Ben Shelton bowed out of the US Open in hugely disappointing circumstances, retiring hurt in just the third round.
Shelton says he’ll “be back” after his US Open exit, having been forced to retire against Adrian Mannarino with the match level at two sets all.
Sixth seed Shelton called time on their meeting at 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 4-6 with a shoulder injury, having not dropped a set in his first two matches.
Pam Shriver thinks tennis should be shorter after seeing Shelton retire hurt in New York, where he was a semifinalist in 2023.
The ATP number six entered the Grand Slam following a Cincinnati Open quarterfinal run, which arrived after his Canadian Open title.
Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images
Shelton was understandably upset speaking in his post-match press conference, but his comments have now drawn praise from John Isner.
The former professional said on the Nothing Major Show: “He was, as we all know, we don’t need to talk about how well he was playing. We know that.
“He was coming into this tournament with so much confidence and he was playing with that confidence through his first two matches and most of his third match, then something happened to his shoulder.
“That is not the guy who is going to pull out, especially at the US Open. He obviously was in a real amount of pain and it’s such a bummer.
“I actually read his transcript from his post-match press conferences, he has unbelievable perspective. To paraphrase he said that’s unfortunate, but I have nothing to complain about, I have been very blessed and get to travel the world with my Dad and my Mom.
“He just keeps such a good perspective on everything. He says I’ll be back. What more can you ask? That’s the best way to look at it and I hope some younger budding tennis players can read or hear his press conference, because it was very telling in the best way.”
What did Ben Shelton say in his final US Open press conference?
Shelton does indeed deserve praise for his words, not least because he will have been hurting inside and out.
The American was clearly in enough pain to end his US Open dream early, which incidentally represents the first-ever retirement of his career.
Discussing his level of pain after his exit, he said: “Really high. Not sure… I’ve never retired before, I’m not a guy who would retire if I could continue.”
And when asked if this is the hardest injury he’s ever had to deal with, he replied: “Yeah I mean I’ve got a lot to be grateful for.
“Been pretty fortunate, my life, blessings, talents, a lot of things God’s given me. And a small setback like this, yeah it hurts, yeah I was playing really well, I was in form, lot of confidence, just so many things to be happy with, the way that I was playing, moving on the court, competing.
“But like I said, it’s been a great summer. A lot of things to be thankful for. And you won’t hear me over here pouting about how bad things are with the summer that I’ve had, the things that I’ve been able to do in this sport in a short amount of time, and the people that I’ve got around me, like I said, a lot of blessings.”
It’s also worth noting that Shelton is only 22 years old, with the American showing maturity beyond his years with his words.
His age also means he has more than enough time to bounce back from the setback and go on to have several more attempts at winning his home Grand Slam.