Ben Shelton's quest for his first major championship has been put on hold yet again.
After Shelton cruised to a straight-set victory over Daniel Merida in the opening round, fans thought he could go on a deep run at Roland Garros. That belief grew even stronger after world No. 1 Jannik Sinner went down in his quarter of the draw.
Unfortunately for those cheering on Shelton, their hopes and dreams were crushed this Thursday by Raphael Collignon. The hard-hitting Belgian earned a 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 win over the top-seeded American.
As you'd imagine, the tennis world had an awful lot to say about Shelton's performance on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.
© Susan Mullane-Imagn Images.
"Once Sinner went out, I really thought Ben Shelton had a great, great shot at making the #RolandGarros final," tennis writer Ben Rothenberg said. "Wasn't to be; alas, not even close."
"Raphael is not better than Ben Shelton but i can’t explain how he lost," a fan wrote on X.
"Truly a terrible day for us Ben Shelton truthers," a second fan commented.
"I’ve been wallowing in abject misery all day and here comes Ben Shelton on his way to make a bad vibe worse," another fan said.
Inconsistent year for Ben Shelton.
Shelton started his 2026 season on the right foot, reaching the quarterfinals at the Australian Open. He then secured his first title of the year at the Dallas Open.
After disappointing results at Indian Wells and Miami, Shelton won his second title of the year in Munich. His success on the clay didn't last long though. In fact, he suffered opening-round losses in Madrid and Rome.
Now, Shelton has to go back to the drawing board and figure out what tweaks need to be made before Wimbledon.
