Shelton's Father Gives Homework to His Son: "There are times when he exceeds that limit of aggressiveness and sabotages himself"

Andrés Tomás Rico | 22 Jul 2026 | 19.00

Shelton's father gives his son homework: "There are times when he exceeds that limit of aggressiveness and sabotages himself." Photo: Gettyimages

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Ben Shelton is at a pivotal moment in his career. The American has already proven time and time again that he has the tennis skills to be one of the best players in the world. In fact, his ranking (world number eight) confirms this. However, he still has a lot of room for improvement if he wants to start competing head-to-head with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.

The issue for the young American is that, while he has the weapons to defeat the Spanish and the Italian players, he doesn't know how to utilize them and when to do so. His aggressiveness is one of his strong points, but at certain crucial moments, it backfires. This is something that his father and coach, Bryan Shelton, is fully aware of.

The most impressive thing Bryan Shelton has built isn’t Ben’s tennis.
It’s a relationship where he can be both father and coach, without either role swallowing the other.
He knows when to push, when to stay quiet, and when to let Ben completely own the journey.
Having lived the… pic.twitter.com/IabPncymks
— Caroline Garcia (@CaroGarcia) July 21, 2026

Ben Shelton's father opens up in an interview with Caroline Garcia

This was affirmed in a deep interview on former tennis player Caroline Garcia's podcast: "As a coach, that's the challenge, to work with a guy like Ben, who is very aggressive. But there are times when he crosses that line and sabotages himself, not making it to the second or third round of the tournament."

Bryan was already his son's coach during his college years and continued in that role until his son, after six months in the elite, asked him to join him full-time. So, he became both father and coach. A difficult balance.

"Balancing those two roles, being a parent to someone who is still very young, growing, discovering life, and at the same time being his coach. Yes, it's tough at times. But I think for me, it's just about being patient and aware. I am constantly attuned to where Ben is, mentally and emotionally, when he wants to talk about tennis, his game, or things related to the sport. I am aware of that. And when he doesn't want to, I know that too. So I simply respect both. And I believe that's where our relationship is healthy."

Additionally, he made it clear what message he wants to resonate with his son: "I want him to understand that it's a game and he should be enjoying it to the fullest, having fun. And when he sees me and sees that I am enjoying the experience, whether he wins or loses, I remind him that it's not just about the result. We are competitive, but there are more things in life than just the outcome. Results should somehow be a consequence."

He also highlighted an essential attribute to succeed in tennis: "Confidence is something that, if you look around, even in the players at the top of the game, the top 100 in the world, is something that comes and goes throughout the season. At some moments, it just goes well naturally. And they have that faith and internal confidence that it will continue, and they begin to feel the formula for success. They feel like they don't even have to talk about it. It's just a feeling they have inside when things are going well. And they don't even think too much, they are just in a pleasant flow state."

"But there are other times when doubts start creeping in and they begin to think: 'Maybe I'm not that good,' even if they are ranked high, maybe they got lucky, and they start having these internal thoughts and feelings, and we've all had them as players."

Finally, Ben Shelton's eldest had a message for those parents who are also coaches like him: "I always try to ask questions. And it's a different way to approach and teach your kids how to think, how to solve problems, how to reach solutions and resolutions, how to grow and develop. Because if we constantly tell our kids what to do, how to do it, how to do it better, it becomes our thing and not theirs."

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, El padre de Shelton le pone deberes a su hijo: "Hay veces que sobrepasa ese límite de agresividad y se autoboicotea"

ATP