Ben Shelton heads to Turin for his second appearance at the ATP Finals, arriving at the season-ending tournament as the world number four, a career-high ranking.
The 24-year-old American, who reached his first Grand Slam final at the US Open this year, enters the competition with a reinforced support team that now includes former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero, tennis MAGAZIN reported.
Shelton enjoyed the most successful season of his career in 2026, securing four singles titles in Dallas, Munich, Stuttgart, and Montreal. Despite his rise, the American maintains his focus on climbing further up the rankings. Reflecting on his career trajectory during the Canadian Open in August, Shelton noted his preference for chasing established leaders.
“I love having people ahead of me to chase. That’s been the case my entire career. I was never simply the best. I was always chasing after the best. You could say I was always a little bit behind in my development, and I think that pushed me forward in every aspect of my tennis game.”
He added: “I’m continuing to work on chasing down the guys ahead of me. And of course, I’m trying to stay one step ahead of the young players coming onto the tour. The future of this sport consists of truly top-class players.”
To aid in his development, Shelton added Ferrero to his coaching team on November 1, joining his father, Bryan Shelton, who remains his coach. While the official partnership is set to begin in the off-season, the pair has already conducted initial training sessions in Turin. In the tournament’s John McEnroe group, Shelton is set to face Alexander Zverev, alongside Arthur Fils and Rafael Jodar.
Whether adding Ferrero will help Shelton close the gap to the world's top three players is uncertain. Whether this transition from hunter to the hunted will manifest during the ATP Finals or in the 2027 season is not yet known.
