THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

June 27, 2026

Ben Shelton

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Who would like to ask the first question?

Q. How are you feeling going into this event? You've had some good results on grass already.

BEN SHELTON: Yeah, I feel ready. I feel confident. Obviously just happy to be here playing at Wimbledon. Great, great tournament. A great tournament for me.

So I think it's a big opportunity at this stage in the year to be playing here. Yeah, just try to take it one match at a time.

Q. Your thoughts on Serena playing? What are your memories of her?

BEN SHELTON: Yeah, obviously it's really cool for me. I was kind of, like, coming out on tour when she was having her, I guess, last run in 2022. So seeing her out here, as focused as she is, really going for it at 44 years old - she's 44, right? - is insanely impressive, obviously one of the biggest icons in sports history, not just tennis.

I think there's a lot of buzz about it out here on the tour, as there should be. I think it's huge for our game anytime Serena's a part of it.

Q. The Spurs prediction didn't work out.

BEN SHELTON: Brutal. They had it, didn't they? It's all good (smiling).

Q. You play a lot of tiebreaks. I guess that's probably somewhat inevitable on grass. Obviously you don't want to play as many tiebreaks. What are you doing to try and focus on improving I guess the return game mainly, to try and get that up where you cannot be in jeopardy and have so much pressure on your serve games?

BEN SHELTON: Yeah, no, I think over the past two years, that's been a massive point of emphasis for me. I think my return has improved a lot. It's not just the return; it's also the couple shots right after the return that are important as well.

Like you said, grass court is probably the toughest court to return on. To be honest, I've played a lot of really good servers and really big servers the last couple weeks, so I feel prepared.

If a guy is serving great on the grass, has a big serve, more likely than not he's going to hold against pretty much anyone in the world.

I think that being able to win a point here or there, to be able to flip it, take advantage of second serve returns, and be clutch in the tiebreak is what's most important on grass.

Like you said, you'd like to be able to break every set and hold serve all the way through. I think that's just how tennis goes sometimes.

It has 100% been a big point of emphasis for me.

Q. Is it frustrating to not have made more progress on it?

BEN SHELTON: No, I wouldn't say so. I mean, I think if you look at my return numbers in terms of percentage of points won, you know, break point chances and percentage of games that I broke from when I came on tour, it's black and white where I am as a returner. I was way below the average of top 100 players. Now I'm around the average in terms of top 50 for a lot of the return stats.

I think that is a huge improvement, especially being in the top five in the serving category. I think it's encouraging knowing that I have a lot more room to grow. But I do think I have made big strides, and I think it has shown in certain points in the year where I've played really well.

Q. The protest, what kind of direction do you see it going? Are you headed more toward boycotting or closer to a solution?

BEN SHELTON: Look, it's obviously a loaded question that I have a lot of thoughts about.

I support the players 100%. I back the players in this whole process. I think for me, there's two things that are really important. One is the financials. I think from the bottom up, if you're a top-100 player, you make all four slams main draw, you prove yourself as one of the best 100 players in the world throughout the year, you should be able to by the end of the year be well in the green.

I think with how expensive the tour is, or not how expensive the tour is, but how expensive it is to be a professional tennis player, the travel, the team you have to bring with you, accommodation - obviously all things that players are paying for themselves. It's tough at the lower levels of the game - not lower levels - but if you're not making deep runs consistently.

That's a big piece for me, a change I would want to see in terms of income for players ranked 50 to 100.

The other big piece for me is player welfare. I think one of the big things in our proposal was about having a seat at the table, some sort of players council for the slams. I think adding extra days, making certain decisions that affect the players and the welfare of the players, are very, very important.

Look, we have a lot of guys and girls as of late, big stars in the sport, that are sitting out because of injury. This isn't good for any of the tours: ATP, WTA, any of the slams. I think that's the last piece that is important.

At the same time for me, I decided to give more time on Media Day today because Wimbledon is a special place. They've always treated me well here. They let me come and train after the French Open, get on the grass. They helped me out my first year that I came out on tour.

I think they have made an effort. I think that showed in the increase that they brought in prize money this year.

Q. I think it's the highest seeding you've had coming into a major. How much are you still trying to get used to the idea of being at this level, this echelon of the game? I know practiced with Zach. Thoughts on how he's hitting the ball?

BEN SHELTON: He's playing really well. I'm excited to see what he does here. Had a big run at the French, which I don't think is even his best surface. I think he's one of the best ball strikers on tour. People are going to say I'm crazy for saying that, but go watch the guy play.

Yeah, I'm looking forward to see what he does. The last couple of years we played in Kalamazoo. We were young coming up. We were kind of talking today when we were practicing on Court 12, it's crazy, like from Kalamazoo to being here. It's his first main draw at Wimbledon, so really happy for him.

For me, I think there's always things to get used to. But I do feel comfortable on the tour at this point. I'm okay with living in the expectations that I have for myself, the goals that I set for myself, and focusing on those things.

I'm kind of focused on the path or trajectory that I'm trying to work towards and build towards. I know that I have a lot of room for growth and a lot of ways to go with my game. I've tried throughout my career, from when I was a kid, not to really pay attention to the number next to my name. That will continue for me. I'm more worried about the level of tennis I'm playing out there on the court and how often I can replicate my high in tennis.

Q. Back to the action from the players. More generally, what's hoping to be achieved from that? You mentioned the injury situation with a lot of young players, a concern for everybody that cares about the sport. What changes are you seeking as a collective from the Grand Slams that you feel would impact that positively?

BEN SHELTON: I think I just answered that: Having a players council, a seat on the table. When decisions are made by the slams, similar to what we have at the ATP, being able to be in the room when those decisions are made.

Q. I want to ask about grass. Really good surface for you and for Americans in general. What do you think it is about grass that makes it so quickly suited for Americans? It's not like they grow up playing on it at all. Across the board, Americans show up and do really well.

BEN SHELTON: I think we got a lot of bots (smiling).

No, I mean, I think Americans do play well on fast surfaces. I think that we tend to volley well, have all-court games. I think definitely in terms of serving, we have a lot of great servers.

I think if you just look at the hand skills of the guys that we have on top, they are at the top. Not even talking about the girls, as well, because we have great grass court players on the girls' side, too.

I'm not sure exactly what it is. For me, I prefer the U.S. summer swing where the ball is bouncing really high out of the strike zone. It's fast and hot.

But yeah, I guess for some years now it has seemed that Americans do play really well here on the grass. All our games are so different, I'm not exactly sure what it is.

Q. One aspect of grass, players will fall and slip. Tommy was talking on grass you almost have to learn how to fall well. You seem like a natural on grass. Did you develop those skills as well?

BEN SHELTON: I think I'm pretty good at falling well. I do fall a lot. I do slip. I'm not one of the guys who's going to be out here sliding around the court. I'm more kind of learning, taking extra steps, and moving through the ball.

Sometimes I wish I could slide like some of these guys out here. I think I'd get seriously injured trying to do that all the time.

I think it is a really important piece to be able to not get injured. But you have to be able to have body control. I think it takes out an element of explosiveness or athleticism, if you will. It kind of works against you. If your body gets too out of control, you're moving too fast, it's tough to decelerate.

That is something you kind of have to learn, is how to move at a slightly slower and more controlled cadence.