Ben Shelton fires back at Paris Masters court critics

Ben Shelton disagrees with what has been said about the Paris Masters courts after beating Arthur Rinderknech.

Shelton fought back from a set down against Rinderknech on Thursday afternoon at the Plenitude Arena.

Rinderknech was well on his way to causing yet another upset at the Masters 1000 event.

Shelton launched a stunning comeback.

With the match tied at 3-6, 6-4, 6-6, Shelton found himself 2-4 behind in the final-set tiebreak.

The American ultimately willed himself to victory, triumphing 7-5.

Following the third-round contest, Shelton was asked a pertinent question regarding the court speeds at the Paris Masters.

“Since they started measuring court speed on tour, this is the quickest court there’s been,” an ATP spokesperson asked Shelton during his on-court interview.

“How is that transferring to the game and to your game?”

Shelton – who recently hired Juan Carlos Ferrero as his new coach – quickly responded.

He stated that he disagreed with the notion of Paris owning the fastest courts on the Tour.

“I don’t agree,” Shelton stated.

“I think Basel last week was faster.”

“I think Cincinnati was also faster, but that’s just me.”

According to Tennis Abstract, the 2025 Paris Masters had a surface speed of 0.94.

That rating falls in the bottom half of court speed measurements across all ATP Tour events.

However, this analysis must be taken with a pinch of salt at this moment in time.

Tennis Abstract are yet to publish their court speed data for the 2026 Paris Masters.

“But yeah, it’s something to get used to,” Shelton continued.

“I normally like a slower, high-bouncing, hard court.”

“My game is also very effective on the surface if I can feel more and more comfortable, which I do each year, and just trying to get one per cent better each day.”

Shelton’s projected path to the Paris Masters title included a first-round bye.

He defeated Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-4 in the second round.

He defeated Arthur Rinderknech 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 in the third round.

His quarterfinal opponent is Tommy Paul.

A potential semifinal opponent is Lorenzo Musetti.

A potential final opponent is Carlos Alcaraz.

“I feel that my game has cleaned up so much that I’m able to extend points on the surface, handle pace a little bit better, return better, and I think that makes all the difference,” Shelton said.

Much is at stake for Tommy Paul at the Paris Masters.

At the start of this week, Paul had a slim chance of reaching the ATP Finals in Turin.

The contest will have extra meaning as Paul is looking to strengthen his ATP Finals charge.

He must win tomorrow to keep his Turin dream alive.

Ahead of the contest, Shelton is expecting fireworks.

He is looking forward to facing his good friend.