Ben Shelton is being coached by his father, Bryan Shelton, at Wimbledon 2025. Shelton turned professional in 2022, initially working with Dean Goldfine. In 2023, his father joined as his full-time coach.
Bryan Shelton was the head coach of the University of Florida (Florida Gators) for over a decade. Early in 2023, he retired from collegiate coaching to focus on working with his son on the ATP Tour.
All About Ben Shelton’s Father & Coach Bryan
Shelton is currently competing at Wimbledon 2025, where he has reached the fourth round. The American’s players’ box comprises of his father and coach, Bryan, his mother Lisa Witsken Shelton, sister Emma, and girlfriend Trinity Rodman.
Bryan Shelton was a professional tennis player, winning two ATP singles and two doubles titles during his career. His best Grand Slam performance came at the 1992 French Open in the mixed doubles event, where he and his partner, Lori McNeil, finished as runners-up after losing to Arantxa Sánchez Vicario and Todd Woodbridge in the final.
After retiring from professional tennis in 1997, Bryan Shelton coached the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets women’s tennis team, which won the 2007 NCAA Women’s Tennis Championship. He then became the head coach of the Florida Gators men’s tennis team, which won the NCAA Championship in 2021.
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Shelton is seeded 10th at Wimbledon and defeated Alex Bolt, Rinky Hijikata, and Márton Fucsovics to advance to the fourth round, where he will face Lorenzo Sonego.
The winner of the match will advance to the quarterfinals, where they will compete against either top seed Jannik Sinner or 19th seed Grigor Dimitrov.
“We Have a Great Relationship, There’s No Pressure” – Ben Shelton on Having His Father, Bryan, As His Coach
Last month, while in a conversation with the Tennis Channel, Shelton discussed the relationship he has with his father and coach Bryan. He explained that their player-coach dynamic feels “natural” and that there is no pressure involved.
“Yeah, there’s not really a formula; it’s kind of natural. I mean, we have a great relationship, there’s no pressure. We just both have the same goals. We want to be the best; we want to put in a perfect effort every day. We don’t need to be perfect, but we want our effort to be,” Shelton said.
The World No. 10 mentioned that he and Bryan manage their father-son and player-coach relationships well and keep things fresh and have respect for each other.
“Yeah, we have the same mindset about a lot of things obviously. When we’re at home and we’ve figured out how to really manage the relationship and keep things fresh and keep respect in the relationship,” he continued.
Shelton expressed his admiration for Bryan, stating that he respects him not only as his father and coach but also for his achievements as a player and his coaching mind.
“I think that it’s important that I respect him as a father, which I do very much, and also as a coach. I respect his tennis mind and how he was as a player, and I think that a lot of people in the world respect him as a great tennis mind,” Shelton added.
