Ben Shelton recently discussed his experience of having his father, Bryan, as his coach. Shelton turned professional in 2022, and his father joined his team as a full-time coach in 2023.
Bryan, who is a former player himself, was previously the head coach of the Florida Gators, a team that Shelton played on during his college years.
Ben Shelton Makes His Feelings Known About Having His Father, Bryan, As His Coach
In a recent interview with the Tennis Channel, Shelton was asked about the dynamics of his relationship with his father, who also serves as his coach. In response, the World No. 12 stated that he has a “great relationship” with Bryan and mentioned they share the same goals concerning his tennis career.
“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.
Shelton explained that after spending so much time together training and traveling, he and his father pursue their own activities at the end of the day. The tennis star mentioned that it helps keep their relationship “fresh” and prevents it from becoming overbearing.
“Yeah, we have the same mindset about a lot of things obviously. It’s not like okay we’re on the court together, we’re on the site together, and then we go back and we go to dinner together. No, he does his own thing a lot of times. I do my own thing. It’s kind of the same 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.
The World No. 12 also expressed deep respect for Bryan, valuing him not only as a father but also for his “great tennis 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,” he said.
Shelton noted that having a parent who is not knowledgeable about tennis as a coach often creates “friction,” which is not a concern in his case with his father, Bryan.
“I think it’s more difficult if you have a parent who’s not really a coach or an expert in the field, and they’re trying to coach you, then it gets a little tough because you’re like, ‘Ah, you don’t even know anything.” So if you don’t respect them as a coach, then it creates some friction. I know that most of the time when he’s saying something,g it’s something that I should listen to,” Shelton added.
On the tennis side of things, Shelton is currently competing in the 2025 BOSS Open in Stuttgart. He is seeded third in the tournament and started his play in the second round after receiving a bye in the first round. In his opening match, he faced qualifier Pierre-Hugues Herbert and won with a scoreline of 7-6(4), 7-5.
Before beginning his campaign in Stuttgart, the World No. 12 participated in the French Open. He reached the fourth round before being defeated by the eventual champion, Carlos Alcaraz.
Who Will Ben Shelton Face Next at the 2025 BOSS Open in Stuttgart?
After his victory over Herbert in the second round of the 2025 BOSS Open in Stuttgart, Shelton is set to take on the eighth seed, Jiří Lehečka, in the quarterfinals.
Lehečka entered the ATP 250 grass court tournament after competing at the 2025 French Open, where he defeated Jordan Thompson and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the first and second rounds, respectively. However, his run ended in the third round when he was eliminated by World No. 1 and eventual runner-up Jannik Sinner.
In Stuttgart, Lehečka began his campaign with a win over Benjamin Bonzi in the first round, finishing with a score of 6-4, 6-4. He followed this with a 6-4, 7-5 victory against wild card Jan-Lennard Struff in the second round, securing his place in the quarterfinals against Shelton.
The last eight match between Shelton and Lehečka will be the first time these two players have faced each other on the ATP Tour.
The winner of the Shelton-Lehečka match will advance to the semifinals of the BOSS Open in Stuttgart, where they will compete against either top seed Alexander Zverev, Corentin Moutet, Learner Tien, or sixth seed Brandon Nakashima.
