As the tennis season moves into its final stage, it's important to remember that Ben Shelton is having a year to remember, and it's not over yet. Shelton just won his second consecutive Canadian Open in Montreal, Quebec, and despite bowing out of the Cincinnati Open this week, he keeps impressing.
Shelton's second National Bank Open victory was his fourth title of 2026—he's never won more than one title in a year before now, so it's definitely been a breakout year for the 23-year-old American. Shelton started his run this year by winning the Dallas Open, followed by wins at Munich and Stuttgart.
With seven total singles titles to his name, Shelton is without question one of the best American men on the ATP Tour; however, some are already putting him ahead of Taylor Fritz, but that is a debate for another time. With his win in Montreal, Shelton not only continued his success but did it in grand fashion, joining a group of players with the title who are all legends.
Ben Shelton joins "The Big Three" and more with the National Bank Open title
What has made Shelton's 2026 so special is the titles and the number of them, yes, but interestingly enough, the surfaces on which he's won his four titles are a key element. With his wins in Dallas, Munich, Stuttgart, and Montreal, Shelton has won on all three tennis surfaces: clay, grass, and hardcourt, both inside and outside.
Now, in hindsight, this little factoid can go over most heads, and no one would think much of it. The only thing is, winning on all three surfaces in one season is rare, and only eight men have done it since 1990: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Andy Roddick, Sam Querrey, David Ferrer, and Carlos Alcaraz.
Only Federer and Djokovic have achieved this feat several times—Federer has done it seven times to Djokovic's four. Clearly, winning titles on all three surfaces is not that common, which adds a little more shine to Shelton's current season.
With Montreal, and now Cincinnati, behind him, Shelton has what's left of the tennis season to add to his four titles. Whether he wins another one or two or not, this has, without question, been Shelton's coming-out party.
Not only is Shelton one of the most exciting players on the ATP Tour right now, but he's improving so quickly, while Fritz appears to be dropping off, or at the very least, losing some consistency. Shelton has already surpassed Fritz in the rankings and is playing much better tennis than Fritz this season.
If Fritz is going to lose his top American spot on the men's tour, Shelton is the one who's going to steal it, if he hasn't already.
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