Ben Shelton is currently out of action on the ATP Tour following his shock loss at the Shanghai Masters.

Arthur Gea edged past Shelton in just the American’s second match of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament, winning their meeting 7-6(7-5), 7-6(7-3). The shock defeat arrived after the American won 6-3, 7-6(8-6) in his opening match against Daniel Altmaier.

Shelton had previously played at the Davis Cup for the USA, who lost their qualifier to Czechia. That was his first outing since the US Open, where Shelton was beaten by Alexander Zverev in his maiden Grand Slam final.

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Also during his brief spell at the Shanghai Masters, the world number four was able to catch up with fellow player Tomas Martin Etcheverry, during which he shared his ambitions to play in his rival’s home country.

Ben Shelton wants to play in Buenos Aires before he retires

Etcheverry trained with Shelton in Shanghai, before briefly interviewing his practice partner at the side of the court. And on the vlog on the Argentine’s YouTube, Shelton said: “My favourite tournament is the US Open. And the one tournament I haven’t played that I want to play one time in my career is Buenos Aires. I want to, one time.

“To everyone in Buenos Aires and Argentina, I love Argentina, I have two, three Argentinians on my team. Thanks for everything. Hopefully I’ll see you there in Buenos Aires one day. Vamos!”

Taking place in Buenos Aires in February, the Argentina Open is an ATP 250 tournament that is played on outdoor clay courts. Home favourite Francisco Cerundolo emerged victorious at this year’s event, with the top seed having defeated second seed Luciano Darderi 6-4, 6-2 in the final. Etcheverry also enjoyed a lengthy run to the semifinals, where he lost to compatriot Cerundolo.

Ben Shelton’s ATP Finals record as he secures qualification

Despite recent disappointment for Shelton, the American has recently received fantastic news. Shelton has officially qualified for the ATP Finals, securing his place at the year-end event for the second successive season, and the second time of his career. He has joined Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz in qualifying for the tournament in Turin next month.

Shelton will be desperate to improve upon his performances at the 2025 ATP Finals, where admittedly he was placed in a tough group alongside Zverev, Jannik Sinner and Felix Auger-Aliassime. But he will still have been very disappointed to have lost all three of his matches, therefore failing to make it beyond the group stage.

The American was beaten 3-6, 6-7(6-8) by Zverev, 6-4, 6-7(7-9), 5-7 by Auger-Aliassime, and 3-6, 6-7(3-7) by Sinner. Sinner has ended his 2026 season and so won’t be playing at this year’s ATP Finals, for which five places still remain.