Shelton Defends the Absent Duo
Ben Shelton has offered a candid and measured take on the injury-hit seasons of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, insisting their status at the summit of men's tennis remains firmly intact. Speaking ahead of his opening match at the Swiss Indoors in Basel, where he enters as the top seed against fellow American Aleksandar Kovacevic, Shelton acknowledged that the sport has genuinely suffered without both players at full strength for extended stretches of 2026.
Alcaraz missed more than four months with a wrist injury, while Sinner has been sidelined since mid-July with a knee problem and is not expected back on court until a late-December exhibition event. Together, Sinner and Alcaraz had claimed nine consecutive Grand Slam titles before Alexander Zverev broke through to win the French Open this year.
'Fading' Label Rejected Outright
Shelton was direct in dismissing any narrative that the two stars are declining. He pointed out that they still won two of this year's four major championships and that Sinner collected five Masters 1000 titles during the season. "I wouldn't go that far," Shelton said of the fading label, adding that calling their run over would simply be unfair.
Shelton also noted an encouraging development for fans: he expects both Sinner and Alcaraz to arrive at the 2027 Australian Open healthy and ready to compete. The American himself has had a strong campaign, chasing a fifth title of the year in Basel. He could cross paths with Alcaraz again at either the Paris Masters or the ATP Finals in Turin, where both players have already qualified.
TennisDraw users will be watching those potential rematches closely after Shelton featured heavily in bracket picks throughout the hardcourt swing.
