Two years ago, there were three area athletes whose stars shone the brightest in the national spotlight.
Former Eastside and Gator quarterback Anthony Richardson was drafted fourth overall by the Indianapolis Colts in the 2023 NFL Draft and became the highest-drafted Gainesville high school player ever.
Less than three months later, Trenton native Wyatt Langford, who got the Gators to within a game of the national title that year, went No. 4 overall in the MLB Draft to the Texas Rangers.
Then, in September of 2023, Buchholz grad Ben Shelton exploded onto the professional tennis scene by reaching the US Open Semifinals. One month later, he moved up to No. 15 in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) rankings.
Shelton, who is among my top 10 of the greatest Alachua County athletes of all time, became the first Buchholz boys tennis player to win a state title when he won an individual Class 4A singles state championship as a sophomore in 2019.
He was a key part of the Gators’ 2021 NCAA National Championship win, securing the title-clinching match, and he also won the 2022 NCAA Singles Championship as a sophomore.
Shelton turned pro following his sophomore year after reaching the third round of his ATP Masters 1000 debut in Cincinnati.
As the No. 14 seed at Wimbledon last year, Shelton lost to defending champion and World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the semifinals in three sets. He also secured his first clay-court title at the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships in 2024.
This past January, Shelton, the son of former University of Florida men’s tennis head coach Bryan Shelton, became the youngest American in 22 years to advance to the semifinals of the Australian Open, falling to Sinner again in straight sets.
Bryan Shelton, who retired from collegiate coaching in 2023 to coach his son, also made the fourth round in singles at Wimbledon in 1994.
He and his dad spent time this offseason changing his game and made a noticeable technique change on his backhand.
Two weeks ago, Shelton cracked the ATP top 10 ahead of Wimbledon and became one of three Americans ranked in the top 10, along with then No. 4 Taylor Fritz and No. 8 Tommy Paul.
The last time three American tennis players were ranked in the top 10 of the ATP rankings was in April 2006 when Andy Roddick (No. 4), James Blake (No. 7) and Andre Agassi (No. 10) held top 10 rankings.
Shelton ascended to the top 10 ranking after reaching the semifinals of the 2025 BOSS Open (Stuttgart Open), an ATP 250 grass tennis tournament in Stuttgart, Germany.
The 22-year-old’s journey to the top 10 has seen him go from barely cracking the top 500 three years ago to being among the top 10 singles players in the world.
He is one of three Gators set for Wimbledon, along with Oliver Crawford and Diego Hidalgo.
Shelton will face Australian Alex Bolt in the opening round on Tuesday, and his projected path to the final could have him facing Sinner again in the quarterfinals.
The Championships will be played over 14 days beginning today and will conclude on Sunday, July 13, in Wimbledon, London.