American star Ben Shelton joins tennis legend Pete Sampras with impressive feat at Roland Garros

Ben Shelton is currently one of the most prominent players on the ATP Tour. He is ranked No. 13 in the world and continues to deliver performances that are pushing him closer to the elite tier. As he continues his run at the French Open 2025, the 22-year-old has now reached a milestone previously achieved by legend Pete Sampras.

On his path at Roland Garros, Ben defeated Lorenzo Sonego and advanced past Hugo Gaston via walkover in his first two matches. Then on Friday, he beat World No. 167 Matteo Gigante 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 to secure a place in the round of 16, where he will face either Carlos Alcaraz or Damir Dzumhur.

That victory made Shelton the fourth-youngest American player to reach the fourth round at all four Grand Slam tournaments at least once. His best performances so far have come at the US Open and the Australian Open, where he reached the semifinals in 2023 and 2025, respectively. At Wimbledon 2024, he made it to the fourth round.

Ben reached this milestone at just 22 years and 7 months old. Only three players from the United States had accomplished the same feat at a younger age. The youngest was Pete Sampras, who completed it at Wimbledon in 1992 at 20 years and 10 months. The others were Jim Courier (US Open 1991, 21 years and 9 days) and Aaron Krickstein (Wimbledon 1989, 21 years and 10 months).

Ben Shelton advanced to Roland Garros’ fourth round for the first time in his career

Shelton reflects on his achievement

This year marks Ben Shelton’s third appearance at Roland Garros, and it’s clearly his most successful one to date. In 2023, he lost in the opening round to Lorenzo Sonego, and in 2024, he made it to the third round after defeating Hugo Gaston and Kei Nishikori, before falling to Felix Auger-Aliassime.

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“It’s my first time being in the second week here at the French, the only Slam where I hadn’t been in the second week yet. I couldn’t be more happy with doing that today,” he said in Friday’s post-match press conference following his win over Matteo Gigante, according to the official ATP Tour website.

Considering he advanced through the second round without playing due to Hugo Gaston’s walkover, the wait felt long for Ben. “It was very different having five days off between my first and third rounds,” he said. “I was thinking about going home to the US for a few days to relax, but I stayed here and I’m really looking forward to being in the second week.”

How are the other American players doing?

In addition to Ben Shelton, three other American players remain in contention at the French Open. World No. 12 Tommy Paul has already secured his spot in the round of 16, where he will face Alexei Popyrin on Sunday. Frances Tiafoe did the same on Friday after defeating fellow American Sebastian Korda. Meanwhile, Ethan Quinn will play on Saturday against Tallon Griekspoor in hopes of also reaching the fourth round.