Shelton explains how he turns defeats into motivation: "It pisses you off to see your rivals still playing"

Ben Shelton faces the ATP 500 Washington 2026 with his sights set much further ahead than this week. The American knows that every match on hard courts can be crucial to arriving at the US Open in prime form and has explained on atptour.com how he uses painful defeats as fuel to immediately get back to work, something he experienced after his early exit at Wimbledon.

"For me, it's very easy when something disappointing happens. You lose early in a tournament and it makes you angry. You see all your competitors still playing in London, fighting for the title, and you are sitting at home," Shelton explained in Washington. Far from disconnecting, that feeling immediately triggers his competitiveness. "I'm not one to stay still. The part of training, getting out of bed, going to work, and getting down to business, is the easiest part of my job," he stated.

Shelton aims to arrive firing on all cylinders at the US Open

The American deems it especially important to accumulate wins starting from Washington due to the tight schedule leading up to New York. "I think it's extremely important to start with a win here and build up matches for the US Open. Compared to clay and other stages of the circuit, you don't have as much time to find your rhythm," he pointed out.

Shelton also warns of the danger of suffering early eliminations during these weeks. "If you get knocked out early in two or three of these tournaments, you may have confidence or gameplay issues when you reach the Open." The North American hard court is one of the scenarios where his explosive tennis adapts best. Service, power, and aggressiveness make Shelton a particularly dangerous player when he gains confidence.

"Obviously, this is a good surface for me, and I want to be in prime form when I get to New York. These kinds of matches are the ones that drive you to play at a very high level of tennis," he concluded. Washington is just the beginning. For Shelton, every victory during these weeks should contribute to building the version he wants to present when the US Open 2026 arrives.