Tommy Paul’s coach pinpoints the part of Ben Shelton’s game he doesn’t get enough credit for

The American became just the sixth player in the Open Era to go back-to-back at the Canadian Open, joining Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe, Andre Agassi, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

Where do you rank Ben Shelton on the list of favorites for the US Open title?

He has never won a Grand Slam title…

Shelton has now won four titles this year, which is three more than his highest season tally prior to 2026.

With his triumph at the Canadian Open, Shelton moved up four places in the ATP rankings from 10th to sixth.

Brad Stine praises Ben Shelton after his Canadian Open victory

Reacting to his win on the Inside-In Tennis Podcast, Tommy Paul’s coach, Brad Stine, had high praise for Shelton.

Stine said: “I would say Ben is, if not the best, he’s certainly in the top two or three amongst the servers. You add to that the leftiness.

“You know, his pace and the power that he gets on both first and second serves, combined with being a lefty, just makes it ridiculously effective.

“He doesn’t get as much credit as he probably deserves for how good he is off the ground, and also as an all-court player, because Ben’s certainly not scared to come forward.

Who is your pick to win the US Open men’s singles title?

“He likes to come forward. He wants to come forward. He’s certainly volleying some. You know, you leave something short in the court on the forehand side, and he’s pretty devastating on transition from the forehand side, backhand side.

“He flattens it out, or he can use a backhand slice and come forward on the backhand side.

“So he’s pretty much an all-court player, really, combined with just a massive serve and then really, really big ground strokes.”

Brad Stine said Ben Shelton’s best surface is hard court

With Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz both potential doubts for the US Open, Shelton may have a golden opportunity to win his first major.

Stine said of Shelton: “He’s on a hardcourt. I think that’s his most comfortable, you know, surface, probably.

“And growing up as an American, playing a tonne of hardcourt tennis, college tennis, all hardcourt tennis, I think it’s just really, really comfortable on that surface and how you play and being able to take advantage of the things that he does well on all the hardcourts.

“You know, he’s done extremely well at the [US] Open, and I would expect that he’s going to do extremely well again.”

Shelton’s best campaign at the US Open was recorded in 2023, when he reached the semifinals.