Ben Shelton believes most players are running on empty at the end of the season, but he says he is not one of them any more. After coming from a set down to beat Arthur Rinderknech 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5) in the last 16 of the Rolex Paris Masters on Thursday, the World No. 4 said this was the first week since the US Open that he had felt ready to compete at 100 per cent.

Asked whether players were exhausted at this time of the season, with several top-10 players already out in Paris, Shelton told reporters, including Tennis Majors: “Yeah, I think everyone is probably cooked. For me, after the US Open I was really cooked, going to Davis Cup and then China for Shanghai. This is kind of the first week since the US Open that I’ve really felt 100 per cent ready to compete, and I’m super excited to be here.”

From a US Open final to early exits in Shanghai and Basel

Shelton reached his first Grand Slam final at the US Open, where he lost to Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-2. In his next two tournaments, he lost in his second match in Shanghai, to Frenchman Arthur Gea, and in Basel last week, to Swiss Jerome Kym in a final-set tie-break.

In Paris, he has beaten Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-4 and Rinderknech, his 43rd win of 2026, a personal best for a season. He faces fellow American Tommy Paul in the quarter-finals on Friday.

Top seeds fall in Paris

Shelton’s words come after a day of upsets on Wednesday, when World No. 1 Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, Alex de Minaur and Frances Tiafoe all lost their opening matches, and Novak Djokovic was knocked out by qualifier Rinky Hijikata. Medvedev described the Paris tournament as a puzzle after his defeat to Ignacio Buse.

For the first time since the tournament’s inaugural edition, 40 years ago, no former Paris semi-finalist made it to the last 16. The 16 players left in the third round were:

🇮🇹 Lorenzo Musetti
🇫🇷 Luca Van Assche
🇦🇺 Rinky Hijikata (Q)
🇦🇷 Tomas Martin Etcheverry
🇺🇸 Ben Shelton (3)
🇫🇷 Arthur Rinderknech
🇺🇸 Tommy Paul (12)
🇫🇷 Quentin Halys
🇩🇪 Jan-Lennard Struff
🇳🇴 Casper Ruud
🇵🇹 Nuno Borges
🇵🇪 Ignacio Buse
🇫🇷 Arthur Fils (6)
🇺🇸 Taylor Fritz (11)
🇮🇹 Matteo Berrettini
🇪🇸 Carlos Alcaraz (2)

“Obviously we have a really long schedule, and some guys are already looking forward to their vacation,” Shelton said. “For me, […] it’s a blessing and a huge motivation.”

Shelton is already qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin (November 15-22), the last event of the season. He will share that stage with a close friend: Arthur Fils, who qualified for the ATP Finals for the first time on Wednesday.

“I think he’s had an outstanding season, especially with the tournaments where he’s been injured and missed, but also the tournaments where people don’t know he was injured and playing through injury,” Shelton said. “I’m really happy for him, just super excited for him to get his first chance in Turin. I think he’s playing at such a high level, he’s improving every year, and we’re really close friends. So I’m going to enjoy getting to share that with him this year, and hopefully some other Americans as well.”