“But can his body hold up to the demands?” Former World No.1 casts doubts about Ben Shelton’s ability to compete with the best consistently

Former world number one Pam Shriver has cast doubt on Ben Shelton’s ability to compete with the best players consistently because of his fitness problems. The 23-year-old is the second-highest-ranked American player on the tour.

He is currently placed in sixth position in the live ATP Rankings with 4,100 points. Overall, Shelton has played 55 matches this year, winning 37 and losing just 18. He also lifted a title, the Canadian Open, where he defeated Russia’s Karen Khachanov in the final, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6.

Since that triumph, however, not much has gone right for Shelton. His next assignment after his triumph in Toronto was the Cincinnati Open, where he suffered a defeat in the quarterfinal to Germany’s Alexander Zverev in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-2.

Shelton then featured in the fourth and final Grand Slam of the year, the US Open, where he retired in the third round against Adrian Mannarino of France due to an injury. He was due to feature in the Japan Open but decided to withdraw from the competition to focus on recovering completely from the shoulder injury he suffered in New York.

After that, Shelton took an extended break and only returned to the court earlier this month at the Shanghai Masters. His return, however, did not prove to be a success as he lost in the round of 64 to Belgium’s David Goffin in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-4. During the match, Shelton did not look 100 per cent fit and was clearly struggling against his opponent in challenging conditions.

Former world number one Shriver has now cast doubts about Shelton’s ability to compete with the best players in the world consistently. She expressed those views while speaking in the latest episode of the Inside-In podcast with Mitch Michals. Shriver was of the opinion that, while Shelton has an abundance of talent, her fitness issues can prove to be a real hurdle for her in consistently competing for big titles.

Shriver stated that if Shelton continues his development, he will be in the mix to compete for major titles, but the biggest challenge he will face is taking care of his body. Shriver then went on to name the former world number three and one-time Grand Slam champion Juan Martin del Potro, who, according to her, had an abundance of talent but was not able to compete with the big boys because his body did not support him.

“Yeah, boy, I think back to that U S open afternoon when back to back, um, Francis Tiafoe, uh, lost to Struff and then Ben Shelton hurt his, uh, serving shoulder against Manorino,” said Shriver. “It was within like a half hour of each other and we're still sort of feeling the ripples. I mean, these are two very important American male players, obviously different ages and, you know, all eyes on Ben Shelton. If he can continue his progress in 26 and 27, will he be right in the mix to win majors? Probably. But can his body, this is the same question we're going to be asking. Can the body hold up to the demands of what his lefty serve 150 plus miles an hour? You know, he's so strong, but you're only as strong as your Achilles heel, so to speak. And I hope that the serving arm can withstand all that it, that he puts it through. Just, just look at, you know, you just put one Martin Del Potro up as like, you know, an example of the modern game. Um, I don't think anybody's hit a forehand harder. I don't think anyone, um, actually punched harder than Del Potro, but his body couldn't withstand it.”