Ben Shelton is set to make a second Wimbledon appearance this year. 2023 saw him make a surprise exit in the second round, and despite the young American loving to play on the surface, grass has not favored him. His struggles on grass have continued this season and while he has bold expectations from himself, Serena Williams’ former coach is not too confident about his chances at Wimbledon.

The 21-year-old did admit that he needs to up his game on grass in an interview with ATP ahead of his first-round match at the event. “There are many things to learn on grass. I started playing on this surface late in my tennis development. There are many things to learn related to movement, style of play; things that I am learning day by day. It is a surface where I could do very well and achieve great success, but I haven’t done anything yet,” Shelton told the press at Wimbledon. However, Rennae Stubbs, Serena’s former coach is skeptical of his chances at the event.

On the June 29 episode of The French Connection podcast, the Australian coach discussed who would defeat Jannik Sinner. Stubbs thinks Shelton isn’t on the list of names who can topple the World No. 1.

She stated, “Ben Shelton – can he get through and, you know, really push Sinner? We had a lot of expectation for him last year at Wimbledon, he didn’t have the success.” The 21-year-old has himself admitted that grass was a surface that he played on late in his tennis development. But is it too late to fix his errors now?

Last year at Wimbledon, after overcoming Japan’s Taro Daniel in the first round, Shelton suffered a four-set defeat to Serbian Laslo Djere. This time around he will start his campaign against Italian Mattia Bellucci.

“But again, he’s playing Bellucci, who might go through quallies and as you know, Sam, guys that come through quallies are playing really, really good tennis on grass. So no given that Ben will get through,” Stubbs continued. The Australian coach isn’t wide off the mark in her assessment.

Belluci has won three consecutive matches to qualify for the main draw at Wimbledon. As such he is more battle-hardened and is likely to give the American more than a run for his money. Still, Shelton sounds confident.

Poll Info:Do you think Ben Shelton will ever live up to the high expectations set for him?:Yes%No%Maybe%Too early to tell

A few days ago, the ATP Tour also captured the excitement of the upcoming grass-court season in a recent entertaining video that they posted on its X (previously Twitter) page. Top ATP players were asked the same question in this video: “Who’s going to win Wimbledon?”

The 21-year-old tennis player took the conversation with absolute confidence, “I’m gonna choose myself as a grass court ‘dark horse.’ I think I learned a few things last year that I hope will help me this year. The grass suits my game well, and I’m excited.”

Even though, Shelton has the right enthusiasm, his performance on the grass court this season and his overall record on the surface, don’t inspire confidence nor will it instill fear in his opponents’ hearts.

Ben Shelton’s struggles on the grass this season

Following his win in Houston on clay, Shelton has struggled for consistency on grass. In the Stuttgart Open, he received a bye in the first round before going out in the next round against James Duckworth in three sets. Following this, at the Queen’s Club Championships, he lost to Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in two sets.

The recently concluded Mallorca Open,  further compounded his misery on grass. He was stunned by the qualifier and then-World No. 289 Paul Jubb in the quarterfinals. His grass-court record in 2024 stands at 1-3, while he has only won three of the nine matches played on the surface.

Shelton will be hoping for a change in luck at the Grand Slam and to deliver on his promise on grass. While Stubbs and others might have lowered their expectations of him, he appears confident enough to set the record straight.

Nevertheless, what are your thoughts on Shelton’s chances at Wimbledon? Do let us know in the comment section below.