Ben Shelton and three-time Grand Slam champion sign up for Australian Open warm-up event.
Ben Shelton will return to the ATP Tour before the Australian Open gets underway.
Looking to improve upon his run to the Australian Open semifinals in 2025, Shelton is making sure he nails his preparation this time around.
While the likes of Novak Djokovic and Jack Draper head to Adelaide, and Tommy Paul heads to Brisbane, Shelton won’t play his first tournament of the year in Australia…
Joining a three-time Grand Slam champion, Shelton will compete in the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand.
Ben Shelton and Stan Wawrinka sign up for the ASB Classic
Posting an announcement on their official X account, the ASB Classic shared their line-up for the 2026 men’s singles tournament.
2026 ASB Classic men’s singles line-up
2026 ASB Classic men’s singles line-up
ATP Rank Player Country
9 Ben Shelton USA
12 Casper Ruud Norway
19 Jakub Mensik Czechia
26 Luciano Darderi Italy
27 Cameron Norrie Great Britain
38 Alex Michelsen USA
39 Lorenzo Sonego Italy
42 Alexandre Muller France
45 Sebastian Baez Argentina
47 Nuno Borges Portugal
49 Camilo Ugo Carabelli Argentina
51 Fabian Marozsan Hungary
53 Jenson Brooksby USA
58 Valentin Royer France
59 Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard France
60 Tomas Martin Etcheverry Argentina
61 Francisco Comesana Argentina
62 Aleksandar Kovacevic USA
68 (WC) Gael Monfils France
157 (WC) Stan Wawrinka Switzerland
American star Shelton is the big attraction, having broken into the ATP top 10 this year.
The 23-year-old reached the semifinals of the 2025 Australian Open and the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, winning a career-high 13 Grand Slam matches over the course of the year.
He isn’t the only star travelling to New Zealand, however, as three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka is also set to appear.
The oldest player in the draw remains one of the most entertaining to watch, and finished the 2025 season in good form, picking up ATP Tour wins in Basel and at the Hellenic Championship.
Other notable names in the draw include the defending champion, Gael Monfils, three-time Grand Slam finalist Casper Ruud, and 2025 Miami Open champion, Jakub Mensik.
Only time will tell who will emerge victorious in Auckland, but interestingly, they might not want to…
Every ASB Classic champion since 2010
2010 – John Isner
2011 – David Ferrer
2012 – David Ferrer
2013 – David Ferrer
2014 – John Isner
2015 – Jiri Vesely
2016 – Roberto Bautista Agut
2017 – Jack Sock
2018 – Roberto Bautista Agut
2019 – Tennys Sandgren
2020 – Ugo Humbert
2021/2022 – Cancelled
2023 – Richard Gasquet
2024 – Alejandro Tabilo
2025 – Gael Monfils
What you may notice is that none of the names listed above went on to win the Australian Open.
In fact, the last player to win both tournaments in a calendar year was Roy Emerson in 1967.
As Shelton looks to end the drought of American success at the Grand Slam level (ATP), maybe he’d be better off missing out on the ASB Classic title!
Is Ben Shelton a real contender to win the Australian Open?
Yes and no…
If Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner both suffer early exits, then yes, Shelton would immediately become one of the big favorites to win the tournament.
However, if the world’s number one and two make another deep run, you wouldn’t want to bet against them extending their Grand Slam streak.
