US OPEN

September 12, 2026

Ben Shelton

Press Conference

B. SHELTON/F. Tiafoe

4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Ben, congratulations. Impressive three-set win.

BEN SHELTON: Four-set.

THE MODERATOR: Four-set, sorry. US Open finalist. Your thoughts.

BEN SHELTON: Yeah, it's amazing to be in this position. You know, super pumped for my team more than me, because you know, I got a lot of guys in my corner who have spent a lot of time with me, dedicate their lives to my improvement, betterment, and my tennis game.

So really happy for my team right now, but obviously we're not done here. The job is not finished. Super excited to get another opportunity to go out there and show my best on Sunday.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Are these the moments you've dreamed about since you started playing tennis?

BEN SHELTON: Yeah, 100%. I think I was honestly shocked with how calm I was out there today, especially towards the end of the match. Calm, confident, focused. I think that that's what it takes to be in these positions and win at the highest level.

I think it's so much mental. I don't know. It's kind of an interesting feeling. Like the last match that I won, definitely had this feeling of ecstacy, it felt like, on top of the world.

This match I felt a lot more methodical with how I went about it, how focused I was, finishing the job the way I did and kind of being able to move on to the next and look forward to the finals.

Q. Obviously there's a lot riding on Sunday, a lot of history.

BEN SHELTON: Is there? (Laughing).

Q. A 23-year streak, first Black man to play in these finals since 1972, trying to become the first Black man to win it since '68. How do you process all that, set it aside, use it to empower you? How does it work in your head, and at the same time, try to beat a guy you've never beaten before, hit a ball that's going to be moving very quickly, do all those things, keep it big and keep it small at the same time?

BEN SHELTON: Yeah, for me, this whole tournament now at this point has been unchartered territory. I'm in positions I've never been in before. I've beaten guys -- beaten a guy or guys that I have never beaten before. I'm just excited to put it all out on the line.

Like, yes, I can think about how cool this moment is and what I'm playing for. At the end of the day, I'm here in New York, I'm hanging out with my team, I'm with my homies playing a little bit of tennis and I've been able to downplay the moment pretty well.

I think for me I got great people around me that keep me grounded and focused and humble, and I think that, you know, these moments I want to cherish, I don't want to take lightly. But at the same time, it's very business-like the way I've been going about it.

Q. Zverev was talking about the nerves he felt the first time he played for the title when he played here in 2020. I don't know if you watched that match. Also, will you be nervous Sunday because it's the final, or do you think what you just went through against Alcaraz, like, ten-point tiebreaker, how bad can it be?

BEN SHELTON: Yeah, I think that I handle these big situations or I have in my career pretty well. I feel that confidence and belief take over.

The nerves are always there. It's something that you got to kind of lean into. The nerves are as much there in the first round for me as in the semifinals, and I'm sure that the finals will be the same.

It's something you've got to be able to overcome, but for me I'm having fun, you know? I'm playing against the No. 1 seed, Grand Slam final, playing against a Grand Slam champion trying to get my first. It's a lot of reasons that this is an enjoyable moment for me and knowing that I can leave it all out there on the court and push myself to the absolute limit in every way and see what I can do is an exciting, exciting thought.

Q. Your dad was in here talking about how you guys have been discussing bouncing back after big wins, whether it was in Montreal and then coming out in Cincinnati or against beating Carlos. I wonder if you learned anything, like, about how to approach mental recovery after that title in Montreal from the Cincinnati experience, or basically how you got from ecstacy of beating Carlos back to, okay, I'm going to approach this match really methodically? What conversations did you have with yourself?

BEN SHELTON: Yeah, having two days was huge. Then, at the same time -- for me it's easier in tournament. I think winning a title, completing the week or two weeks, whatever it is, is different than traveling to a new place and starting over. It's a lot tougher for me. Once I get on a roll in a tournament and I get into my routines, it's a little bit easier.

