“Getting the shoulder moving again” – Ben Shelton gets back to tennis court; bombs serve during practice ahead of Brisbane International 2024

American tennis player Ben Shelton has returned to the court for an intense practice session ahead of the 2024 Brisbane International, which is scheduled to begin on December 31.

Shelton finished his 2023 season with a first-round loss to Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at the Paris Masters in October. He did clinch a singles title in the season though, winning the Japan Open a week before his Paris Masters defeat.

The 21-year-old is currently in Brisbane, Australia, for the city's ATP 250 event. He will be joined by some of the top ATP stars including Rafael Nadal, Holger Rune, Grigor Dimitrov and Andy Murray.

Ahead of a power-packed show Down Under, the big-serving Shelton took to Instagram to showcase his preparedness. He posted a video of himself bombing a thunderous serve down the court and wrote:

"Slowly getting the shoulder moving again."

The video was later shared by Tennis Legend on the same social media platform.

Ben Shelton reached his career-high singles ranking of World No. 15 on October 23, 2023. However, he is currently ranked 17th in the world. Shelton produced decent performances at the Australian Open and US Open this year, reaching the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.

The youngster's campaign at the French Open ended in the first round, and he faced a second-round exit at Wimbledon.

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"I’ve taken a few things from Rafael Nadal because he’s left-handed" - Ben Shelton

Ben Shelton

Ben Shelton recently revealed that he has absorbed a few skills by watching 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal. Both Shelton and Nadal are left-handed, because of which they have some similarities in their game.

“I try to be unique with my playing style and do things other players aren’t. I’ve taken a few things from Nadal because he’s left-handed, but I try to work with my assets and be unique,” Shelton said during an interview with On Running. (via The Sports Rush)

The American further denied adopting any warm-up routines from Nadal, saying:

“I’m not a superstitious ritual guy. My warm-ups vary. I eat different things. I do like to listen to aggressive hip-hop to hype myself up before I go on court, but it just comes down to hard work. Hard work is not something that I’m just ‘whatever’ about. When it’s time for me to really put in work, I’m fine being the first guy to show up to the facility or the last guy to leave."

Shelton is yet to square off against Rafael Nadal, who has been away from the ATP Tour for nearly 12 months, nursing a hip injury.