Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul to miss United States Davis Cup qualifier

Reilly Opelka, Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek were added for the Sept. 12-13 tie against the Czech Republic that will be played in Delray Beach, Florida.

ByAssociated Press

Published Sep 04, 2025

NEW YORK (AP) — Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul have withdrawn from the U.S. Davis Cup team's matches next weekend with injuries, and the Americans named three replacements for the squad Thursday.

Reilly Opelka, Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek were added for the Sept. 12-13 second-round matches against the Czech Republic that will be played in Delray Beach, Florida. They join Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe on the team.

👉 Stream next week's Davis Cup ties on TennisChannel.com

The sixth-ranked Shelton had to stop playing during his third-round match at the U.S. Open because of left shoulder pain. Paul, who is ranked 14th, was eliminated in the same round in five sets by Alexander Bublik and appeared to be struggling with an abdominal injury.

Advertising

Tommy Paul, Taylor Fritz, and Reilly Opelka all won junior major titles in 2015, this year marking the 10-year anniversary of Paul and Fritz's Roland Garros boy's singles final.

Opelka lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the first round. Ram and Krajicek have both been ranked No. 1 in doubles.

The best-of-five match features two singles on the first day, followed by a doubles and potentially two singles on the second day. The first team to three wins advances to the Davis Cup Final 8 on Nov. 18-23 in Bologna, Italy.