Ben Shelton’s father and coach, Bryan Shelton, opened up about the American’s aggressive nature and the challenges of coaching his son on Thursday.
Shelton was last seen in action at the Wimbledon Championships, where he suffered a first-round loss against Otto Virtanen on June 30. He is now set to compete at the Citi Open. The American was originally scheduled to face Ethan Quinn in the first round, but Quinn withdrew from the tournament due to foot injury, leaving Shelton’s first-round opponent yet to be determined.
Ahead of the tournament, Bryan Shelton spoke to Tennis365 about balancing his roles as both father and coach. He explained that a major part of his job is looking after Ben’s mental and physical well-being while helping him manage his aggressive approach on court. Admitting that his son sometimes sabotages himself, he said:
“As a coach, that’s the challenge, working with a guy like Ben, who is very aggressive. But there are times when he crosses that line and sabotages himself, and doesn’t make it to the second or third round of the tournament. It’s difficult to balance those two roles, being a father to someone who is still very young, growing up, discovering life, and at the same time being his coach,” said Ben Shelton’s coach.
He added:
“Yes, it’s tough sometimes. But I think for me it’s just about being patient and aware. And I’m constantly attuned to where Ben is, mentally and emotionally, when he wants to talk about tennis, his game, things related to the sport. I’m aware of that. And when he doesn’t want to, I know that too. So I simply respect both of them. And I think that’s where our relationship is healthy.”
Bryan Shelton coached Ben Shelton during his time at the University of Florida before he turned professional. In June 2023, he resigned from his head coaching role at Florida to travel and coach his son full-time on the main tour.
Ben Shelton weighed in on his early exit at the Wimbledon Championships
After losing to Otto Virtanen in Wimbledon’s opening round, Ben Shelton sat for a post-match press conference, where he reflected on his upset. Calling it one of the ‘toughest losses,’ he said that he had to ‘grind’ through a lot of games. Praising his opponent, he said:
“One of the toughest losses I’ve taken, for sure. I feel like it was an uphill battle all day today. It was pretty off on my serve spot, so I wasn’t getting many free points. I was having to grind through a lot of the games. Virtanen was playing really good and downhill from the baseline. The guy came up with some ridiculous stuff in those moments, really good tennis. Sometimes it happens like that,” said Ben Shelton.
He added:
“I think the way that he was playing, hitting the ball, it definitely forced my hand. “He’s playing aggressive. He wasn’t really making any mistakes. Towards the end, any ball I left semi-hanging, he was ripping a winner. I thought I put myself in a great position to win at the end. He came up with the goods.”
Ben Shelton opened his 2026 season at the ASB Classic, where he advanced to the quarterfinals; however, he fell short of moving further after losing to Sebastian Baez in the quarterfinal round.
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