Ben Shelton’s 2025 US Open has come to an unexpectedly early end. The 22-year-old American retired after the fourth set of his third-round matchup against France’s Adrian Mannarino due to an apparent shoulder injury.
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With the match headed for a deciding fifth set, Shelton, who appeared to start feeling pain at the start of the fourth set, called the match to an early end. Shelton was the No. 6-seeded player heading into the tournament, and was a favorite to make it far.
After winning the first set against Mannarino 6-3, Shelton dropped the second set as the French 37-year-old picked up a 6-3 win. The American then took set three, 6-4, diving for a set point that sent the crowd wild.
But as the fourth set began, Shelton appeared to feel pain in his shoulder. He held on to challenge Mannarino, but the French player came back to win 6-4 and force a fifth set.
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However, that fifth set never came. Shelton appeared to speak with his father (who is also his coach), who told him that it was not worth continuing to play through the pain. Shelton was emotional as he put his rackets back into his bag before greeting Mannarino and walking off the court.
After the match, Mannarino spoke kindly about Shelton, saying that he was “having good fun” prior to Shelton retiring.
“When he started having pain, he was leading in the match. He probably would’ve won. It’s unfortunate for him and very lucky for me. Don’t really know what to say right now. I suppose I’m happy to get through, but I wish him the best of course,” Mannarino said, via The Tennis Letter.
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Mannarino, who was unseeded, will now advance to the fourth round on a walkover — marking the best US Open result for the Frenchman. Mannarino has never made it past the fourth round at a Grand Slam.
He’ll face No. 20 seed Jiri Lehecka of Czech Republic in the fourth round Sunday.
