Ben Shelton recently revealed that his sister, Emma, would be by his side during his fourth-round match at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships. This came after Shelton requested Emma’s workplace extend her leave, which was accepted.
Emma holds a business degree from the University of Florida and currently works at Morgan Stanley, an American multinational investment bank and financial services company.
Ben Shelton’s Request to Sister Emma’s Workplace Accepted After He Advanced to Wimbledon 4R
Seeded 10th at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships, Shelton began his campaign with a victory over qualifier Alex Bolt, winning in straight sets with scores of 6-4, 7-6(1), 7-6(4). He then beat Rinky Hijikata 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 and lucky loser Márton Fucsovics 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-2 in the second and third rounds, respectively.
Following his win over Fucsovics, in a lighthearted post-match on-court interview, Shelton called Emma his “lucky charm,” noting that he has won every match she has attended at the London Major. The 22-year-old then humorously appealed to Morgan Stanley to extend her leave so she could remain by his side throughout the tournament.
“My sister’s here. She’s been here for every match that I’ve played at this tournament so far. She’s been the lucky charm, but, she has work back in the US starting on Monday. She works for Morgan Stanley, so if any of y’all have some connects and get her a couple of extra days off so she can keep this rolling, that’d be great,” Shelton said.
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The appeal worked. Shelton took to social media to share a video of Emma celebrating the extension of her leave, which allows her to continue supporting him at Wimbledon. The video shows Emma’s excitement after learning Morgan Stanley approved her request for additional time off.
“Yeah, you get the week off or what? Shoutout to Morgan Stanley,” Shelton said.
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Emma also shared Ben’s video on her own social media, announcing that she had canceled her flight back to the United States following Morgan Stanley’s decision to grant her additional time off. She included a clip of Shelton affectionately calling her his “lucky charm.”
“❤️❤️😭😭😭,” Emma captioned her Instagram story.
“thank you MS 💙💙💙 return flight cancelled 🤪,” she added.
Like her brother, Emma has a background in collegiate tennis, having represented both the University of South Carolina and the University of Florida. The family connection to tennis runs deep, with both siblings competing at the highest levels of college tennis before Shelton turned professional.
The “lucky charm” superstition appears to be working for Shelton, who has maintained a perfect record at Wimbledon when Emma is in attendance. Her presence seems to provide the American with extra motivation and confidence as he continues his impressive run at the All England Club.
Who Will Ben Shelton Face at the 2025 Wimbledon Open 4R?
Following his victory over Fucsovics in the third round of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships, Shelton is set to take on Lorenzo Sonego in the fourth round of the tournament. The Italian has been equally impressive in his path to the round of 16.
Sonego began his campaign at the London Major by defeating qualifier Jaime Faria in the first round, winning with a scoreline of 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. He overcame another qualifier, Nikoloz Basilashvili, 6-1, 6-3, 6-7(3), 7-6(4), and then beat 29th seed Brandon Nakashima 6-7(5), 7-6(8), 7-6(2), 3-6, 7-6(3) in the second and third rounds, respectively, to secure his place in the fourth round.
Shelton and Sonego have met four times on the ATP Tour, with the World No. 10 emerging victorious in three of those encounters. Their most recent clash took place in the first round of the 2025 French Open, where Shelton won the match in five sets, with a score line of 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. That comeback victory showed Shelton’s mental toughness after dropping the second and third sets.
The winner of the fourth-round match between Shelton and Sonego at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships will advance to face either top seed Jannik Sinner or 19th seed Grigor Dimitrov in the quarterfinals. With Emma now confirmed to be in attendance for the remainder of the tournament, Shelton will look to continue his perfect record with his “lucky charm” by his side.