Ben Shelton won his first title of the season at the 2026 Dallas Open, drawing reactions from several tennis stars. Players such as Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, and Madison Keys sent congratulatory messages to the former World No. 5, celebrating his victory.
Leading up to the ATP 500 hard-court tournament, Shelton competed at the 2026 Australian Open, advancing to the quarterfinals before losing to two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner.
Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, and Others React to Ben Shelton Winning the 2026 Dallas Open Title
Shelton was the second seed at the 2026 Dallas Open, and he opened his campaign by defeating Gabriel Diallo 6-4, 6-4 in the first round and overcame Adrian Mannarino in the second round, winning 7-6(2), 6-7(4), 6-3.
In the quarterfinals, Shelton eliminated Miomir Kecmanović, winning 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, and then defeated defending champion Denis Shapovalov in the semifinals 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(4). In the final, he defeated Taylor Fritz with a score of 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, winning the 2026 Dallas Open.
Following his win, the 23-year-old took to social media and shared a series of photos celebrating his triumph with his family and girlfriend, Trinity Rodman.
Reacting to Shelton’s title win, Gauff congratulated him on his victory, while Pegula, Keys, and Amanda Anisimova also extended messages of support to him.
“congrats 🏆 🔥,” Gauff commented.
“🏆,” Pegula wrote.
“Yeaaaaaaaaaaa 🗣️,” Keys commented.
“🙌 👏 wooo,” Anisimova wrote.
Besides his singles campaign at the 2026 Dallas Open, Shelton also participated in the doubles event with compatriot Aleksandar Kovacevic. They won their first-round match against the wildcard pair of Grigor Dimitrov and Georgi Georgiev but were eliminated in the quarterfinals by the third-seeded duo of Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul.
Looking ahead, Shelton is expected to compete at the 2026 Mexican Open, scheduled for February 23 to February 28, 2026. The matches will take place on the outdoor hard courts at the Arena GNP Seguros in Acapulco, Mexico.
Alongside the former World No. 5, other players expected to compete at the ATP 500 hard-court tournament include Lorenzo Musetti, Casper Ruud, Frances Tiafoe, Gaël Monfils, and former champions such as Alexander Zverev, Alex de Minaur, and Grigor Dimitrov.
Last year at the Mexican Open, Shelton won his first-round match against Flavio Cobolli but was eliminated by David Goffin in the second round. He achieved his best result at the ATP 500 tournament in 2024, where he defeated players like Dan Evans and Matteo Arnaldi in the first two rounds, respectively, before being ousted by eventual runner-up Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals.
