Ben Shelton: Why this brash American prodigy may be the saviour tennis needs

He’s brash, he’s braggadocious, and he’s bringing the heat. And Ben Shelton could very well soon win a major. CALLUM DICK reveals why the American phenom has become the man you can’t afford to miss in world tennis.

Ben Shelton remains in the hunt for the Australian Open title. Picture: Getty Images

He’s brash, he’s braggadocious, and he’s bringing the heat.

He is American tennis sensation Ben Shelton.

If his paddlepop coloured cutoff singlet doesn’t do enough to catch your attention, his 0-100 tennis certainly will.

The 22-year-old from Atlanta, Georgia is not-so quietly staking his claim as tennis’ next great entertainer and he has turned Melbourne Park into the stage for his one-man matinee this month.

The Shelton show will roll into the Australian Open semi-finals on Friday night on a collision course with world No.1 Jannik Sinner and the two men could not be more different in their approach to tennis.

READ MORE: ‘Embarrassing’: US star lashes Aus Open broadcasters

Ben Shelton is taking the tennis world by storm. Picture: Getty Images

Reigning champion Sinner is the quiet assassin - the “slim reaper” as Nick Kyrgios once quipped - but there is nothing quiet about Shelton.

While Sinner wins over fans with his perfect tennis and shy demeanour, Shelton wows with blistering 230km/h serves and by flexing his biceps.

He’s also a US marketing dream - on the court he has all the tools to be the next big thing, off the court he’s tennis’ most eligible bachelor.

Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz might be the stars that kids hope to one day emulate but Shelton will be the one driving them to pick up a tennis racquet in the first place.

His father Lleyton Hewitt is a two-time grand slam champion and former world No.1, but this week when Cruz Hewitt was asked who he wanted to act like on a tennis court the answer was: “I try to be like Ben Shelton”.

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Ben Shelton shares words with Lorenzo Sonego after their quarter final. Picture: Getty Images

He is the quintessential next gen sporting superstar: Tennis’ version of Jack Ginnivan - a thrill-a-minute entertainer who loves what he does and makes no bones about it.

In a sport crying out for character Shelton is its 193cm saviour.

In his run to the US Open semi-finals in 2023, Shelton debuted the now infamous ‘dialled-in’ phone celebration which birthed thousands of viral tennis memes and even led to a much-publicised beef with the tennis GOAT, Novak Djokovic.

He was roundly mocked after falling to Djokovic in straight sets in the semis, who had the last laugh by emulating Shelton’s celebration.

The read on the young American was that he was too cocky for his own good and that Djokovic had done the world a service by bringing him crashing back to earth. But the reality was something different.

READ MORE: Injury or tactic? The curious case of Novak Djokovic

Ben Shelton IS a US marketing dream - on the court he has all the tools to be the next big thing, off the court he’s tennis’ most eligible bachelor. Picture: Mark Stewart

Shelton later explained it was inspired by his good friend and track and field star, Grant Holloway, who had used it as his signature move for a number of years.

The American ace has since hung up the phone but his celebrations remain some of the best in tennis. The AFL loves its ‘double cobra’ bicep flex and Shelton would give anyone’s post-goal antics a run for their money.

When one of the sport’s all-time entertainers, Gael Monfils, gives you his tick of approval you know you are doing something right.

But don’t mistake his bravado for arrogance. There is considered thoughtfulness behind Shelton’s eyes, even if they spend a lot of time ‘doom scrolling’ social media as is the norm for his generation.

Ben Shelton has reached the second semi-final at a major, in just the third year of his professional career. Picture: Getty Images

This week he called out what he perceived to be poor media manners by the host broadcaster’s on-court interviewers - not just to him, but his peers as well.

Now three years into a professional career that has already delivered two semi-final berths, Shelton is breaking the mould of what it means to be a tennis entertainer.

Our own Alex de Minaur faltered in the face of Sinner’s onslaught but if there is one man brave and bold enough to go toe-to-toe with the Italian under the bright lights of Rod Laver Arena, it is Shelton.

Strap in, he is about to take us on a wild ride.

Originally published as Ben Shelton: Why this brash American prodigy may be the saviour tennis needs