Ben Shelton makes more history as new No. 1 American man

In his junior days, Ben Shelton asked his father about traveling outside the country to compete on the ITF circuit. His dad and current coach, former pro Bryan Shelton, answered with a question of his own.

"He asked me if I was the best player in the United States," Ben recalled last season ahead of his Australian Open debut. “I told him, ‘No, I’m not.’ And he said, ‘So why would we go to another country when you’re not the best player here?’

“I think it was pretty good advice, looking back at it."

Thanks in part to his father's guidance, Shelton can give a different answer to that question today. On Monday, the 21-year-old became the new American No. 1 in the ATP singles rankings—the youngest leading U.S. man since Andy Roddick in March 2004.

The electric lefty set himself up for the honor by winning the Houston title last Sunday before officially claiming the distinction from Taylor Fritz this week at a career high of world No. 14.

"It kind of feels like it just came out of nowhere," Shelton told USTA.com. "The next thing I knew I was being told I was going to be the next No. 1 American.

"Just knowing where I was two years ago to now, it's pretty wild to think of that journey. I'm proud of myself, but know I've got lots more to work on and improve."

The 2023 US Open semifinalist is one of seven American No. 1s who have held that distinction before turning 22. The other six all reached world No. 1: Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors, Jim Courier, John McEnroe, Roddick and Pete Sampras.

After a trophy-laden career at the University of Florida—where he won the NCAA team (2021) and individual (2022) titles with his father as head coach—the American roared onto the top-level scene by beating then-world No. 5 Casper Ruud in Cincinnati.

In his first trip outside of the United States (for either business or pleasure), Shelton served notice by reaching the 2023 Australian Open quarterfinals—a result that saw him crack the Top 50. He went one step further at the US Open, making the semifinals on home soil to break the Top 20.

Since then, Shelton has claimed his first two tour-level titles in Tokyo and Houston and advanced to his first ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal in Shanghai, where he beat Jannik Sinner in a third-set tiebreak.