Ben Shelton immediately raised his hand in apology after his thunderous serve struck a Wimbledon ball kid during his match against Otto Virtanen. The hard-hitting American caught the ballboy off-guard with a blistering ace, accidentally striking him in the stomach.
Shelton is renowned for his intimidating high-speed serves and has already clocked the second fastest of this tournament, registering an incredible 146mph in his opening match. Only Thiago Agustin Tirante has recorded a quicker serve, unleashing one at 147.8mph.
The ballboy on Court Two experienced Shelton’s fearsome serve firsthand during the third set of his match against Virtanen after being struck by the ball.
The fourth seed raised his hand immediately and was heard saying: “Are you OK.”
The ballboy reassured Shelton he was fine before the American headed back to the baseline to resume play.
Ben Shelton showed off his massive serve at Wimbledon (Image: Getty)
Shelton, who achieved his best result at SW19 last year by advancing to the quarter-finals, will be eager to make another deep run, having endured a miserable French Open campaign.
The 23 year old was unceremoniously eliminated in the second round in straight sets. With Carlos Alcaraz out due to a wrist injury, the world number five will no doubt be sensing he has a golden opportunity this year.
And that’s without considering concerns about Novak Djokovic’s body’s ability to hold up, and Jannik Sinner’s fitness issues at Roland Garros and his grueling opening-match win on Monday.
But the American surprisingly dropped the first set before firing back, reeling off the next two sets to close in on victory, which would set up a second-round match with either home favorite Arthur Fery or Damir Dumhur.
Shelton sent a warning to his rivals before the tournament. “I have a lot more room to grow,” he said.
“But I do think I have made big strides, and I think it has shown in certain points in the year where I’ve played really well.”
