Kim Clijsters has delivered a strongly positive verdict on Ben Shelton, bringing in Carlos Alcaraz’s ex-coach Juan Carlos Ferrero to his setup. Ferrero will work alongside Shelton’s primary coach, father Bryan, to improve the World No. 4 American’s game. Despite establishing himself as an ATP top-10 star, Shelton has yet to win a Major. He came close at this year’s US Open but lost in the final to Alexander Zverev.
Clijsters, a former World No. 1 in women’s tennis and a four-time Grand Slam singles champion, recently touched on Shelton and Ferrero’s partnership on an episode of the Love All podcast. The Belgian praised Shelton’s father, Bryan, for being open to working with Ferrero, who guided Alcaraz to six Major titles, eight Masters 1000 crowns, and several other ATP Tour-level honors. The 43-year-old said (via Andy Roddick’s Served and Love All Podcast’s YouTube channel):
“The fact they have been looking and are open to adding an extra person, I love that. I love that Bryan is open to sharing because there is not a lot of coaches, maybe more on the women’s side, who are open to doing that.”
Clijsters added:
“There are a lot of coaches, I feel, that want to really palm in their player and not let anybody else in and to have a say, in the hope that if things go well, their input is maybe less important or they are not going to be in the spotlight as much.”
She also brought up Ferrero’s playing career. Ferrero is a former World No. 1 in men’s singles and the winner of the 2003 French Open. Clijsters concluded:
“I have experienced a similar situation where that didn’t work out, so I think it’s great. I think it’s great for Ben to have an open mind and for Bryan to listen because Juan Carlos Ferrero was a great player. He was very disciplined, grew up in the Spanish system and that is something for Ben which I think will be great.”
For the time being, Shelton will continue to work with father Bryan. Ferrero is set to join the American’s coaching setup in the offseason.
Ben Shelton is currently in action at the Paris Masters; the American began his campaign at the year’s last Masters 1000 event in fine fashion
Shelton entered this year’s Paris Masters as the No. 3 seed. After receiving a first-round bye, the 24-year-old former Florida Gator faced fellow lefty and former top-10 star Cameron Norrie of Great Britain. It was a relatively straightforward outing for Shelton, who produced a fine 6-3, 6-4 win over the Brit to advance to the third round of the last ATP Masters 1000 tournament of 2026.
Next for the American is a tricky third-round clash against home hope Arthur Rinderknech, the current World No. 68. Rinderknech is a former Masters 1000 runner-up, finishing second-best to cousin Valentin Vacherot in the 2025 Shanghai final. If Shelton comes out on top in the upcoming matchup, he will face either Quentin Halys of France or compatriot Tommy Paul in the fourth round.
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Esta notícia foi originalmente publicada em: Fonte original