Ben Shelton has revealed how he ended up appointing Juan Carlos Ferrero as his coach, as he admitted he thought the opportunity had gone and the former world No 1 “was going with one of these young Spanish guys”.

Following his split from Carlos Alcaraz at the end of the 2025 season, Ferrero had been linked with several players as it was first suggested he could coach Jannik Sinner while Flavio Cobolli, Alex de Minaur and Rafael Jodar.

With world No 1 Sinner turning to Magnus Norman, many believed Jodar was the obvious next candidate, but Ferrero and Shelton sprung a surprise over the weekend when they confirmed they would start working together at the end of the current season.

So how did the appointment of Ferrero come about?

Shelton explained to Tennis Channel: “Honestly, I saw the stuff online, I thought it was true, too, I thought he was going with one of these young Spanish guys.

“But I just reached out to my agent one day and I was like, ‘Hey, could you just at least, you know, hit the guy up and see if he’s available or if he already locked something in’.

“He ended up being available and we had some talks on the phone and that was kind of that, but I’m really looking forward to it. I think that he’s a great guy, we get along well, and hopefully we can have a big year next year.”

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Shelton is on a high as he currently sits at a career-high No 4 in the ATP Rankings and also reached his maiden Grand Slam final at this year’s US Open, finishing runner-up to Alexander Zverev.

Ferrero, of course, is coming off a very successful stint with Alcaraz as they won six Grand Slams together with the young star also going on to become the youngest-ever world No 1.

“For me, I think obviously he’s one of the best coaches in the world, what he did with Carlos I thought was outstanding and and also a guy who’s had a lot of success on clay courts which is something that I’m trying to improve,” Shelton said.

“I think that it’s a unique situation where I have a parent coach who’s willing and able to bring someone in who has no ego, and both of us are really looking forward to be able to learn from Juan Carlos.

“For us, it’s the perfect storm, I’m happy to have him on the team and super excited to get to work in the off-season.”