Ben Shelton’s bad luck on clay does not seem to be over as of now. He recently exited the French Open tournament after suffering from a disappointing loss in the third round. But his misery did not end there. Soon, he found himself struggling with injuries as well. Therefore, fans worried about the 21-year-old’s current condition have taken to social media and addressed their concern.

Ben Shelton was up against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the third round of the French Open yesterday. By then, the American player had already swept past his previous opponents in the first and second rounds. Therefore, fans’ expectations were already high. But, in a sad turn of events, he fell short against Auger-Aliassime by a score of 6-4, 6-2, 6-1. This has sent ripples through the tennis world, as he couldn’t win a single set.

However, Jose Morgado’s X post revealed, “Shelton is injured. Left elbow. Served way slower than usual. Hope he is good for grass…” This has further raised questions about his current form on-court.  But, according to Jose’s another tweet, Shelton is optimistic about his Stuttgart Open in 10 days and stated, “Tough conditions, stop and start, heavy balls. But same for both players. Felix was just too good today and he would beat me anyway”.

Ben Shelton’s current season has been full of ups and downs. While he started the year by qualifying for the semifinal at the ASB classic, the world No. 14 has by far only won one title in the season. It happened at the ATP Houston, where he successfully defeated Frances Tiafoe and made history in the tennis world. 

Therefore, anticipation regarding his next matches was high. But sadly, he failed to produce the same result in the Madrid Open held a few weeks later. The streak followed in Rome and Geneva as well. Adding to this, after the French Open departure, the situation has even worsened. On top of it, the current news of Shelton’s injury has further fanned the flames.

Although not much information about his injury is known till now, fans are worried about the impact of them on his form. Therefore, they took to their X and raised concerns about the matter.

Fans react to Ben Shelton’s injury after his third-round exit from Roland Garros

Ben Shelton is currently enjoying his second season in tennis this year. Therefore, the surface of clay is quite new to him. Naturally, errors are inevitable. Referring to this one fan pointed out, “Picking up from yesterday’s incomplete opening set, Felix easily clinches the win 6-4 6-2 6-1 over Ben Shelton and is through to week 2! So happy for Felix! Lots of errors from Ben, it looks like something’s wrong with him. I hope it’s nothing serious..”  However, Shelton, who wishes to improve his serve, is pretty optimistic about his goal of winning “against some of the best ball strikers in the world.” But as of now, he has to wait for another season.

Known for his aggressive style and powerful serve, Shelton has already made his career-best results at Roland Garros as he reached the third round there for the first time. But he couldn’t extend it further. One fan pointed out Shelton’s “off” level on-court and said, “Ben Shelton was clearly a few levels off it today but take nothing away from Felix Auger-Aliassime, that was a relentless display by the Canadian.” However, as pointed out by the fan, Auger-Aliassime, the former world No. 6 was all in form as he showed no mercy and won in straight sets.

Another fan pointed out, “Felix Auger-Aliassime gets a good win, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1 against Ben Shelton to advance to the Round of 16. Shelton was struggling with an arm issue but FAA stayed very focused. Gets Alcaraz on Sunday.” While Felix is due to play Carlos Alcaraz, doubts regarding Shelton’s upcoming tournaments surface. After all, the former U.S. Open semifinalist has a long way ahead in the grass courts too.

One fan wrote, “Ben Shelton our money is on you please retire. You’re clearly injured.” This is not the first time that he was injured this season. Previously at Dallas, he admitted, “I kind of strained my ab a little bit, maybe two days before the tournament started and I was feeling pain for probably three or 4 days after.”

Another fan wrote, “Somethings obviously wrong with Ben Shelton. He would win this match up 4/5 times.”  Although he played Felix Auger-Aliassime for the first time on-court, his previous encounters with the top players have been thrilling. Especially when he gave a tough competition to Novak Djokovic in the U.S. Open semifinal last year.

As Ben Shelton navigates around the challenges on-court, hopefully soon he will recover and get back in his form!