Ben Shelton upset in Round of 32 at Indian Wells

Ben Shelton’s run at Indian Wells — the first 1,000-point Masters event of the calendar year — ended early on Sunday with an upset loss to World No. 25 Learner Tien in the Round of 32.

Shelton made it to the quarter-finals a year ago, eventually falling to Jack Draper in straight sets, but he didn’t drop a set in his three matches before that. This year went much differently. Shelton survived an upset bid in the Round of 64 against Reilly Opelka, taking the victory in the third set.

He dropped the first set against both Opelka and Tien but couldn’t rally his way back to a three-set win in the latter matchup. Tien, a hometown favorite, grew up watching this tournament in the stands and has a reputation for performing well against top-ranked players. With this victory, Tien holds a 6-5 record against top-10 opponents.

Round of 32: Learner Tien def. Ben Shelton

Tien defeated Shelton 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-3 to reach the fourth round for the first time at Indian Wells. Shelton is known as one of the top servers in the game, but Tien outdueled him with 15 aces and won 58 of 71 (82%) first-serve points.

Shelton and Tien traded holds to a tiebreak in the opening set, but Tien claimed six of the first seven tiebreak points to take an early advantage against the former Gator. Shelton battled back for a crucial break in the ninth game of the second set, winning on a double fault from Tien. He held serve to force a deciding set, but that’s when fatigue set in.

Shelton entered the matchup feeling less than 100%, still reeling from the same illness that affected him in the previous round. Tien acknowledged his opponent’s health problems, calling Shelton “an amazing competitor” who “gave it his all” despite not feeling great all week.

Tien took the final three games of the third set, breaking Shelton in the sixth game. The match lasted 2 hours and 12 minutes.

Sweet sixteen 🔜

Learner Tien wins an All American battle as he edges past Ben Shelton 7-6 4-6 6-3#TennisParadisepic.twitter.com/uS29iBOq2W

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 8, 2026

Round of 64: Ben Shelton def. Reilly Opelka

There were signs of fatigue in Shelton’s matchup against Opelka, too. He went to his water bottle several times throughout the hard-fought 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 6-3 victory.

Both men held serve in the first two sets, forcing a pair of tiebreaks. Opelka rallied for four straight points to take the first-set win, and Shelton did the same to stay alive and force a deciding third-set. The only break of the day came from Shelton in the sixth game of the final set, on a backhand forcing shot.

Shelton only had 11 aces to Opelka’s 23, double-faulted six times and won just 61% (60/98) of his first serves. He also took a nasty fall at 5-3 in the third set, drawing gasps from the crowd. Opelka came over to Shelton’s side of the court to help him get back up and handed him his racquet back.

Ben Shelton world rankings after Indian Wells

Shelton will fall to at least No. 9 in the world rankings with this performance. He’s losing 150 points, but he’s not in much danger of falling out of the top 10. Alexander Bublik trails him by nearly 500 points. It would take a finals appearance from Bulik to pass Shelton. No. 11 Daniil Medvedev would have to win the whole thing to clear an 850-point gap between him and Shelton.

What’s next for Ben Shelton?

Shelton has a chance to redeem himself in a little more than a week at the Miami Open, another 1,000-point event. He lost his first match there a year ago, so any wins should help him regain the points lost this week.

After that, another ATP 1,000 event awaits in Monte-Carlo, Monaco, on April 5.

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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida tennis: Ben Shelton knocked out at Indian Wells in Round of 32