It was legitimate to expect much more from Ben Shelton in this edition of the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, with a fairly fast surface that should have favored the game of the young American talent. The latter who was participating in this event for the first time in his career was defeated by Alexander Zverev in his first match staged on Sunday, having multiple regrets for not converting three set points in a row in the second set that could have overturned the inertia of that clash.
He returned to action against Felix Auger-Aliassime yesterday, but was unable to prevail over the Canadian star despite the latter suffering a calf issue during his debut against world number 2 Jannik Sinner. The general feeling is that Ben has struggled to find his best shape after the shoulder injury suffered at the US Open, a setback that prevented him from participating in some tournaments and undermined his certainties.
At the same time, it should be noted that Shelton still has to improve a lot in some aspects because there are too many weaknesses in his game that his rivals can exploit. In the press conference, he himself admitted that he will make some changes to his tennis during the off-season to return to the court stronger even in 2026.
Shelton is already eliminated
During the latest episode of the show 'Sans Filet', former French ace Julien Varlet expressed some very harsh considerations towards the American star (already eliminated in Turin): "I think he is too weak tactically yet, despite being one of the best players in the world looking at the ranking. He doesn't take advantage of the fact that he is left-handed, perhaps he should learn something from a legend like Rafael Nadal. His shots don't follow a precise logic and honestly I don't understand how a player of that level can be so obtuse from a tactical point of view."
2025 was still the best year of Shelton's career, however, as he reached the semifinals at the Australian Open and won his first Masters 1000 in Toronto.
