Ben Shelton beams with pride at channeling his inner David Beckham with stunning banana shot at Indian Wells

Ben Shelton produced a moment of magic in his opening match of the 2025 Indian Wells Masters as he hit a jaw-dropping curling forehand winner during his triumph over Mariano Navone in the second round of the men's singles on Sunday. The American cruised to a smooth 6-3, 6-2 win to advance to the round of 32 at the season’s first Masters 1000 tournament.

Shelton’s mindblowing shot came in the fourth game of the second set. The 11th seeded American was serving for the game at 40-15 when he unleashed the spectacular attempt. He fired a deep serve down the T, and Navone played a sharp backhand return.

Shelton raced to the ball and generated plenty of spin with his wrist as the ball spun gloriously to land perfectly on the line. At one point, it looked like Shelton’s forehand may sail wide, but such was the spin he put on it that it spun a long way back in.

The 22-year-old posted a clip of his shot on Instagram Stories, referencing the iconic phrase “Bend It Like Beckham”, a tribute to English football legend David Beckham’s incredible ability to curl the ball with, often compared to the curve of a banana.

Shelton’s caption read:

“Like Beckham.”

Screengrab of Ben Shelton's Instagram story. Credit: Instagram @benshelton

Shelton will next face Russian tennis player Karen Khachanov in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells on Tuesday, March 11. Khachanov had a tough opening match as he strangely lost the first set before storming to a 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 win against Jakub Mensík.

Ben Shelton will also ply his trade in the men’s doubles section as he has teamed up with Alex Michelsen to form an all-American team. They will begin their campaign against the duo of Jordan Thompson and Sebastian Korda on Monday, March 10.

Ben Shelton snubs interviewer after his bizarre act at Indian Wells exhibition match

Ben Shelton lashed out at the kind of treatment and questioning meted out to players at the Australian Open. Source: Getty

Ben Shelton refused to speak to the on-court interviewer at the Eisenhower Cup last week after the interviewer made a strange noise before directing the mic towards the American. The Eisenhower Cup is an exhibitional mixed doubles match that is held right before the Indian Wells Masters, and Shelton teamed up with Emma Navarro for the event.

The American duo was up against Alex de Minaur and Katie Boulter and won the toss. At this point, the on-court interviewer made a bizarre noise, akin to a horse neighing, and pointed the mic at Shelton. The 22-year-old, though, did not entertain him and said:

"Someone else gotta grab the mic, I'm not talking to you."

This was not the first time Ben Shelton had an issue with an on-court interviewer. Even at the Australian Open, he had lashed out at the kind of treatment and questioning meted out to players, including the instance when the broadcaster claimed Gael Monfils was “old enough” to be Shelton’s dad.