A New Partnership With a Clear Priority
Juan Carlos Ferrero has not even officially started his coaching role with Ben Shelton yet, but the conversations about what needs to change are already well underway. The former world number one and French Open champion is set to join Shelton and his father Bryan ahead of the 2027 season, and veteran coach Brad Gilbert believes one area stands out above all others: the return game.
Speaking on The Big T Podcast, Gilbert pointed directly at Shelton's break rate as the defining challenge for Ferrero to tackle. Over the past 52 weeks, Shelton has converted just 14.6 percent of his return games into breaks, a figure that ranks among the worst in the top 50 on tour. Gilbert was blunt in his assessment, stating that no player in history has ever won a Grand Slam while breaking serve at such a low percentage. His belief is that Ferrero, who guided Carlos Alcaraz to six Grand Slam titles over seven years together, has the expertise to address exactly this kind of technical deficiency, particularly around shot selection.
Paris Final Provides a Telling Blueprint
The Paris Masters final on Sunday gave a vivid snapshot of both Shelton's ceiling and his current limitations. He pushed Alcaraz hard in a 7-6 (5), 7-5 defeat, holding a break advantage in the second set and a mini break in the first-set tiebreak. Ferrero, who informally assisted Shelton's preparation during the Paris week, noted that his new pupil lacked decisiveness at crucial moments, failing to press his advantage when good positions arose.
Ferrero has already declared he has "switched gears" in his loyalties, and that mental commitment was evident even before he officially begins work next month. Shelton's run to the US Open final this year demonstrated his enormous potential, and TennisDraw users had him as one of the more intriguing bracket picks throughout that tournament.
