"Ben Shelton has better chances learning cure for cancer than how to return a serve"- Fans react as American crashes out of Dallas Open in shock upset

Ben Shelton crashing out of the Dallas Open in the second round has sparked discussions among tennis fans. The 22-year-old was ousted by the Spanish veteran Jaume Munar in a straight set.

The dynamic Shelton has had an erratic 2025 season so far. He kicked off the year at the ASB Classic where he was eliminated in the opening round. However, he turned things around at the Australian Open, where he made it to the semifinals. Riding on the back of his success in Melbourne, he entered the Dallas Open as the fourth seed.

Shelton kicked off his campaign with a routine 6-3, 6-3 win over Aleksandar Vukic, however, his run was ended in the second round by Jaume Munar 6-3, 7-6(3).

Fans on Reddit were disappointed to see Ben Shelton's underwhelming campaign following his Australian Open heroics.

"Ben has better chances learning the cure for cancer than how to return a serve," the fan joked.

Comment byu/jovanmilic97 from discussion intennis

Another fan called his performance a regression.

"Ugh, it’s such a shame, too, because I saw legitimate improvements from him at AO. This one match was a huge regression," the fan claimed.

Comment byu/jovanmilic97 from discussion intennis

Here are some other reactions from tennis fans.

"An American being a serve-bot. Color me surprised," a fan joked.

"Shelton, Medvedev, Tiafoe, and Rune have all lost to unseeded players. What is happening?" a fan was baffled.

"The GS merchant does it again," a fan quipped.

"Does anyone think Ben and his dad will ever consider getting an additional coach or a new coach altogether?" a fan questioned.

Not only Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz also suffered early exits at Dallas Open 2025

Ben Shelton - Source: Getty

Ben Shelton wasn't the only American to suffer a nightmare second-round exit at the 2025 Dallas Open. His compatriots Taylor Frtiz and Frances Tiafoe have also suffered early exits at the American ATP 250.

Fritz, the top seed, was defeated by Denis Shapovalov in a hard-fought three-setter where the Canadian came back from a set down to win 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(2). Meanwhile, Tiafoe suffered a similar result. He lost 6-3, 4-6, 3-6 to Yoshihito Nishioka.

However, it is still not a lost cause for the Americans as Reilly Opelka and Tommy Paul are the American survivors in the draw. Having said that, the two will face off in the quarterfinals.