Tennis player Ben Shelton has made history becoming the first Black American man since Arthur Ashe to reach a US Open final
His achievement comes more than four decades after Ashe’s legendary triumph, with Shelton now standing on the edge of delivering America’s first men’s major title since 2003.
Shelton defeated his fellow American tennis player Frances Tiafoe 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 in the semi-finals of the 2026 US Open, rallying a set down to reach the first Grand Slam singles final of his career.
He had already produced one of the most memorable victories of the tournament, defeating U.S. Open champion Carlos Alcaraz in five-set epic.
It’s the first time in the Open Era that two Black men played one another in a Grand Slam men’s singles semi-final with Tiafoe struck first and Shelton taking control of the match.
Ben Shelton turns a remarkable U.S. Open run into one of the greatest moments in modern American tennis history.
