Frances Tiafoe and Coco Gauff’s Ex-Coach Lead as Prayers Pour In for Ben Shelton’s US Open Heartbreak

Ben Shelton caused quite an uproar of concern in the tennis community with his withdrawal from the US Open. He was playing Adrian Mannarino in the third round of the US Open when he fell on the ground in his attempt to clinch the point that won him the third set. That was the beginning of his left shoulder troubles. As the fourth set began, Shelton complained of having the “worst pain” of his life to his father and coach, Brian Shelton. Ultimately, he had no other option but to withdraw. “I never retired before. I’m not a guy who would retire if I could continue,” he said later. Even though Shelton’s willing to be thankful for the summer he has had, it still hurts. The tennis fraternity and fans? They share his pain. 

Tiafoe wasn’t really aware of Shelton’s injury before his post-match press conference. When a reporter asked him to discuss his feelings in light of Shelton’s injury and withdrawal, the media personnel had to inform him about Ben Shelton. Following that, he said, “I didn’t know that. Obviously, I had other things on my mind… And definitely give him a text how he’s feeling. I really had no idea. You don’t want to see, like I saw up two sets to one on the court, and that was it.” 

Tiafoe, who himself lost to Jan-Lennard Struff in the third round, continued, “I guess I just figured he probably won, and you know, that always sucks to go out like that. And you know, I had a feeling about, especially in Grand Slam, where actually he was most likely probably gonna win. So, you know, that’s very tough. But ultimately, I don’t really care about what just happened to me, to be honest.”  

On the other hand, Coco Gauff’s former coach was quick to take to X and reveal his thoughts about Shelton’s injury. He wrote, “Massive bummer for Gimme Shelton, was playing very good ball hopefully this is not a very serious injury.” Needless to say, it was a huge disappointment, as Shelton and Mannarino were on par with each other, with a scoreline of 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 4-6. It would have been interesting to watch the final set, don’t you agree? 

Soon, The Tennis Letter shared a visual of the No. 6 seed addressing the crowd at Louis Armstrong Stadium as he walked off the court. The caption? “Ben” followed by multiple broken heart emojis. And soon after the post went viral, fans took to the comments to express their feelings. 

Fans align with Francis Tiafoe and others to pray for Ben Shelton’s recovery

Most of the fans believed that it was nothing short of a heartbreak to see Ben Shelton walking away from what could have been a definite victory. One fan commented, “It’s truly heartbreaking for him to be having his best tennis on display where he really had a shot to run through the top seeds. Wishing him a speedy recovery.” Another fan added to the notion and wrote, “This is absolutely breaking my heart. Get well soon, champ!”

Following the match, Adrian Mannarino confessed that he would have lost if the match had gone all the way. And reflecting on this, a fan commented, “It sucks cause he woulda won as soon as he injured that shoulder, it wasn’t the same.” And the fans knew pretty well that Shelton had worked pretty hard to compete in the US Open. A comment read, “So sorry Ben. I know you habe been working hard.”

Nevertheless, the prayers kept pouring in. One fan quoted, “Prayers for his fast recovery .” Another fan highlighted the kind of season Ben Shelton had this time. The fan wrote, “Ben, such a great season for you, feel better .” But what do you think of the Shelton’s retirement from the 2025 US Open? 

And don’t forget to follow EssentiallySports Live Blog for more on-court updates. 

The post Frances Tiafoe and Coco Gauff’s Ex-Coach Lead as Prayers Pour In for Ben Shelton’s US Open Heartbreak appeared first on EssentiallySports.