World No. 21 American tennis player Ben Shelton, 22, received backlash over his latest Instagram story. Shelton is enjoying a brief break from the 11-month ATP tennis season which resumes again at the end of December.
Now that he is home, Shelton is dealing with car issues. On Instagram, he shares that the service shop told him its hourly labor rate is $300. Shelton called it a “crazy world out here” and asked the shop for an application so he could apply for a job.
The Backlash Was Swift
Shelton shares a photo of himself looking frustrated inside his car.
Excuse my quick napkin math, but in 2024, Ben Shelton spent 130 hours, 26 minutes on court and made $2.2 million. That’s an average hourly rate of $17,000. So sure, yes, crazy world out here pic.twitter.com/MZTVFv1CiQ
— miranda (@tennisera) November 14, 2024
Twitter user Miranda was quick to point out that Shelton‘s hourly rate is much higher than $300 per hour. She divided his winnings by his time on the court in 2024 to get $17,000 as his hourly rate.
Others commented that Shelton is having a first-world problem.
I see Ben Shelton is having first world problems moment pic.twitter.com/6drhNyt9zf
— qinwon🥇 (@IdemoAna) November 14, 2024
One person suggested Shelton add a social media manager to his payroll because the message is tone-deaf.
Some Came To Ben Shelton’s Defense
Not everyone slammed Shelton for the comment. Others mentioned that he has spent time and money on training, coaches, and travel that are not factored into some of the hourly rate math thrown around Twitter.
Someone mentioned that he is young so he may not have dealt with car issues and the associated costs in his life.
It did not seem like Shelton gained any fans from this post. He currently has 791,000 Instagram followers.
Ben Shelton’s Tennis Career
Ben Shelton becomes the youngest American man to reach the Cincinnati Quarterfinals since 2017.
Making moves. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/W3lV9VXthO
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 16, 2024
Shelton may be off-season and dealing with life issues, but he is still at work on the court training for January’s 2025 Australian Open in Melbourne. He was a 2023 quarterfinalist and is one of a group of young American male players, including Tommy Paul, Frances Tiafoe, Sebastian Korda, and Taylor Fritz trying to break the American drought of Grand Slam champions. The last American man to win a Grand Slam was Andy Roddick at the 2003 US Open.
An American man hasn’t won a singles title in 83 straight majors 😳
Andy Roddick is the last to do so, winning the 2003 US Open. pic.twitter.com/bUTzPOk82F
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 8, 2024
