This is Emma Shelton: Former Florida Gator tennis sensation and sister to rising star Ben Shelton
Tennis runs in the Shelton family. Father Bryan won four ATP titles during his career - Emma and Ben have followed in his footsteps.
The Shelton family will be cheering on one of their siblings in today’s French Open match as Ben takes on Carlos Alcaraz in Paris.
Ben is currently ranked 13th in the world and is trying to make it to the quarterfinals in Paris if he can get past Spanish wonderboy Alcaraz.
Too much class from Carlitos, who gave the point to Ben Shelton after telling the chair umpire he did not have his racket in his hand when contact was made with the ball 👏#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/ctCh7Lrrmq
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 1, 2025
The Sheltons’ tennis dynasty
Tennis is generational for the Sheltons. Father Bryan spent eight years as a pro and won four ATP titles before retiring in 1997 to continue in the sport as a coach at his old college, Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta and later at the University of Florida.
Bryan’s wife Lisa was a successful junior player during her formative years and her brother Todd Witsken was a professional, reaching a career high ranking of 43rd in singles and 4th in doubles. In 1986, he famously beat Jimmy Connors over three sets in the US Open. Sadly Todd passed away from brain cancer, aged 34 in 1998.
Both of their children, Ben and Emma are talented tennis players who have played for Florida Gators’ tennis teams.
Emma was born in Gainesville, Florida on March 18, 2001 and attended Buchholz High School.
She joined the Gators’ class in June 2021, following two seasons of collegiate competition at the University of South Carolina where she posted a 19-3 record in singles and 19-8 in doubles in her first year and 13-12 and 13-11 respectively in her second year.
In addition to her success on the courts, Shelton was lauded for academic achievements with SEC Academic Honor Roll and ITA Scholar-Athlete designations in 2020.
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