Ben Shelton Issues First Statement After Shoulder Injury Ends US Open Dream: “Won’t Hear Me”

Ben Shelton was in great form in his battle against Adrian Mannarino in R3 of the US Open. The excitement of the match was palpable, with the players having two sets each in their record. But things went down as he tumbled to the ground in the third set. In the opening game of the fourth set, he felt a terrible pain in his left shoulder. And after saving a breakpoint, he told Brian Shelton about it. Ultimately, he had to withdraw from the event after receiving on-court treatment. He was visibly emotional as he gave Mannarino a walkover. But his fighting spirit still seemed to keep him going. 

During the post-match press conference, a reporter voiced our concerns and asked Shelton if his team had any imaging or any other diagnostic procedures. But the ATP No. 6 seed left a vague answer, saying, “Yeah, we’ll see.” Well, he did claim that it was the “worst pain” he’d ever felt in his life, during the medical timeout. But was this particular defeat hard for him to swallow? 

When another reporter asked the same question, Ben Shelton refused to break down. He said, “I got a lot to be grateful for. Been pretty fortunate, my life. Blessings, talents, a lot of things God has given me. And you know, a small setback like this… Yeah, it hurts. Yeah. I was playing really well. I was in form, a lot of confidence, just so many things to be happy with the way I was playing, moving on the court, competing.” Then again, there won’t be any sulking. “But like I said, it’s been a great summer. A lot of things to be thankful for. And you won’t hear me over here pouting about how bad things are with, you know, the summer that I’ve had, the things that I’ve been able to do in this sport in a short amount of time, and you know, the people that got around me. Like I said, a lot of blessings.”

Of course, this is not the first time Ben Shelton has been troubled with his left shoulder. At the 2024 French Open, the American ATP star seemed to have some problems with the same shoulder during his match against Felix Auger-Aliassime. And coincidentally, this also happened in the third round. His serving speed was visibly hampered, and he had to get on-court treatment. But he didn’t pull out despite losing three straight sets. At Wimbledon 2025, we all saw the marks left by cupping therapy on his left shoulder, highlighting that he had issues with it. And now, his injury was bad enough to get him out of the US Open.

This was a tough call for Ben Shelton. After all, he still had a chance to win in the hypothetical situation where he wasn’t injured. We would’ve definitely liked that, right? But do you know what his opponent had to say about the withdrawal? 

Adrian Mannarino opens up on Ben Shelton’s US Open withdrawal

Mannarino, during his on-court interview, reacted to Shelton’s injury. He said, “When he started to have pain, he was leading in the match. Honestly, he probably would’ve won that match. That’s unfortunate for him, and lucky for me. I don’t really know what to say right now. I’m happy to be through but I wish him the best, of course.”

Before Shelton pulled out of the match, he engaged with Mannarino in four sets that had the fans glued to their seats. The scoreline read 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 4-6. One more round, and things might have ended for Mannarino. But the Toronto champion was out of luck. Mannarino continued, “I was losing some, winning some, but I think it was a really cool match to play.” Referring to his loss in Toronto, he added, “Ben is playing really well, he kicked my a– at the beginning of the summer, but it was a great match. I was enjoying it, even if I was losing, it was a pretty cool match.”

Now, Mannarino proceeds to the round of 16 and will fight Jiri Lehecka tomorrow. Do you think his luck will last till then? What do you think of Ben Shelton’s strength despite the troubling injury? 

For more on-court drama at Flushing Meadows, stay tuned to the EssentiallySports Live Blog.