"Love being part of it!" Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz celebrate U.S. tennis boom

STUTTGART, Germany—They were the talk of the town in Paris: Tommy Paul, Coco Gauff, Frances Tiafoe, Madison Keys, Ben Shelton, Hailey Baptiste and many other American stars shone at Roland Garros. Currently, 13 men and 18 women from the United States are in the Top 100 of the world rankings. It's more than fair to say that American tennis is booming.

Taylor Fritz, currently No. 7 in the ATP rankings, was eliminated in the first round of Roland Garros 2025 by Daniel Altmaier, but is still one of the brightest stars of the American cohort. Alongside Alexander Zverev, he is one of the top ten players competing in the BOSS OPEN. The 27-year-old won his first title on grass in Eastbourne in 2019, where he also triumphed in 2020 and 2024. He has reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon twice, so he clearly adapts well to grass courts.

"Ever since I was a junior, I've felt very comfortable on grass. I've always enjoyed playing on this surface and I think it suits my style of play very well," Fritz told Tennis Channel DE.

Taylor Fritz: "We push each other!"

So what—or who—is behind this current wave of American success?

"I think we now have several generations of players. In my generation, we have improved a lot over the years by pushing each other. I think that helped us all," said the 2024 US Open finalist.

"I guess we all came up at the same time, and when one person achieved a good result, the others knew they could do it too. That's what got us where we are today and perhaps also motivated the next generation."

Ben Shelton is part of this up-and-coming generation. Ranked No. 12 in the world, he is five years younger than Fritz at 22 years old. He has only been on the tour for just under three years.

Shelton: "I always want more!"

After reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open, the quarterfinals at Indian Wells and the final in Munich this year, he is now on the verge of breaking into the world's Top 10. However, he still doesn't feel like he has arrived yet, as he explained to Tennis Channel DE: "I think it's always a journey, a process. I've never reached the point where I felt like I had arrived. I always want more, to keep improving, to get better results and to improve small aspects of my game.

"There's always something to look forward to, something you can improve on. We play a game where it's impossible to be perfect. So there's always something you can do better."

He is not really surprised by his own successes or those of his compatriots.

"It's been a long time coming," he said. "We have so much talent, so many great players who can shine on the big stage."

"Everything happened at once in Paris. I know we hope to go even further in the Grand Slams: the round of 16, the quarterfinals, the semifinals—we want to win," added Shelton.

"I'm excited about American tennis. We're in an excellent position. There's a lot of hype around American tennis and I love being a part of it."