American tennis player Ben Shelton has been facing a lot of criticism because of his well-known celebration. His signature celebration, which consisted of answering a home phone and then smashing it down, drew negative reactions from the audience. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic joined the online debate and got a range of responses from fans for his portrayal of the teenage American.
More people were talking about the controversial celebration of the 21-year-old than his games and matches. Shelton now appears to be considering ending his contentious celebration.
ESPN Mexico just posted a video of Ben Shelton smiling and chatting with one of their representatives on their Instagram account. When asked about his iconic celebration, the American said: “Yeah, it was just a fun celebration for me when I was playing at the US Open. Something natural and kind of a shout-out to my friends back home, but I don’t know if we’ll ever see it again.”
Shelton then received criticism from the fans and spectators for being very arrogant. In response to this, he explained: “Yeah, so our home phone, when I was growing up in Atlanta, was one like that. If I wanted to talk to my friends or call their home phone to see if they wanted to go outside and throw a football, that was what I did. But for me, it’s kind of like I’m saying I’m dialed in.”
View this post on Instagram
Shelton in Acapulco, ranking, and results in 2024
Currently the world no.17, Ben has a 7-4 win-loss record in 2024. The American is currently having a run in Acapulco where he overcame the world no.41 Daniel Evans 2-6 7-5 7-65.
Ben Shelton will come up against the world no.42 Matteo Arnaldi in the 2nd round on Wednesday at 8:30 pm on GRANDSTAND. In the past, they have never competed against each other as of now in top events.
Shelton is scheduled to compete next in Indian Wells (BNP Paribas Open). He will begin to play the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 4th of March.
