Ben Shelton has just proved why the ATP Tour needs to make a major change to its schedule

Ben Shelton was dumped out of the Cincinnati Open at the first hurdle as he lost in straight sets to Jaime Faria in the second round.

Shelton had come into the tournament in stunning form, by capturing the Canadian Open title for the second consecutive year in Montreal.

The American defeated the likes of Brandon Nakashima, Learner Tien, Jakub Mensik, and Joao Fonseca to win the Masters title, and he did so without dropping a single set.

All of this made his shock exit from the Cincinnati Open a major surprise, but it once again puts the ATP Tour in the spotlight when it comes to its scheduling.

How the last five Canadian Open have performed at the Cincinnati Open

- 2022: Pablo Carreno Busta exits in the opening round

- 2023: Jannik Sinner exits in the opening round

2024: Alexei Popyrin exits in the opening round

2025: Ben Shelton exits at the quarter finals

2026: Ben Shelton exits in the opening round

Shelton’s exit is the fourth time in five years that a player has lost their opening match at the Cincinnati Open after lifting the Canadian Open title.

Back-to-back Masters events makes it near-impossible to do well at both, and it’s only getting worse with the hectic nature of the ATP Tour schedule.

Players usually hit a wall around the summer, which is the reason for so many withdrawals from both events ahead of the last Grand Slam of the year at the US Open.

Add into that the expansion of the two-week Masters events and it’s very unlikely you will ever see a player win both tournaments back-to-back again.

Rafael Nadal was the last player to win both events and that came all the way back in 2013. Even before the mass expansion of the ATP Tour, only five other players have managed the feat in men’s history.

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Those were Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, Pat Rafter, Eddie Dibbs, and Cliff Richey.

If the ATP Tour wants more of the top players to try and achieve the feat going forward, they must separate the two tournaments and put at least a week between them.

Players, such as Shelton, should not be put at an instant disadvantage at a Masters tournament because they succeeded at a previous Masters event.

It will create resenment on the ATP Tour and it will only cause more players to skip one or both of the events on the North American hardcourt swing.

Something must be done to save this swing, and it’s simple: the ATP Tour must find a week’s break between the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Open.