NEW YORK — American Ben Shelton, thought to be one of the favorites for the US Open outside of top-seed and defending champion Jannik Sinner and No. 2 seed Carlos Alcaraz, retired from his third-round match against Adrian Mannarino on Friday, Aug. 29, because of a shoulder injury.
Shelton, the No. 6 seed, gutted it out for the three-hour match and had to retire with the match square at two sets a piece. It was the first time in 178 career matches that Shelton was forced to retire.
Shelton said he couldn’t pinpoint when he got hurt, as he was healthy going into the match.
‘Really high,’ Shelton said after the match when he asked what his level of pain was. ‘I’m not sure. You know, I never retired before. I’m not a guy who would retire if I could continue. Even though I was in pain, I was just kind of in that competitive mindset of trying to find a way and push through it.’
Shelton was the first of two ranked American men to fall at the US Open on Friday. A short time after Shelton’s loss, No. 17 Frances Tiafoe was stunned by qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany, 7-6, 6-3, 7-6 (9-7) in his third-round match.
Mannarino, a 37-year-old from France and ranked No. 77 in the world, advances to the fourth round to face No. 20 seed Jiri Lehecka, a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 winner over Raphael Collignon. It was Mannarino’s first win against a top-10 player in a Grand Slam tournament in 23 attempts.
“When he started to have pain, he was leading in the match,” Mannarino, who is the oldest man to break into the Top 20 in ATP Rankings history at age 35, after achieving a career-high No. 17 in 2024, said after his victory. “Honestly, he probably would’ve won that match. That’s unfortunate for him, and lucky for me. I don’t really know what to say right now. I’m happy to be through, but I wish him the best, of course.”
The 22-year-old Shelton was leading in the second game of the fourth set when he screamed in pain during a forehand shot. He called for a trainer and received treatment on the shoulder, and was in obvious discomfort and emotional on the bench.
“I did something to my shoulder. I don’t know what it is,’ Shelton could be heard saying to his coach’s box.
After losing the fourth set, and during the changeover before the fifth set, he was again visited by medical staff, and, in tears, he decided he couldn’t continue.
‘Usually I’ll play through anything and just kind of find a way. And whether it’s sickness or injury, like, if I can stay out there, I can stay out there. I never felt anything like this before,’ Shelton said.
Shelton made the semifinals of the 2023 US Open and reached the semifinals of the 2025 Australian Open in January.
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