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 match 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 Frenchman 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.
Mannarino, who was unseeded, will now advance to the fourth round on a walkover — marking his best US Open result. 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.
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Frances Tiafoe upset in straight sets by Jan-Lennard Struff
No. 17 seed Frances Tiafoe lost in straight sets to Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (9-7), eliminating another American male player in the third round. It’s the earliest Tiafoe has exited the US Open since 2019.
Frances Tiafoe was the second American men’s player to be eliminated in the US Open third round, one year after he advanced to the semifinals. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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Struff. 35, made the US Open as a qualifier and came into the tournament ranked No. 144 in the world. He dominated Tiafoe with his serve and flustered his opponent with his play at the net. Tiafoe fought back in the third set to force a tiebreak, but faced too steep of an uphill climb — especially when he had difficulty breaking Struff’s serve.
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“It’s going to be hard to swallow how I played today and being out of the US Open, for sure, this early,” Tiafoe said in his post-match interview, via The Athletic.
Tiafoe, 27, advanced to the semifinals of last year’s US Open before losing to Taylor Fritz in five sets. The disappointing finish is the latest in what’s been a difficult year for him. He was eliminated in the second round of the Australian Open and lost in the quarterfinals of the French Open. At Wimbledon, Tiafoe was one of several early-round seeds to lose, falling in the second round to Cameron Norrie.
Had Tiafoe advanced, he may have had a rematch with Norrie. Though the British star faces Novak Djokovic in the third round. Instead, it’s Struff who moves on in the bracket to the tournament’s second week.
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With Shelton and Tiafoe losing, the lone American men remaining in the US Open are No. 14 Taylor Fritz, who faces Switzerland’s Jerome Kym on Friday night, and No. 14 Tommy Paul. Paul will face No. 23 Alexander Bublik on Saturday after outlasting Nuno Borges in a four-hour, 25 minute match that lasted until nearly 2 a.m. on Friday morning.
