Ben Shelton admits he has been frustrated with aspects of his game this year, but he views the American hard-court season as the ideal tonic for his struggles.

Shelton is seeded second for the Washington Open and will take on fellow American Martin Damm Jr. in his opening match at that tournament on Tuesday.

He currently sits eighth in the ATP World Rankings, having claimed three titles in 2026, triumphing at Dallas, Munich and Stuttgart.

That is as many ATP Tour-level events as he had won throughout his career up to the start of 2026, having claimed titles in Japan in 2023, Houston in 2024 and Toronto last year.

However, his grand slam performances have been frustrating as, after losing to eventual champion Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, he exited Roland-Garros in the second round and Wimbledon in the first round. 

As Shelton builds towards the US Open – the first major at which he reached a semi-final, doing so back in 2023 – he believes there are holes in his game that can be fixed. 

"It's been a weird season for me this year," Shelton told reporters ahead of his opening match in the US capital.

"A lot of highs, a lot of lows. I've won more titles than I've ever won in a year, only halfway through the year. 

"At the same time, there are so many things that I've been frustrated about, or disappointed with, in my game. 

"I think there's a lot of room for improvement in the second half of the year, and I'm in a part of the season that I really enjoy and that I play really well in."

Asked where, in particular, he needed to improve, Shelton added: "I guess the inconsistency of my play is what I've been frustrated about. 

"One of my biggest goals on the Tour is to get to the end of tournaments and finish off the week and win titles, which is something I didn't have as much before, but I'm getting better and better at now.

"I think some of the frustration comes from those early-round exits, which are kind of the trap rounds for me.

"I think being able to be more consistent week in, week out in those situations is important for me."

Shelton has reached the Washington Open semi-finals in each of the last two years, going down to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in 2025 and Flavio Cobolli in 2024.