I know that that happens a lot in our sport, though. You have a massive win, and then you end up going down and not playing as well in the next match. It's definitely happened to me before. I feel that it's happened to everybody.

I think that I'm in such a good mental space right now. I'm handling the things that are coming at me pretty well, and I think that's what it takes to keep it going and find a way through matches, especially like tonight when I thought the guy was playing extremely well and creating a lot of problems for me. On my side of the net, I had to problem-solve. I had to change the style that I was playing and figure out a way through.

But, yeah, a lot of credit to Frances, the way he's been playing this summer, the guy that he is, the friend that he is, player, star. It's just a lot of fun to share the court with him. Sorry, I kind of went on a tangent, and that wasn't your question, but shout out, Foe.

Q. When your dad was in here, he was talking about how you've become more mature and disciplined. I'm curious how that shows up. In other words, is that a matter of, like, diet, is that conditioning, is that kind of following up avoiding, you know, the logical letdown after a big win? How does that actually show up?

BEN SHELTON: It's everything. It's emotions. It's the way that I train. It's how I practice. It's then the way that I compete, how focused can I stay. It's sleeping habits, eating habits, everything.

I think that, you know, you have to -- you have to be great in every category to be a champion in this sport, and I think it's clear the guys who have paved the way and who have done it before, the extremes that you have to go to to try to become the best.

I'm the most committed that I've ever been to my tennis career, to being the very best version of myself. I've always been an extremely hard worker, but I think that all the little supplementary categories is where I've made the biggest strides as of late.

Q. You're playing some of the best tennis of your career the last few weeks, it seems like, but you have a not great record against Zverev. I'm wondering how much do you feel like you've leveled up your game generally will make a difference or how much there's specific tactical things you have to change in your game plan to unlock that puzzle that he's been for you?

BEN SHELTON: Yeah, I mean, I think that problem-solving has been the name of the game here. I was 0-1 against Stef, 0-3 against Carlos, Foe beat me the last time we played on this court. It's been, you know, a lot of uphill battle, so I think that I'm fully ready for the challenge to problem-solve.

Yeah, I feel that I'm a different player. I feel like I have so many more tools. I feel like I know my identity, am comfortable in my own skin, and I know what it takes for me to be playing top-level tennis.

Not that I'm going to come out every day and everything is going to be perfect and clicking, but I think that's why our sport is so difficult and the beauty of our sport.

So, yeah, I'm looking forward to the challenge, being able to problem-solve on Sunday. I know what I'm up against, and I'm also the most confident I've ever been in my game.

Q. When your dad was in here before, he was talking about how surreal it was to be here with you, as he didn't even know when you were a kid if you were ever going to get into this sport.

BEN SHELTON: Right.

Q. What is it like for you being here at this stage with him by your side?

BEN SHELTON: Yeah, it's great. I mean, year after year having him, you know, next to me all around the world, having these moments together, it's great.

You know, we take our losses on the chin, and we go get better. You know, we enjoy the wins together, but we're a focused team. He's a long-term thinker. He thinks about the process a lot more than the results. I think that's why we've been such a good team.

Yeah, it's been really enjoyable for both of us.

Q. I wonder if you feel like -- you've been talking about progress for so many years, things that you're working on, wanting to improve, and hungry to improve. Does it feel like, at this point, given what you've done here, that like several things have kind of crystallized all around the same time, and you're hitting this new level because of it?

BEN SHELTON: I don't know about that. I still feel so many categories that I think I have a long way to go, but I think that I've made important improvements and changes in some of the most important categories to be able to compete at the top.

Return of serve, stability from the baseline, even my serve, the way that I go about putting together my service games has improved, and my ability to focus for long periods of time are all areas that, you know, have come together and have helped me play at the level that I'm playing.

But I think that the pursuit and hunger to get better, to find ways that I can improve, you know, it's just a part of who I am and something that will never change.