Tennis photographer hits out at Ben Shelton for using her picture without credit

Ben Shelton was recently criticized by a tennis photographer for using a picture she captured without giving her credit.

The 20-year-old had a successful season in 2022, making it to six U.S. Challenger Finals and winning three of them in a row. He also advanced to two U.S. Challenger semifinals and defeated Lorenzo Sonego and Casper Ruud in Cincinnati. On top of that, he broke into the Top 100 which earned him a direct entry to the Australian Open in 2023. He gifted his wildcard spot to his friend Christopher Eubanks.

Ben Shelton posted a picture of himself shot by Regina Cortina, a tennis photographer, but neglected to give her credit and appeared to have removed the watermark as well. The photographer criticized Ben Shelton on Twitter for doing so:

“Wow not only without the credit but he crop the watermark.”

Here's the post in question:

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Who is Ben Shelton?

Ben Shelton in action at the 2022 US Open

Ben Shelton has been one of the most unexpected performers of 2022. He is currently a student at the University of Florida, where he is pursuing a degree in finance and has just finished his sophomore year.

Bryan Shelton, his father and a former ATP player with a career-high ranking of No. 55, serves as both his coach and the men's head coach at the university.

Shelton has also demonstrated his potential at the collegiate level (NCAA), winning the title-clinching match for the University of Florida at the 2021 NCAA Championships. He also claimed the singles title at the 2022 individual championships in May.

He made his ATP Tour debut as a wildcard at the Atlanta Open, where he defeated Ramkumar Ramanathan in the first round for his maiden ATP win. After being given a wildcard at the Cincinnati Masters, he advanced as far as the third round, defeating players like Lorenzo Sonego 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-5, and Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3. He also received a wildcard into the main tournament for his Grand Slam debut at the US Open, but lost in the first round in five sets to Nuno Borges 6-7, 6-3, 6-7, 7-6, 3-6.

Shelton declared that he would forgo returning to school and instead turn professional shortly after his strong performance at the Cincinnati Masters. He is the youngest player in ATP Challenger history to win 3 titles in 3 weeks. He rose quickly in the rankings, moving up from 573 in January to reach the Top 100.