Ben Shelton’s father, Bryan Shelton, has been nominated for Coach of the Year at the 2025 ATP Awards. This nomination sparked a debate among tennis fans on social media.
Shelton turned professional in 2022 and initially worked with Dean Goldfine as his coach. In 2023, his father, Bryan, joined him as his full-time coach. Bryan was the head coach of the University of Florida (Florida Gators) for over a decade before retiring from collegiate coaching to work with his son on the ATP Tour.
Fans React to Ben Shelton’s Father Bryan Being Nominated for ATP Coach of the Year
In addition to Bryan’s nomination, other nominated coaches include Jannik Sinner’s coaches, Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi; Carlos Alcaraz’s coaches, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Samuel López; Félix Auger-Aliassime’s coach, Frederic Fontang; and Valentin Vacherot’s coach, Benjamin Balleret.
Under Bryan’s guidance, this season, Shelton won his first ATP Masters 1000 title and his third ATP Tour title at the 2025 Canadian Open. He also finished as the runner-up at the BMW Open in Munich and reached the semifinals at the Australian Open, BOSS Open in Stuttgart, and Citi DC Open. He also qualified for the ATP Finals for the first time.
Beyond that, under the mentorship of his father, Ben reached a career-high ranking of World No. 5 earlier in November. Nonetheless, Bryan’s nomination for Coach of the Year drew various reactions from tennis fans on social media, causing a debate among them.
“Very interesting to me to see Bryan Shelton up for ATP coach of the year when he is, in my opinion, clearly holding Shelton’s game back. An odd choice from the ATP that he was nominated,” a fan posted on X.
In contrast, another fan noted that Shelton had performed significantly better this year, and attributed it to Bryan’s coaching.
“I do think recency bias aside, it’s clear that this year Ben was playing a lot better from RG-USO (before he got injured) with his shot tolerance, decision making, & consistency. Brian def played a big role in that. The record vs top players isn’t great atm, but he’s still young,” a fan wrote.
I do think recency bias aside, it’s clear that this year Ben was playing a lot better from RG-USO (before he got injured) with his shot tolerance, decision making, & consistency. Brian def played a big role in that. The record vs top players isn’t great atm, but he’s still young.
— Vansh (@vanshv2k) November 20, 2025
“Regardless of your observations, I don’t think you can claim a coach is “clearly” holding a player’s game back, when that player just had career-best results in 3/4 slams and their first 1000 title,” another user posted.
Regardless of your observations, I don’t think you can claim a coach is “clearly” holding a player’s game back, when that player just had career-best results in 3/4 slams and their first 1000 title.
— Tommy Paul Kinsey (@GregAccounts) November 21, 2025
“Very interesting that Bryan is the coach being singled out when other nominees also have glaring holes in their game. I’m not gonna say what I wanna say but if you know, you know,” a fan wrote.
“Nah whats interesting is Bryan being the only coach singled out here. Got Ben from college to top 5 in the world, but sure, he’s holding his son back ,” a fan posted.
“Ben progressed significantly this year I’m confused. He got a lot more comfortable hitting his two handed backhand, which allowed him to increase his rally tolerance. Bryan also helps a ton with in match strategy,” a fan wrote.
In 2023, after Bryan joined Shelton’s team, the 23-year-old reached the semifinals of his home Grand Slam, the US Open, before losing to eventual champion Novak Djokovic. He also won the 2024 U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships and the 2023 Japan Open Tennis Championships under his father’s guidance.
Earlier this year, Shelton praised Bryan’s direct and honest coaching style, as well as his willingness to provide tough feedback. During the Wimbledon Championships, the former World No. 5 credited his father with inspiring his play on grass courts.
Although Ben Shelton’s serve remains his biggest weapon in the game, he has made noticeable progress in his defensive skills. During his ATP Finals debut, the American failed to win a single match, but said that he had improved his backhand and ball control. Among the potential areas for improvement, Shelton noted that he wishes to enhance his adaptability against certain players and make them “uncomfortable”.
