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Ben Shelton playing in the new On The Roger Pro 3 at the 2026 Australian Open. (Photo by Lintao Zhang\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Getty Images<\/p>\n
The first time Ben Shelton played in the U.S. Open singles main draw he did so wearing a pair of Roger Federer\u2019s custom-made Nikes. Federer shipped the shoes to New York from Switzerland just for Shelton. The American\u2019s footwear has had a Federer-inspired twist ever since. <\/p>\n
The Shelton-Federer U.S. Open connection occurred in 2022\u2014helped by the fact Shelton was signed to Federer\u2019s agency at the time\u2014and offered a foretaste of the lasting connection between the two players, as Shelton signed with Federer-backed On<\/a> in March 2023, playing on the professional tour during his first full year wearing not only On\u2019s original The Roger Pro, but also playing and testing The Roger Pro 2 prototypes, some of which Shelton still has. <\/p>\n \u201cI think, certainly, he still has his footprint in the shoe process, in the soul of the shoe, not literally but figuratively,\u201d Shelton tells me about the On shoe bearing Federer\u2019s name. \u201cThat is really cool. When I played the U.S. Open wearing a custom pair of his shoes, the shoes he actually wore, [I saw] we have a very similar foot size, shape, everything. Moving into the On shoe was a pretty easy transition for me.\u201d <\/p>\n Ben Shelton at the 2026 Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Australia. (Photo by Shi Tang\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n Getty Images<\/p>\n Shelton has spent much of his career in The Roger Pro 2\u2014\u201cI was there with the very first tests of the Pro 2 and I still have some of those models at home in my closet,\u201d Shelton says\u2014version made for him. At the launch of the Pro 2, the only clay model from On was the original The Roger Pro, the brand\u2019s first performance tennis model that Federer debuted on court in March 2021 after he became an investor<\/a> in the brand in 2019. <\/p>\n As On started prepping for the release of The Roger Pro 3, Shelton was again part of the prototyping and testing process. \u201cI think at this point I know the feeling that I like. I know what I\u2019m looking for,\u201d Shelton says. \u201cI know what feels good and what looks good. It has been cool to be a part of the process.\u201d <\/p>\n