Ben Shelton opens up about balancing tennis with college studies, says he "really" wants to get his degree despite full-time professional career
In the wake of his victory in the 2023 Australian Open fourth round, American tennis sensation Ben Shelton discussed how he balances both his professional career and college studies.
Ben Shelton continued his fairytale run at the first Major of the year by reaching the quarterfinals after defeating J.J. Wolf in an all-American duel. The 20-year-old NCAA champion from the University of Florida defeated his compatriot 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 6-2.
With the victory, he joined Sebastian Korda and Tommy Paul to give the United States at least three men in the quarterfinals in Australia for the first time since 2000. He will next lock horns with Tommy Paul in the quarterfinals in a bid to keep his maiden Major winning dreams alive.
Ben Shelton discussed trying to balance his studies and tennis career in a press conference after his victory, saying he hasn't had any problems doing so thus far and that he really wants to complete his degree because it is "important" to him.
"I'm taking classes at a bit slower pace than I was when I was full time in school. I don't have too difficult of a workload. It's very manageable while I'm playing tennis. So far in January I haven't had any problems or conflicts," Shelton said.
"I really want to get my degree. It's something that's important to me. That's something that I'm going to stick to and continue to do," he added.
The American then jokingly said that although he hasn't had any exams yet, it will be interesting to see if some of his matches conflict with his exam dates.
"No exams yet, so it's going to get interesting when my exam dates might conflict with some of my matches (smiling). A few assignments here and there. Pretty easy stuff," Shelton said.
"Definitely a surprise, I got on the plane with no expectations" - Ben Shelton on his Australian Open success
Ben Shelton went on to say that his success at the Australian Open was definitely a "surprise" to him as he boarded the plane without any "expectations," adding that it allowed him to play freely, which contributed significantly to his success.
"Definitely a surprise. I got on the plane with no expectations. I know that it's very hard to adjust to Australia from the United States just with the jet lag, time change and everything," Shelton said.
"It being my first time, never being out of the United States, I knew it would be a struggle. So I think it maybe has helped me a little bit kind of not having that expectation or the feeling that I have to perform, but being able to just go out there, be myself and play free. I think that's been a big contribution to my success," he added.