The Louis Armstrong Stadium crowd could blow the ceiling off today as No. 6 Ben Shelton took on Adrian Mannarino. In the chess-like first set, Shelton prevailed 6-3. But the Frenchman’s puzzling, bunt strokes overtook 3-6 in the second. After a hard-fought third-set 6-4 win and over three hours of the mentally tiring match, however, things changed. During a service to win the first game of the fourth set, Shelton could be heard saying to his coach’s box, “I did something to my shoulder. I don’t know what it is.” Although he continued to play, a visibly hurt Shelton had to pause for medical timeouts. Eventually, he was physically done as well.

Shelton still dragged until the fifth match after Manarino led 6-4 in the fourth. At the changeover, however, he was in tears, sitting at the side of the court with a look of resignation on his face. That’s when his coach and father, Bryan, signalled him to retire. Edge AI reported the news, “Ben Shelton retired at 2-2 against Adrian Mannarino. Picked up a shoulder injury and couldn’t continue.”

The American star player is known for his power tennis. With the left shoulder injury, that became a concern. He did return to play the fourth set after getting a four-minute treatment from a physio, who tried to reduce the pain, but it eventually took over. Shelton was not sure what had happened even after the game.

After letting Mannarino walk over, Shelton addressed the pain, saying, “Usually, I’ll play through anything and just kind of find a way. Whether it’s sickness or injury, like, if I can stay out there, I can stay out there. I never felt anything like this before.” Hopefully, it isn’t anything that some time couldn’t fix before the Asian swing comes next. But as far as this tournament goes, it only adds a notch in his opponent’s head-to-head with him, even if Mannarino believed that Shelton was sure to prevail.

Ben Shelton’s opponent reveals honest thoughts after his win

Once the American left the court to cheers from his home crowd, the Frenchman got candid about how he thought things would go. “When he started to have pain, he was leading in the match,” said Mannarino, who, at 35, became the oldest man ever to break into the ATP Top 20 when he hit No. 17 last year.

Despite Shelton’s impressive run at Grand Slams this season, Mannarino admitted, “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.” It’s a classy nod from the veteran after a hard-fought battle.

Mannarino now leads Shelton 3-1 in their four meetings, their rivalry unfolding quickly. They first met in Miami in 2023, with the young Shelton biting hard but falling in three sets. Then came an explosive five-set battle at the 2024 Australian Open, where Shelton showed he was closing the gap, but the Frenchman still won. The evidence of this shift was clear at the Canadian Open this year, when Shelton beat Mannarino in straight 6-2, 6-3 sets.

Now, Mannarino is set to face Jiri Lehecka in the round of 16, while Shelton, who was a clear favorite after semifinal appearances at the Australian Open, fourth round at Roland Garros, and a Wimbledon quarterfinal this year, will take time to recover.

The big question: will he return stronger and hungrier? Share your thoughts below, and stay tuned to our Live Blog for all the latest US Open action!