Ben Shelton has discussed why sustainability is important to him as a tennis player who travels across the world.
The 21-year-old is now one of the rising stars of the game on-court. His appearance in the US Open semifinal last year means he now has a much bigger platform to talk about issues if he chooses to.
The American's tennis will continue to entertain regardless. For example, Shelton recently won a dramatic match in Acapulco. He prevailed in a final-set tiebreak after initially squandering four match points.
Although Shelton insists that he is not focused on points he has to defend, the newfound attention surrounding him is clear, and he has decided to try and use that to highlight a big global issue.
Shelton impressively offset the carbon emissions from all 28 of his trips last year and finished second on the 2023 carbon tracker leaderboard. Last year's Tokyo Open champion outlined to the ATP why this is of importance to him.
"I started using carbon tracker as a way of doing something positive. Travel is part of our job and the app makes it super simple to track and offset those emissions. I think it's a really good starting point."
Shelton mentioned that Hurricane Otis, which hit Acapulco last year, is something that he thinks about when he takes positive actions to help the environment as a tennis player.
"Seeing Hurricane Ortis hitting Acapulco last year always sticks in my mind. That's a community that has given so much to professional tennis and it was tough seeing what they went through."
The American ended with a message to fans. He said not being an expert on sustainability issues does not mean it is impossible to take steps to help the environment.
"I guess my message would be don't let the fact that you're not an expert discourage you. I'm still new to sustainability but really enjoying the journey and getting involved."
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