He wanted to be the next Calvin Johnson.
He signed a ball for me.
I was a fan for life.
AMERICAN HEROTennis’s Ben Shelton wears a Polo Ralph Lauren jacket and sweatshirt. Loewe trousers. Photographed by Theo Wenner. Fashion Editor: Max Ortega.Vogue, March 2025.
Could he be top 10?
SureI mean, he could be top five.
The big thing for him moving forward is improving his return game.
TESTING THE WATER“I’m not a finished product,” says Shelton, who’s quickly gone from a ranking of 1,829th to 14th.
PREP WORKShelton wears an Armani Exchange T-shirt.
Tennis was my dads thing, Shelton says.
It was my sisters thing.
PREP WORKShelton wears an Armani Exchange T-shirt. Loewe jeans.
Football is cool, basketball is cooleven baseball is cool.
Oh, no, no, nohitting, he clarifies.
Thats the one thing I regret about choosing tennisnot being able to play a contact sport.
FIT TO A TEEShelton, a muscular six-foot-four, possesses the kind of serve that frightens even spectators, never mind opponents—but it’s the total game he’s after.
Our family is very conservative, and everything he wore had to be neon.
He wanted his hair to be long.
He just wanted to do things differently.
MADE YOU LOOKFor the record, Shelton isn’t dating anyone at the moment: “I have enough responsibilities on my plate right now,” he says. “I’m just trying to figure out me.” Shelton wears a Rolex watch.
But somewhere along the way, a little switch went off.
Watching his sister dominate the juniors tour, Bryan thinks, might have helped flip that switch.
(I dont think my mom would be very happy if I didnt, he tells me.)
I like to hear about how greatness comes along, how people make it happen.
I dont like big crowds of people.
If he doesnt like big crowds, he does a bang-up job of galvanizing them.
Are you going to hang up the phone on me too?
Im just trying to figure out me.)
At that nights sold-out exhibition, both Shelton and Alcaraz walk out to raucous applause from the crowd.
The atmosphere is loose, fun.
Were veering toward slapstick territory.
Then Shelton steps to the baseline to serve again.
A few beats later and it seems that the answer is nonothing requiring medical attention, at least.
But lets just say: The mood inside the Garden has changed.
Im just trying to figure out me.
Shelton wears a Rolex watch.
Hed been effusive with me, too, about players like Sinner and Alcaraz.
I wasnt really supposed to be this great player.
And so to get to top 20 in the world within two years of playing college tennis?
Thats something that I dont take for granted.
Its tough to be a finished product by 18 if you start at 12but Im not a finished product.
In this story: Grooming, Inna Shats; tailor, Carol Ai at Carol Ai Studio Tailors.
Produced by Partner Films.
Set Design: Julia Wagner.
