- Coming in at 47th in the world, Ben is the lowest-ranked American to make a slam semifinal since 1991. He is also the youngest (20) American to reach a major semifinal since Andy Roddick in 2003.
- This is only Ben’s fifth career slam and he turned pro just one year ago after winning an NCAA singles title at the University of Florida.
- Runs in the family. Ben’s dad Bryan was also a professional tennis player from 1989 to 1997, and won two ATP Tour singles titles, reaching No. 55 in the world! After retiring from the sport, Bryan went on to coach women’s tennis at Georgia Tech, and then moved on to coach Ben and the men’s team at Florida.
- Growing up, Ben played pretty much every sport, and his first love surprisingly wasn’t tennis…Ben loved football, especially playing quarterback.
- Cellphone Celly. After defeating Frances Tiafoe and reaching the semifinals, Ben shared a unique post-match celebration where he mimicked picking up a phone. He later explained his celly was inspired by American track and field athlete Grant Holloway and was meant to let everyone know he’s “dialed in.”
Image Source: Ben Shelton on Instagram
