Ben Shelton claimed his first career grass-court title by beating defending champion Taylor Fritz 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in the Stuttgart Open final on June 14, 2026 [1, 2, 3]. The match lasted about 1 hour 48 minutes and featured Shelton saving nine of 11 break points to secure the win [1, 2, 3].
Shelton, currently ranked number five in men’s singles tennis, earned his sixth career ATP title and third of the 2026 season after victories in Dallas and Munich earlier this year [4, 1, 2, 3]. He became only the fourth man this decade to win ATP titles on hard, clay, and grass courts in the same season [2].
The 21-year-old described the week in Stuttgart as difficult and exhausting but a major confidence boost. “Sometimes tennis doesn’t go to plan. I lost the first set in every single match I played. But there are a lot of ways to win a match. I've been choosing the most difficult route,” Shelton said [4]. He added, “It means a lot to me. Certainly a difficult week, not an easy week to get through. I'm pretty exhausted, but to play the way I did against the quality of opponents I played in very tight matches and getting a win today against one of the best grass-court players in the world is a huge boost” [1].
On June 13, Shelton played nearly five hours of tennis, overcoming Sho Shimabukuro and Jiri Lehecka in gruelling three-set matches to reach the final [4, 5, 2]. He called his strong performance against Fritz “a lot of hope going into Halle and Wimbledon.” [2]
Fritz, the defending Stuttgart champion who had never lost a grass-court final before, praised Shelton’s endurance and competitiveness. “Shelton had an insane schedule this week. It speaks to the kind of player he is – an amazing competitor,” Fritz said [2].
Meanwhile at the Libema Open on June 13, Alex de Minaur defeated Adrian Mannarino to advance to the final against Kamil Majchrzak, who reached his first ATP Tour singles final by beating Daniil Medvedev [4, 5].
The grass-court season continues, with Wimbledon set to start June 29, 2026 [2].
