Juan Carlos Ferrero believes Ben Shelton, his player from 2027, can become a Grand Slam champion. “He doesn’t see the option of winning a Grand Slam as far off, he thinks big,” the Spaniard told Marca in an interview published on Monday, the day after Shelton lost the Rolex Paris Masters final to Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (5), 7-5.

Ferrero, who coached Alcaraz for eight years, spoke in Spanish at his academy in Villena, eight days after the official announcement that he will join Shelton’s team next season, alongside the player’s father, Bryan Shelton. Asked whether making Shelton a Grand Slam champion was one of the goals, he said yes.

“Of course, in the end the goals have to be good and realistic,” Ferrero said. “He has already won a couple of Masters 1000s, he has reached his first Grand Slam final, quarter-finals, semis… He’s a player who doesn’t set himself limits. He doesn’t see the option of winning a Grand Slam as far off, he thinks big. By improving certain areas of his game, he can have a high chance of competing on equal terms with those at the top.”

How Ferrero wants to get Shelton there

The first area is shot selection. “Order is one of the things he needs. Knowing which weapon to use at each moment,” Ferrero said. “When you have a player with so many weapons, with so much power, a strong player who serves so well, knowing which shot to use in each situation is fundamental. Right now a lot of points that are relatively in his hands slip away from him. Between his father and me, we have to make him understand the game better.”

He described it as a matter of reading the court. “It’s what I call knowing how to play very well with the information from your shot, and playing a proper invisible game. These are things Ben has not yet automated.”

The second is consistency. For Ferrero, Shelton is already competing with Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. “When you see a final, 7-6, 7-5. With the aggressive tennis he has and serving the way he serves, it’s hard to see him being beaten easily,” he said. “The issue is getting him to compete well all year round. That’s where he’s lacking a bit.”

Shelton said much the same after Sunday’s final. After the US Open final against Alexander Zverev and the Paris final against Alcaraz, he told his press conference that big finals against the best are where he wants to be. “That’s the position that I want to be in, and I think that’s how you continuously improve,” he said. “It’s tough not to get better when you’re on the court with these guys who push you and make you play at a higher level. I’m super hungry and excited going into Turin.”