Ben Shelton's father gets praise from ex-WTA pro for 'smart' decision forcing American to retire at US Open without serious injury

Ben Shelton's father Bryan was recently praised by American former WTA star Chanda Rubin for successfully urging his son to retire from his third-round outing at the 2025 US Open. Shelton, citing a shoulder injury, retired mid-match after having played four sets against Adrian Mannarino. The American won the first and third sets, while Mannarino, hailing from France, secured the second and fourth.

Shelton, one of only two lefties in the ATP singles top 10 right now, is widely regarded as one of the biggest servers in contemporary tennis. After his unfortunate left shoulder injury that left him in tears at his home Slam, the US Open, Rubin said:

"It was tough to watch, and you just hope it's not as serious as it looked in the moment. There's a lot of things that can go wrong with the shoulder. It could be a really bad impingement, that would be preferable. It could be torn, but maybe not a bad tear, or it could be something that keeps him out for quite a while, and even something that could require surgery."

Going on to heap praise on Ben Shelton's father Bryan for intervening and compelling his son to retire from the bruising encounter at the 2025 US Open, Rubin said:

"So, hopefully he can find out that information and he can use it and get back healthy first and foremost. He's got the experience of his dad, and we saw Bryan telling him to call it, just get off the court, let's figure out what this is and let's get ahead of it. I think that was a smart decision and they're going to have to make a lot of smart decisions going forward."

"I'm not a guy who would retire if I could retire" - Ben Shelton after US Open 3R heartbreak

Adrian Mannarino (left) consoles Ben Shelton (right) after the latter's mid-match retirement during the pair's men's singles third-round clash at the 2025 US Open (Source: Getty)

In the aftermath of his mid-match retirement in the third round of the 2025 US Open, Ben Shelton spoke to reporters at a press conference. Here, the ATP No. 6 laid bare his state of mind on the back of the unfortunate nature of his exit from his home Major. Shelton said:

"I never retired before. I'm not a guy who would retire if I could continue, I was just trying to adjust and figure out whatever I can to keep competing. Even though I was in pain, I was just in that competitive mindset of trying to find a way and push through it, so it was not really a thought in my mind."

The American and his team are yet to confirm the full extent of the injury. Meanwhile, Mannarino is now set to lock horns with No. 20 seed Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round.