Ben Shelton faced immense pressure when he took to Arthur Ashe Stadium last month to contest his first Grand Slam final.
After recording an incredibly impressive run to the championship match at the US Open, which included a win over defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, Shelton was one victory away from becoming the first American man to win a major singles title since Andy Roddick in 2003.
The US number one came up short in the final against Alexander Zverev, falling in four sets to the German, who secured his second Grand Slam crown. That American drought will continue on into 2027, but there is another that could end before the conclusion of the 2026 season.
The chances of an American winning the ATP Finals are high
The last American men’s singles Grand Slam winner was seen 23 years ago, but the last time a player hailing from the States triumphed at the ATP Finals was 27 years ago. That player was Pete Sampras, who won the year-end event for the fifth time in 1999, beating compatriot Andre Agassi in the final.
Since then, a number of countrymen have come close, including Agassi himself, James Blake and Taylor Fritz, but none have managed to get over the line. This season, however, an American ATP Finals winner is well and truly on the cards.
As it stands, Shelton is the only American player to have officially qualified for the tournament in Turin, joining Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz in the lineup. American number two Frances Tiafoe is not far away from punching his ticket as well, though, with the 28-year-old sixth in the race with 3,380 live points.
Currently, two other Americans are in with a real shot at qualifying for the ATP Finals: Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz. Paul and Fritz are 11th and 12th in the race with 2,685 points and 2,580 points, respectively, and need to catch Rafael Jodar, who occupies the eighth and final qualification spot with 3,159 points.
The Paris Masters marks the last big chance for those two to make serious ground on Jodar, with 1000 points awarded to the winner of the event. With potentially three and maybe even four of the eight spots at the ATP Finals held by Americans, the US may have its best chance in decades at ending the drought.