Ben Shelton has already played two matches at the 2025 US Open, competing in the new-look mixed doubles event.
Partnering with WTA doubles number one Taylor Townsend, Shelton would have fancied his chances of picking up the title in New York.
The pair got off to the perfect start, defeating Holger Rune and Amanda Anisimova in straight sets, 4-2, 5-4, booking their place in the quarterfinals.
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Unable to go any further, Shelton and Townsend lost to their fellow Americans, Danielle Collins and Christian Harrison, 1-4, 4-5, later on Tuesday evening.
Looking ahead to 2026 and beyond, Shelton has now revealed whether he intends to play mixed doubles again.
Ben Shelton would ‘100%’ play mixed doubles again
During his pre-tournament press conference, Shelton suggested he would return to play mixed doubles in the future.
“I enjoyed it. I love playing doubles,” he said.
“I said that my doubles career was over at Slams because of how difficult it is with the schedule and playing three-out-of-five sets, but if any of the other Slams did something like this, where it was kind of in the pre-week, I’d think about playing again, 100%.”
Shelton believes the event went ‘great’, as he named the player who impressed him the most.
“Yeah, I think it went great. I don’t know if mixed doubles has ever filled up big stadiums like that before,” he said.
“I played with Taylor [Townsend] in 2023, and we actually did have some pretty good crowds, but this year was obviously another level.
2023 US Open 1R – Ben Shelton/Taylor Townsend beat Joe Salisbury/Luisa Stefani2023 US Open 2R – Ben Shelton/Taylor Townsend beat Rohan Bopanna/Aldila Sutjiadi2023 US Open QF – Ben Shelton/Taylor Townsend beat Hugo Nys/Demi Schuurs2023 US Open SF – Ben Shelton/Taylor Townsend lost to Austin Krajicek/Jessica Pegula
“So I think that if you asked the tournament, they’d say that it was a success.
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
“You had a lot of big names play. It was tough. Obviously, it was Tuesday, Wednesday, and most of the players who were in, were either playing Monday in Cincy or playing late in Cincy, kind of came here, hit once, or if you’re Iga [Swiatek], probably didn’t hit at all and went out and played.
“Her making finals, that was pretty impressive.”
Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud lost the US Open mixed doubles final against Andrea Vavassori and Sara Errani.
After winning the Cincinnati Open title on Monday, Swiatek narrowly lost the US Open mixed doubles final just 48 hours later, on Wednesday night.
There have been several calls for schedule changes following the quick turnaround, as the event was, in reality, fortunate not to have more players withdraw.
Of the 32 players set to compete, only Jannik Sinner withdrew on the eve of the tournament, having fallen ill in Cincinnati.
It will be interesting to see who plays next year, but for now, the stars of the ATP and WTA Tours will turn their full attentions to the singles tournament.
Shelton, in particular, will have his eyes on the prize, having impressed at the Grand Slam events so far in 2025.
Can Ben Shelton go all the way and win the US Open?
The 22-year-old has yet to lose to anyone other than Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz at major tournaments in 2025.
MatchOpponentResultScore2025 Australian Open – 1RBrandon NakashimaWin7-6, 7-5, 7-52025 Australian Open – 2RPablo Carreno BustaWin6-3, 6-3, 6-7, 6-42025 Australian Open – 3RLorenzo MusettiWin6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 7-62025 Australian Open – 4RGael MonfilsWin7-6, 6-7, 7-6, 1-0 (RET)2025 Australian Open – QFLorenzo SonegoWin6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 7-62025 Australian Open – SFJannik SinnerLoss6-7, 2-6, 2-62025 French Open – 1RLorenzo SonegoWin6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-2, 6-32025 French Open – 2RHugo GastonWalkover–2025 French Open – 3RMatteo GiganteWin6-3, 6-3, 6-42025 French Open – 4RCarlos AlcarazLoss6-7, 3-6, 6-4, 4-62025 Wimbledon – 1RAlex BoltWin6-4, 7-6, 7-62025 Wimbledon – 2RRinky HijikataWin6-2, 7-5, 6-42025 Wimbledon – 3RMarton FucsovicsWin6-3, 7-6, 6-22025 Wimbledon – 4RLorenzo SonegoWin3-6, 6-1, 7-6, 7-52025 Wimbledon – QFJannik SinnerLoss6-7, 4-6, 4-6Ben Shelton’s record at Grand Slams in 2025
Considering the world number one and two have won all three Grand Slams this year, those defeats have aged pretty well.
If Shelton can take his game to another level in New York, then he could well be one to look out for during the latter stages of the tournament.
The world number six will begin his 2025 US Open campaign on Sunday, August 24, against qualifier Ignacio Buse.