MUBADALA DC OPEN

July 30, 2026

Ben Shelton

Press Conference

B. SHELTON/U. Humbert

6-7, 6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Ben, congrats. It was a super tight match tonight. I just saw the crowd. Do you think this is one of the better atmospheres you've had in D.C.?

BEN SHELTON: Yeah, 100%. It was a great match to be a part of, but for me, I've had some special nights here in D.C. This one was certainly up there.

Obviously my match that I played with Foe last year was one of my favorites, one of the best atmospheres. But I still stand on when that stadium is packed and full, it's one of the best atmospheres in tennis. So, you know, privileged to be playing here.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Third straight quarterfinal here. Frances said that once you have a good result in a tournament, generally you keep playing well at that tournament. Would you agree with that in terms of your results here in D.C.?

BEN SHELTON: Yeah, I think that you can certainly get comfortable playing somewhere, whether it's the energy of the fans, atmosphere, the way the court plays, the conditions.

For me, this has always been a place that I feel at home. The court plays well for my game style, and I have a lot of support here. It's a place that I want to be for a long time, that I don't want to leave, and I think that definitely contributes to some of my success here.

Q. 4-ALL, Love-15 down, you have that wild point where you get some big defense and then you get that crosscourt winner. How do you reflect on that point now, and how big do you think that was to you closing out this match down the stretch?

BEN SHELTON: Yeah, I mean, I just completely slapped it. It was one of the luckiest shots I ever hit probably. It felt like that was some of the stuff that I had to come up with tonight, because he was outhitting me, outplaying me from the baseline.

I thought he played an outstanding match. He served really well, especially from the beginning. Returned great. I had to steal a few points there in the end to get over the finish line.

Q. On an unrelated note, when you were on the court after throwing autograph balls into the crowd, I'm not sure if you saw, but I saw Trinity in the corner jumping up and down waving her hands like she wanted a ball. Did you notice that? What is it like sharing those moments with her after matches?

BEN SHELTON: Yeah, she's always messing around. I don't know why she -- (laughing). I don't know why she does that.

No, but it's cool obviously to be able to share these moments with her, to be able to go to her games, to be able to play in front of her and the rest of my family. I've got a lot of family here. So all that is super special and emotional for me.

The part that I enjoy the most, being able to play in front of them, especially when I'm playing well or in a match like that, that's enjoyable and entertaining. Yeah, no complaints about playing here.

Q. Ben, so you feed off the crowd; the crowd feeds off you. It goes hand in hand. Playing to the crowd, is that something that you've learned to use to your advantage over the years? Does it just happen organically? How does that kind of play into things, because it was evident tonight that it was very present.

BEN SHELTON: Yeah, I think it's just a part of who I am, but I'd be lying if I say I don't use it to propel me and help me out in tough moments or when I'm down or to gain momentum.

I think there's a reason why I usually play so well at the slams, at the big tournaments, on U.S. soil. The energy fuels me 100% if I use it the right way, and I'm able to stay focused while I'm getting pumped up.

So, yeah, this is kind of the moments and atmospheres that I live for. I want to be playing in big matches. I want to be playing against the best players in the world, and I want to be playing in full stadiums. There's no greater feeling in my opinion. Yeah, I guess that's where some of that comes from.

Q. Does that come from the college experience maybe, or is it just something that you've learned to do as a pro?

BEN SHELTON: Yeah, I think a little bit comes from the college experience. A little bit just who I am. A little bit with, you know, the way I came out on tour. Kind of my first -- one of my first experiences being Atlanta and Cincinnati and having a full crowd of American people cheering for me is something that I hadn't felt the volume of or the magnitude of before. Something that I just kind of fell in love with.

I think I am an entertainer at heart, but to be able to play in front of people who are passionate about what you're doing, really care about watching you and supporting you, people that you've never met before is eye-opening, for sure.

Q. I was looking, I think this is going to be the first time you've ever played lefties three times in a row going into the next round. You have a pretty good record against lefties overall. What is that like for you as a lefty to face another lefty? It can be kind of a unicorn thing, but you're getting it a lot here.

BEN SHELTON: Yeah, it's interesting. When I came out on tour, especially my first year, I had a terrible record against lefties. I'm sure all of you guys saw that in 2023. That was something that was talked about a lot. For me, that's something that I've kind of flipped around.

It's not easy to deal with playing a lefty. There's a lot of things that these guys can bring to the table that make things really difficult from a pattern perspective, from a serving perspective. But I think that I can also impose some of those same things on them. So, yeah, it's a chess match.

I think the other thing is that I think the style of play with what a left-hander can do varies a lot compared to the righties that you have on tour. I can't as much think of a righty. Moutet or Gaston, and then obviously you have the Martin Damms. You have a guy like Ugo Humbert who just laces every ball.

You also don't see righties as much who stand all the way out by the sideline when they're serving to open up the slice serve. That's another piece that just makes things tricky and kind of a chess match trying to figure it out, but it makes it a lot of fun for me, also.

Q. It's also interesting seeing Trinity during the match watching, and having seen you at the soccer a few days ago. What's it like for you being on the sidelines watching her? How do you think the nerves compare when you two respectively flip places?

BEN SHELTON: She definitely gets more nervous than me, 100%. I can see it in her face when I'm playing.

But it was a lot of fun, you know, being able to go with Hailey and Arthur and watch her play and see how invested and pumped up they were to go watch that. I had a lot of fun watching that soccer game with Arthur.

Yeah, so to now be on the flip side, she got back from a road trip today and came straight to the site. Hasn't even been home, but she loves this event. Her friends love this event. They do such a great job here making it a fun experience for the people who come.

So knowing that she's there, but also all of her friends are here and get to experience that is pretty cool for me to know they're out there.

Q. I want to ask about the short turnaround times since you'll be playing tomorrow night. Do you have any post-match plans, or is it just rest and recouping for tomorrow evening?

BEN SHELTON: Yeah, I mean, just eat and rest. It's something that I've become pretty accustomed to. In one of the tournaments I played this summer I had two or three matches in a row where I didn't finish, had to come back the next day and play half a match, then play another half match and then didn't finish, then had to play a half match and then play a full match that same day.

So I'm not going to say this is easy, but it's something that you get used to, your body gets used to. I think I'm in really good shape right now physically.

Yeah, I feel confident in my ability to come out back-to-back days and play a two-out-of-three-set match. For me, I think that it just helps my rhythm and confidence when I get to play matches back-to-back days against quality players, high-level matches.

So just excited for the opportunity.