for a better showing this time around, Shelton picked up a straight-sets win in his first-round match.
Ben Shelton reacts after winning ‘tricky’ first-round match at Wimbledon
Coming through in three sets, Shelton beat Australia’s Alex Bolt 6-4, 7-6, 7-6, to book his place in round two.
During his post-match interview, Shelton thanked the crowd and admitted he was happy to get the job done quickly.
“Really happy, every time you get to play here at Wimbledon, it’s an honor, it’s an honor to play in front of you guys, I appreciate everyone for coming out,” he said.
“I had a lot of five-set matches here last year, my first three matches were all five sets, it almost killed me. So to get through in three sets in the first round, I’m really happy. Especially against a guy like him, came through qualies, playing great on grass. It’s never an easy matchup; there are no easy matchups here at Wimbledon.
“I’m really excited that I gave myself another opportunity to play in front of you guys, and I hope you guys are going to come back on Thursday.”
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Explaining how difficult it was playing another left-hander, Shelton thanked the crowd once more, as he came close to naming Wimbledon as his favorite Grand Slam tournament.
“It’s really difficult. I lost to a lefty on grass last week. It’s always tricky with the different spin, he has a live arm, he can make the ball move in a lot of different ways, and as I said, he’s really accustomed to the grass, so there are a lot of challenges playing a guy like him here,” he said.
“I think the crowd helps a lot, I love playing at the Grand Slams, it’s my favorite… one of my four favorite tournaments, I can’t do my home Slam that dirty.
“But one of my favorites 100%, I love playing here every year, there’s a lot of excitement, a lot of tension, but really happy with the way I played.”
Shelton will now rest up ahead of his second-round match with Rinky Hijikata on Thursday, July 3.