Ben Shelton's sister Emma pens heartfelt note for "young legend" on 22nd birthday; shares hilarious tennis moment with him

Ben Shelton turned 22 today (October 9, 2024), and his older sister Emma made the day extra special for him with a heartfelt note. However, the celebration was bittersweet as the American tennis star also faced a tough loss in the Shanghai Masters, falling to Jannik Sinner.

Emma and Ben Shelton were born to former tennis players Bryan and Lisa Shelton. The couple married in 1999, welcoming Emma in 2001, followed by Ben a year later.

Lisa was a successful junior tennis player, while Bryan spent nine seasons on the ATP Tour, competing in both singles and doubles. Bryan later became head coach of the University of Florida's tennis team in 2012 but stepped down last year to focus on coaching Ben full-time.

Emma, who also played college tennis, shared a funny childhood memory on Instagram to celebrate Ben's 22nd birthday. The video showed young Ben playing against her, and after being outplayed by his sister, Ben watched the ball fly past him.

He fell in disappointment but Emma humorously added that he quickly got back up because their father was watching.

"Hope the vibes on court are this good always," she wrote.

Later, Ben reposted the Story and wrote:

"hahaha caught in 4k"

In another Story, she uploaded several pictures of Ben and wrote:

"Happy 22nd birthday to a young legend"

Emma and Ben Shelton's Instagram stories. (Images: Instagram @benshelton & @_emmashelton)

Also on October 9, 2024, Shelton was drawn against World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in Shanghai. However, the American was defeated in straight sets.

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Ben Shelton faces defeat against Jannik Sinner in the Shanghai Masters 2024 4R on his birthday

Ben Shelton (L) and Jannik Sinner at the Wimbledon 2024 (Image: Getty)

On his 22nd birthday, Ben Shelton was drawn to face Jannik Sinner for the fifth time in their careers. Their first encounter was in Shanghai last year where the American emerged victorious in the fourth round. Since then, he had faced three consecutive defeats against Sinner.

In their fifth encounter, they were drawn again in the fourth round in Shanghai but this time it was Sinner who prevailed with a 6-4, 7-6(1) win.

The Italian praised the birthday boy's incredible service skills during his post-match interview.

"It was very tough. He played only first serves, except one second serve," Sinner said. "I tried to wait a little bit. Obviously playing against him, even if it's a second serve, it's very tough to return.

The World No. 1 will take on Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinal of the Shanghai Masters.