Fritz and Shelton Explain the Reasons for the Rise of American Tennis: "We Push Each Other"

Andrés Tomás Rico | 13 Jun 2025 | 14.44

Fritz and Shelton explain the reasons for the rise of American tennis: "We push each other." Photo: Getty Images

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After the historic years of Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi in the late 90s and early 2000s and the early success of Andy Roddick, until the emergence of the Big 3, American men's tennis went through a desert period and now seems to be slowly awakening with the rise of figures like Taylor Fritz, runner-up at the 2024 US Open and Ben Shelton. While the women's side enjoyed 20 years of success with Serena Williams, who now seeks continuity with Coco Gauff, the recent champion of Roland Garros, or Madison Keys, winner of the 2025 Australian Open. All of this leads us to a clear conclusion: the good health of American tennis.

Today, the main representatives in the men's circuit are Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton, both of whom have tried to explain the reasons behind the current state of tennis in their country. For instance, at Roland Garros, there were eight Americans in the round of 16, five in the women's draw and three in the men's. Although Fritz was not among the lucky ones, as he fell in the first round to Daniel Altamier.

Fritz and Shelton, leading male figures

And now, with the start of the grass court season where he reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals last year, he expresses his good feelings on this surface: "I've felt very comfortable on grass since I was a junior. I've always enjoyed playing on this surface, and I believe it suits my style of play very well." He also explained the possible reasons behind the Americans' success: "I think we now have several generations of players. In my generation, we have improved a lot over the years by pushing each other. I believe that has helped all of us," said the 2024 US Open runner-up in an interview with Tennis Channel.

Ben Shelton, who showed great form at Roland Garros reaching the quarterfinals, also shared his thoughts: "I guess we all emerged at the same time, and when one achieved a good result, the others knew they could too. That's what has brought us to where we are today and perhaps has also motivated the next generation."

The Atlanta native is currently in 12th place in the rankings but assures that the best is yet to come: "I think it's always a journey, a process. I've never reached a point where I felt I had made it. I always want more, to keep improving, getting better results, and refining small aspects of my game. There's always something to look forward to, something to improve upon. We play a sport where perfection is impossible. So, there's always something you can do better."

Furthermore, he referred to the mentioned journey that American tennis went through, left without leaders like Sampras, Agassi, or Roddick: "It took a long time to get here. We have so much talent, so many great players who can shine on the big stage." He valued their own successes and those of his compatriots at Roland Garros: "It all happened at once in Paris. I know we aim to go even further in Grand Slams: round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals... we want to win. I'm excited about American tennis. We are in an excellent position. There is a lot of buzz surrounding American tennis, and I love being part of it," stated a proud Shelton about the results achieved both individually and collectively, aiming for higher goals to reaffirm themselves once again as the leading global force.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Fritz y Shelton explican las causas del auge del tenis estadounidense: "Nos empujamos unos a otros"