The Italian Open has witnessed a shocking upset as World No. 6 Ben Shelton fell to Georgian qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili during the second round. The loss has sent shockwaves across social media, where fans have blasted Shelton for his inconsistency this season.
Ben Shelton entered the event as a firm title favorite and was the easy pick against Basilashvili. However, things turned around with an opening-round exit for the American, echoing a similar loss earlier in Madrid.
During the early stages of the match, Shelton displayed his trademark resilience but dropped serve twice in the opening set. Despite a brief comeback during the second set, Shelton was unable to maintain a solid rhythm on the clay as Basilashvili came back strong to bag a 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3 win.
Reacting to the loss, one fan wrote:
The decline of Ben Shelton has been one of the more notable stories of the 2026 ATP season.
Another wrote:
Losing to Basilashvili in 2026 should get you banned from the ATP for 1 year. Not even joking
Someone wrote:
They should just hand him the trophy. There is noone who is remotely capable of beating him
One person wrote:
Shelton’s catastrophically awful level lmaoooooo. This guy shouldn’t even be top 10, the second there’s any rally it’s an immediate error, what a total scrub.
Another user wrote:
It’s insane that Shelton got to the TOP5. Dude’s tennis IQ is 50
The win is only Nikoloz Basilashvili’s second tour-level main draw win of 2026. The Georgian is now set to take on America’s Brandon Nakashima in the Round of 32.
Ben Shelton Talks About His Clay-Court Confidence
Despite a string of losses this season, Ben Shelton has always displayed enormous confidence when speaking of his clay game. Days before heading into what would become a momentous upset, Shelton spoke about being confident in his game plan on the red-clay court and how his recent Madrid loss now acts as a massive boost of momentum.
“I don’t know about afterglow, but definitely momentum. I feel good about my clay-court game. The early exit in Madrid, not a bad match that I played, so for me to keep improving on something, get better at and see where we end up here,” said Shelton (0:12).
Shelton is next scheduled to play in Hamburg next week, followed by the French Open.
Read more:
College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in tennis, college football, men’s college basketball, women’s college basketball, and college baseball!
