Ben Shelton reacts to receiving adorable prom proposal at Dallas Open

American tennis sensation Ben Shelton had another reason to smile after dispatching Aussie Aleksandar Vukic at the ongoing ATP 250 tournament in Dallas. An unidentified fan in the stands broke out a sign asking the 22-year-old to be her prom date.

"Ben, nothing would be aligreater than a yes to prom," said the sign flashed by the fan, which also included a cartoon drawing of an alligator in the bottom-right corner.

Shelton could not hold back his smile as he autographed the signboard.

Several of the moments were captured on camera by photographer Jared Wickerham and posted on Instagram by the official page of the Dallas Open.

Posting pictures of the interaction on Instagram, the Dallas Open page captioned it:

"Tag us in the prom photos."

Ben Shelton later shared the post on his Instagram stories along with the loudly crying emoji.

Source | Instagram @benshelton

The original post has accumulated over 4,500 likes on Instagram.

With his win over Vukic, Shelton advanced to the Round of 16 at Dallas where he will face Jaume Munar of Spain. Munar reached the Round of 16 after a 7-5, 6-2 win over China's Yunchaokete Bu.

In his post-match interview, Shelton lauded his opponent and recalled that he had beaten Vukic at a Challenger event in 2022 to enter the Top 100 for the first time.

"[He] obviously is a guy who's a great server," Shelton said [via ATP]. Actually, I beat him in my match to make the Top 100 and he bagelled me in the first set that match. so not an easy matchup for me."

The American is expected to make a deep run at Dallas, which has a strong field comprising the likes of Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz. Shelton has been on fire this year, making the semifinals of the Australian Open to match his best result at a Grand Slam. He had also made the semifinals at the 2023 US Open, where he lost to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in straight sets (3-6, 2-6, 6-7).

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Ben Shelton began his 2025 on a roll with a last-4 finish at the Australian Open

Ben Shelton at the 2025 Australian Open - Source: Getty

Ben Shelton, a two-time winner on the ATP Tour, began his 2025 on a high, reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open. However, his dreams were crushed in the semifinals stage by eventual winner Jannik Sinner in a straight sets rout (6-7, 2-6, 2-6).

After Shelton's heartbreaking loss at the Australian Open, former World No. 1 and 8-time Grand Slam winner Jimmy Connors in his "Advantage Connors" podcast suggested that the American needs to be more consistent to be a greater threat in the slams.

"He (Shelton) has to get a little more you know not that very high highs and the low lows," Connors said. "He has to kind of find his happy medium on what it takes to win and to improve on that."

Shelton's next opportunity to compete for Grand Slam glory will come at the French Open that will get underway in May.