French Open Champion Coco Gauff joins in on the celebrations for Ben Shelton as he breaks into the ATP top 10

Explosive American tennis star Ben Shelton has recently broken into the ATP top 10 following a semi-final finish at the BOSS Open in Stuttgart. On Monday, June 16th, Shelton officially entered the top 10 in the ATP rankings.

Shelton joins an exclusive list of left-handed Americans to reach the top 10, becoming only the fourth to do so. He also becomes just the fourth player born in 2002 or later to achieve this milestone. As tennis continues to shift toward a younger generation, Shelton will be aiming not only to maintain his spot near the top but also to rise even higher in the years to come.

In doing so, Shelton has made more history by forming part of an American trio currently ranked in the ATP top 10, alongside fellow countrymen Taylor Fritz (No. 4) and Tommy Paul (No. 8). This marks the first time since April 2006 that three Americans have simultaneously occupied top-10 spots, when Andre Agassi, James Blake, and Andy Roddick were ranked 10th, 7th, and 4th respectively.

After the rankings were announced, fellow American and recent French Open champion Coco Gauff jumped at the chance to congratulate the impressive achievement, commenting three fire emojis on the ATP’s Instagram post. Gauff was incredible in her comeback victory against Aryna Sabalenka during the final at Roland Garros, and Shelton could look to draw inspiration from her performance to elevate his own game in the future.

As Shelton prepares for the grass swing Grand Slam event at Wimbledon, there will be renewed optimism for the American as he looks to capitalise on his recent milestone and use his higher ranking to go as far as he possibly can — and possibly even pick up a first Grand Slam title. After struggling so far at SW19 in his career, there is surely going to be a breakthrough for the charismatic American at some point, and this year could be his chance to right the wrongs of the past and go beyond the fourth round for the first time.

Having already matched his best finish at a Grand Slam by reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open once again this year, Shelton seems to be creeping closer to the mark of becoming a Grand Slam champion. He will hope his time during the grass swing is more fruitful than before, and that his powerful displays continue to deliver results on a different surface.