Shelton fires back at court critics after gritty Paris win

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

The American fought back from a set down 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.

He ultimately willed himself to victory, triumphing 7-5.

Following the third-round contest, an ATP spokesperson asked Shelton a pertinent question during his on-court interview.

"Since they started measuring court speed on tour, this is the quickest court there's been," the spokesperson said.

"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 said.

"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 includes a quarterfinal matchup against Tommy Paul.

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 — he was 12th in the race.

However, following the early exits of Novak Djokovic, Alex de Minaur, and Frances Tiafoe, the door has opened.

Shelton is currently enjoying the best ranking of his career, having reached world No. 4.

He has also won four ATP titles this season.

His biggest Grand Slam result came at the US Open, where he reached his first final before losing to Alexander Zverev.

Shelton revealed how he managed to convince Juan Carlos Ferrero to join his coaching team.

He admitted that he initially believed the Spaniard had already decided to work with another player.

However, one simple request to his agent eventually changed everything.

The 24-year-old recently confirmed that Ferrero would become part of his team for the 2027 season.

The former world No. 1 will work alongside Shelton's father, Bryan Shelton, who has been coaching his son since he turned professional.

Ferrero had been without a coaching position since ending his successful partnership with Carlos Alcaraz in December 2025.

Several players were mentioned as possible candidates to work with the Spanish coach, including Jannik Sinner and young Spaniard Rafael Jodar.

Speaking to Tennis Channel during the Paris Masters, Shelton admitted that he had followed the rumors.

"Honestly, I saw the stuff online, I thought it was true, too, I thought he was going with one of these young Spanish guys," Shelton said.

"But I just reached out to my agent one day and I was like, 'Hey, could you just at least, you know, hit the guy up and see if he's available or if he already locked something in'."

"He ended up being available and we had some talks on the phone and that was kind of that, but I'm really looking forward to it."