Ben Shelton's 2026 U.S. Open Run
Photo from dezeen.
Ben Shelton just accomplished a historic run at the 2026 U.S. Open. Shelton reached his first-ever Grand Slam finale, finishing as the runner-up to #1 seed Alexander Zverev.
How did he get to the 2026 U.S. Open?
Ben Shelton is a 23-year-old from Atlanta, although he grew up in Florida. When he was 12, he decided to pursue tennis; his coach growing up was his father, former professional tennis player Bryan Shelton. In 2020, Ben became a Florida Gator and played #5 singles his freshman year. In his sophomore year, he became #1 singles and found himself winning match after match. In 2022, Ben won the NCAA singles championship against August Holmgren and finished the season as the nation's top-ranked player. Throughout the next couple years, he won several more titles. In 2023, though, when he made it to his first Major semifinal, he ultimately lost.
Walking into the 2026 US Open, Shelton was ranked #9 in the world and #1 in America in men's singles. By the end of his run, he will be moved to #4 in the world for men’s singles.
The Start of the U.S. Open for Ben Shelton
The first match for Shelton started off against Tallon Griekspoor from the Netherlands. They played on Monday, August 31, in the Author Ashe Stadium in NY. In the first set, Ben Shelton struggled with his rhythm and hitting, causing him to lose the set 1-6 to Griekspor in just 28 minutes. The second set came around, and Shelton won 6-1 due to his deep groundstrokes. Next, in the crazy third set, they got to 7-6 (Shelton), meaning they now needed a tiebreak (win by 2 games) —and in the intense tiebreak that followed, Shelton won 7-3. In the tiebreak, Shelton had two powerful aces. Lastly, in the fourth set, Ben closed Griekspor out comfortably, winning 6-2. His fastest serve of this match was 148mph in this last set.
Shelton progressed into the second match against Hubert Hurkacz of Poland. They played on Wednesday, September 2, in the same stadium as Shelton’s first match. In the first set, Shelton won his opening set 6-3. In the next set, Hurkacz took advantage of the break points, leading him to win the second set 5-7. The third set gets competitive once again; Shelton led 7-6 against Hurkacz, although they did need to go to a tiebreak. In the tiebreak, Shelton won it 7-3. In this tiebreak Shelton hit his fastest serve of the match, reaching 148mph again. Lastly, in the fourth set, it was tied 5-5; Shelton took the pressure and thrived on it, serving hard and winning the last set 7-5. Shelton now progresses to his third match.
In the third round, Shelton played Denis Shapovalov from Canada on Friday, September 4, 2026, during a night session. Shelton won set one in yet another tiebreak, 7-3 here. In the second set, Shapovalov won in the tie break 5-7. At this point, everyone can clearly see that here in the third round is where things can start to heat up. Shelton didn’t like that Shapovalov won that last set, causing Shelton to go on a cruise and win the next two sets 6-3 and then 6-4. In the last set, his fastest serve was 147mph, helping him win.
Ben Shelton's fourth match was against Stefanos Tsitsipas from Greece. The match took place at night on Sunday, September 6. Shelton came into the first set firing serves and hard hits. He won the first set 6-2 in only 29 minutes. Shelton kept up his momentum, winning the 2nd and 3rd sets 6-3 and 6-4.
The Quarter Final and Semi Final for Ben Shelton
Quarter Final
On Tuesday, September 8, Ben Shelton played Carlos Alcaraz from Spain in a night match that didn’t end until 3:33 AM on September 9. The whole match was 4 hours and 28 minutes and was the latest finish in US Open history. Alcaraz is the world #3 in men's singles and was ranked #2 in the tournament; Shelton knew this would be a hard match for him to win. Set one starts off with a tiebreak after Alcaraz is winning 6-7. The tiebreak is intense, and Shelton loses the first set 5-7. Next, the second and third sets came around— Shelton won both 6-1 and 6-3 easily. Alcaraz needed to raise his level, and in the fourth set he absolutely dominated and beat Shelton 1-6. This put both of them into the last set tied 2-2.
Finally, the fifth and final set: Who will win? Game one, Shelton won, but then Alcaraz matched it. The same trend all the way through the 12th game, making it 6-6. Finally, they got to the tiebreak where Shelton won 10-7. The thrilling match ended, and Ben Shelton won in the quarter-final.
Semi Final
On Friday, September 11, 2026, Ben Shelton played Frances Tiafoe from America. Tiafoe was ranked #11 in the tournament. Tiafoe started it off winning the first set 4-6. Shelton refused to give up and won the second, third, and fourth sets 6-3, 6-3, and lastly 7-5. This match was supposed to be quicker, but Shelton really was on his game and was ready to advance to the finale.
The Finale
The Men’s Singles Championship Finale took place on Sunday, September 13. Ben Shelton was against German Alexander Zverev, who is the current world #2. Zverev made gains on Shelton, winning the first two sets, 3-6 and 2-7 (tiebreak). Shelton came back in the third set, winning in a competitive set, 7-5. In the last set of the U.S. Open, Zverev won 2-6, making Zverev the winner of the 2026 U.S. Open and Ben Shelton the runner-up. Shelton is planning to play at the Australian Open starting in January of 2027. As a tennis fan, I am excited to see how far he will get in the tournament and how he will have progressed as a player.
