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Ben Shelton trolls Wimbledon fans about American football knowledge

Originally posted on Tennis on ClutchPoints
By Rishav Bhat | Last updated Jul 7, 2025 11:26 PM ET

Speaking after his thrilling Wimbledon round of 16 victory, American tennis star Ben Shelton hilariously mocked British tennis fans when asked about his past career in American Football. The 22-year-old world number 10 won 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (1), 7-5 in a thrilling encounter against Lorenzo Sonego.

However, it was his response to a post-game question that seemed to garner just as much attention. Shelton was a left-handed quarterback as a kid back in Georgia and was asked about his “quarterbacker” background.

“I’m not sure many people in the crowd know what that is. They use that brown, oval-shaped ball, sometimes they kick it between the uprights,” Shelton hilariously remarked.

“And probably the only thing that’s a great correlation with tennis is the serve, as you guys can probably see. And so, yeah, that’s kind of the one thing that I took from football onto the tennis court.”

Shelton’s interest in football came despite his father, Bryan Shelton, being a former ATP Pro. The American tennis sensation proceeded to reveal how football helped develop his hard-hitting serve. Shelton proceeded to reveal that his past in team sports has also helped him in his tennis career.

Ben Shelton, after advancing to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, was asked about his "quarterbacker" career growing up & how that translates to tennis:

"I'm not sure how many people in the crowd know what that is. They use that brown, oval-shaped ball." pic.twitter.com/onP0NAXghJ

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) July 7, 2025

Ben Shelton’s past in team sports has helped him in tennis

Ben Shelton celebrates winning his match against Lorenzo Sonego of Italy on day eight at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports

Shelton went into detail about how his past in football continues to help him in tennis.

“Now I’m obviously playing an individual sport, but I still have a team supporting me that I work with every day,” Shelton said. “So that’s the most important thing to me, I don’t want to be out here by myself, I want to be doing it with people that I love, and I got a lot of people that I love over there.”

During his early years, Shelton’s father coached the Women’s tennis team at Georgia Tech. At the same time, Calvin Johnson, who went on to become one of the NFL’s greatest wide receivers, was attending Georgia as well.

As a result, Ben was once left delighted after Johnson left him a signed ball after attending what he remembers as his ninth birthday party. Shelton has since become one of tennis’ most exciting prospects after transitioning away from football, a decision most will deem right for his career.

This article first appeared on Tennis on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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