Tempe, AZ – Former Florida Gator Ben Shelton continues his historic run at the 2026 US Open after defeating Frances Tiafoe in a spectacular All-American semifinal, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5, to advance to the US Open Men’s Singles Final.
As one of the brightest stars to come out of college tennis in recent years, many would proclaim Shelton as the “face” of the new era of college tennis development to the pro tours, a pathway that has seen at least one former men’s collegian reach the quarterfinals of every Grand Slam this year, a first since 1989, as well as place the most former women’s collegiate tennis players in the US Open Singles Draw in the Open Era this year.
Now No. 4 in the live PIF ATP Singles Rankings, Shelton is the first former college tennis player to reach a Grand Slam Final since Kevin Anderson (Illinois, 2018) and the first former NCAA Singles Champion to reach a Grand Slam Final since Mikael Pernfors (Georgia, 1986). The No. 4 live ATP Ranking also makes Shelton the highest-ranked former college tennis player on Tour since James Blake (Harvard, 2006).
Claiming the NCAA Singles Title in 2022, Shelton started his collegiate career in 2021, playing primarily from the No. 5 singles position for the Gators. Under the leadership of his dad, Bryan Shelton, the Gators went on to win the 2021 NCAA Team Championship, with Shelton delivering the clinching win for the Florida team. The victory also marked history for Bryan as he became the only coach in NCAA history to win an NCAA Division I Team Championship as the head coach of both a men’s and women’s program (Georgia Tech & Florida).
Amongst his numerous collegiate accomplishments, Shelton was named the 2022 ITA National Player of the Year, the 2022 SEC Player of the Year, and the 2021 ITA All-American Singles Champion, an accomplishment that led Shelton to his first No. 1 ranking at the collegiate level.
Ranked in the 500’s of the ATP Singles Rankings at the conclusion of the 2021-22 college tennis season, Shelton had a meteoric rise up the Rankings, as just one year later, he was ranked No. 35 in the world. Shelton has been ranked in the Top 25 of the ATP Singles Rankings every day for the past three years and has not been outside of the top ten since June of 2025.
This season, Shelton became just the eighth player in ATP history to win titles on all surfaces (indoor hard, outdoor hard, grass, and clay) in one calendar year. These titles during the 2026 calendar year include the Dallas Open (indoor hard), BMW Open (clay), Stuttgart Open (grass), and the Canadian Open (outdoor hard).
In the US Open Final, Shelton is set to take on the No. 1 seed and 2026 French Open Champion, Alexander Zverev. This is the third singles final Zverev has been a part of this calendar year, winning the French Open while finishing as the runner-up at Wimbledon to Jannik Sinner. Zverev holds a 5-0 head-to-head record against Shelton, but this will mark the first matchup between the two players this year.
Finals coverage will begin at 2 p.m. (ET) on Sunday across the ESPN family of networks.
