Ben Shelton uses shoes sent by Roger Federer at US Open 2022
American teenage star Ben Shelton was seen donning shoes sent to him by 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer. Tennis journalist Tim Newcomb took to his Twitter account to share pictures of Ben Shelton's practice sessions, in which the youngster was seen wearing the gifted shoes.
Two years ago, Roger Federer launched his own shoe brand in partnership with Ronnie Fieg and On Running. Initially only building running shoes, Federer played a hands-on role in developing the company's first tennis shoe that he debuted last year.
Yes, it’s true, @BenShelton is wearing shoes at the #usopen sent to him by @rogerfederer. https://t.co/cDPlWntV89
Last week, Roger Federer introduced the RF-squared shoe in partnership with Ronnie Fieg in a video ad on Twitter.
(RF)² by Ronnie Fieg & Roger Federer for On https://t.co/ErviuUezl6
He also recently took to Instagram to share a picture with his team at On running and celebrate their collaboration in the last two years.
Ben Shelton, on the other hand, will begin his US Open 2022 campaign against Portugal's Nuno Borges. The youngster had a great run at the Cincinnati Masters and defeated Italy's Lorenzo Sonego in the round-of-64 in a tight three-set contest.
Subsequently, the young American stunned Roland-Garros 2022 runner-up Casper Ruud in straight sets before losing to Britain's Cameron Norrie in the third round. Shelton, who had been competing as an amateur on tour up until now, decided to go pro ahead of the US Open.
Ben Shelton made a move from American Football to Tennis
Growing up, Ben Shelton took more interest in American football than tennis as he played as a quarterback. However, when the Shelton family moved to Gainesville, Florida, Shelton's interest in tennis grew more.
The youngster, who is currently ranked No. 171 in the ATP rankings, said that the risks involved in American football and his father being a former pro player as well as a college tennis coach were the two primary factors that made him pick a career in tennis.
“It definitely swayed me to want to become a collegiate tennis player and a pro tennis player,” Shelton said as quoted by the ATP Tour's official website. “I think that changing from being able to see people that I can relate to doing great things in tennis was definitely a big motivation for me.”
“I thought I could have more of a future in tennis,” Shelton said. “Obviously football is pretty hard on your body. I don’t know how much longer my mom wanted me to keep taking hits and obviously with my dad playing pro and being a collegiate coach, there was definitely a lot of upside to choosing a sport that he’s an expert in.”
Also Checkout:- US Open 2022 Schedule