Ben Shelton's sister Emma celebrates American's maiden title on clay as he triumphs in Houston

Ben Shelton's sister Emma Shelton has hailed the American's maiden title triumph at the U.S. Men's Claycourt Championships in Houston last week.

Shelton entered Houston on the back of a third-round exit in the Miami Open. He outfoxed the likes Brandon Nakashima and Tomas Martin Etcheverry en route to the finals and then showed his class against Frances Tiafoe to lift the title. He defeated the defending champion 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 in a thrilling match.

Emma, who had been keeping a track of Shelton's run in Houston, took to her social media account on Instagram to gush about her brother's latest win. She shared Shelton's title-winning post in the ATP 250 clay court event, along with a few trophy emojis.

Emma Shelton congratulates Ben Shelton

Emma is also an aspiring tennis player. She's played most of her tennis at the college level representing the University of Florida and was present at the 2023 US Open, supporting her brother from the stands.

Meanwhile, Ben Shelton is slowly becoming a force to be reckoned with on the men's tour. Thanks to his latest win in Houston, the American has now entered the top 15 in the ATP rankings for the first time in his career. He moved past Tommy Paul and Ugo Humbert to secure the 14th spot in the rankings.

The 21-year-old woke up to more good news this week and after learning that he will be the No. 1 ranked American in the world after the Monte-Carlo Masters. World No. 13 Taylor Fritz registered a shocking first round exit in Monte-Carlo and will lose 315 points due to his semifinal finish at the event last year.

Shelton has not travelled to compete in the Monte-Carlo Masters and is yet to announce his partipication in the Barcelona Open or the Madrid Open. He is expected to make his second appearance in the French Open next month.

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Ben Shelton and Emma Shelton have both represented the Florida Gators

Ben Shelton's sister Emma Shelton in the bottom row on the left

Ben Shelton and Emma Shelton have both been a part of the Florida Gators tennis team.

While Shelton joined the Gators in June 2020, Emma signed a contract with them in June 2021 after transferring from South Carolina.

Shelton guided the Gators to their first ever NCAA Team Championships in 2021 and Emma captured the Green Bracket individual title at the Bedford Cup in the 2022-23 season. She also earned a victory at the Miami Fall invite in the same year.

While Emma will be hoping to make her debut on the main tour soon, Shelton recently registered a doubles victory alongside his former Florida Gators teammate Andres Andrade in Houston. The duo were eliminated in the quarterfinals by William Blumberg and John Peers.