Ben Shelton withdraws from 2025 Japan Open in Tokyo

Ben Shelton withdrew from the 2025 Japan Open in Tokyo. It's because of an injury that he sustained at the US Open.

Shelton has been one of the best performers this year. He is the sixth player in the ATP Rankings, and entering the 2025 US Open, he was one of the favorites to win the title. He won the Canadian Open just weeks before the New York Slam, but his journey on home soil ended quickly.

Shelton won his first two matches, but he injured his left shoulder during his third-round match against Adrian Mannarino. His first tournament since then should have been the Laver Cup in San Francisco, but Shelton withdrew from the Laver Cup.

That was a reasonable decision, considering the Laver Cup is still only an exhibition event. That's why his withdrawal didn't seem too worrying. However, Shelton's withdrawal from the Japan Open is a bit more worrying.

The American player should have been one of the top seeds at the ATP 500 event in Tokyo, which runs from September 24th until 30th. However, his name now doesn't appear on the entry list anymore after he withdrew from the tournament.

The reason for his withdrawal is the shoulder injury, which won't allow him to compete in Tokyo. After that, Shelton's name appears on the Shanghai Masters entry list, which is an ATP Masters 1000 event.

Shelton will want to compete in Shanghai to boost his chances of playing at the ATP Finals. It would be his first time competing at the year-end tournament.

With 3,710 points to his name, Shelton is currently the fifth player in the 2025 ATP Race. The first eight make it to the ATP Finals, but this year, there is an asterisk to it. Novak Djokovic, who is currently third and will likely be among the top eight players, will very possibly miss the event, as he showed no intention of competing at the ATP Finals at this stage of his career.

At the same time, if he qualifies, he can appear in Turin and compete, so no player can rely on the fact that Djokovic doesn't seem to be very interested in playing at the ATP Finals right now.

Shelton currently has a 720-point lead over the ninth-placed player in the 2025 ATP Race, but that player is Jack Draper, who ended his 2025 season early. That means Draper won't overtake the American either.

With that in mind, Felix Auger-Aliassime, with 2,705 points, 1,005 less than Shelton, is his closest competitor, and even if Shelton missed all the remaining events this year, he could still qualify for the ATP Finals.