"Not going to be the guy who robotically goes about his business": Ben Shelton 'entertainer at heart' and won't ditch emotion at US Open

Ben Shelton arrived in New York ready to embrace the biggest stage in tennis. Speaking at his pre-tournament press conference, the 21-year-old American shared his excitement, his preparation, and his perspective on both personal and broader challenges ahead of the 2025 US Open.

“Yeah, really looking forward to it,” Shelton said at the start. “This is the biggest tournament of the year for me. This is the one, and I put a lot of work into being in a good place when I got here and feeling confident about my game. I feel really good and prepared going into this tournament. I feel great and just excited to get out there and see what happens.”

Shelton, one of the tour’s most expressive players, admitted he’s learned how to channel his energy more effectively in the cauldron-like atmosphere of the US Open. “I think that was a little bit more of a thing for me when I was younger,” he explained. “I think I’m an entertainer at heart, but I’ve kind of figured out what state I need to be in to be locked in but also having fun at the same time. I’m never going to be the guy who robotically goes about his business and doesn’t show any expression or emotion. I play better when I do show some. Everyone is completely different, but me finding that state where I compete the best and also enjoy myself is important. I feel like this summer I’ve kind of found that state where I want to be.”

For the first time, the US Open begins on a Sunday. Shelton, who plays on day one, welcomed the change and spoke fondly of the challenge of competing in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“It feels pretty good in there when I’m striking the ball, so I don’t really have any issue with the size. I love it. I like seeing the big stadium looking up, especially when the seats are full. That’s something I really look forward to.”

On the schedule: “I understand why the tournaments would want to do it—you get an extra weekend day of ticket sales, which is huge for a tournament like this. Having two days off isn’t really needed—I always feel like especially after a first-round match, one day is enough for me to recover. But I wouldn’t say it’s going to hinder me.

“I played Sunday in Paris, and that was a little different because the guy second round pulled out, so it was five days in between my first two matches, which was a lot trickier. But for the most part, I like starting early. I think it’s an advantage to be on the early side of a Slam, and then late in the tournament you get two days off between quarters and semis. I’m not going to complain about that.”

Patrick McEnroe predicted this week that an American man will win the US Open, though he declined to say who. Shelton embraced the idea but pointed out the depth of contenders. “I’d love to see it. I feel like there’s been a lot of guys who’ve been close here. Foe [Frances Tiafoe] is always on a different level when he plays here. Fritz was in the finals. I think Tommy [Paul] always plays really well here too. And this is my favourite tournament.

“I think that we’ve got a lot of guys—even guys you didn’t mention—who can make deep runs and play against the best players in the world. I think it’s a matter of time for us. The media will keep asking questions and debating until it happens, so I can’t wait for it to happen. Then we kind of move on to a different question. But yeah, I think there are lots of guys I could see doing it.”

Asked about the challenge of facing Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, who have dominated recent majors, Shelton was realistic but focused. “It seems like if you want to win a big title these days, that’s who you’ve got to go through. I take these tournaments one step at a time. I’m not really a guy who’s looking that far ahead. I think I play a qualifier in my first match. I’m focused on whoever that is and getting through round one.

“Some guys do really well looking ahead in the draw, seeing where they’re projected to match up. For me, I get too far ahead of myself, and the next thing you know, you trip over your own feet and don’t even give yourself a chance to get started. So I’m focused on round one. We all know what’s happened this year and the last two years, but I’m not really looking that far ahead.”

Shelton carries a family legacy with him. His middle name honours his late uncle, Todd Witsken, a top doubles player who passed away before Shelton was born. “Obviously my middle name is after him. Todd Witsken passed a couple of years before I was born, brain cancer. Great player—top 30 maybe in singles, number two or three in doubles—and comes from a massive tennis family. I’ve got tennis roots on both sides.

“I think he won Toronto twice in doubles. So now I’ve won a title that my dad’s won and now a title that my uncle’s won, even though his was doubles. People tell me athletically there are similarities between me and him. He was built a little bit more like me, not quite as tall, but a great athlete. A lot of guys talk about how much they enjoyed being around him. It’s obviously tough, but it’s cool for me to follow in the footsteps of figures in my life who’ve done cool things in the tennis world.”

Shelton was also asked about his partnership with On, the Swiss sportswear brand. The line of questioning compared his deal to Jack Draper’s recent switch from Nike to a smaller company, but Shelton pushed back. “Yeah, I just don’t get the comparison because I started with On.”

When pressed, he responded: “So On’s not a big company? Did you see the earnings report a couple weeks ago? No? Sorry, man, I don’t like that question.”

With the tournament days away, Shelton was asked if he focuses on strengthening strengths or fixing weaknesses.

“I think it’s a combination. You don’t want to fixate too much on one thing. Once you’re close enough to the tournament, you know what you’re good at, what you can count on, and those are the things you want to stick with. But for me, it’s always a process of trying to improve.

“There are things you want to shore up and not be a liability, but in crunch time there are certain plays, certain shots I’m going to count on. I’ll be OK winning or losing with those.”

Shelton explained that his preparation is as much mental as physical—and he has long cut out social media distractions.

“I deleted X two and a half years ago, haven’t looked back. My evolution as a professional is just being smarter about my preparation and what I do in the days before or the day of. Watching film has been a big one for me. Being able to visualise what you’re doing out there is important—seeing the plays you want to make before you make them.

“Once I’ve seen those things and have a clear mind about what I want to do, I’m a lot more at peace going into the match. The night before or the morning of, I figure out exactly what I want my game plan to be, how I want to play, and then let it go. When match time comes, I just trust myself and don’t overthink it.”

Shelton also reflected on his recent mixed doubles run alongside Taylor Townsend, which drew remarkable crowds. “I think it went great. I don’t know if mixed doubles has ever filled big stadiums like that before. I played with Taylor in 2023 and we had some pretty good crowds, but this year was another level. I think if you ask the tournament, they’d say it was a success.

“It was tough—Tuesday and Wednesday matches, most players came straight from Cincy, maybe hit once or not at all before playing. For Taylor to make the finals, that was impressive. I enjoyed it. I love playing doubles. I said my doubles career was over at Slams because of the schedule and best-of-five sets, but if another Slam did something like this in the pre-week, I’d 100 percent think about playing again.”

With a clear mind, a strong game, and the support of the home crowd, Shelton is ready to attack the US Open stage. “This is the one,” he repeated. “I feel great and I’m just excited to get out there.”